Enjoy Kauai’s Beaches Safely

In six minutes you can learn how to enjoy Kauai’s beautiful beaches safely, thanks to a brand new water safety video that plays on a continuous loop in both of Lihue Airport’s baggage claim areas and on YouTube at Kauai Water Safety Video.

“Since 1990, 200 people have drowned in our oceans; 150 of them have been visitors,” says Dr. Monty Downs, an emergency room physician who knows only too well how heartbreaking it is to let families know that one of their loved ones has drowned while on vacation. “Our beaches are beautiful. We want everyone to know how to enjoy them safely.”

Kauai’s ocean conditions are different than many people have ever experienced before, and can change in moments, cautions Downs, who is also president of the Kauai Lifeguard Association. “In some locations, the ocean can appear calm, but huge sets of waves that come in 30-minute intervals from the Aleutian Islands are on their way and you can be caught in a living Hell.”

Downs recommends swimming only at Kauai’s lifeguarded beaches. “However, only 10 of our 75 beaches are have lifeguards and Kauai is the Island of Discovery, so we are realistic and know that people are going to also swim other places,” he says. Therefore, Downs recommends educating yourself about ocean conditions:

• Visit www.kauaiexplorer.com for current ocean conditions, updated daily.
• Familiarize yourself with how to use the 200 Rescue Tubes located on beaches across the island, including much of the non-lifeguarded shoreline.
• Learn what to do if you are caught in a rip current. Visit www.kauaiexplorer.com and click on Rip Currents the right hand side of the page for step-by-step instructions of how to save yourself if you area caught in a rip current.

Downs dedicated the airport water safety video to the memory of people who have drowned on Kauai “and to those who won’t, thanks to our water safety efforts.”

The water safety video that plays in Lihue Airport baggage claim areas was sponsored by the Rotary Club of Kapaa, Kauai Lifeguard Association, Dupont Pioneer, Wala’au and KVIC.