HONOLULU- For many wave riders who headed to the South Shore Tuesday a high surf warning was more like an invitation.
At China Walls in Hawaii Kai dozens tested their limits as waves cresting at 12 to 15 foot faces slammed the jagged point and peeled toward Maunalua Bay.
"It's a dangerous wave out there and if you don't really know the spot then you definitely get into trouble,” said Jordan Kaahaaina, a surfer who lives in the area.
The most powerful swell of the summer generated a high surfing warning that remains in effect until at least 6 a.m. Wednesday. It also tested the mettle of Honolulu fire fighters and lifeguards with the city's Ocean Safety Division.
By 3 p.m. 315 people, the majority of them surfers, had been assisted or rescued from the pounding surf. In anticipation of the swell, the city brought in seven more lifeguards to augment a staff of twenty-three at 16 towers from Ala Moana to Sandy Beach.
"Every other tower on our South Shore is manned with a second person,” said Capt. Paul Merino of the Ocean Safety Division. “That allows us to have someone in the water and someone manning a tower.”
The fire department and city lifeguards were often working in unison to prevent assists from becoming full blown rescues. An HFD chopper gave the rescuers an important bird's eye view.
"They can spot the person in trouble and pin-point us, the jet ski, where to go,” said Honolulu fire captain Todd Hugo, who works out of the Hawaii Kai station.
However some rescues went unreported, including at least one assist at Ala Moana Bowls.
"We rescued someone in the channel,” said surfer Doug Silva. "There were some strong currents and mean double-ups," a reference to the 8 to 12 foot barrels that slammed the entrance to the Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor.
On the Ewa end of Ala Moana Beach Park, the waves were deemed too dangerous for boats leaving Kewalo Basin. The entrance to the harbor was shut down to all traffic by 8:30 a.m. as set waves closed out the channel. Harbor Master Charles Barclay said he would monitor the situation throughout the evening and only reopen the harbor when it was safe for all vessels.
MISSING DIVER
Although there were no major incidents reported along the South Shore Tuesday, the swell may have claimed a victim as the surf began to rise a day earlier.
A man from New York on a scuba tour with the company Island Divers remains unaccounted for after he failed to surface at about 10:15 Monday morning.
The man in his early 20's was diving a half mile offshore of the Waialae-Kahala coast at a site known as Baby Barge when workers on the tour boat reported him missing. The Coast Guard and the fire department continued to search for the man throughout the day Tuesday.
"We always want to hold that hope out," said Honolulu fire captain Terry Seelig. "Our hearts go out to the family and the stress that they're under right now.”
Among non-Hawaii residents ocean drownings are by far the leading cause of injury-related deaths, accounting for 39 percent of all deaths from 2006 to 2010. During that time 136 visitors drowned in ocean waters around Oahu, compared to only 36 motor vehicle fatalities.
The high surf is expected to gradually decline Wednesday, but conditions are likely to remain dangerous.
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