Stand-up paddler blown out to sea rescued off Ala Moana
Lifeguards rescued a 40-year-old stand-up paddler, who had been blown out to sea nearly 2 miles from Ala Moana Beach Park this afternoon.
The city’s Ocean Safety Division says this should serve as a warning to residents and visitors to exercise caution this weekend due to the potentially strong winds hitting Oahu.
The Nuuanu man called 911 at about 1 p.m. and said he was about 1 1/2 miles to 2 miles offshore and struggling to make it back to the beach park.
Although he could not give his exact location, he said he saw a cruise ship nearby.
Lifeguards on two rescue watercraft searched offshore, working hand-in-hand with an Ocean Safety lieutenant and Ala Moana tower lifeguards who used binoculars to establish a visual location of the paddler.
The rescue watercraft personnel brought him to shore uninjured.
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“Ocean Safety lifeguards complimented the paddler for having a phone and the foresight to call for help,” the Emergency Services Department said in a news release.
Emergency Services Department spokeswoman Shayne Enright said she did not know whether the paddler had deliberately ventured outside of the usually calm waters of the protected channel at the beach park or somehow got swept out.
The Ala Moana Beach channel is used by stand-up paddle board riders, who stay in an unmarked lane protected by a man-made reef of sorts, and closest to the open ocean.
The National Weather is forecasting strong winds and gusty trades of up to 45 to 50 mph this weekend and a large, west-northwest swell expected to arrive late tonight.
