Kauai: Drownings occur even as ocean info increases

As the search continues for the body of one of two San Francisco men who drowned Friday off South Kahiliwai Point on Kaua‘i, I can’t help but be sad for both the families of the victims and the rescue authorities on the Garden Isle.

The Garden Island newspaper has reported that the body of Brian Baker, 47, is still missing, following Saturday’s recovery of the body of his friend, Adam Griffiths, 46.
Both men were said to have been part of a group “exploring” the lava-rock-strewn coastal shelf south of Kahiliwai Bay on Friday night, when a wave struck Baker, pulling him into the surf. Griffiths tried to rescue Baker, but instead both lost their lives in raging waters.

I’ve been to Kalihiwai Bay, which is favored by surfers more than typical sunbathers. As a vacation rental Web site describes the beach, it’s “widest at its western end where the Kalihiwai River meets the ocean and narrows to a point where it becomes a boulder beach at the base of a sea cliff. Surfers ride the steep and fast waves that break close to the cliff. … Swimming conditions are dangerous during periods of high surf, with a pounding shorebreak and strong rip currents. During calm, summer conditions the swimming is pleasant.”

Several islands’ north and west-facing shores have been under high-surf advisories for the past several days; I was on Kaua‘i last week when “wrap-around” swells were noticeable even on the South Shore. The Kauai Explorer Web site, which is publicized in numerous publications and hotels, noted in Saturday’s forecast:

Powerful, dangerous surf in the 20-30[ range continues on North West facing shores. Lifeguards have closed N W shore beaches for swimming. … Always use caution – esp. when unfamiliar help is a long way away. Outlook to Tues Jan 22: Warning level NW swell through this weekend with more NW energy Tues.

On Friday and Saturday several of the Garden Isles North Shore beaches were officially closed — but no doubt some visitors still went out on them, as happened the last time I visited Kē‘ē Beach. I turned around in the parking lot when I saw the “closed” signs, but others calmly walked down the beach to wade in the suspiciously swirling shallows.

While I won’t speculate on what these unlucky men were doing in that especially rugged area during a period of high surf, I do want to observe that Kaua‘i appears to be doing everything it can to educate visitors about ocean safety, from the moment you land at the airport in Lihu‘e to when you check into your hotel and when you arrive at a lifeguarded beach. Information about Kauaiexplorer.com’s daily beach safety updates is ubiquitous, while signs and brochures explain the seasonal variations (south-facing beaches are normally calmest this time of year) and the dangers of rip tides. At non-lifeguarded beaches — the vast majority on as lightly populated an island as Kaua‘i — you’re likely to find one of dozens of recently installed rescue tubes, meant for expert swimmers to use to stabilize those in danger of drowning until help can arrive.

A rescue tube stands at the ready near the Sheraton Kauai. (Photo by Jeanne Cooper)

And yet visitors — and the occasional local — can and do get into trouble. As Dr. Monty Downs, the president of the Kaua‘i Lifeguard Association and an emergency room physician, told the Garden Island last week, the vast majority of the 60 to 100 ocean-related ER visits each month are minor — cuts, stings, etc. But one to three times per month, the island’s ER “sees A) people who nearly drown and … need a day or two in the hospital; B) people who are rendered quadriplegic, usually from face planting while body surfing (too often at Brennecke’s); C) people who drown. (B) and (C) are, of course, beyond ‘major.’ They are catastrophic, with not only lives but also entire families shattered.”

Downs’ has several mantras for to help change these numbers: Swim near a lifeguard,
check on daily conditions and don’t panic if you do get caught in a rip tide. Read the full interview here, and please try not to add to the sad tally of victims.

Kauai: Drownings occur even as ocean info increases