![]() ![]() More visitors are also venturing off the beaten path to beaches where there’s no lifeguard presence, Titchen said. With people checking out the marine life underwater, they can often lose track of where they are. “To the untrained eye there’s not a lot of energy going on but there’s a ton of energy even on a flat day.” “Some of the best snorkeling on Oahu is very close to shore and very heavily trafficked areas,” he said. The same beach can look vastly different the very next day. Many travelers are unfamiliar with the ocean’s power, which can depend on changing tides, wind and currents. “Now you’re adding a mask and tube to your face.” These visitors tend to not be in the best cardiovascular shape but see snorkeling as a must-do activity. “The primary reason we see from an Ocean Safety first responder perspective, visitors can’t really swim, they don't swim really well,” he said. Of those snorkel-related drownings, over half are non-residents. Snorkelers have accounted for the majority of ocean-related drownings in the state over the past decade, according to John Titchen, Chief of Ocean Safety for Honolulu, followed by swimming and then free diving. More: Hawaii sees riskier beachgoers: How to safely enjoy the ocean on the islands Is snorkeling in Hawaii dangerous? Just days earlier, a 37-year-old Californian named Lucas Ivor on vacation on Kauai died when swimming near Tunnels Beach in Haena at around 5 p.m., according to the Kauai Police Department.Ī California newlywed couple drowned on June 1, at a popular snorkeling beach in Oahu. ![]() “We remind the public to be aware of your surroundings and your abilities in the water.” ![]() “We are saddened to report this death of another visitor,” Kaua’i Police Investigative Services Bureau Acting Capt. She was transported to the Wilcox Medical Center, where she later passed.Īutopsy results are still pending, according to officials. She was rescued from the beach’s lagoon area during the late morning of June 19 when personnel from the Ocean Safety Bureau “spotted a snorkeler in distress,” according to a preliminary report from the Kauai Fire Department.īailey was conscious and alert when first responders arrived at the scene, the Kauai Police Department said. Officials identified the woman, 77, as Judith Bailey. A woman from California died after being pulled from the waters at a popular Kauai beach, making it the third water-related tourist fatality in Hawaii this month. ![]()
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