Hawaii surf event invite a 'dream come true'

Tom Lowe has been invited to a prestigious big wave surfing event in Hawaii

Cornish surfer Tom Lowe has been invited to a prestigious big wave surfing event in Hawaii.

The Eddie Aikau Invitational takes place at Waimea Bay, where waves are 40ft (12m) high or more.

It is the first time a British surfer has been invited to take part in the event with the best big wave surfers in the world.

Mr Lowe, 39, from St Ives, said it was a "dream come true".

'Getting excited'

The event is named after lifeguard Eddie Aikau, who saved more than 500 people during his career.

"It's in this guy's name because he's a legend of Hawaii and of surfing itself," said Mr Lowe, who had a picture of his surfing hero on his bedroom wall when he was growing up.

Being invited to take part was "pretty surreal to be honest", he said.

"The competition is about him, risking his life for others, so it's really respected.

"It's not really a contest, if that makes sense - it's more just about the brotherhood and just the the deeper meaning behind it."

Tom has surfed big waves around the world, including in Mexico

The event window runs from 14 December to 12 March 2024 when organisers hope to get a swell large enough for it to run.

Mr Lowe said: "Everyone's getting excited. I'm in the right place for it to happen and all you can do is just hope and wait."

The opportunity comes seven months after he fell on a 25ft (7.6m) wave in Tahiti which left him with internal bleeding, a fractured scapula, and six broken ribs.

But he since described the accident as "a gift".

"I kind of embrace it like that, you know, it's certainly taken a bit of time to heal but when you've gone through so much, you just feel so much stronger in all aspects of life."