Ten-year-old Kylie Nagy was bodyboarding at Waimea Bay when the current pulled her about 200 feet offshore and far from other bodyboarders. A lifeguard assisted Nagy back to shore, with her disapproving parents looking on.

“;Very scary,”; said the Sunset Beach Elementary School student. The biggest waves she has ridden were 4 feet, and she was caught in 5- to 6-foot waves.

 

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  “;We live here and she should know better,”; Kylie's mother said.

They realized their daughter had gone into the big surf when a lifeguard made the announcement 15 minutes before she was brought to shore, her mother said.

Kylie insists, “;I told my parents.”;

Lifeguards made 12 rescues, eight using rescue craft, and took 1,200 preventive actions yesterday because of high surf, Department of Emergency Services spokesman Bryan Cheplic said.

A high-surf warning was in effect yesterday on the northern and western shores of Niihau, Kauai and Oahu and will remain in effect until 6 a.m. tomorrow.

The National Weather Service reported surf was 15 to 20 feet early yesterday, and it had been expected to hit 20 to 25 feet by midday yesterday and grow to 25 to 30 feet through today.

Cheplic said waves were not as high as expected yesterday and were running 8 to 10 feet with occasional 12-foot sets and prolonged periods between sets that were deceptively dangerous.

About 30 surfers were at Waimea Bay at midafternoon yesterday before the opening ceremony of the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau surf meet.

Dozens of bodyboarders, bodysurfers and surfers caught the shore break. Most people enjoyed the waves from the shore, some through the lenses of their cameras.

“;Everybody on the shore move back!”; was a frequent warning from lifeguards.

Bodyboarder Alex Vining, 20, of Bitburg, Germany, was warned by the lifeguard to head straight in to shore. “;I knew if I came in with the wave, I would get caught in the close-out,”; he said, so he swam toward a safer spot to come in.

Tony Malbrough, 26, originally from Louisiana and now living in Salt Lake, had not seen the big North Shore waves before and brought girlfriend Angela Simon, 40, an adventure-loving Denver police officer.

“;This is the first time I have ever seen anyone surfing,”; she said. “;I'm a newbie.”;

She added, “;I want to get in the water,”; but said she was warned by Malbrough and got discouraged after seeing “;a little kid who slammed in the dirt (sand) right here. He had a nosebleed that wouldn't stop.”;

Brandon Anaya, 14 of Haleiwa and Tiger Doermer, 13 of Waialua had a great day bodyboarding. Doermer warned novices, “;There's a hard current that's sending you out there, but it was still pretty fun and you can get a couple barrels. If you're not experienced, you can get sucked out and die.”;

Surfer Ronald Lopes, 46, of Makiki took one last swim after surfing at Waimea and said, “;I wanted to come out here and catch a wave for the Aikau family and share a wave for bruddah Eddie and reflect on what he did for the Hokule'a.”;