Stranded at sea. That’s what happened to seven divers Wednesday in waters off Chinaman’s Hat, when their 26-foot pontoon boat began taking on water around 11:30am.
"I was diving and when I came up I saw the boat tipping, about to huli," said diver, Lau Tia.
The boat was recently posted for sale on Cragislist and this was the crews last hoorah on board. The divers say they tried to pump out the water, but more was coming in then they could get out.
"So on a swell we were tipping over and listing on its side, just like Titanic hanging on but the boat went over," said diver, Stan Jenkins.
The boat capsized several miles from shore. The group of divers split up in search of help. 2 divers stayed with the boat, another 2 swam to the Kaneohe Sandbar a mile away, and 3 others slowly made their way to Kipapa Island.
"We floated for an hour and a half, we kept waiving all these planes down but man none of these planes seemed to see us," said Tia.
As they were waiting for rescue, another boat also got into trouble. Around 2pm, a 35-foot sailboat ran aground on the rocks off Magic Island after the engine lost power.
"She didn’t have enough time to raise her mast or throw out an anchor and unfortunately she ended up on the rocks," said Meghan Statts, DLNR Division of Boating.
"It was kind of scary to see somebody was on a boat that was getting knocked around by the waves," said Beth Becker, who witnessed the accident.
Two people were on board including a dog – all were able to climb off the sailboat onto the rocks. The owner was taken to the hospital with non serious injuries.
Meanwhile, after spending 4 hours on the water, the crew of 7 divers finally found help from a passing boater.
"Tired, I’m more hungry than tired, yeah," said Tia.
The Honolulu Fire Department and a response team from Marine Corps Base Hawaii brought the group safely to shore.
"That’s the main thing that everyone gets to go home safely to their families yeah," said Jenkins.
A company has been called in to remove the sail boat off Magic Island, which could take several days. The owner of the pontoon boat in Kaneohe bay, went out late Wednesday afternoon hoping to salvage his vessel.
See the original article at: KHON2 Local News
