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VINCE CAVATAIO / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER.
A surfer rode a big wave at Waimea Bay on Sunday.
A high surf warning is posted for Tuesday as a new swell arrives with waves expected to peak at 20 to 30 feet on north shores of Kauai County, Oahu, Maui and Molokai.
West shores are expecting waves with faces of 12 to 20 feet.
The warning is in effect from 9 a.m. Tuesday to 6 p.m. Wednesday.
“Large breaking surf, significant shorebreak and dangerous currents make entering the water very hazardous,” the National Weather Service said.
The latest swell follows a dangerous swell over the weekend and today that critically injured a surfer on Sunday.
The big surf kept Oahu lifeguards busy today keeping people off the shoreline and off the rocks in places like Shark’s Cove on the North Shore.
“This surf is extremely dangerous and only the most experienced surfers with the correct equipment should venture out,” said Shayne Enright, a spokeswoman with the Ocean Safety Division of the Honolulu Emergency Services Department.
Lifeguards made four rescues today and issued 790 warnings or other preventative actions on north shores and conducted two rescues and issued 305 warnings and preventative actions on west shores, Enright said.
On Sunday at about 11:45 a.m., lifeguards at Ehukai Beach responded to a surfer unconscious in the water at the Banzai Pipeline.
The surfer, a 22-year-old man, caught a wave but didn’t resurface, Enright said.
A body surfer reached him and held on to him until lifeguards responded from shore.
He regained consciousness and paramedics took him to the hospital in critical condition.
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