Drownings in
Hawaii are all too
common. Waves can
sweep in from two
thousand miles of open
ocean onto beaches
magnificent to look at
but unprotected by any
reef. Not all beaches
have lifeguards and
warning flags;
unattended beaches are
not necessarily safe.
Watch the sea
carefully before going
in, and never take
your eyes off it
thereafter. Fierce
rogue
waves can appear
from the blue to drag
waders - or even those
walking along the
shore - far out to sea
in seconds, and
powerful
undertows
may not be detectable
until too late. If you
do get swept out,
don't fight the big
waves; wait for the
current to die down
before trying to swim
back to shore.
Sea creatures to
avoid include black
spiky sea urchins, Portuguese
man-of-war jellyfish
, and coral in
general, which can
give painful infected
cuts. Shark attacks
are much rarer than
popular imagination
suggests; those that
do occur are usually
due to
"misunderstandings,"
such as surfers idling
on their boards
looking a bit too much
like turtles from
below.
Ocean fun
The nation that
invented surfing
- long before the
whites came -
remains its greatest
arena. The sport was
popularized early in
the twentieth
century by Olympic
swimmer Duke
Kahanamoku, using a
20ft board; these
days most are around
six feet. Smaller boogie
boards make an
exhilarating
initiation. Windsurfing
, too, is rapidly
growing, often using
the same favorite
beaches, usually on
the north shore of
each island. Snorkeling
and diving
are top-quality,
although Hawaii's coral
has fewer brilliant
hues than those in
warmer equatorial
waters.
