SAMUEL G. TOOMA, AUTHOR
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November 24th, 202011/24/2020 This is the next to last of my 6 near death experience. What makes this one unique is that it involves my family. We almost all lost our lives on this day. It still makes me shudder when I think of what almost happened. I've also included in this story a description of a feature which exists near where we almost got killed; 'The Toilet Bowl'. In fact, the Toilet Bowl is where we were headed when the near death incident occurred. HAUNAUMA BAY. HAWAII AND THE TOILET BOWL (1982). This event occurred when we first moved to Hawaii in 1982. In some respects, as you will see, it is similar to the earlier story of my near-drowning at sea. Hanauma Bay is an extremely popular beach and snorkeling site located on Oahu Island, Hawaii. It appears to be an old volcanic caldera where the seaward side had either blown off when the volcano was active, or it had merely opened up to the sea by natural erosion due to waves. In any event, it is a great place to snorkel (if you can find a place to put your beach blanket between. Figure 8. Hanauma Bay, HI. We Were Swept by the Wave at Upper Left Point of Land SEE FIGURE 8 BELOW all the tourists lying there). One day, Sylvia and my 2 daughters, Monica and Stephanie, decided that we wanted to go to the Toilet Bowl. For a discussion on what the Toilet Bowl is, see the write up below. There are two ways to get to the toilet bowl; one is to park on Kalanianaole highway and walk over the rugged terrain to the bowl; the other is to walk the ledge on the left side of Hanauma Bay as you look to the sea. We took the latter. We were nearing the seaward turn of the ledge that would take us to the Toilet Bowl. Stephanie and I were ahead of Monica and Figure 9. The Toilet Bowl is Located At the End of a Small Bay. We Were Hit By the Wave Just Before the Small Bay Begins SEE FIGURE 9 BELOW Sylvia by about 30 yards or so. Waves were hitting the ledge, and water spray was shooting majestically into the air. It was unbelievably beautiful. Beautiful, that is until a following wave rode on top of another wave and slammed into us throwing us against the vertical wall to our left. I actually looked up to see the wave coming down on us. I found myself floating free in green water. I knew that if the water carried me out to sea, I could drown or be crushed against rocks around the ledge. However, my most pressing thought was trying to save Stephanie who was only 10 years old at the time. I feared being carried out to sea, but I also feared being slammed down by the violent water and knocked unconscious. To my great joy, I was gently lowered onto the ledge on my back. I immediately sprang up looking for Stephanie. I did not see her anywhere around me, and I started to panic. I thought she had been carried out to sea. In looking around, I saw Sylvia around 30 yards away with Monica and Stephanie wrapped around her legs. Stephanie had been carried by the water those 30 yards and had miraculously gotten tangled in Sylvia’s legs and not carried out to sea as I had feared. Monica told me later that Stephanie had come down on top of her head knocking them both to the ground. Sylvia, Stephanie, and I suffered minor bruises, but Monica had a leg injury and needed crutches for several weeks. I had also lost my prescription sunglasses, and one of my shoes had been ripped from my foot and was found close to where Sylvia, Monica, and Stephanie had wound up. Needless to say, we were all very shaken up. Soon thereafter, we learned that people walking or fishing in that area are lost to the waves just about every year. We never tried that walk again. THE TOILET BOWL. I mentioned the toilet bowl at the top of the story (See Figures 10, 11, and 12). The toilet bowl is a phenomenon that many young people frequent in order to risk their lives. Waves from the sea funnel down as they enter a small, V-shaped bay. The water then enters an underground “passageway” which has been created by the surf over the years. The water roars through this opening and fills a toilet-bowl-shaped hole from the bottom up with a great deal of energy and noise. The bowl, which measures about 15 feet in diameter and about 8 feet deep in the center, fills up extremely quickly and carries almost everyone who is in the bowl into the air on a blast of Figure 10. Toilet Bowl Is Located At End of Small Bay. We Were Hit By the Wave Just Before the Bay Begins. Figure 11. Toilet Bowl Just After It Has Filled With Water. SEE FIGURES 10 AND 11 BELOW water which mushrooms because of the surrounding lip of the bowl (i.e., like the lip of a toilet). In fact, this is how you get out of the bowl. The mushrooming water deposits you on the rocks outside of the bowl. I have tried this a couple of times. It is quite a ride. When the water subsides, the bowl quickly empties getting ready for the next gush. Those that do not get carried out of the bowl, nervously await the next ride. Usually the girls with bikinis are frantically searching for their bikini tops which have been ripped off by the violent surge. Early on in our time in Hawaii, we noticed that ambulances often were on the side of Kalanianaole highway ministering to fools who had wanted a thrill. I didn’t do it anymore. Figure 12. Victims Waiting For the Next Blast Of Water. SEE FIGURE 12 BELOW ![]() FIGURE 9. TOILET BOWL IS LOCATED AT THE END OF A SMALL BAY. WE WERE HIT BY THE WAVE JUST BEFORE THE BAY BEGINS FIGURE 10. TOILET BOWL JUST AFTER IT HAS FILLED WITH WATER![]() FIGURE 11. VICTIMS WAITING FOR THE NEXT BLAST OF WATER
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