Seventeen-year-old Kahiau Kawai was found treading water and clinging to his surfski kayak in the ocean, 11.5 hours after becoming separated from his high school paddling team, capsizing in high winds and losing his paddle.
Kawai was reported missing at 7:30pm on Wednesday, October 16th, 2024 when his paddling team realized he was no longer with the group and immediately called 911.
Beginning the search for missing Kahiau Kawai
Search and rescue efforts began immediately. Interagency communication was established between the US Coast Guard Honolulu, Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point, Honolulu Emergency Medical Services, and another of other agencies and rescue services.
“I just want to emphasize this was a total team effort. We could not have done this without the expertise, planning, and professionalism of all of our partners,” shared Nick Iannarone, Lieutenant Commander from the United States Coast Guard in a press conference.
At 4:03 am on Thursday morning a half mile offshore of Diamond Head, crews from the Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point in a MH-65 Dolphin helicopter and HC-130 Hercules airplane located the surfski kayak with Kawai clinging to the boat, and deployed a series of flares to mark his position offshore.
Off-duty lifeguard Noland Keaulana pulls Kawai from water with help from air team
On October 16th, 2024 Noland Keaulana, an off-duty lifeguard with 16 years of experience with Honolulu Ocean Safety as well as Polynesian voyager and waterman, received a text from his wife and learned the child of a friend was missing at sea. Keaulana went out and began what he estimates to be a hundred-mile search in a zig-zag pattern.
“I knew last night I wouldn’t be able to sleep,” Keaulana said in a press conference. “I’m a father, knowing there’s a kid out there.”
In the early hours of Thursday, October 17th Keaulana communicated with the air team who had spotted Kawai clinging to his boat by the moonlight. The air team gave Keaulana direction to Kawai’s location via flares.
“I’m just thankful the kid is alive. The whole night was an emotional night,” Keaulana said. “I was expecting the worst, then I saw his head up next to the kayak.”
Keaulana found 17-year-old Kawai hanging onto the sides of his right-side-up surfski kayak by each gunnel. Kawai was treading water with his legs behind the surfski, using it as a kick board to try and make his way back to shore.
According to Keaulana, Kawai saw helicopters go by but thought no one had seen him. He told Keaulana that he was fine and okay, but worried about his mom.
Conditions when Kawai was rescued according to Keaulana’s estimation were 25 knot winds gusting to 30 knots from the east-northeast with six-foot seas. A small craft advisory was in effect.
“It was such a pleasure to be able to call his mom as she’s crying on the phone and say ‘hey, we found him and he’s okay’,” said Nick Iannarone.
EMS was dispatched as soon as Keaulana made contact with Kawai, who was hypothermic and severely dehydrated but awake, alert and talking. Kawai was then transported to the local emergency room.
After the rescue, Kahiau Kawai attends school kayak race
Just three days after his rescue, Kahiau Kawai attended the championship kayaking race of the season to support his Kamehameha School teammates. His team took home first and second place for the first time that season.
“I just kept thinking to myself, Kahiau was out in the ocean for 12 hours. One minute of this race is nothing compared to that,” shared one of Kawai’s winning teammates on Hawaii News Now, Kawai grinning beside him. “Kahiau can.”
Soooo where was the coach when the kid got separated from the rest of the team? The article does not seem to mention this. Also, typically when someone gets separated during a training session this means the team was not looking out. They called 911 after time had passed. This is a situation where the lifeguard saw the kid after he had been in the water for 12 hours! If this were a bunch of people paddling together in a recreational context ok maybe. However, this was a team of athletes training that were supposed to be supervised by a professional. The athletes themselves should have been more attentive to what was going on and not left their team mate. This report is glossing over the facts that can be clearly seen. While it was a good thing the kid was found it sounds as if there is quite a lot amiss with this situation.
I agree with comments. Sounds like the boy had good knowledge of water conditions. I would also ask why were the young athletes not wearing PFD’s. If the conditions had deteriorated it could have been a very different ending. If he could see helicopters above him, why did the search lights, infra red, not pick him out sooner?
In addition to the last comment I am curious as to why an off duty lifeguard could take the time to preform a search 12 hours later and the kids team mates and coach could not seam to preform a search at the first moment the kid was missing??
This is a failure of leadership and some poor management of both athletes and safety.
This oversight caused Coast Guard resources to have to be used as well as an off duty lifeguard’s personal time.
There seems to be no comment from the coach or the athletes and this publication is not asking them the real question that needs to be asked. Where was the accountability at the team
Level and where was the actual safety.
Glossing over the fact that people in the direct leadership role failed to do their jobs is unacceptable. Everyone else seemed worried about the kid but those most culpable seem to not even be bothered.
Where is the comment from
The school principal? Where is the comment from the athletic director? To be frank honest and fair the coach, athletic director and principal should be held accountable here and instead of letting everyone else clean up the mess they need to do their freakin job!!
12 hours later an off duty has to save this coaches athlete??? The Coast Guard is getting called??? For real?
What was the coach doing in the 11 hours leading up to that point was he or she out in a kayak looking for the kid?
This entire story reeks of negligence to the most infinite degree.
Where is the part of the story that tells us that the coach lost his or her job? Where is the part of the story that shows the principal sitting everyone down and having a conversation on accountability of one’s teammates.
The reason this garbage happens in the United States is because the national federation is so poor and lacks needed certification and training for coaches.
While the American Canoe Association has its general written propaganda on the subject of surf ski actually finding courses to certify leadership does not truly exist.
This is what happens when organizations are more concerned with getting donations and the false narrative associated with diversity, equality and inclusion than they are about what is required to functionally manage a sport organization.
This type of situation is to be expected in the U.S. because from the top down the leadership fails.
I say for paddlingmag.com to not gloss over the facts here and dig deeper.
If the community based organizations that exist to involve youth in sport are this deficient then there needs to be a full out inquiry as to why???
I say to have the American Canoe Association stop worrying about how many of what type person exist to pay dues to fill the organizations coffers and start doing what is required to make sure those tasked with leading sport programs at all levels have the adequate training and understanding on how to do so properly.
While this situation was resolved without fatality it could have gone the other way.
This entire situation could have been avoided.
I am shocked, appalled and personally disappointed and disgusted when I read an account of this nature.
The situation always looks more clear to the armchair quarterback on Monday morning. Once they discovered someone was missing the coach’s first responsibility was to ensure the safety of the rest of the team, whilst calling in the professional services of the Coast Guard for the missing kid. If the team was already weak enough to fail, it would’ve been irresponsible to keep a bunch of training-exhausted kids out longer to run a search pattern. Other than the faulty decisions to launch an under-strength team in the first place, the coach seems to have fulfilled this responsibility. The Coast Guard is there to provide professional rescue function. I’m sure if you asked any Coast Guard operative, they would say don’t hesitate to call and call sooner rather than later, so shaming others against calling on them is inappropriate.
You ask why the coach or coaches then didn’t turn right back around and paddle out to look for the missing kid themself(ves). “Abandoning” the rest of the team onshore it may have been irresponsible – even reckless – to paddle back out as darkness approaches after an exhausting day, alone and unsupported. I appreciate the lifeguard’s intentions to go out and look for the kid, and applaud that he evidently had radio communication capability with the Coast Guard, but again, was this a reckless move to go out alone, in the dark, off-shore in stiff winds and 6 foot seas? A more coordinated effort would’ve been more reasonable. This easily could’ve been a disaster for more than just the kid involved.
All that being said, in hind sight it does look like the group was under-prepared for their mission – combined with a lapse in leadership decisions. Obviously, there weren’t enough responsible eyes in the group to keep track of everyone and provide rescue support. Why weren’t there more and better experienced coach assistants, a powered safety boat, or at least an organized buddy system? Or, given the conditions, why it was decided to go ahead and launch the group without adequate support? And why was the Administration of the program allowed to run without well established policies for safety and risk assessment? That’s the view from this armchair.