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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, December 4, 2006

Boy was 'having a blast' on boat ride

Advertiser Staff

Jordan Loser

Riverside Press-Enterprise

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Brisk winds Friday made for a bouncy ride on the tour catamaran Na Hoku II, and 13-year-old Riverside Jordan James Loser was enjoying the cruise off Waikiki in the bow netting stretched between the double hulls, his father said.

"It was fun, it was windy," David Loser told the Press-Enterprise of Riverside, Calif., yesterday. He said Jordan "climbed right to the front of the ship, on the net, and he looked back at me and said, 'You were right, Dad,' and I took a picture with him. He was just having a blast. We all were."

But when the boat turned and the ride got rougher, Jordan moved back, close to his parents, and held on to the mast, David Loser said. The boy was there when the 65-foot mast snapped, pinning him and causing fatal injuries.

The family returned to their home in Riverside yesterday. The Coast Guard in Honolulu, meanwhile, continued its investigation but said no new information was available yesterday, said Coast Guard spokesman Petty Officer Michael De Nyse.

The Na Hoku II remained docked at the Ala Wai harbor fuel pier, he said.

The family was in Hawai'i last week on a vacation Jordan's mother, Catherine, won for selling insurance for AAA, the Press-Enterprise reported. Almost 25 years ago, David and Catherine Loser had pictures of themselves taken alongside the original Na Hoku catamaran during their honeymoon in Hawai'i.

Jordan's parents said the boy didn't want to take the sunset cruise, but soon was enjoying the bouncing ride. Northeast winds were in the 17- to 21-mph range Friday afternoon.

"The mast bent at the very base and pinned him," David Loser told the Press-Enterprise. "That should have been the strongest part of the mast. If it had been higher, he might have been all right."

Catherine Loser said she suffered a broken foot and bruised tailbone.

Two other women were hospitalized but were released within a day.

Jordan Loser was an eighth-grader at Amelia Earhart Middle School in Riverside. He played Little League baseball and was a singer in a youth group band at his church.

The commercial tour catamaran had been cited for numerous safety violations in its most recent inspection but corrected them immediately and had a valid certificate to operate at the time of the accident, according to Coast Guard records.

The Coast Guard's Maritime Information Exchange database shows that Na Hoku II was last inspected May 23 and 24. Officials cited a long list of minor problems, but none appeared related to the mast that failed on Friday.

Among the problems noted in the inspection report were poor sail winch mounting bolts; improper maintenance of the navigation, stability and lighting systems; improperly installed lifebuoys; and operating without a valid certificate of inspection.

Most of the violations were immediately corrected at the time of the inspection, and on May 24, the Coast Guard issued the 14-ton Na Hoku II a new certificate of inspection that will not expire until 2011.