Maui firefighters rescued 10 paddlers Friday after their double-hulled outrigger canoe swamped near Kahului Harbor.
One of the paddlers used a cell phone to call firefighters at about 5:10 p.m. after the canoe took on water about a half-mile north of the harbor entrance, said Maui Fire Department spokesman Edward Taomoto.
Firefighters picked up all 10 paddlers by helicopter and took them to safety near the harbor boat ramp by 6:30 p.m.
Firefighters tried to find the canoe to tow it back to shore but were thwarted by darkness and rough seas. The vessel was last seen floating just below the surface on the north side of the west breakwater, drifting toward shore, Taomoto said.
The Coast Guard was notified to issue a hazard warning to mariners.
Kauai utility announces results of board of directors election
Janet L. Kass and incumbents David Iha and Teofilo Phil Tacbian were declared winners of the latest election for the Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative’s board of directors. They will each serve a three-year term on the board, whose nine members serve staggered terms.
The nonprofit KIUC, which runs the island’s electrical system, mailed out 25,826 ballots this month and received 4,910 responses, for a turnout of 19 percent, according to an announcement of the results released Saturday. Merriman River Group, a California-based election management firm, conducted the election.
Iha was the top vote-getter with 2,660 votes followed by Tacbian (2,507), Kass (2,465), Daniel Erickson (2,144), Patrick S. Gegen (1,937), Scott N. Giarman (1,281).
The newly elected board members will be inaugurated at 11 a.m. March 20 in the KIUC Main Conference Room, before the regularly scheduled board meeting at 1 p.m.
