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Boaters, paddleboarders run into trouble off Maui

Maui fire rescue crews responded to an overturned boat in South Maui and a report of tourists stranded on paddleboards in high winds in West Maui on Sunday.

At 3:24 p.m. Sunday, a large wave capsized a 14-foot boat, which ran aground near Polo Beach in South Maui with two people on board, a Maui County Fire Department spokesman said. The man and woman on board, both Kahului residents, made it to shore safely. Fire crews helped them gather their belongings and lifeguards helped right the boat at about 5 p.m. and towed the boat back to the Kihei boat ramp using rescue watercraft.

In West Maui, lifeguards and firefighters responded to two incidents of tourists stranded at sea on paddleboards because of high winds.

At 2:28 p.m., lifeguards and fire rescue crews responded to the beach fronting the Honua Kai Resort in Kaanapali, where a woman on a paddleboard was struggling against high winds about 300 yards offshore. Lifeguards on a rescue watercaraft brought the visitor from Louisiana to safety. A fire department spokesman said the woman was exhausted, but did not require medical attention.

At 4:42 p.m., a woman and her 5-year-old daughter on a paddleboard were caught by high winds offshore of the Papalaua State Wayside Park in West Maui. Other people helped the visitors from Denver back to shore by the time firefighters arrived at 5 p.m.

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