A 17-year-old kayaker was rescued after spending nearly 10 harrowing hours adrift in the Pacific Ocean off Honolulu last week.
The incident, which began as a routine high school paddling team practice, quickly escalated into a large-scale search and rescue operation involving multiple agencies.
The teenager became separated from his group approximately half a mile south of the Sheraton Waikiki Beach Resort at about 6:30 p.m. The situation was exacerbated by the fact that the young paddler had capsized on a 20-foot surf ski and was not wearing a life jacket, raising serious concerns for his safety.
U.S. Coast Guard Sector Honolulu sprang into action upon receiving notification from the Honolulu Fire Department at 7:27 p.m. Wednesday. The response was swift and comprehensive, with watchstanders issuing an urgent maritime information broadcast and deploying multiple assets, including an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter, an HC-130 Hercules airplane, and a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium.
The search continued through the night, with various agencies joining forces to locate the missing teen.
At 4:03 a.m. Thursday, after hours of intense searching, the airplane crew spotted the kayak with the teenager clinging to it. In a stroke of fortune, a nearby good Samaritan boater – an off-duty lifeguard with the Honolulu Ocean Safety Department – was directed to the location, marked by a flare deployed by the search team.
The rescue culminated at 5:25 a.m. when the off-duty lifeguard transported the exhausted teen to Emergency Medical Services personnel at Ala Wai Harbor. The teen was treated for injuries and hypothermia before being rushed to an area emergency room in serious but stable condition.
The incident serves as a powerful reminder of the ocean’s unpredictability and the critical importance of safety measures when in open waters, regardless of skill level.
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