August 16, 2026

Before the Rescue: Can Hawaiʻi Become the World’s Model for Water Safety?

Chief Kurt Lager on the Future of Ocean Safety in Hawaiʻi

What if the future of ocean safety begins before anyone needs rescuing?

Honolulu Ocean Safety is entering a new era. Now operating as an independent department, it has a greater ability to shape its staffing, equipment, facilities, budget and future direction. In this episode of Deep Dive Into Water Safety, Chief Kurt Lager explains how that change could help Hawaiʻi move beyond responding to emergencies and reach people before an emergency happens.

Better data is central to that vision. Through Watchtower, lifeguards can document not only rescues, but also the preventive actions they take every day. Those numbers can reveal patterns, guide resources and show a different measure of success: how many emergencies never happen because a lifeguard stepped in early.

The conversation also confronts one of Hawaiʻi’s most urgent challenges: protecting visitors, particularly from snorkeling related fatalities. Lager discusses working with the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority, airlines and other partners to deliver meaningful water safety information during booking, before arrival and throughout a visitor’s stay, rather than waiting until someone reaches the beach.

But lifeguards cannot do this alone. Lager calls for stronger collaboration among counties, educators, government and community partners such as Nā Kama Kai and the Hawaiʻi Water Safety Coalition. The episode also explores why meaningful water safety education must return to Hawaiʻi’s schools so children grow up recognizing hazards, making safer decisions and developing water competency.

The timing is especially meaningful. Lifeguard Appreciation Week runs August 17 through 23, 2026, while Duke Kahanamoku OceanFest takes place August 14 through 24, 2026. Together, they offer a powerful moment to recognize lifeguards, celebrate Hawaiʻi’s ocean culture and ask how that culture can become part of a stronger statewide system of prevention.

The episode builds toward a larger question: Can Hawaiʻi become the model for water safety that the rest of the world follows? For Lager, that is exactly the opportunity ahead.

“We should be a leader in water safety in the world. We should be the model that everyone else follows.”

Chief Kurt Lager

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What Nine Championships Teach You About the Ocean: Kanesa Duncan Seraphin

Nine-time Molokaʻi to Oʻahu prone paddleboard world champion Kanesa Duncan Seraphin has spent a lifetime learning from the ocean. A Hawaiʻi Waterman Hall of Fame inductee, marine scientist, educator, and host of the award winning Voice of the Sea, Kanesa brings a rare combination of elite ocean experience and scientific knowledge.

Fresh off her historic ninth M2O victory, Kanesa joins Deep Dive Into Water Safety to talk about what decades on the water have taught her about preparation, judgment, risk, and respect for the ocean. She also discusses work on ciguatera and why she joined a leg of Kauaʻi Ocean Safety Chief Kalani Vierra’s Paddle for Life, a 100-mile journey around Kauai focused on water safety, drowning prevention, and community awareness.

Throughout the conversation, one message keeps emerging: prevention requires more than telling people to “be careful.” Hawaiʻi needs better drowning and nonfatal incident data, stronger education, effective visitor communication, well supported and well-trained lifeguards, and practical safety systems that people can use. Lifeguards remain one of Hawaiʻi’s most important sources of ocean knowledge, yet the discussion highlights the need for greater recognition, staffing, training time, and investment in these frontline professionals.

Ultimately, this episode asks a larger question: Can Hawaiʻi make ocean competency part of its culture of prevention? From classrooms and canoe clubs to airports, airlines, beaches, and lifeguard towers, the opportunity is to give residents and visitors the knowledge, skills, judgment, and respect needed to make better decisions around the ocean.

It’s a conversation about much more than winning races. It’s about how experience, science, education, and connection to the ocean can help all of us make safer decisions in and around the water.

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July 30, 2026: Alissa Magrum paddles with Kalani Vierra for Paddle for Life

The conversation focuses on drowning prevention through awareness, collaboration, and data-driven solutions. Alissa Magrum (NDPA) discusses her participation in the Paddle for Life event, a 100-mile paddle around Kauaʻi led by Kalani Vierra, OSB Chief for Kauai, to raise awareness and funds for water safety. Alissa shares both the physical experience and the emotional motivation behind her work, emphasizing that drowning is often overlooked until it directly impacts families

A key theme is that drowning is a global, preventable issue that requires more public attention and everyday conversation

The interview then shifts to innovation, featuring Norm Reitter's Water Ranger program, which uses volunteers and mobile technology to collect real-time data on water conditions, behaviors, and safety equipment. This data helps identify risks, improve placement of resources like rescue tubes and life jackets, and guide prevention strategies

Overall, the discussion highlights:

• The power of community-driven awareness campaigns
• The need for better data to inform prevention efforts
• The importance of collaboration across organizations and regions to reduce drowning rates

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