LIHU‘E — A shipment of the latest Official Kaua‘i Beach Guide was recently delivered to the Office of Economic Development and the Kaua‘i Fire Department and are available to the public at no cost, a county news release states. “We
LIHU‘E — A shipment of the latest Official Kaua‘i Beach Guide was recently delivered to the Office of Economic Development and the Kaua‘i Fire Department and are available to the public at no cost, a county news release states.
“We urge all visitor accommodations, car rental companies and anyone else that deal with visitors on a regular basis to contact us and arrange to pick up the ocean safety brochures,” said Kalani Vierra, head of the Ocean Safety Bureau, noting that the brochures contain valuable information on lifeguarded beaches, rip currents, important safety tips and more.
“We’ll even deliver the brochures to businesses that are unable to pick them up,” he said.
“Although Kaua‘i has some of the most magnificent beaches in the world, there are potential dangers in our ocean environment. That’s why it’s so important that we all do our part to spread the word about ocean safety, especially to our visitors,” Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. said in the release.
The mayor said he will be meeting with members of the Kaua‘i Water Safety Task Force and others in February to talk about what else can be done to reach out to visitors.
“The task force along with other groups and individuals has done a lot over the years to increase water safety awareness on Kaua‘i and I look forward to discussing new ideas with them,” Carvalho said.
Among the projects spearheaded by the task force are: placement of rescue tubes at various non-guarded beaches; the Kaua‘i Beach Guide; banners at the Lihu‘e Airport that say “Enjoy Kaua‘i‘s Beaches – Always swim near a lifeguard – when in doubt, don’t go out”; and bookmarks with the same message.
In addition, the task force has collaborated with the Ocean Safety Bureau, Kaua‘i Ocean Rescue Council, Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau, the Office of Economic Development and Wasabi Marketing Elements on several initiatives including: a web-based, daily ocean report with information on current ocean conditions and warnings that can be downloaded and printed via www.kauaiexplorer.com; Water Awareness Visitor Education, a program designed to help front-line hotel employees with providing critical life-saving information to visitors; and full-page ads in car rental magazines that alert visitors to the potential dangers of the ocean and point to various informational resources available to them.
The latest ocean safety initiative, Kaua‘i Beach Guardian, was launched last November by the Kaua‘i Lifeguard Association in partnership with Dr. Monty Downs, a long-time Kaua‘i resident and ocean safety advocate.
The program provides free training in basic lifeguard skills, including how to use the rescue tubes that are available at 17 beaches across the island and CPR/First Aid training.
“The workshops are designed for volunteers who are willing to provide assistance when an emergency arises,” said Vierra, noting that the workshops held in Hanalei and Kealia drew a fair amount of participants.
The next workshop will be held at Po‘ipu Beach Park from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Jan. 30, and is limited to 20 participants.
“The Ocean Safety Bureau has a great program and we are saving lives, but there’s only so much our county lifeguards can do — especially when visitors go to beaches without lifeguards,” said Vierra.
Next month, the county will be adding five new lifeguard trainees to the Ocean Safety Bureau staff, bringing the total number of county lifeguards to 45.
In August, the 2010 state Drowning Prevention and Ocean Safety Conference will be held on Kaua‘i in conjunction with the Junior Lifeguard State Championships.
To register for the Kaua‘i Beach Guardian workshop, contact John Tyler via e-mail at john@alohacpr.com or by calling 635-7062.
For information on how to obtain the Official Kaua‘i Beach Guide, call the Office of Economic Development at 241-4946 or the Ocean Safety Bureau at 241-4984 or 241-4980.
