California newlyweds ABANDONED during a snorkeling trip on their Hawaiian honeymoon forced to swim h

[Elderberry]

Daily Mail by Stephen M. Lepore 3/5/2023

California newlyweds ABANDONED during a snorkeling trip on their Hawaiian honeymoon forced to swim half a mile to shore and write 'SOS' in the sand: Tour company sued for $5M after miscounting boat passengers

•   Alexander Burckle and Elizabeth Webster booked the trip for September 2021

•   They were 'left behind by the company while snorkeling in choppy waters'

•   The California couple are suing for $5million claiming they feared they would drown on the half-mile swim to the nearest island of Lanai near Maui, Hawaii

A Hawaii tour company is being sued for $5million because a couple claims they were left marooned in the ocean during one of the company's snorkeling trips.

Alexander Burckle and Elizabeth Webster, from Oakland, California, booked the experience with Maui Sail Company for Lanai, a tiny island near Maui, in September of 2021 as a honeymoon.

They went on the 10am expedition from Lahaina Harbor in Maui with 42 other passengers - and were told that the boat would anchor for an hour while they swam into the ocean.

But they soon got caught up in turbulent, 'choppy' water' and were unable to make their way back to the boat - after 15 minutes of struggling against the waves. The boat then deserted them - and the pair were left to swim half a mile back to safety.

'They feared that drowning was imminent,' the couple claimed in their lawsuit against Maui Sail.

The couple desperately tried to stay afloat but their efforts led them into even deeper, more troubled waters.

All 44 passengers got in the water at around 10:50am and passengers returned to the boat at various times, the lawsuit said.

More: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11824147/California-couple-abandoned-snorkeling-trip-forced-swim-shore-sue-tour-company.html

[SZonian]

Wait, they can frolic in the ocean for an hour, but they were afraid they couldn't stay afloat?

1/2 mile may seem like a lot, but it's really not...

They'll win...boat company didn't do it's job, but this drama BS is just that, drama.

[verga]

Wait, they can frolic in the ocean for an hour, but they were afraid they couldn't stay afloat?

1/2 mile may seem like a lot, but it's really not...

They'll win...boat company didn't do it's job, but this drama BS is just that, drama.

That is about 800 meters. Less than a normal Sprint Triathalon swim, but if you are not used to it and have already been swimming for an hour....

[Elderberry]

It doesn't sound like they were frolicking.

The suit alleges that they were facing waves up to eight feet high and realized that swimming to the island of Lanai, which tour guides had advised against, was their only way to survive.

[Idiot]

It doesn't sound like they were frolicking.

Sounds like their check for the excursion didn't clear.

[LMAO]

Wait, they can frolic in the ocean for an hour, but they were afraid they couldn't stay afloat?

1/2 mile may seem like a lot, but it's really not...

They'll win...boat company didn't do it's job, but this drama BS is just that, drama.

Ocean currents can make a half a mile swim seem like 5 miles

[verga]

Ocean currents can make a half a mile swim seem like 5 miles

[Smokin Joe]

Ocean currents can make a half a mile swim seem like 5 miles

If you aren't swimming with those waves (surfing them), the internal currents in the waves and swimming against them is a workout, even at only 3 or 4 feet. At eight feet, that half mile is going to seem a lot farther. If they were snorkeling, swim fins should help.

[Hoodat]

I spent my honeymoon on Lanai and the Big Island.  The ocean currents are no joke.  During my time there, another man on his honeymoon was swept out to sea from the north shore of Oahu.

I'm guessing in this case that the currents took them to Lanai, not away from it.