Kahiau Kawai said he was “scared” after losing his oar, but came up with a plan to help himself survive
Kahiau Kawai, a 17-year-old kayaker rescued by an off-duty lifeguard off the coast of Hawaii after being lost at sea for almost 12 hours, begins to talk about his terrible experience.
According to a U.S. Coast Guard release, the teenager was rescued on Thursday, Oct. 17, after he was separated from his school’s rowing team the evening before when his kayak capsized half a mile south of the Sheraton Waikiki Beach Resort in Honolulu.
Kawai, who was not wearing a life jacket when he entered the water, told ABC affiliate KITV that he “freaked out” after he lost his paddle and night fell. When he failed to attract the attention of a nearby boat, the teenager came up with a plan.
“At one point I knew I wouldn’t really be able to fight the current, so I just tried to relax and stay calm,” Kawai told CNN.
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According to Kawai, it was a cold night in the water. “I was shaking all the time,” the teen told KITV. To help him get through it, Kawai said, “I actually thought about what it would be like if the sun came up and it was like shining on my skin.”
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At one point, Kawai saw helicopters hovering nearby. “I saw them get to a certain point a few times, but they didn’t get as far as me, and that scared me a little,” the teenager recalls.
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Finally the flare went off. Shortly thereafter, Kawai connected with Noland Keaulana, a family friend who also worked for 16 years at the Department of Ocean Safety in Honolulu.
“I was happy to see a familiar face,” Kawai told Hawaii News Now. “Uncle Noland is a great waterman.”
According to the Coast Guard, Kawai “was in serious but stable condition” when an off-duty lifeguard “rescued the boy from the water.”
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The teenager “was treated for injuries and hypothermia” upon arrival at Ala Wai Port and was later “taken to a local emergency room.” He was released from the hospital on Saturday, October 19, according to CNN.
Kawai is proud of himself for surviving this life-threatening ordeal. “I didn’t know I could handle something like this on this scale,” Kawai told CNN, “and this situation showed me that I could.”
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