A Hayward, Calif., couple is suing a Maui snorkeling operator, along with the boat captain and other unnamed defendants, for abandoning them in waters off Lanai while on a snorkelng tour during their 2021 honeymoon.

The complaint against Clark Enterprises dba Sail Maui, dba Paragon Sailing Charters Maui, details a harrowing account of Elizabeth Webster, now 29, and Alexander Burckle, now 34, both chemists, being left behind by the catamaran in the open ocean off Lanai, swimming after the boat in treacherous conditions, then having to swim roughly a half-mile to shore.

The complaint, filed Feb. 21 in U.S. District Court in the District of Hawaii, alleges the crew and the captain failed to do a proper accounting of all its passengers on that Sept. 23, 2021, tour, coming up with two different results during three head counts.

They didn’t realize the couple had not gotten back on board, despite a passenger informing a crew member the pair was still out in the water.

The couple joined the snorkel excursion at Lahaina Harbor, Maui, and the catamaran left at 10 a.m. with a group of 44 passengers, boat captain Patrick Laughlin and three crew members.

About 40 minutes after departure, the Alihilani arrived at the snorkel location off the coast of Lanai, out from the abandoned resort, the Old Club Lanai. Laughlin identified the dive spot as “Club Lanai.”

Douglas Moore, one of two Honolulu attorneys representing the couple, said when they were taken out to the first drop point, they “really weren’t given any kind of time they were supposed to be out there. They were told to snorkel in one particular direction, turn around and catch the waves back to the boat.”

“When they started heading back to the boat, it started sailing away,” he said.

Had they not been “young, athletic and experienced in snorkeling,” they might not have been able to swim to shore, Moore said.

“They were fortunate. They got a break through the coral reef,” he said. “It was pure luck. They could have gotten beat up on the reef. There could have been predatory sharks.”

“Most people who come here have never snorkeled, been in the ocean or even seen the ocean,” said Moore, who has handled many maritime law cases, including a snorkeling death case.

The complaint alleges gross negligence, with defendants displaying a callous disregard of safety procedures and practices, negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress, plaintiffs having to struggle in the open ocean and witnessing their spouse struggle.

The complaint says they were told to swim north and that the prevailing current would bring them back to the boat, and the captain said they would be at the location for about an hour before heading to a second snorkel spot.

Plaintiffs allege neither the captain nor crew mentioned snorkeling boundaries, a specific time to return or what to do in an emergency other than signaling distress.

All 44 passengers got into the water at about 10:50 a.m. Webster was wearing a swimsuit and a sun-protective shirt, while Burckle just wore a swimsuit. They jumped in with their snorkel gear but used the company’s masks.

The waters were relatively calm, about 20 feet deep.

“Plaintiffs swam north into the current as instructed for approximately 45-60 minutes maintaining about 20 ft. water depth,” the complaint says.

At about 11:50 a.m. they had estimated they were in the water for an hour and started to head back.

But the water had gotten turbulent, with 2- to 4-foot waves, and after swimming about 15 minutes, they made little progress, so began swimming more aggressively.

After another 15 minutes the catamaran was farther away, and they were in water 30 to 40 feet deep. They feared they could not get to the vessel on their own, so they began signaling distress and calling for help.

At 12:25 p.m. the water lifeguard corralled what she thought was the last passenger back on board, and the crew prepared to go to the next dive site.

That’s when a passenger told a crew member the couple was “still out in the water further out than where she had been, but the crew member assured her Plaintiffs were already accounted for,” according to her Coast Guard statement, the complaint said.

The first mate first made two head counts, each resulting in a count of 42. On the third try he used a clicker, and reported to the captain 44 were accounted for, but passengers’ statements to the Coast Guard showed they were not made to sit still during the count, and some were wandering above and below deck.

The catamaran departed for the next snorkel site at 12:30 p.m., leaving the two in the open ocean.

They kept swimming toward the vessel and were led into waters 60 to 80 feet deep, with 6- to 8-foot rolling surf, unable to see the shore while in the trough of a wave.

They began to panic and “feared that drowning was imminent,” so they decided they had to swim to shore to survive.

Using the Old Club Lanai as a landmark, they headed straight to shore.

They made it to shore at about 1 p.m., wrote “SOS” and “HELP” in the sand and waved fins and a palm frond at a passing catamaran, but to no avail.

Ten minutes later a Lanai couple driving by saw their signs and stopped to help.

Webster used the residents’ phone to call Sail Maui. The residents drove them to their home in Lanai City. Meanwhile, Sail Maui made arrangements for them to catch a ferry from Manele Bay to Lahaina Harbor, where Don Prestage, president of Sail Maui, returned their belongings to them.

When contacted by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Prestage declined comment on the litigation.

The complaint says the defendants have since changed their roll call protocol and now make vocal contact with each listed passenger before departing.

The Coast Guard determined the captain of the vessel was negligent in performing his duties because he did not uphold company safety procedures, ensuring a proper head count prior to leaving the snorkel site. The case was referred to enforcement, the complaint said.

Moore, who handles maritime cases, said, “Tourism is our major industry. We have to take care of our tourists. It hurts Hawaii. It hurts all of us. … It’s important to let the public know what’s going on.”

He said the couple tried to avoid litigation, but the company did not respond to an initial settlement offer.