Diver missing off of Big Island - Hawaii

[DandyDon]

I have to wonder if that report of 70 mph winds is correct. Who would go in with that...?

Search underway for missing diver off Puako

The Coast Guard and Hawaii County Fire Department are searching for a missing diver off Puako Beach, Big Island, Wednesday (Feb 17).

Missing is 69-year-old Diana Wolking.

Wolking was last seen wearing a black rash guard, black and white bikini bottom with a scuba tank and black fins.

An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Air Station Barbers Point is currently searching along with the crew of USCGC Kittiwake. Hawaii County Fire Department is searching with helicopter and rescue boat crews.

An Urgent Marine Information Broadcast has been issued alerting mariners in the area to keep a sharp lookout and report any sightings to the Coast Guard Sector Honolulu Command Center.

Watchstanders at Sector Honolulu received notification at 7:20 p.m. from good Samaritans on the beach who witnessed Wolking enter the water just before sunset. After more than an hour, they noticed her truck still parked at the beach and could not locate any sign of her in the water or near the beach.

Anyone with information that may help locate Wolking is asked to contact the Coast Guard Sector Honolulu Command Center at 808-842-2600.

Weather conditions are currently reported as 70 mph winds with waves up to 3 feet and good visibility.

 

[PeterNBiddle]

70 MPH and 3 foot waves? No. I just looked at the surf conditions for places on the Big Island and the heaviest wind I found was 13 knots. Hapuna (just north) is 12 knots.

"Wolking was last seen wearing a black rash guard, black and white bikini bottom with a scuba tank and black fins."

Diving in a bikini and rash guard in Hawaii is sub optimal IMNSHO.

 

[DandyDon]

Hapuna

Well, the incident was Wednesday. I checked Weather Underground history for the 17th: Wind at 10 mph, maximum 17, gusts to 30. Unless there was a localized storm before sundown, the reporter goofed.

 

[yle]

"Seventeen" can sound a lot like "seventy"; the information was likely passed along verbally and misunderstood.

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

The wind was reported incorrectly. It will get gusty and windy at that location, but even 25 - 30 mph would be pretty "frisky" and most divers would not go out; also much above a 3' swell makes entry and exit "sporty" due to the shallow reef.

This is quite sad. I have known Diana casually for many years through outrigger canoe paddling, but actually did not know she was a diver (she live on the other side of the island), and had not bumped into her in several years. She was a very experienced water-person, so I'm puzzled by the report of her going out at sunset solo. I will not speculate, but it seems odd and out of character (maybe).

Best wishes.

 

[Pedro Burrito]

Coast Guard, Hawaii County Fire suspend active search for missing scuba diver near Big Island

Coast Guard, Hawaii County Fire suspend active search for missing scuba diver near Big Island

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

Very sad.

For those unfamiliar with this particular dive site, it is quite popular for an extensive, healthy reef that is a short swim from shore. It has lava tubes, swim-throughs, garden eels out in deeper water; in fact, by coincidence my avatar picture is take at Puako in about 60' of water, with a large pinnacle in the background. The reef begins in shallow water, and drops off in "steps" out to deep water. It is generally a very "benign" site, but can be subject to windy conditions. The wind along this coast usually blows longshore, but can shift quickly and can blow straight offshore. However, I do not suspect that wind or water conditions were a factor in this accident.

Aloha Diana.

 

[iamrushman]

sad news..keep us informed.....

 

[spoolin01]

The wind was reported incorrectly. It will get gusty and windy at that location, but even 25 - 30 mph would be pretty "frisky" and most divers would not go out; also much above a 3' swell makes entry and exit "sporty" due to the shallow reef.

Shore diving

Very sad.

For those unfamiliar with this particular dive site, it is quite popular for an extensive, healthy reef that is a short swim from shore. It has lava tubes, swim-throughs, garden eels out in deeper water; in fact, by coincidence my avatar picture is take at Puako in about 60' of water, with a large pinnacle in the background. The reef begins in shallow water, and drops off in "steps" out to deep water. It is generally a very "benign" site, but can be subject to windy conditions. The wind along this coast usually blows longshore, but can shift quickly and can blow straight offshore. However, I do not suspect that wind or water conditions were a factor in this accident.

Aloha Diana.

Puako is one of the frequently recommended shore dive sites on the Big Island, second probably only to Two Step. The recommendations rarely come with any cautionary comment about the difficulty and danger of the entry/exit, yet I think it is one of the more difficult spots to exit when seas are anything but very calm. The access points along the beach road are all suicidal in my experience due to the long expanse of surface-level reef-top, unless the tide is up and the seas are pretty much lake calm. But even the primary access point under the trees, at the last turn-off, can be challenging at low tide or with modest swell, due to the rip coming back out of that popular access channel. The beach cove farther down from the parking area is doable and less rocky, but it too suffers from having to traverse some long shallows, there are big rocks littering the bottom here and there throughout, and the cove produces strong long-shore eddies as well. Between those two spots, I've seen the surfers shoot a shoulder-wide slot in the lava boulders that line the shore, during high surf, but I would never get near there wearing scuba gear. In attempting to exit at the first channel, after crossing the reef top in to the relative shallows, the retreating wave surge will drag you straight towards those shoreline boulders if you time it wrong or veer too far to the right on the approach.

Having regularly watched the magicseaweed.com and other swell forecast sites while diving the west coast of the Big Island, I'd say the shore diving options when the groundswell is 1.5-2ft are few, and pretty much zilch at 3.0 feet, with the occasional exception of Two-Step, or Old Airport or Crescent beaches depending on swell direction.

If this diver were truly there with a 3ft groundswell, she could easily have become exhausted or injured attempting to exit, and 60-90 minutes underwater is plenty of time for conditions to worsen considerably. Sad to hear of this. Shore diving Hawaii is not an activity to be taken lightly, though in this case we don't really know what befell her. RIP.

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

I'm still not clear which entry point Diana used. I'm just assuming Paniau (Village End); I don't know the conditions that evening but in general the wind drops/dies near the time of sunset, and I do not think it was rough that evening; I do fully agree that 3' waves coming straight in to the beach at Puako would make it tough to enter/exit even at Paniau... I suspect the reported wave height was for offshore; it is rare that an actual ground swell hits Puako except in a storm, typically it is smaller wind-driven waves. The wind typically funnels between the Big Island and Maui and parallels the coast in that area, and Puako is semi-sheltered by the shape of the coastline, but shifting wind can change conditions quickly.

All Big Island shore diving requires a good dose of awareness and experience at judging water conditions.

Diana knew these waters well, having paddled canoes and surfski's in them since the 1980's. I am puzzled by the entire incident, the whys and hows do not add up for me based on what I've read, but I think that is often the case with accidents. I do not know how experienced she was as a diver since I do not recall talking about diving to her (we were acquainted through outrigger canoe and surfski paddling in the 1980's and '90's).