Hanauma Bay safety video debuts
By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer
The final piece of the ocean safety net was put in place at Hanauma Bay yesterday, completing a series of measures ordered after a record 10 drownings last year at the nature preserve.
The ocean-safety portion of the video that covers snorkeling basics and cautions about ocean conditions will be required viewing and was shown to visitors for the first time yesterday.
Other than a few minor concerns, some members of the Friends of Hanauma Bay believe the additional two-minute segment prepares visitors by advising them to seek help before going snorkeling and to be aware of water conditions, said volunteer Larry Winnik.
"On balance, the video is good," Winnik said.
"Now there's no way someone could come out of our video and say they're not aware of water safety concerns and preservation concerns," said Alan Hong, Hanauma Bay's general manager.
The video was ordered in January as part of a package of precautions that included adding a sixth lifeguard at the beach, up from the four assigned to the bay for much of 2002, and optional snorkel training from the bay's equipment rental concessionaire.
There has been just one drowning since the measures were put in place. That occurred last week as a 54-year-old man from Oklahoma snorkeled with his son in an area known as Witches Brew. The man was spotted floating face-down. Lifeguards performed CPR before he was taken to The Queen's Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Witches Brew is one of the roughest parts of the bay and often is closed off from the beach side, but can be reached from the water.
The drowning differed from most of last year's accidents, which occurred within 75 yards of shore. Two people drowned July 19 last year beyond Witches Brew, which is outside the reef. Initially, Ocean Safety personnel had said there were 12 drownings at Hanauma Bay last year, but after reviewing records from the medical examiner's office it was determined that there were 10 deaths from drowning, said Dan Galanis, epidemiologist with the state Department of Health injury prevention and control program.
The new video, "Know Before You Go," mentions the rough conditions at Witches Brew and Toilet Bowl.
Winnik is concerned about the video's image of a diver who has a hand stretched out to a sea turtle. It is illegal to touch or harass a sea turtle, an endangered species. He also takes issue with the image of a diver appearing to push off some coral, which hurts conservation efforts, he said.
The video was drafted with the help of the Hawaiian Lifeguard Association, and was installed Tuesday during the bay's normal closure, Hong said.
The video becomes part of a broader video that talks about Hanauma's fragile coral reef ecosystem. The entire video is now nine minutes long, Hong said.
Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com or 395-8831.
