Bay Area newlyweds say Hawaii tour boat abandoned them in ocean – SFGATE

The couple were honeymooning in Maui in September 2021 when the alleged incident occurred. According to the suit filed in the US District Court for the District of Hawaii, they booked a Lanai coast tour with Sail Maui. The tour, which included 44 passengers, set off for a snorkeling destination off what was once Club Lanai, a resort only accessible via boat. 

Webster and Burckle allege that the boat’s captain and crew failed to describe the boundaries of where they should be snorkeling or when snorkelers should return to the boat. After about an hour in the water, the couple say the boat began sailing away from them. They say they waved their arms in a distress signal, but the boat continued to leave them behind in the increasingly rough, choppy water.

A Sail Maui lifeguard “finished corralling what she erroneously thought was the last passenger back onboard the Vessel, and the crew prepared to depart for the next dive site,” the lawsuit alleges. “One passenger later reported to the Coast Guard that when she returned to the Vessel, she reported to a crew member that Plaintiffs were still out in the water further out then where she had been, but the crew member assured her Plaintiffs were already accounted for.”

For about 30 minutes, the couple claim they tried swimming toward the boat. By then, they say the surf was up to 8 feet high.

“Plaintiffs were beginning to panic and were struggling to swim in the ocean conditions,” the lawsuit reads. “They feared that drowning was imminent. Plaintiffs realized the Vessel had left them and was not coming back for them, and they decided that their only option for survival at that point was to return to shore.”

Although they were “extremely fearful and nervous,” they say they began swimming toward the Club Lanai shore. At 1 p.m., they made it safely to shore, where Webster allegedly wrote out “HELP” and “SOS” in the sand. About 10 minutes later, a pair of good Samaritans came by in their truck and gave the couple water and their cell phone to call for help.

The lawsuit claims a Coast Guard investigation into the incident found that the “vessel master negligently performed duties with regard to operating the vessel because he did not uphold the company safety procedures.”

Webster and Burckle are seeking a jury trial to pursue $5 million in damages. The case has been assigned to Judge J. Michael Seabright.