Dee Wood and Sheila Dotson were doing what many people do on vacation on Kauai — enjoying Anini Beach.
But they were called on to do a bit more than go snorkeling and soak in the sunshine on a sunny day this week.
“We were on the beach and noticed a woman in the water about 100 yards from shore who was alone and started screaming for help,” wrote Wood.
Dotson, a Fort Worth firefighter, looked around for something she could use as a flotation device and saw a rescue tube attached to the trees nearby. She grabbed the float and headed toward the woman.
Dotson was a little behind two men who entered the water just before her to swim for the lady. She passed the men, who were walking, as they tired before reaching the woman.
“The lady was over her head in the water just a few feet from the rocks where she could touch and she panicked,” Wood wrote. “Sheila was able to walk most of the way and lend the flotation device to the lady for support when she reached her.”
The woman was scared and embarrassed, but unharmed.
“We had a happy ending,” Wood wrote.
The rescue tube came in handy and is definitely a great addition to any beach, she added.
Branch Lotspeich, executive director of the Rescue Tube Foundation Inc. on Kauai, was glad to hear of another life that may have been saved thanks to the rescue tubes.
The first rescue tube was hung on a shrub at Larsen’s Beach in 2007. Today, there are more than 200 rescue tubes around the island. People use the tubes to swim out and help others in distress, just as Dotson did.
There are rescue tubes on all of the Hawaiian Islands and in North Carolina, Florida, South Dakota and California. In the past 10 years, about 150 people have been assisted by good Samaritans using rescue tubes, the foundation reported.
Lotspeich spreads the word about the effectiveness of rescue tubes far and wide. Last year, he attended the World Conference on Drowning Prevention in Vancouver, B.C., Canada.
The Rotary Club of Hanalei Bay, which spearheaded the program and continues to be an ardent supporter, was also delighted to hear of the recent rescue.
“They are meant to be used exactly as you described, to keep the person assisting safe as they are helping the person who is in trouble,” wrote Ben Gillikin, club president.
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Bill Buley, editor-in-chief, can be reached at 245-0457 or bbuley@thegardenisland.com.
