Hanauma safety video on the way

By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer

HAWAI'I KAI — The city is still weeks away from finishing a new water safety video that every visitor to Hanauma Bay will be required to see.

The city is preparing a safety video for Hanauma Bay visitors. Advertiser library photo

A sixth lifeguard, up from the four assigned to the bay much of last year, remains on duty. The equipment rental concessionaire has made snorkel training available for visitors who rent masks and snorkels, but it isn't mandatory like the film that educates people about the fragile coral reef ecosystem.

A yellow sign at the snorkel rental shop says: "Free snorkel use instruction on request."

At the visitor center, a copy of a newspaper article is the only indication to the estimated 3,000 visitors a day that people had drowned while snorkeling in the bay.

"The administration is doing the right thing with the video," said City Councilman Charles Djou. "Why is it taking so long is the question. In the context of the Sacred Falls lawsuit, where the state was held liable, the city government has to be very careful about making sure it warns people about the potential for drowning."

City Managing Director Ben Lee said the ocean safety video is being moved along as quickly as possible.

"Certainly we want to put this at a priority," Lee said recently. "(At the optimum) it should take a month. With most of the drownings being so close to shore, we need to be extra cautious."

At the same time, he said, "We don't want the video to be too long and create longer lines at the bay."

The script of the video message, "Know Before You Go," has been drafted and several meetings held on the educational message, said Carol Costa, city spokeswoman.

The footage still needs to be shot and a spokesperson selected to deliver the message, Lee said. It will be translated into the seven languages that the main video offers, Lee said. It will be paid for by the entry fee collected at the bay.

The message will focus on making visitors knowledgeable about snorkeling equipment, what to do if they get water in their masks and the essential value of the buddy system, Lee said.

Visitors to the bay dutifully watch a seven-minute video about Hanauma's designation as a nature preserve and its geology, terrain and fish species. In the video, they are encouraged to talk to lifeguards about water conditions.

Before the video, an education specialist gives visitors a brief overview of the nature preserve. However, not one of the oral presentations, including the video narration, includes a warning about the possibility that people can drown in the bay.

"The movie is helpful because it highlights a couple potential problem areas," said Hanauma Bay volunteer Larry Winnik. "But the reality is visitors put their minds in neutral and don't realize the potential dangers out there. It wouldn't hurt if visitors were told at the time the video is shown about these dangers."

There hasn't been a drowning at Hanauma Bay since December 2002, though there have been a number of worrisome incidents, city lifeguards say.

All of last year's drowning victims were tourists and all were snorkeling. Most were within 75 yards of shore.

Robert Winter, president of local diving company Snorkel Bob's, said each company — from the tour bus operator to the snorkel rental company — needs to care about its customers. That means more comprehensive safety tips, including commonsense advice like never turning your back on the ocean.

"We remind people over and over that the ocean must be respected," Winter said. "Hanauma Bay suffers from over-promotion. Going into the ocean is a hazardous thing. It's like when you go on an airplane — they give you safety tips every time so you can be prepared in case of a water landing."

Ray Miyashiro, owner of Sure Shot, the snorkeling company that rents equipment to visitors on-site at Hanauma Bay, said he still hopes to start guided snorkel tours.

"We're hoping to use this program to enhance the safety factor for those that aren't very comfortable with the gear," he said.

Some members of the Friends of Hanauma Bay, a volunteer organization that helps educate the public and maintain the bay, feel the entire educational video should be redone to integrate the safety message. Bob Kern, a former member of the Friends of Hanauma Bay board and now a volunteer, said that at the time the video was being put together, the city failed to consult with any of the volunteers or members of the board.

"I think the video needs to be improved," Kern said. "It doesn't give a clear enough message about staying off the reef. And the safety portion should be included."

City officials say they want to get a safety video out as soon as possible and would consider revising the seven-minute footage later.

Waiting for a video showing on a recent day, Anna Ademek, a visitor from Sacramento, Calif., stood with her snorkel gear in a beach bag. She said she purchased her snorkeling equipment at a local sporting goods store and didn't receive any special training.

"I've snorkeled before," Ademek said. "But not in Hawai'i."

Mike Stankovich, a Michigan visitor, had rented equipment locally from Snorkel Bob's. The company had asked him if he and his family knew how to use the equipment.

"We told them we knew how to snorkel," Stankovich said. "But they did pass along safety tips, like don't turn your back on the waves, swim diagonally with the current, swim on guarded beaches and use the buddy system."