Waikiki calm
Star-Bulletin staff
after shark scareThere was no sign this morning of two six- to seven-foot-long sharks that scared 1,000 people out of the water and led to the closure of Waikiki Beach yesterday afternoon.
Unconfirmed reports were that "somebody dumped dead fish in the water in the area (the sharks) appeared that set them into a feeding frenzy mode," Waikiki lifeguard Capt. Bruce Lee said today.
"Hopefully, it's a freak occurrence brought on by somebody illegally dumping fish guts and blood or whatever," he said.
Lee said he would contact enforcement authorities about the alleged dumping.
While it was back to normal this morning in Waikiki, Lee yesterday described a situation in which "the sharks were in a frenzy, darting in and out close to shore," getting as close as 10 feet from shore.
Lifeguards on Jet Skis recognized one shark as a white-tip shark, but could not make out the other. White-tips are fairly common in the coral reefs in Hawaii and are usually not dangerous.
But because of their erratic behavior, plus the high tide and murky water, Lee decided to close the beach.
The sharks were first reported by hotel guests in ocean-view rooms at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel. A hotel official said there were multiple calls from guest rooms at about 4:30 p.m. The hotel called 911, and hotel security evacuated the beach fronting the hotel.
Lifeguards monitored the sharks' movements from a room on an upper floor of the hotel, while others used Jet Skis to herd the sharks out to sea.
The Honolulu Fire Department helped get people out of the water from the Outrigger Reef Hotel at the Ewa end of Waikiki Beach to "The Wall" at the Kapahulu groin on the Diamond Head side.
The evacuation was orderly and there were no major problems, Lee said.
The shark scare did not affect the finish of the women's Molokai-to Oahu outrigger canoe race, which had ended earlier in the day at Duke Kahanamoku beach Ewa of the evacuation area.
