Council OKs
private Jet Skis on
Kaneohe Bay

The panel wants restrictions
on firms but no overall ban

By harold Morse
Star-Bulletin

The afternoon death of a tourist in a commercial thrill-craft accident in Kaneohe Bay was mentioned twice in last night's meeting about regulating activities in the bay.

But there also was much sentiment to allow Jet Skis and other thrill craft to continue operating there. In the end, the Kaneohe Bay Regional Council voted against supporting a state effort to ban noncommercial, private Jet Ski operations in the bay.

The action reaffirmed a May 27 council vote to restrict commercial Jet Skis and commercial snorkeling to specific areas of the bay -- but made an exception for noncommercial Jet Skis.

The restricted areas were decided earlier through community input and incorporated in the Kaneohe Bay Master Plan, Council Chairman Kim Holland said after the meeting at Heeia State Park.

If the attorney general's office or state boating division has problems with last night's council action, Holland said, they will have to put their objections in writing for the council to consider.

The specific areas are recognized on an ad hoc basis now, but the goal is to make them official with implementation of the master plan, Holland said.

The master plan was prepared by the Kaneohe Bay Task Force, and the council was created by the Legislature to implement it. The Legislature also asked the state Department of Land and Natural Resources to put the master plan into state boating rules.

The proposed ban on private Jet Skis, not backed last night, is in a draft of administrative rules, a recommendation of the task force.

Howard Gehring, administrator of the division of boating and ocean recreation, said he hopes a public hearing on the draft rules will be held by year's end.

Outside the meeting, which drew some 100 people, Gehring said that yesterday's accident in Kaneohe Bay was the first commercial Jet Ski fatality in Hawaii.

A 45-year-old woman died, and another, 36, was hospitalized, when their watercraft collided with another Jet Ski.

All four Japanese visitors were on a tour by Dina Morita Associates, one of the commercial boating companies with a permit to operate in the bay, a state spokeswoman said.

Gehring said the operator has been renting Jet Skis for about 10 years.

During the meeting, speakers urged the continuance of personal, noncommercial Jet Ski operation in Kaneohe Bay. The subject of self-policing and education to ensure safety came up frequently.

"I have a right as a citizen to train the other people in this community to operate their craft properly," said Nick Lohr, who wanted to head off discrimination against noncommercial thrill craft operations.

Conflicts can be worked out, said Bill Mustard, president of Boats/Hawaii Inc., a statewide trading organization. "Education will solve 90 percent of your conflict problems in the future," he said.

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Jet Ski crash in Kaneohe
Bay kills one tourist,
hospitalizes another

By Mary Adamski
Star-Bulletin

A collision between two Jet Skis in Kaneohe Bay killed one woman and left her passenger hospitalized.

All four people involved in the crash of the two personal watercraft yesterday were tourists from Japan on a commercial water recreation tour.

Investigators said the victim, Yasuko Koyama, deviated from the vehicle course, which circles floating barrels. She instead drove the craft between the barrels, putting her in the path of another craft.

The accident took place in the commercially zoned area outside the sand bar, police said.

The death comes as state officials are considering a proposed ban on privately owned Jet Skis in Kaneohe Bay and changes in rules concerning commercial Jet Ski operations.

Koyama, 45, was pronounced dead at 12:58 p.m. at Castle Hospital after the 12:30 p.m. accident. She suffered severe internal injuries in the collision, police said.

Her passenger, 36, was confined at Castle and listed in good condition last night. The two women from the other craft were treated and released.

The four were on a tour by Dina Morita Associates, a commercial boating company with a permit to operate in the bay, according to a state spokeswoman. They were with a group from Japan on a visit directed by JTB Tours, police said.

Crew members from the tour boat and another charter cruise brought the women ashore at Heeia Kea pier, said a state Department of Land and Natural Resources spokeswoman. Depart-ment officers are also investigating the mishap.

Investigators said it may be the first death of a Jet Ski driver in island waters. Personal watercraft have been involved in other accidents: In June 1986, a woman in an inflatable kayak was killed in Maunalua Bay when she was hit by a 6-year-old boy on a Jet Ski.