Comments for Scarsdale Mourns Tyler Madoff at http://www.scarsdale10583.com , comment 1 to 1 out of 1 comments http://www.scarsdale10583.com Tue, 21 May 2013 09:26:02 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.scarsdale10583.com/201207102579/people/scarsdale-mourns-tyler-madoff.html#comment-5113 I live above the Kealakekua Bay area and saw strong waves crashing on the shore that particular morning. Especially in the area where the accident happened--outside of the actual calm bay. Nobody should climb into a tide pool in these conditions and the local guides should have taken extra precautions to warn the group to stay away from the edges of the cliff! This is an area where a few years back a twelve year old was swept away while fishing from the rocks with his father. A tracking dog got a scent a few hundred feet inland from underneath the ground. The body was or could never be retrieved. There are lava caves leading deep under the water line to the sea, as well as open lava tubes into the sea floor. The massive wave action constantly pushes and sucks out the water through the cavities. The rocks are young sharp lava, sea urchin covered, and lose boulders are swirling around. No place to go near. Every year local folks get injured or die in these tide pools trying to collect tasty edible mussels (opihi). Even strong men and good swimmers can't fight against these waves and one gets flung against rock and loses consciousness. But I put most responsibility on the DLNR. An accident like this was bound to happen for years. Kealakekua Bay is a top tourist destination on this island. Kayaking over to the area where the accident happened, the Captain Cook Memorial, is part of many tourists island visit. Plus seeing the dolphins frequently hanging out in the calm bay. Kealakekua Bay has a single kayak launching site and this is on state land, regulated by the DLNR (Dept of Land & Natural Resources). No legal kayak rental shops exist in the small hamlet, but plenty illegals. There are absolutely no commercial activities allowed at the pier, yet no supervision or enforcement, no warnings of wave conditions, no flyers or info where to go and where not are being posted. No life jacket check, boat safety inspection, emergency procedures instruction given. No ranger in sight. Yet every day flotillas of kayaks cross the calm bay, unlicensed vendors (often beer drinking, pot smoking) hawk their boats from pickup trucks to tourists. They can not see or help if someone gets into trouble. Even that this particular company may have had a permit to kayak and even land at the other side of the bay (Kaawaloa), there should have been warnings of high surf been given. Warnings to stay on the trails. Or simply all landing operations being suspended and also enforced for the day. But everyone at the launching pier knows that nobody got ever busted for what they were doing day-in, day-out. Tyler is close to where Captain Cooks and King Kamehamehas body is buried. A pristine, beautiful yet sometimes dangerous place on this earth. I hope that this boys passing gives pressure to the DLNR to do their job at Kealakekua Bay, because they certainly don't do it now. - Joachim Oster Tue, 10 Jul 2012 09:46:22 +0100