Oahu lifeguards rescued at least 25 people from the surf on the West side and North Shore on Monday as waves with 30-foot faces were seen at Waimea Bay.
On the West side, lifeguards rescued 15 people and made more than 3,000 preventive
actions, according to Shayne Enright, spokeswoman for the Honolulu Emergency Services Department.
Among the rescued were a family of three — a 40-year-old woman and two children — who were thrown off a boat outside Waianae Boat Harbor after a large wave hit the vessel.
Lifeguards on a Jet Ski responded just after 9 a.m. and brought them to shore, where they were evaluated by an EMS crew but declined transport to an emergency room, Enright said.
Lifeguards also rescued five surfers from Makaha Beach, where surf was described as being 10 to 15 feet, she said.
Enright said the remainder of the rescues were surfers with broken leashes and those who were surprised by the large surf.
On the North Shore, lifeguards rescued a 30-year-old man caught in the current at Waimea Bay. Enright said lifeguards jumped into a huge shorebreak and swam the man, who had been bodyboarding, to an Ocean Safety Jet Ski.
Honolulu EMS responded, but the man declined transport to an emergency room.
Lifeguards had rescued at least 10 people by 4 p.m. Monday and made more than 2,200 preventive actions on the North Shore, with most of those being at Waimea Bay, where the surf rose up with 30-foot faces.
With the beaches still crowded late in the afternoon, many of the North Shore and West side lifeguards were put on overtime to continue to
respond to incidents until
sundown, Enright said.
A high-surf warning was
expected to be in effect until
6 a.m. today for north- and west-facing shores of Niihau, Kauai, Oahu and Molokai and for north-facing shores of Maui, according to the National Weather Service. In addition,
a high-surf advisory was expected to continue until 6 a.m. today for the west-facing shores of Hawaii island.