Wet ‘N’ Wild with Rockin’ Fig:

Big surf is still pounding the North Shore of Hawaii after the six-star men’s O’Neill World Cup at Sunset Beach Sunday, which finished in some heavy 15- to 20-foot surf.

In a star-studded final, featuring some of the world’s best, Hawaiian power master Sunny Garcia got off to a fast start when he got a sick barrel for a 9.47 score and held the lead for quite a while.

Aussie Joel Parkinson also caught some bombs, and had big carving turns and a nice barrel, to overtake Garcia in the waning minutes of the final. Garcia only needed a small mid-three score for the win but couldn’t find one in the end and had to settle for second place, which he wasn’t very happy about.

Australian Mick Fanning was ripping too, getting a few barrels and slash backs to finish third, and a hot up-and-coming rookie, 20-year-old Hawaiian Dusty Payne, rounded out the top four spots.

This final pushed Payne into ninth place in the World Qualifying Series ratings, meaning he’s made the top 15 cut to get on the championship tour next year. Aussie Daniel Ross ended up No. 1 on the WQS; he also made the quarterfinals at Sunset.

San Clemente’s Pat Gudauskas and Nathan Yeomans finished second and eighth, while Huntington Beach’s Brett Simpson was 10th and Gudauskas’ younger brother, Tanner, who made the quarters at Sunset too, moved way up to 12th to qualify for the dream tour in 2010.

One of the biggest swells in the last 50 years has been hitting the North Shore, and that means they held the Quiksilver in memory of Eddie Aikau at Waimea Bay this week.

The surf needs to be 25 feet-plus to run it. This marked the 25th anniversary of the contest, although the event hasn’t been held in five years because of small surf.

Aikau was a total waterman who charged big Waimea and was a lifeguard there doing rescues when others wouldn’t.

In 1978, he was on an outrigger canoe, the Hokulea, in heavy seas and strong winds when it capsized in the Molokai Channel.

With the outlook of being saved looking dim, Aikau grabbed his surfboard and decided to go for help, trying to paddle to one of the islands in the distance.

That was the last the crew of the Hokulea, who were later rescued, ever saw of him. So for his courage and bravery, this surf contest was held with special invite-only surfers.

Bruce Irons won the contest in 2004, getting a big one out the back and finishing with a killer barrel inside for a 10-point ride. This time, San Clemente’s Greg Long caught a massive 30-foot wave and got a perfect 100 score to take the top prize.

RICK FIGNETTI is a 10-time West Coast champion and a longtime KROQ-FM surfologist. He owns a surf shop on Main Street. You can reach him at (714) 536-1058.