A lifeguard on the North Shore of Oahu is to raise concerns about the potential consequences of ocean-safety officers generally not working before 9 a.m. or after 5:30 p.m. under their current contracts.
Freddy Booth posted a pair of聽long comments this week after a a 53-year-old visitor from Maryland drowned around 6 p.m. Sunday at Waimea Bay.
The deceased聽was identified as Scott Orbach. Bystanders brought him ashore and then Honolulu firefighters took over resuscitation efforts. Waves were reportedly triple overhead at the time, and a high surf warning was in effect.
“A lot of Lifeguards are not the type to complain. Most of us are humble and thankful, appreciating the simple things in life and doing the best with what we have to work with,” Booth wrote in a post Tuesday on Instagram.
“However there is a serious problem people don’t see. Our lineups, and our beaches are growing nonstop with both locals and tourists alike. Secret spots are not secret anymore, and spots that never needed towers are in desperate need nowadays,” he told .
“Did you know that most Lifeguards don’t start work until 9am and finish at 530pm. Most of us get a full surf in before work and a full session after. That means so is everyone else. Two of the most beautiful and crucial times of day for our residents and visitors to be at the beach go by unwatched and unprotected.”
The notion聽of expanding lifeguards’ hours to cover dawn and dusk is being discussed, but there hasn’t been much movement on it yet.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an idea that we鈥檙e thinking about, but we鈥檙e not there yet,鈥 Honolulu Ocean Safety spokeswoman Shayne Enright said in a recent interview. 鈥淎nytime you can have a lifeguard on scene dramatically increases one鈥檚 chance of survival.鈥
Civil Beat published a five-part series in January that explored why visitors die in Hawaii, including a close look at ocean safety聽and the unique waters in the islands.
Read the full series here.
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Nathan Eagle is a deputy editor for Civil Beat. You can reach him by email at neagle@civilbeat.org or follow him on Twitter at , Facebook and Instagram .