Rescuers saved lives at Queen’s Bath; please honor the locked gate
Rescuers saved lives at Queen’s Bath; please honor the locked gate
Mahalo to The Garden Island for your excellent write-up (Monday 1/16/21) of the phenomenal rescue of three young people that took place on the treacherous sea cliffs at Queen’s Bath, the preceding Saturday.
Conversations with witnesses have added quite a bit more detail about what took place and, therefore, this additional letter, which praises the skills and courage of our Air 1 helicopter pilots, our search-and-rescue personnel and firefighters.
The skill and courage involved with lowering a Billy Pugh basket with a rescuer in it to people stranded on a cliff being battered by powerful ocean swells was amazing.
Our outstanding county lifeguards also merit our appreciation as they sped to the scene on the Hanalei jet ski. Fortunately, they had the experience and wisdom to determine that entering the area with the ski would only have exacerbated the crisis. They made one of the hardest-but-wisest choices a professional rescuer often faces, and that is to stand down until the rescuer with the proper equipment (in this case Air 1) arrives. What a great team.
The entire community rejoices in the successful outcome and is grateful to the rescue crew for sparing us the agony of having one or more teenagers killed (not to mention the danger to our rescuers).
Your article mentioned that the gate to Queen’s Bath is locked at this time of year but thrill-seekers often find their way around it. We once again implore the public to honor the locked gate.
Laola (Lake) Aea, Kalaheo; president of the Kaua‘i Lifeguard Association
Well said. It would help if all of the people that decide to ignore closures of any kind (hiking, ocean, etc.) and have to be rescued as a result get a bill for the full reimbursement of taxpayer funds for the rescue on top of a fine. You can’t fix stupid, but you can make stupid decisions less attractive.
YUCALJOE……thank you… it’s the only comment that was needed. Unfortunately the rescues will continue because “you can’t fix stupid, but you can make stupid decisions more attractive”.
I agree with your praise for the brave, highly skilled rescuers. But what about the three young people ? Were they cited and charged with trespassing? If not, why not? And were their parents given the bill for their rescue? Again if not, why not? When you knowing violate the law, locals and tourists alike, and put others at risk, there needs to be consequences. Otherwise we will just keep reading these same stories over and over again, except sometimes with tragic consequences. If the young people were cited and charged and their parents had to pay an expensive bill, I believe word would get and these needless, dangerous and expensive rescues would not have to happen in the first place. Illegal acts have consequences.
Being a lifelong ocean athlete and elite player comes with important responsibilities as mentioned in the article so let’s give big MAHALOS TO ALL OUR LIFEGUARDS….