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Two terrified honeymooners say they resorted to writing ‘HELP’ in the sand of a remote island after they were allegedly abandoned by their snorkeling company.
Elizabeth Webster and her new husband Alexander Burckle were spending their honeymoon in Hawaii in September 2021 when they booked a snorkeling tour with Sail Maui.
Court documents viewed by NBC of the federal suit say the pair departed on the boat at 10am for a tour along the coast of the island of Lanai and were two of 44 people on board.
Setting off from Lahaina Harbor, the trip was due to make a number of stops around the island before returning at 3pm.
The documents continue that the ship’s captain stopped the vessel at around 10.50am and the passengers got into the water to explore.
The suit adds that the captain told the customers they had an hour to swim before the boat would move on but were not told a specific time, how to get back onto the boat, or what to do in case of an emergency.
The couple says they swam north, having been instructed in an earlier safety briefing not to swim toward the island because of shallow reefs in the area.
At 11.50am they tried to return to the ship and the water was beginning to get choppy.
However, the documents say that after 15 minutes of swimming toward the boat they realized they “still had not made progress towards the boat.”
The suit states the pair began to swim more “aggressively” but after 15 minutes of excursion, they believed the “vessel was clearly farther from plaintiffs than it was at the last time they had checked”. The couple says they issued distress signals and called for help, but to no avail.
Jared A. Washkowitz, the couple’s lawyer, later told Insider the company also hadn’t identified a lifeguard for the expedition or ensured guests snorkelers used a buddy system while in the water.
As the pair claimed the boat sailed away, the couple said they tried to chase it, but finding themselves in deep water began to panic as they struggled to swim in “ocean conditions”.
Half a mile from the shore of the island, the pair say they were terrified they would drown if they did not risk a swim towards the island, despite the reefs, claiming this decision made them feel “extremely fearful and nervous”.
Reaching the shore around 40 minutes later, the couple said they were dehydrated and fatigued.
According to Insider, Webster wrote “HELP” and “SOS” on the shore of the island to try and attract attention but no boats passed by.
The pair were later found by someone who lived on the island who gave them water and allowed them to use their phones.
Headcount dispute
The lawsuit says that staff on board the boat did a number of headcounts after counting just 42 people back onto the vessel the first time.
A recount supposedly totaled 44 people back on board, despite a passenger allegedly telling the crew the couple had swum further away. The passenger was apparently told the pair had made it back, according to Washkowitz.
Washkowitz adds: “Our facts show that they did a headcount, came up two short, then they did another headcount, came up two short.” Another count, he said, came to a total of 44 however passengers were not told to sit or stay still while the count was going on.
Jessica Hebert, who was also on the tour, told Hawaii News Now: “It was just too disorganized. Everybody kept moving, so they easily got missed.”
Lasting impact
The pair are suing for general damages for emotional distress, with their attorney adding: “They spent a lot of time in the water and if they weren’t young, healthy people who were athletic they probably would’ve drowned.”
He added the pair are still processing the trauma of the incident which had resulted in swimming for hours on end.
Sail Maui did not respond to Fortune’s request for comment, nor did Washkowitz’s offices.
The description of the trip on Sail Maui’s website explains there is no “set destination” for the tour, and that an experienced crew selects the best locations based on conditions.
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