04-09-2013, 11:48 AM
I'm curious about the comments/concerns on safety. What exactly are people expecting that the operators were not providing? Not to state the obvious, but this isn't exactly like visiting Pearl Harbor on Oahu. The ocean is variable, the lava is variable, and the weather is variable. I have to think that paying customers know this.
I went on two tours in early January, one at sunset and one at sunrise. The second tour was pushed back a couple of days because of strong swells on the day we originally intended to go; probably not coincidentally, that was the same day someone drowned at Kehena Beach. I realize that is only one data point, but it does illustrate (to me at least) that operators won't go out if they deem the conditions to be poor. Now, customers may have a different idea of what constitutes "poor" conditions than an operator, and no doubt I'm sure certain customers have felt unsafe in conditions that an operator may have dealt with dozens if not hundreds of times. Feeling unsafe doesn't necessarily equate with being unsafe. Isn't that why they call it "thrill seeking" in the first place?
I went on two tours in early January, one at sunset and one at sunrise. The second tour was pushed back a couple of days because of strong swells on the day we originally intended to go; probably not coincidentally, that was the same day someone drowned at Kehena Beach. I realize that is only one data point, but it does illustrate (to me at least) that operators won't go out if they deem the conditions to be poor. Now, customers may have a different idea of what constitutes "poor" conditions than an operator, and no doubt I'm sure certain customers have felt unsafe in conditions that an operator may have dealt with dozens if not hundreds of times. Feeling unsafe doesn't necessarily equate with being unsafe. Isn't that why they call it "thrill seeking" in the first place?
Leilani Estates, 2011 to Present