It was a typical Wednesday evening for Noland Keaulana, who was fixing his truck at his grandparentsβ house when he received an alert on his phone about a 17-year-old missing off the Honolulu coast.
Keaulana, who has been a lifeguard with the Honolulu Ocean Safety Department for 16 years, was off duty that night. Then, his wife called to tell him it was their friendβs son who was missing. For the next two hours, he paced impatiently, contemplating if he should join the search.
But finally, βI knew I couldnβt waste any more time,β Keaulana told CNN.
The missing 17-year-old was Kahiau Kawai. And as Keaulana and other rescuers made their way to the ocean, Kahiau was already hours into a struggle against the currents dragging him farther and farther out.
Kahiau had accidentally drifted away after his kayak capsized during his high school practice that evening.
βIt was pretty rough out there, the waves were super strong and I just couldnβt fight the current. When the sun started setting and I was going further out as it got darker, thatβs when I started to worry,β Kahiau told CNN.
He had lost his paddle and had to swim on the side of his 20-foot (6-metre) surf ski kayak, alternating between laying on the kayak and treading water. He shouted for help but nearby boats were too far to hear him, Kahiau said.
βI knew at a certain point that I wasnβt really going to be able to fight the current, so I just tried to relax and keep my calm,β he added. He made a plan: Stay cool, keep swimming, and once the current died down, try to slowly swim back to where he first fell off the kayak.
Kahiau had been paddling with his high school kayaking team from Ala Wai Boat Harbor to Diamond Head. On the way back, his teammates noticed he was missing and called 911 around 6:30 p.m., the Honolulu Fire Department said during .
The fire department immediately launched a search with multiple boats, aircraft and involving over 50 personnel, including the U.S.Coast Guard. Authorities had learned the teenagerβs surf ski had capsized and he was not wearing a life jacket, according to the .
Keaulana was one of those rescuers, now desperately searching the ocean, with every passing hour bringing a deepening sense of dread.
βI was starting to lose hope. I donβt know if heβs still hanging on to his kayak, if heβs given up, Iβm thinking about the worst-case scenario. I was mad at myself, thinking I should have went earlier,β Keaulana said.
Floating still in the dark, churning waters, Kahiau could see the helicopters searching for him, he said.
βI saw them go to a certain point a bunch of times but they werenβt going as far out as I was and that scared me a little bit,β Kahiau said.
He was afraid of the depths below him, but said he was too busy trying to keep swimming to dwell on his worst fears; he clung to hope, instead.
At around 4 a.m. Thursday, after searching for over eight hours, a U.S.Coast Guard airplane crew spotted the kayak and the teenager clinging onto it.
They deployed a flare to mark the position, contacted Keaulana β the nearest boater β by radio and directed him to Kahiauβs location, the Coast Guard .
βBoom, he just appeared right in my sight. Heβs treading water and hanging on to the midsection of the kayak, and I see his head above the water, and Iβm like, wait, is he alive?β Keaulana said. βThen I yelled out βKahiau?β and when he said, βYes,β super calm, I just broke down crying.β
By the time he was pulled aboard Keaulanaβs boat, the 17-year-old had been out in the ocean for nearly 12 hours.
On the day the teen became stranded, ocean conditions were hazardous, with strong currents, strong winds and a high surf, Keaulana said.
βI was so scared he had given up because we have people who train for this stuff, and we still have a hard time dealing with being in the water in conditions like that. And this kid somehow survives the whole night,β Keaulana said.
Kahiau fell off the kayak exactly where βall the currents for that evening happen to be zigzagging around back and forth,β Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Zach Hunter told .
βIt was incredibly rewarding,β he said. βIβll spare you the expletives when we confirmed that he was on that boat.β
Keaulana, a Polynesian voyager who comes from a Native Hawaiian waterman family including many other lifeguards, has saved thousands of people, including Kahiau. Saving lives, he says, is his passion β and purpose.
βI treat everyone like as theyβre my own family member. Pretty much that whole night, Iβm out there searching for my own son,β he said. βBeing able to find him was very emotional.β
From βthe worst nightβ to the βbest morningβ
The moment Kahiauβs family heard his voice again was an eruption of joy, his mother told CNN.
βIt sounded like hyenas and monkeys in our room as we were jumping up and down,β Kelehua Kawai said. βIt was the worst night of our lives, followed by the best morning of our lives.β
For the nearly 12 hours he was out there alone, Kahiauβs family felt every second he was missing, trying to assist with searches and waiting impatiently for scarce updates.
βWe were just quiet, terrified without words. We battled thoughts of hope, thoughts of despair and the worst case scenarios while trying to maintain our faith in God, our faith in our rescuers, and our faith in the ocean, which is a huge part of our lives out here,β Kawai said.
She considered taking her own surfboard to help search for her son, but was afraid the dangerous currents would end up leaving her other two children βwithout both their brother or their mom.β
During his time out alone in the Pacific, Kahiau was just as worried about his mother.
One of the first things he said after being rescued was, βIβm worried my momβs worried about me,β Keaulana said. When he called his family to let them know he was OK, Keaulana said, βI could hear the whole family of background cheering. It was a super emotional ride back to shore.β
Kahiau was taken to a hospital in serious but stable condition and treated for injuries and hypothermia, according to the
He was released from the hospital Saturday morning and joined his kayaking teammates to cheer them on during their conference championships, Kamehameha Schools told CNN in a statement.
βToday was a celebration of an incredible young man, whose resilient and unbreakable spirit lifted the hearts of an entire community that is rejoicing in a miraculous outcome,β the statement read.
βTo ensure this does not happen again, we have initiated a thorough review of the incident and will hold ourselves accountable to take all necessary actions. We can and will do better.β
Kahiau says he plans to continue kayaking, but heβll carry this experience with him for the rest of his life.
βI didnβt know I could handle something like that, of that magnitude, and this situation showed me I can,β he said.