How to Survive a Sneaker Wave

November 10, 2020

Hiking along the Nāpali Coast in Kaua'i, my wife, Jackie, and I stopped for lunch at Hanakāpī'ai Beach. We read the warning signs and decided to watch the large swells from high above the beach. Below, eight people were taking a photo. "Final family portrait," I joked.

A trip to the beach takes an unexpected turn in Hawai'i

I spotted a massive wave gathering steam way out at sea. Before the wave hit the beach, I yelled to Jackie, "Get ready to run!"

A second later, the water was up to our ankles, our knees, our waists, and then we were underwater, scraping over the sharp volcanic rocks we'd been sitting on.

When the wave receded, I couldn't see my wife. I screamed her name and then heard her voice from 15 feet up the rocks. We both had deep cuts but nothing worse.

A teen girl had a broken ankle, and a woman had bad abrasions, but no one died. Jackie lost her Fitbit—a small price to pay. We were incredibly lucky.

Ask the Expert

Tuba Özkan-Haller is a coastal engineer and a professor at Oregon State University.

"Sneaker waves are a leading cause of death on many coasts, often pulling people into deep water and trapping them in rocks or rolling logs. At the beach, don't turn your back to the ocean, be vigilant, and have an escape plan—especially in an area backed by cliffs, dunes, or rocks."

Michael Shapiro writes about travel, culture and environmental issues for national magazines and metro newspapers. He’s the author of The Creative Spark, a collection of interviews with musicians, explorers and authors: www.michaelshapiro.net.