Miss Chinatown crowned as Miss Hawaii
Miss Chinatown Crystal Lee won the 2013 Miss Hawaii pageant Saturday night at the Hawai‘i Convention Center. Lee, a 2008 Pearl City High School graduate, also won the swimsuit, talent and most photogenic competitions.
The first runner-up is Miss Oahu Brittni Woodward, who would become Miss Hawaii if Lee wins the Miss America pageant or otherwise cannot serve out the year. The second runner-up is Miss Garden Isle Lei U‘i Kaholokula; third runner-up is Miss Kauai Alexandra Roth; fourth runner-up is Miss East Oahu Joleen Iwaniec.
The pageant, in the convention center’s Kalakaua Ballroom, was broadcast live on Oceanic OC16. The Miss America contest will be held Sept. 10-15 in Atlantic City, N.J.
2 kids, 3 men saved from overturned boat
Two children and three men are safe after they were rescued from a capsized vessel off Kaena Point Saturday.
After receiving a mayday call at 6:41 a.m., the Coast Guard dispatched a 45-foot response boat from Honolulu and an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Barbers Point Air Station.
The helicopter crew found the two children in life jackets and three men without life jackets, clinging to the overturned 17-foot vessel. The crew lowered a rescue swimmer to the water and brought one man and the two children to the helicopter. A nearby vessel rescued the two other men.
The helicopter brought the mariners to Dillingham Airfield, where paramedics treated them, the Coast Guard said in a news release.
"This rescue is a perfect example of why boaters must be sure they have good safety equipment and reliable communications before heading out on the water," said Lt. Kevin Cooper, public affairs officer, in the news release. "Because this boat had a working VHF radio and properly sized life jackets for the children, we were able to determine the boat’s location and rescuers were able to save five lives."
Woman’s record rowing attempt delayed
While Angela Madsen’s history of overcoming adversity suggests there’s nothing that can stop her, she can apparently be delayed.
Madsen, who is attempting to become the first paraplegic woman to row across the Pacific, was scheduled to leave Santa Cruz Harbor Saturday, but unsafe weather conditions prompted her to delay departure until early today.
Hundreds of supporters turned out at the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor to see Madsen embark on her 2,300-mile journey, which is expected to take nearly three months. Instead, Madsen circled the harbor in her boat, which is decorated with photos of military veterans, and accepted a proclamation from Santa Cruz Mayor Hilary Bryant.
According to a biography on her rowoflife.com website, Madsen lost the use of her legs in 1993 as a result of a botched surgery to repair injuries she suffered while serving in the military.
Undaunted, Madsen took up adaptive rowing and eventually became a five-time world champion in the sport. Her planned journey from Santa Cruz to Hawaii is the latest in a string of open-ocean adventures that includes crossings of the Atlantic and Indian oceans.
