Ocean Safety personnel can now respond far more quickly to emergencies in waters off Windward Oahu — from Mokapu to Makapuu — thanks to a much-needed rescue watercraft present daily at busy Kailua Beach.
"Over the last couple, three years, we’ve seen huge increases in the level of activity in the water here, primarily offshore," said Ocean Safety Division Operations Chief Jim Howe, who demonstrated the craft’s abilities at Kailua Beach on Friday.
"What happens in these emergency situations when people need help, it’s really critical that we can get to people within four to six minutes," he said. "That’s really the amount of time somebody has if they go underwater before there’s going to be very serious consequences and possibly even death."
The Yamaha Waverunner, launched in late May, can now provide service to Kailua and Waimanalo bays within those time constraints, Howe said. The agency’s next-nearest rescue watercraft is at Sandy Beach, 40 minutes away, he said.
Altogether, there are 12 rescue craft at six locations islandwide, Howe said.
"We’ve been waiting probably 15, 20 years (for this capability)," said ocean safety Lt. Tony Ho. "The problem with this place as opposed to Waikiki is everything is far. … Kailua Bay is 21⁄2 miles."
He said it takes five to seven minutes to travel to Makapuu or the Kaneohe Marine Corps base from the watercraft’s mooring in front of the main Kailua lifeguard tower.
"It’s much quicker to go from here to Makapuu by jet ski than it would be by car or ambulance (even) if you put the sirens on full blast," he added.
On Friday, the new craft went from near shore to Popoi‘a Island (Flat Island) — 300 yards out — in 22 seconds, versus five minutes for a fast paddler on a rescue board.
The rescue craft at a moderate speed took a few minutes to travel to the Mokuluas, a popular destination for rented kayaks, whereas a paddler might take 20 minutes or more, Ocean Safety personnel said. Ocean Safety monitored activity with a camera from June 2011 to February and found an average of 250 oceangoers frequented the Mokuluas daily.
The watercraft with rescue sled and trailer, at a cost of $12,000, was immediately put to work when rescuers recovered the body of a diver off Castles Beach in Kailua in May.
Since the new "ski" arrived, operators have performed more than 60 rescue-assists and roughly six first-aid cases, Ho said.
A rescue craft operator said while patrolling the waters he often comes upon people in distress, commonly kayakers who can’t get back into their kayaks, paddlers who lose their canoes and divers in trouble.
Kailua Beach, which saw an estimated 350,000 visitors in 2011, also got a second lifeguard tower on the Lanikai end to complement the existing one, which was moved back 30 feet in the past couple of years due to erosion, making it difficult to see the shoreline, Howe said.
The rescue operators wear red jerseys and vests, while lifeguards wear yellow T-shirts or jerseys.
Ocean Safety has often relied on a rescue craft at the military-guarded Bellows Beach in Waimanalo or the Honolulu Fire Department, which has one in Waimanalo and one in Kailua. But if the unit is out on another emergency, it may not be available and it also takes time to get the equipment rigged up and transported to the beach.
"By us having this one, it cuts the response time down dramatically," said Ocean Safety Capt. Kevin Allen.
The City Council recently passed controversial Bill 11, which bans commercial activity at Kailua and Kalama beach parks in an attempt to limit visitor numbers.
Ho said on weekends, "it gets crazy," with hundreds of people in the water, including kayakers, kite surfers, boaters and canoe paddlers.
"In the last few days, we have seen a decrease" in the number of oceangoers at Kailua Beach, Howe said. "We don’t know if it’s due to Bill 11 or students returning to school. There’re still lots of people on the water, and they’re still offshore and they’re still kayaking."
A steady stream of rented yellow kayaks could be seen at the Mokuluas and Popoi‘a Island on Friday.
People were wheeling rented kayaks to the beach from nearby Kailua Beach Center, where a kayak rental business is located. Before Bill 11 became law, vendors trucked them to the beach in large numbers.
