A Honolulu Fire Department boat is tossed around in rough seas today off Point Panic. Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

Eric Hill holds onto a rescue team member while being taken to shore. Hill lost one of his fins and began getting leg cramps in the pounding surf. Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

Lifeguards also said they rescued two swimmers and assisted another 100 yesterday who got caught in the rip tide back to shore. And they expect the number will double by the end of today.

High-surf advisories are posted for south facing shores across the state, with waves an average of 10 to 14 feet expected, the National Weather Service said.

High surf is expected to continue through tomorrow with the south swell dropping below advisory level on Friday.

Lifeguards and fire department personnel rescued a man at Point Panic who washed into the rocks, he said. An off-duty lifeguard also brought in a surfer at Publics off Waikiki.

"The guy was floating for 20 minutes before he was rescued," said Capt. Paul Marino of the Honolulu City and County Water Safety Division.

The U.S. Coast Guard also fished four people out of the water after a 14-foot pleasure skiff capsized around 7:40 a.m. near the Ala Wai Yacht Club. Rescue efforts ran smoothly and the people were out of the water and back at the boat ramp by 7:53 a.m., said Petty Officer Wesley Stech.

The fire department righted the boat and towed it to the Keehi Boat Harbor.

Yesterday, lifeguards kept busy at Canoes in Waikiki where they rescued two swimmers and assisted 100 people, Marino said.

A woman on an inflatable mat lost her mat in the large surf yesterday and an inexperienced tourist got pulled off of a shallow sandbar into the rip. A rescue watercraft picked up both of them, he said.

"This is really nothing out of the ordinary," said Jim Howe, operations chief for the Honolulu City and County Water Safety Division. "It's south shore and it's the summertime."

Lifeguards at Canoes around 4 p.m. yesterday counted 300 surfers, 200 swimmers and 500 people on the beach, said Marino.

That's why during heavy traffic summer months, when lifeguards see high surf advisories, "we don't get worried, we get prepared," Marino said.

Lifeguards are posted at towers, in the water on rescue watercraft and on hotel balconies watching to make sure swimmers stay safe, he said.

"Conditions are dangerous for inexperienced beachgoers and swimmers," said Roy Matsuda, lead forecaster for the National Weather Service.

Unless someone is a strong swimmer, it's a good day to use the hotel pool, Howe said.

Parents need to be especially cautious of their children, Howe said.

"They've really got to watch the little ones today," Howe said. "They shouldn't take their eyes off of them. The waves are strong and they could wash up to shore and drag them in."

In addition to big waves, there's also a riptide current that goes along with the surf, Matsuda said.

"It can pull swimmers under," he said.

Inexperienced swimmers, who get caught in the current and get dragged out to sea, often panic to their detriment, Howe said.

If someone gets caught in riptide, the best thing to do is to ride the current until it stops or swim diagonally with the current to break away from it, Howe said.

The heightened surf conditions are expected to subside tomorrow, but people should still use caution before venturing into the water, Matsuda said.