An off-duty Hawaii lifeguard helped rescue a teen kayaker stranded overnight

HONOLULU (AP) — A teenager in Hawaii was recovering Friday after spending more than 11 hours clinging to a kayak before being rescued during an overnight ocean search by an off-duty lifeguard and the U.S. Coast Guard.

Kahiau Kawai, 17, had gotten separated from his high school paddling team on Wednesday after capsizing approximately half a mile (0.80 kilometers) south of Honolulu's Sheraton Waikiki Beach Resort. He was on a 20-foot (6-meter) kayak and was not wearing a life jacket, the Coast Guard said.

Kawai's parents in a statement thanked the state, city and federal rescue teams who searched through the night, with a “very special mahalo” to family, friends and the the Honolulu lifeguard who went out on his own to search for the teen.

“Kahiau, who could see rescue teams looking for him, was strong, resilient and brave for 11.5 hours in the dark, and is grateful to be back with his family and friends,” Ka’ala and Kelehua Kawai said in the statement.

The teenager's Kamehameha Schools teammates reported him missing during kayaking practice Wednesday afternoon, the school said in a statement.

At about 4 a.m. Thursday, a Coast Guard airplane crew located the kayak with the teen clinging to it and deployed a flare to mark his position off Waikiki.

Off-duty lifeguard Noland Keaulana, a Polynesian voyager and part of a well-known Native Hawaiian waterman family, had been searching through the night on a boat. The Coast Guard directed him to the flare.

“I was expecting the worst, and then when I seen his head up next to the kayak ... his family is lucky and this kid is strong,” Keaulana said at a news conference Thursday. “I think he was in total shock because he wasn't emotional at all. And I was actually crying my guts out because he was OK."

The boy was treated for injuries and hypothermia and taken to an emergency room. He was in serious but stable condition, the Coast Guard said.

From left, Acting Director of Honolulu Ocean Safety Kurt Lager, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi, lifeguard Noland Keaulana, Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Nicholas Iannarone and Honolulu Deputy Fire Chief Jason Samala make shaka gestures as they stand for a photo at a news conference for a rescue of a 17-year-old kayaker in Honolulu on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (Jennifer Nilson/U.S. Coast Guard via AP)

MIAMI (AP) — Hurricane Oscar formed Saturday off the coast of the Bahamas, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said. It characterized the storm as “tiny.”

The government of the Bahamas has issued a hurricane warning for the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas. The government of Cuba has issued a hurricane watch for the provinces of Guantanamo, Holguin and Las Tunas.

The storm’s maximum sustained winds were clocked at 80 mph (130 kph) with higher gusts. Its center was located about 165 miles (260 kilometers) east-southeast of the southeastern Bahamas and about 470 miles (755 kilometers) east of Camaguey, Cuba.

Hours earlier, Tropical Storm Nadine formed off Mexico's southern Caribbean coast and was moving inland across Belize. Heavy rain and tropical storm conditions were occurring over parts of Belize and the Yucatan peninsula.

A tropical storm warning is in effect for Belize City and from Belize to Cancun, Mexico, including Cozumel.

The hurricane center said Nadine was located about 20 miles (35 kilometers) east of Belize City, with winds of 13 mph (20 kph). Its maximum sustained winds were at 50 mph (85 kph).

Nadine was expected to move across Belize, northern Guatemala and southern Mexico through Sunday, the center added.

Neither system posed a direct threat to the United States, though it was somewhat unexpected that Oscar became a hurricane on Saturday, said Philippe Papin, a hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center.

“Unfortunately, the system kind of snuck up a little bit on us,” Papin said.

This satellite image provided by NOAA on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024 shows Hurricane Oscar. (NOAA via AP)