COURTESY OF OCEAN PROMOTION Brazilian Eraldo Gueiros got towed in to a huge wave at Jaws off Maui in 2000.

State prepares
tow-in surfing rules

Public comment will be accepted on
planned regulations for the sport

Hearings on Saturday

---

By Diana Leone
dleone@starbulletin.com

Proposed state rules on tow-in surfing would, for the first time, regulate this dangerous, but increasingly popular, sport.

The way it stands now, every time a surfer uses a personal watercraft to catch a big wave he's breaking state law, said Jim Howe, chief of city lifeguards.

It appears the state is trying to balance the wants of the tow-in surfers with the established rights of paddle-in surfers, Howe said.

Tow-in surfers use a personal watercraft to pull a surfer into waves that are bigger than what can be caught by traditional paddling. The sport is done in pairs, with one person towing and lifeguarding while the other surfs, then trading places.

People can comment on revisions of the law on tow-in surfing and other ocean safety issues Saturday at hearings in each county, with two meetings set for Oahu.

The state Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation draft rules would require that tow-in surfers:

>> Not hold the state liable or responsible for their actions.

>> Register their personal watercraft with the state and carry safety equipment and liability insurance.

>> Tow in only one person at a time.

>> Be trained in safe use of a personal watercraft in high surf.

>> Yield right-of-way to all other water activities and stay a minimum of 1,000 feet from other surfers.

>> Only enter specific Ocean Recreation Management Areas (which extend 3,000 feet seaward from designated shores) when the National Weather Service has issued a high-surf warning.

"I think they're a good thing," said Dan Moore, who has been tow-in surfing since 1994. "Hopefully, it will make the sport safer and keep the sport in check as far as where you can and cannot do it."

Howe said one of his main concerns is that the required training be high-quality to ensure that people who tow in can do it safely. He also questions whether high surf warnings are, as they have been revised by the weather service, an adequate signal that tow-in should be allowed.

Peter Cole, chairman of the Oahu Surfrider Foundation Chapter, said he thinks there will be no infringement on traditional, paddle-in surfers like himself as long as tow-in surfers give them right-of-way.

"When surf's really big, you can't paddle into those waves," Cole said. "They're either going to be unridden or be towed into."

Tow-in hearings set for Saturday The state Department of Land and Natural Resources hearings on tow-in surfing and ocean safety will be held Saturday in each county. >> Kauai: 1-3 p.m. at Chiefess Kamakahele Middle School, 4431 Nuhou St., Lihue. >> Maui: 10 a.m.-noon at Baldwin High School, Lecture Hall, 1650 Kaahumanu Ave., Wailuku. >> Big Island: 9-11 a.m. at Hawaii Big Game Fishing Club, Honokohau Small Boat Harbor, 74-380 Kealakehe Parkway, Kailua-Kona. >> Oahu: 8:30-11:30 a.m. at Jefferson School Cafeteria, 324 Kapahulu Ave., Honolulu. >> Oahu: 1:30-4:30 p.m.. at Sunset Beach Elementary School, 59-360 Kamehameha Highway, Haleiwa. Proposed changes can be seen at www.state.hi.us/ dlnr/dbor/bordraftrules.htm or call (808) 587-1972 for more information.