IMPORTANT! Hawaii Ocean Safety Tips!
 

Hawaii has the highest drowning rate in the nation. Sadly, many of these casualities are visitors. So here are five important tips to help keep you and your family safe here in Hawaii:

1. Always study the currents and waves before you go out in the water. Notice where the rip currents are, where the waves are breaking, and where any submerged rocks are.

2. The waves in Hawaii vary in size. Several sets of 2-foot waves can be followed by a sudden set of 6-foot waves. So don't assume all waves are alike.

3. Never turn your back to the ocean. When anywhere near the water, always watch the ocean to look for approaching waves. (A big wave can quickly rush up the beach, grab you and pull you in.)

4. Don't assume the waves are safe just because you see some Hawaiian kids body-surfing or swimming in them. Remember, they were raised on these waves. You weren't.

5. When in doubt, don't go out.

Have a safe vacation!

Thanks very much for your tips. We are visiting Hawaii in September and I'll try and remember this. We live in a big city and rarely swim in the ocean so appreciate your warnings.

Kay

I was sitting on a rock in Hawaii on Oahu , the waves splashing well below my feet. Next thing I knew a big roller came in, washed me off the rock scraping my back all the way down, dragged out and then brought me back where someone grabbed my arm and pulled me out. It was a very scary moment. I really feel fortunate to have survived-

The same rules apply to the Oregon coast, sunbum.

When we were there, a group of 5 people were watching the waves. One of them pulled all 5 in. It was in the local news. How sad! Don't know which island.

A local man explained, if you see a large wave, you can dive in trying to wait it out, the problem is, if there is another wave and you get sandwiched in, that's it. The end.

He said, always face the ocean, even coming out of water, walk backwards. Then he added: or do what the locals do, run like hell :D

IMPORTANT! Hawaii Ocean Safety Tips!
 

Hawaii has the highest drowning rate in the nation. Sadly, many of these casualties are visitors. So here are five important tips to help keep you and your family safe here in Hawaii:

1. Always study the currents and waves before you go out in the water. Notice where the rip currents are, where the waves are breaking, and where any submerged rocks are.

2. The waves in Hawaii vary in size. Several sets of 2-foot waves can be followed by a sudden set of 6-foot waves. So don't assume all waves are alike.

3. Never turn your back to the ocean. When anywhere near the water, always watch the ocean to look for approaching waves. A big wave can quickly rush up the beach, grab you and pull you in. (It happens more often than you might think.)

4. Don't assume the waves are safe just because you see some Hawaiian kids body-surfing or swimming in them. Remember, they were raised on these waves. You weren't.

5. When in doubt, don't go out.

Have a safe vacation!

(This is a repost from 2013.)

Good post!

Merged with the original thread

Always a good reminder. We were on Maui a little over a month ago and saw the fire department rescue four people, including a couple of kids, who got too far out in Kapalua Bay and couldn't get back in.

As a Hawai'i native thank you so much for this post! I have noticed hundreds and hundreds of tourists and locals having a life threatening emergency. Some things people fail to realize is that no matter how calm the ocean might seem it can always change in a split second. The current is strong enough to push and pull an entire whale so imagine our human sized bodies. Something I would like to add to this is if you are ever stuck in a current, never swim toward shore. Swim parallel with the shore until you are out of the current completely and then start toward shore. And I second #3 it is one of the first things I learned growing up. NEVER TURN YOUR BACK ON THE OCEAN!

This topic is 10 years old! But of course a good reminder.

Not really, the Mods merged a new thread with the 10 year old one.

Yesterday, a tourist who was snorkeling drowned off Poipu on Kauai.

It's also critical to stick to safe hiking trails. Seeing red "rescue" helicopters is an almost daily occurrence.
If you don't hike steep, slippery trails at home, you probably should not be doing it on vacation--especially wearing flip-flops!

Looking at the ocean to see what's up isn't good enough. You also have to check the surf forecast like surfers do because big waves could arrive at some point during the day. The waves are coming from hundreds or thousands of miles away from storm systems. This is why people get swept off of rocks even though they were sitting there for half an hour and didn't see anything dangerous.