A Honolulu lifeguard rescued a 71-year-old, veteran sailor whose 14-foot boat capsized off of Waikiki this afternoon, throwing the man into the ocean.

Art Mersereau, of Honolulu, was sailing his Laser boat by himself into the Kaiser Channel around 12:20 p.m. when it was hit by a swell, knocking Mersereau into the water about a quarter-mile off shore.
“I was coming into the channel and I was in good shape, Mersereau said. “But then I lost the wind and I was just a sitting duck.”
As waves battered Mersereau’s boat, breaking it apart, a lifeguard on a Yamaha Waverunner brought Mersereau to Fort Derussy Beach near the Hale Koa Hotel.
Mersereau stood on shore after his rescue, wearing a life vest and helmet. He declined to estimate the value of his lost boat.
“I’m an old salt,” he said. “I’ve been sailing in and out of here for years.”