California couple abandoned during a snorkeling trip and forced to swim to shore sue tour company
Newlyweds from California EXIT on a snorkeling trip on their Hawaiian honeymoon and forced to swim ashore for $5 million after miscounting the passengers on their boat
- Alexander Burckle and Elizabeth Webster booked the trip for September 2021
- They encountered turbulent waters and were abandoned by the tour party
- They are suing for $5 million after they feared drowning due to alleged negligence
A Hawaii tour company is being sued for $5 million because a couple claims they were left in the ocean during one of the company’s snorkeling trips.
Alexander Burckle and Elizabeth Webster booked the trip with Maui Sail Company to Lanai, a small island near Maui, in September 2021.
On the 10 a.m. expedition from Lahaina Harbor in Maui with 42 other passengers, who had been told they would anchor the boat in one location while they went snorkeling, they headed out into the ocean.
The pair encountered turbulent water that became ‘choppy’ and they were unable to make progress towards the ship and eventually saw it abandon them when they called for help.
“They feared drowning was imminent,” the couple claimed in their lawsuit against Maui Sail.
Alexander Burckle and Elizabeth Webster (pictured) booked the trip with Maui Sail Company to Lanai, a small island near Maui, in September 2021
The pair desperately tried to stay afloat, but their efforts took them into even deeper, more troubled waters.
The suit claims they faced waves up to eight feet high and realized that swimming to the island, which tour guides had advised against, was their only way to survive.
They “began to panic and struggle to swim in the ocean conditions,” they added in the lawsuit.
Fortunately, the pair were able to make it to shore on the Lanai Island, but they were in bad shape, claiming in the suit that they were “tired and dehydrated.”
They turned to a number of traditional methods to get attention for a rescue, including writing “SOS” and “HELP” in the sand of the island.
They were later found and given water and the use of telephones by local Lanai residents, identified as RJ and Shra Sanches.
The lawsuit states that when Webster got in touch with Sail Maui, she admitted that they hadn’t noticed anyone missing from the tour.
They said the chief mate counted three times and said twice that they were two people short before he counted a third time and incorrectly said everyone was on board. The crew had not forced everyone to stay in place and had to count people moving around below deck.
Their attorney, Jared Washkowitz, also claims they were not given boundaries and did not identify a lifeguard or any other system for the tourists to help each other.
Fortunately, the pair were able to make it to shore on the Lanai Island, but they were in bad shape, claiming in the suit that they were “tired and dehydrated.”
Sail Maui is being sued for $5 million because a couple claims they were left in the ocean during one of the company’s snorkel packages
The lawsuit alleges that Sail Maui left them with waves up to eight feet high and realized that swimming to the island, which tour guides had advised against, was their only way to survive.
Their attorney, Jared Washkowitz, also claims they were not given boundaries and did not identify a lifeguard or any other system for the tourists to help each other.
“It can be very rough water, even for people who have ocean experience, let alone visitors who may not have ocean experience or especially experience in Hawaiian waters,” he said.
The complaint says that a Coast Guard investigation into the incident revealed negligence on the part of the captain and that the company has since revised its procedures to require vocal contact with every passenger, the complaint said. BuzzFeed.
“They spent a lot of time in the water and if they weren’t young, healthy people who were athletic, they probably would have drowned,” the lawyer added.