DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
High surf made for great action for these surfers at Kewalo Basin yesterday but kept lifeguards busy all day with rescues.
Big surf keeps
rescuers busyWaves with 10- to 14-foot faces
force the Ala Wai harbor master
to close the channel
City lifeguards performed 350 rescues at Waikiki and Ala Moana beaches yesterday as the biggest south swell of the season closed the entrance to Ala Wai Yacht Harbor, tossed boats and enthralled wave riders.
In addition to the 350 rescues, lifeguards also assisted another 600 oceangoers.
Rob Miller, Honolulu Ocean Safety and Lifeguard Services dispatcher, said he is not sure if that is a record but noted, "It was definitely a busy, busy day."
Miller said there were 75 more rescues at China Walls off Portlock and a few at Yokohama Bay. There were no rescues at Sandy Beach as lifeguards there kept swimmers out of the water.
Waves with 10- to 14-foot faces started rolling in overnight Tuesday and stayed at that height all day, said Roy Matsuda, National Weather Service lead forecaster.
He said the surf is expected to drop to 8 to 10 feet by this morning and continue to subside throughout the day. Matsuda expects to lift the high-surf advisory for south-facing shores late today.
The big waves are the result of a storm that hit the South Pacific about a week ago, Matsuda said.
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Yesterday's big waves thrilled -- and challenged -- surfers yesterday. Randall Paulson showed his broken board at Magic Island.
The Honolulu Fire Department and U.S. Coast Guard handled the first rescues of the day.
HFD's Air One helicopter lifted a bodysurfer out of the water after he got into trouble at Point Panic about 7 a.m. The surfer told his rescuers his legs cramped and he could not make it to shore through the big waves.
The helicopter then dropped two HFD rescue specialists into the Ala Wai channel where a 16-foot boat with four men on board capsized about 7:30 a.m.
Daniel Kauai was surfing at Ala Moana Bowls nearby when he saw a set of three large waves roll in as the boat was trying to exit the channel and head out to open ocean.
"The first one they made 'em over, then the second one, no can," Kauai said. "The thing (boat) wen' huli."
Kauai said the passengers dived into the water as the second wave hit, "just like in the movies." He and three other surfers helped two of the boat's passengers and tried to take them to shore, but he said the current was too strong.
Other surfers assisted the other two passengers, who stayed with their capsized vessel. Troy Gabold said he and the other surfers tried to push the overturned boat out away from the surf.
A 25-foot Coast Guard rescue boat pulled the four passengers out of the water and took them to shore at the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor. One man had a cut to the back of his ear. The other passengers were not injured.
HFD's Fireboat Mokuahi towed the vessel to the Keehi Boat Harbor.
Before the morning was over, firefighters were sent to San Souci Beach and Diamond Head Beach on reports of swimmers in distress. The swimmers were able to make it to shore on their own.
The state Land Department's Ala Wai harbor master closed the channel at 2 p.m. The entrance to Kewalo Harbor, which is operated by the state Department of Transportation, was kept open.
"The vessel captains are all professionals licensed by the Coast Guard," said Bill Davis, harbor operations supervisor.
Only one rescue required an ambulance trip to the hospital yesterday. City Emergency Medical Services officials said an ambulance was dispatched to Kahala Beach Park at 9:25 a.m. where a 48-year-old fisherman had just been pulled from the water by a friend.
The man was treated for near-drowning and hypothermia, and taken to Straub Hospital.
Wave riders, meanwhile, raved about the big surf.
"I surfed Pops in the morning and Old Man's in the afternoon," said Duke's Canoe Club bartender Chris Zimmerman. "There were some bombs going off, biggest South Shore swell in recent history. ... The last big one came about five to seven years ago.
"It was great, wonderful."
Star-Bulletin reporter Rod Antone contributed to this report.
