Every year, hordes of blissfully ignorant tourists head to the North Shore of Oahu, looking to get up and close and personal with, even surf, the world-famous waves.
But the North Shore is no place for games. Don’t “do it for the ‘gram.” Without proper experience, and an especially during a high surf day, that tourist from Minnesota can be a serious hazard. Not only for themselves, but for other surfers in the water, and most importantly, the North Shore Lifeguards putting their lives on the line for others.
Like, for example recently, thrill-seeking (and arguably stupid) tourists crossed caution tape to get close to the waves during a huge, chaotic, totally dangerous swell.
It happened at Shark’s Cove, a popular tourist attraction tidepool on the North Shore just around the corner from Pipeline. Video footage from KHON2 showed bikini-clad beachgoers frolicking past the yellow tape at Shark’s Cove, then running for their lives as large waves breached the rock barrier, and poured over into the sheltered tidepools.
“We talked to a lot of visitors who came up today,” said reporter Nikki Shenfeld for KHON2. “I met people from Michigan, from Utah, from Germany. They’re all in awe by these huge waves. It is absolutely beautiful, but this caution tape is up for a reason.”
Related: Video: Huge Waves Cancel Surf Contests in Hawaii
Shenfeld continued, motioning towards Shark’s Cove:
“Those people over there had to go under the caution tape. We’ve seen them run away from some huge sets that have run through that tidepool there. That is not what you want to be doing. So, ocean safety is telling people to stay away from the wet sand. It’s extremely dangerous, especially if you have kids. It is not a time for recreational swimming.”
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