Surfer meets end
in sport he loved

POIPU, Kauai » Whether it was the large southerly swell or a health problem that took Russell Allan Souza's life on Kauai's South Shore Wednesday, he was doing what he loved: surfing with his friends.

Souza, 47, of Lawai, was "a regular" at the surf breaks known as PK's and Smoky's in Poipu, said his uncle George Costa. He had been surfing there since high school, Costa said.

"It's just a mystery to everybody," Costa said. "He was a great friend to everyone he met, a loving husband and father, brother and son."

According to Costa, about 6 p.m., Souza and a couple of friends paddled out into the 10- to 15-foot surf at Smoky's, an outside reef break in front of Poipu's Prince Kuhio Park.

Costa returned to the area yesterday to "talk story" and piece together the last moments of Souza's life. Family members also started a memorial at the popular surfing and snorkeling spot.

Costa said Souza had only been out for 10 minutes or so before something happened.

Souza had caught a wave and was on his way back out to the lineup, according to one surfer, who then lost track of him.

Minutes later a bodyboarder found Souza face down, beyond the waves. He screamed for help, Costa said, and Tom Yomen, a good friend of Souza's and his surfing partner that day, turned him over to see his friend's face.

That was when a group, including Yomen, started cardiopulmonary resuscitation, Costa said.

Kaleo Hookano, a co-supervisor with Kauai Fire Department Ocean Safety, said lifeguards used their Jet Ski to pull Souza from the waves.

Souza was later pronounced dead at Wilcox Memorial Hospital.

Hookano said lifeguards were extremely busy pulling surfers from the water both Wednesday and Thursday because of the biggest south swell this year.

Lifeguards stayed late on Wednesday because of the hazardous conditions, and assisted three people from the water less than 45 minutes before the call to help Souza came in.

"It was real dangerous," Hookano said, adding that about a dozen surfers had been in the lineup with Souza when he went down.

Souza was an extremely experienced surfer, his friends said.

Souza was a private contractor and built many homes on Kauai. He is survived by wife Kim; daughter Renoa, 19; his mother; and other family members.

South Shore guards busy
with 180 rescues

City lifeguards rescued 180 people by 4:30 p.m. yesterday as 10- to 15-foot waves hit south-facing shores for the second day.

The lifeguards described yesterday's surf conditions as stormy because of 10-20 mph tradewinds.

On Wednesday, lifeguards made more than 120 rescues on the South Shore.

Most of the rescues, about 130, were off Waikiki. The majority were done by lifeguards aboard two watercraft that patrolled the surf spots picking up surfers who got in trouble in the big surf or whose boards had broken.

Lifeguards also rescued a 40-year-old visitor from Japan who was swept into the ocean as he walked along the shoreline at Kuhio Beach about noon.

They said the man was mostly shaken up and did not sustain any serious injuries, but was taken to an area hospital as a precaution.

At 4 p.m. the National Weather Service downgraded its high-surf warning to a high-surf advisory as wave heights fell below 15 feet.

However, the city Ocean Safety and Lifeguard Services Division kept its seven lifeguard towers in Waikiki open until 6 p.m.

The lifeguards on the watercraft were also kept on overtime.

The high-surf advisory is scheduled to remain in effect until 6 p.m. today when wave heights are expected to drop below 8 feet.

The city estimates there were 25,000 ocean and beach patrons yesterday on Oahu's southern shores.