Parents mourn teen as probe begins into catamaran fatality

The boy's mother won the trip to Hawaii for good work

Just before sunset at Waikiki Beach yesterday, the parents of 13-year-old Jordan Loser bid a tearful aloha yesterday at a private memorial service for their son, whose death on a catamaran is being investigated by the U.S. Coast Guard.

The boy died after the mast on the 45-foot Na Hoku II's catamaran cracked and fell on the deck, pinning the boy.

The vessel, owned by John Savio, has been cited in the past for maintenance and installation problems, according to Coast Guard records.

However, the boat received a certificate of documentation and inspection from the Coast Guard in May after apparently resolving the problems.

Citations for the boat this year note "wasted sail winch mountings," improper installation of life buoys, and life jackets not in serviceable condition, records state.

Other citations in the past five years include failure to show required records, including maintenance; a lack of periodic drug and alcohol testing for its crew; missing handrail fasteners; and children's life jackets with deteriorated retro-reflective material.

The U.S. Coast Guard is taking the lead in investigating the accident, including routine drug and alcohol testing of the captain and crew members, said Guard spokesman Petty Officer Michael De Nyse. The results had not come in as of last night, De Nyse said.

Savio declined to comment on the incident.

At 4 p.m. Friday, 22 people departed on board the Na Hoku II from the beach in front of the Sheraton Moana Surfrider Hotel. The catamaran was almost a mile off Diamond Head when the mast snapped.

Jordan was taken by helicopter to the Queen's Medical Center, where he died. Two other passengers were also injured and hospitalized.

The boat was still docked at the fuel pier at the Ala Wai marina yesterday afternoon.

Jordan's parents, David and Cathy Loser, arrived in Hawaii on Thursday from Riverside, Calif. Cathy Loser works for AAA and was being rewarded for her work with the trip along with other employees, said Jessica Rich, president and executive director of the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii, which assists visitors affected by a crime or other emergency.

Just before the Loser family left Hawaii last night, the society organized a memorial service at the wall on the Kapahulu groin that juts out into the ocean at Kuhio Beach.

Jordan's grandparents, Jim and Carole Grimpe of Carson City, Nev., were to make the eight-hour drive from their home to Riverside, Calif., to meet the Losers when they returned home today from Honolulu, a family member in Carson City said.

Two Honolulu police officers asked tourists and bystanders to make room for family and friends to hold the service. The group held hands around the mourning parents and said prayers over the water.

Cathy Loser was still in a wheelchair because of foot injuries.

After tossing orchids out to sea, the small group paid tribute to Jordan by singing "Over the Rainbow" and "Aloha Oe."

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