The Sea Scouts aboard the SS Decisive were enjoying the water on Wailua River Sunday when they came upon a capsized canoe with two women struggling in the water. The scouts knew what to do. “Some of our crew jumped
The Sea Scouts aboard the SS Decisive were enjoying the water on Wailua River Sunday when they came upon a capsized canoe with two women struggling in the water.
The scouts knew what to do.
“Some of our crew jumped in to help the people while other members took care of the boating and seamanship aspects of securing our boat, line handling and boat hooks,” said Larry Richardson, commodore of the Aloha Council, Boy Scouts of America Sea Scouting program.
Richardson said the crew righted the capsized boat before helping the ladies don life jackets and reboard their craft.
“They weren’t going to die, but they were definitely in trouble,” he said.
The craft was then towed back to harbor at the Kamokila Hawaiian Village dock.
Scouts involved in the rescue include Alexis Baldwin, Felicia Collinge, Tessa Ramsey, Katie Vetter and Amaani Fowler.
The rescue comes on the heels of a rescue during a summer cruise to Molokai where Sea Scouts pulled a boat with no power that was drifting toward the reef to safety.
“My only explanation for back-to-back rescues like this is because we spend a lot of time on the water, increasing our chances of coming upon someone in need of help,” Richardson said. “We also train for this type of thing, and our scouts are pretty experienced so they know how to react.”
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