I am sure someone has already pointed this out but the dougherty books do point out that Hawaii is the drowning capital of at least North America.

You are right about the airlines, the tourist board should warn people. Having said that, I was hiking the Kalalau trail summer before last. There was a huge sign that warned against falling rocks past a certain point. PLAIN VIEW and would'nt you know most hikers even families with kids just ignored it. EVEN AFTER I TOLD THEM ABOUT the horrific rock falling accidents that can happen in Hawaii.

It is certainly not the responsibility if either the airlines or the Hawaii Tourism Authority to warn people of dangers. One provides transportation, the other is essentially a marketing organization. It is the responisbiliity of the state and counties who maintain the beaches, and they do post clear, concise warnings. The state of Hawaii has specially designed beach warning signs that could not be any clearer. I see people ignoring warnings, walking right past red flags, swimming where it is posted to be unsafe.

These signs are fairly self-explantary:
http://planet-hawaii.com/spot/Beach_...ch_signs.shtml

http://www.theinsider.com/Aloha/Photos/HapunaDanger.htm

Hi, all,

I think the numbers given for drownings are for all drownings (including pools and bathtubs), not just beach drownings.

On the number of beach drownings per year, the number seems to be a lot lower than I thought.

The U.S. Lifesaving Association reports 72 beach drownings for 2004 -- 9 at guarded beaches, 63 at unguarded beaches.

http://www.usla.org/Statistics/current.asp?Statistics=5

That says a lot, huh?

Anyway, I'm not a very strong swimmer, but I do go out in the water (only on a well-guarded beach). Everyone says that you should swim parallel to shore if you get sucked out. To me, that's not the biggest problem. I'd like to know the very best thing to do when you find yourself getting tired. Float on one's back?

Cindy

This tells a different story:

http://www.aloha.com/~lifeguards/drownings93_97.html

From 1993 to 1997 there were 238 drownings in the state of Hawaii in ocean or saltwater environments.

Here today gone to Maui:

I don't think you need to get hung up on responsiblity. A number of countries will post warnings of hazards on the plane. I think this is what Kakelena is talking about, and if you still want to argue who should be doing this the tourism board in Hawaii is a state office. Who cares who responsiblity it is what if it saves lives?

My point was that the state is already clearly posting warnings. If a red flag and a large sign on the beach does not cause people to stop and consider the dangers, I doubt seriously that a pamphlet handed out on the plane will do much more. Have you ever been on an international flight where they hand out Customs info? If passengers actually paid attention to these things we'd have a lot less surprise travelers at customs.

If Hawaii Tourism and/or the airlines are going to warn people about the dangers of the ocean, they should also warn people of the possibility of robbery, car accidents, prostitution, and drugs, all of which are hazards that people face in Hawaii. And if they are going to warn about the danger of the ocean in Hawaii they should also do the same for Florida, California, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, etc. etc.

Makes no sense. Heretodaygone2Maui, thanks for your insight and advice.

This is what Florida is doing...

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/South/04/....ap/index.html

Hawaii NEEDS to put one of those "Sudden Drop Off" signs at Hapuna. I had no warning whatsoever.

I understand what you're saying here_today_gone2Maui. Drowning is the last thing on a tourist's mind when they're going to vacation in Hawaii. They're thinking about beaches, palm trees and paradise. It might take a lot to break through that mindset for lots of people.

Thanks for the article kkraczek. Very pro-active approach in Florida. Although I'm sure it's not a perfect system, they're trying to do something. It may be motivated by hotel insurance carriers. One of the women said the ocean safety pamphlet was mixed in with menus in the room and the family wasn't warned adequately.

Rusty, you're right. When it comes down to it, everyone is responsible for his or her safety and for that of their families - no matter the hazard, no matter the State.

I generally look at safety in terms of risk. With millions of tourists coming to the islands each year, the risk is very, very small that one of them will drown. As someone else said here, some people think it is natural selection hard at work. It doesn't make it any less sad for that boy.

I don't have a solution but it seems like just hearing that story about the Illinois couple has made a few people here think about their own safety and that of their family's when they come to Hawaii.

On any beach where there is a lifeguard, that is the beachgoers' information source. Lifeguards are not only there to save you once you're in trouble. We make it a practice to talk to the lifeguard as soon as we arrive at the beach (in San Diego). They know if there are any rip currents that day and if so where they are. They're happy to talk to you. The more informed and aware the people on the beach are, the less likely it is that the lifeguards will have to risk their lives saving your's.

Unfortunately, in Hawaii, many beaches do not have lifeguards and so tourists possibly think they're "safe", especially if they don't live near the ocean and are unaware of the power of the water.

>>especially if they don't live near the ocean and are unaware of the power of the water.<<

But do they live in a secluded hole somewhere? Come on!!! I don't live next to Mount Everest, but just by looking at it, I think I could figure out that I shouldn't just hiking it!

We see people on the rocks here all the time, slippery rocks and big waves. I have to believe they really don't understand how powerful the ocean is, they think it would be like someone splashing you at a pool or something similar. Either that or they're too stupid to be out on their own.

Re: This is what Florida is doing

(As copied from the article

The Florida Health Department began a beach safety investigation after the June 8 deaths. Its report has not been released, but West saw a draft that included a survey taken of beach visitors on a red flag day. Sixty percent who knew what the flag meant admitted going into the water anyway.

"That's a really scary figure," West said. "That says it doesn't matter what we do in the way of prevention, 60 percent of 1.4 million visitors could drown."

**

Ha! People are obviously invincible! Like teenagers!

RIP
roxy

God, where'd that smily face come from in my post? Sorry. Accident.

love
roxy

islandmom: I was extremely offended by your posting of 4/03/2004, 06:15 pm! Your question regarding "what kind of parents are these?" was very hurtful! Terry and Debbie Hantack were the two most caring and giving individuals you would ever hope to have the privilege of knowing. It really serves no purpose to pass judgement on others when you have absolutely no personal knowledge of them or the tragic situations they have encountered during their lives. I truly hope that I am the only family member or friend to have stumbled upon your insensitive comments.

my deep felt condolences and sympathy to you howdy, and your friends and family...many on this board feel the depth of this tragedy...and only hope to educate...best wishes to their beautiful child, may he remember his parents as wonderful adventurers with a zest for life.

Any news on the girl who went missing recently while surfing on Oahu ?

Last I heard they think she either had a siezer or it was a shark. Something tore the cord at some point.

what the f Islandmom???????????????????how could you possibly dismiss Howdy????????????????????????? HELLO ISLANDMOM!!!!wake up....you have some hard facts to reckon with............stand up and speak up, how dare you ignore the post from howdy............................................. .................................................. ...........................