① Story of a Couple on their Honeymoon in Hawaii
Hawaii is a popular honeymoon destination. Newlyweds favor it for its emerald beaches, beautiful nature, shopping, sightseeing, and relaxation all in one place. Hawaii’s clear and clean ocean makes it an ideal destination for enjoying marine activities. If you love the sea, you can enjoy water sports to your heart’s content in Hawaii.
One of the activities that many visitors to Hawaii partake in is snorkeling. It offers the opportunity to explore the underwater world while swimming. It’s a highly satisfying activity that allows you to gaze into the mysterious underwater world. To snorkel, most people take a boat out to sea. The further you get from the city, the clearer and cleaner the underwater view becomes.
While the underwater world is beautiful, imagine how terrifying it would be to realize you’re alone while snorkeling. Most tourists would think such a thing would never happen to them.
However, the vast ocean stranded a U.S. newlywed couple while snorkeling in Hawaii. The couple, who experienced an unthinkable situation, shared their terrifying memories, sparking widespread discussion. Let’s take a look at what happened in Hawaii.
② Abandoned in the Ocean While Snorkeling
According to U.S. broadcaster NBC and British daily The Guardian, Elizabeth Webster and Alexander Buckel, a couple from California, have filed a lawsuit against a local tour company for damages of $5 million.
The couple went on a honeymoon to Hawaii in September 2021. They participated in a coastal snorkeling tour. Due to a mistake by the crew of Sail Maui, the company operating the tour, they were left stranded in the ocean. The couple set sail from Lahaina Harbor with 42 other passengers at 10 a.m. They should return around 3 p.m. after snorkeling as per the original plan.
After setting sail, the captain told the passengers to snorkel. The boat was scheduled to stay for about an hour when passengers could snorkel. The couple also tried to return to the boat after snorkeling, but the waves became rough, preventing them from reaching the boat on time. Despite swimming for about 15 minutes to get back to the boat, they could not reach it.
The couple stated, “The waves were rough, and we swam as hard as we could for 15 minutes to get back to the boat, but it was further away than the last time we checked.” It was around 12:20 p.m. at the time. The couple’s attorney claimed that the tour company did not specify how far passengers could snorkel.
They also alleged that the company did not assign a dedicated rescue team or establish rules for moving in pairs. The boat crew checked the number of passengers three times but did not restrict movement inside the boat, leading to difficulties in accurately counting the number of passengers.
Jessica Herbert, a resident of Louisiana who participated in the same tour, said in an interview, “It was chaotic, and the crew could not properly count the number of passengers due to everyone moving around.” The couple’s attorney stated, “According to our findings, they were short by two when they first counted the number of passengers, and they were still short by two when they counted the second time.”
The attorney further revealed that the crew, mistakenly believing all passengers were accounted for during the third count, moved to a different location.
③ Suing the Local Company for Damages
The couple, realizing that the boat had left and was not likely to return, experienced extreme terror. To survive, they swam approximately 1 mile to reach the beach of Lanai Island. It was around 1 p.m. when the couple got to the beach. They were exhausted and carved ‘HELP’ ‘SOS’ in the sand. It was like a scene straight out of a disaster movie. Fortunately, they could use their cell phones and sought help from island residents, enabling them to return safely.
Webster and Burckle said, “During safety training, they told us not to swim towards the shallow reefs near Lanai Island, so we were worried about our decision to head to the beach.” The U.S. Coast Guard investigated the local company. While the company stated that they changed their passenger counting procedure, they refused to comment on the ongoing lawsuit.
By. Kim Min-jae (minjaaie33@mememedia.co.kr)
Most Commented