By Stephen M. Lepore for Dailymail.Com
Published: 8:23 PM EST, March 5, 2023 | Updated: 8:40 p.m. EST, March 5, 2023
A Hawaii tour company is being sued for $5 million after a couple claim they were stranded in the ocean during the company’s snorkeling trip.
Alexander Burckle and Elizabeth Webster booked the Maui Sail Company voyage to Lanai, a tiny island near Maui, in September 2021.
During the 10 a.m. expedition from the Port of Lahaina in Maui with 42 other passengers who had been told they would anchor the boat in one spot while they went snorkeling, they headed out to sea.
The couple faced turbulent water that became “choppy” and they were unable to move towards the ship and saw it eventually abandon them as they called for help.
“They feared that drowning was imminent,” the couple claimed in their lawsuit against Maui Sail.
Alexander Burckle and Elizabeth Webster (pictured) booked the trip with the Maui Sail Company for Lanai, a tiny island near Maui, in September 2021
The pair were desperately trying to stay afloat, but their efforts took them into even deeper, choppy waters.
The suit claims they faced waves of up to eight feet and realized that swimming to the island, which tour guides advised against, was their only way to survive.
They “started to panic and struggled to swim in ocean conditions,” they added in the lawsuit.
Luckily, the pair were able to reach the shore of Lanai Island but were in poor shape, claiming in the suit they were “tired and dehydrated.”
They turned to some traditional methods of raising awareness for a rescue, including writing “SOS” and “HELP” in the island sand.
They were later found and given water and use of phones by local Lanai residents identified as RJ and Shra Sanches.
The lawsuit argues that when Webster contacted Sail Maui, they admitted they didn’t realize anyone was missing from the tour.
They said the first mate counted three times and twice said they were two people short of the 44 guests before counting a third time and erroneously saying all 44 were on board. The crew had not forced everyone to remain in place and had to count the people moving below deck.
Their attorney, Jared Washkowitz, also claims they weren’t set any limits and they didn’t identify a lifeguard or any system for the tourists to help each other
Luckily, the pair were able to reach the shore of Lanai Island but were in poor shape, claiming in the suit they were “tired and dehydrated.”
Sail Maui is being sued for $5 million after a couple claims they were stranded in the ocean during a company’s snorkel package
The lawsuit alleges Sail Maui confronted them with waves up to eight feet high and realized that swimming to the island, which tour guides advised against, was their only option for survival
Their attorney, Jared Washkowitz, also claims they weren’t set any limits and they didn’t identify a lifeguard or any 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 Hawaiian waters experience in particular,” he said.
The complaint said a Coast Guard investigation into the incident found negligence on the part of the captain, and the company has since revised its procedures to require voice contact with every passenger, according to BuzzFeed.
“They spent a lot of time in the water and if they hadn’t been young, healthy and athletic people, they probably would have drowned,” the attorney added.
