Several people have been calling it a miracle, but it was just an event, could have been a lot worse; could have not happened at all. After a lot of discussion about when to go, five friends from South Kona went on MV Hot Spot at 4 a.m. July 16.
The round trip from home to the lava meant about six hours of travel time for a 30 minute view. Captain Turpin gave a safety lecture to everyone warning them that the ride could get choppy and in was necessary to hold on at all times. Anyone who had any doubts could have their money back. We were warned to keep one hand on the boat and stay in our seats at all times. Those over 50 were required to sit in the rearmost four rows where there is less pounding.
We five were all over 60. I took a seat in the third row from the stern and had the good sense to pick the starboard (right) side. After clearing the harbor the boat proceeded south at a high rate of speed but the ride was more comfortable than we expected. A younger woman seated beside me was worried about getting seasick. As a small boat sailor, I advise her to “keep her head out of boat” — that is, focused on the horizon — and she did not get seasick.
When we arrived at the lava front, the captain made one pass at quite a distance, turned around and went back. He made a second pass closer. I don’t know the distance but I was sort of disappointed that he didn’t get any closer. Last year, when he took us to the “firehose” we got close enough to feel the heat. These passes were at low speed. A bucket of 110 degree sea water was passed around, carefully. The boat turned away from the lava and began moving offshore and back toward Hilo. The sun was coming up and I turned to watch the sunrise.
There was a woosh and I was suddenly enveloped in steam and total darkness, sandblasted with small particles of rock. The boat keeled to the right. It was totally dark for a few seconds. I realized this could be very bad and there was nothing I could do about it — but the boat remained mostly upright and it quickly became apparent that after 10 seconds of extreme excitement and five minutes of screaming, especially forward, that we had survived the eruption.
The crew members and captain remained calm; and acted quickly to get everybody calmed down and check on the wounded. While some crew members and passengers helped the wounded the captain and one other crew member were removing the lava bomb from the boat with a towel!
The name lava bomb does not mean something that will explode, but being red-hot (about 1,500 degrees), it could melt its way through the aluminum boat. There were smaller hot rocks on board, too.
I don’t know when I noticed the hole in the roof. The one passenger who was seriously injured was farther forward than the bomb. Other passengers and crew members attended to her; one of those passengers I heard was a surgeon and he took charge. The young lady beside me was a nurse who went forward briefly to assist. The captain and crew remained calm and professional at all times. They were very conscientious about maintaining a motion of the boat that would minimize the discomfort of the injured young lady, while getting to help quickly. They placed her on life jackets for comfort. She seemed quiet after the initial screaming. As far as I could tell there were about three people whose injuries actually required transportation and medical care. Although there were a number of other injuries, they seemed to be of the level than most of us would treat at home.
On the return that took about an hour, the boat had a slight list to starboard. The captain said not to worry it had been tested with 49 people all on one side. It turned out there was a lot of rock on the roof. That explained the dents. I think we were all grateful that the roof was metal, not canvas or wood. Two ambulances and half the Hilo police were at the dock when we arrived and interviewed everyone. So did the crew. Only one person was unable to walk off the boat, so any landing you walk away from is a good one, and if you can reuse the plane, or boat, that’s a great one.
The captain gave us an explanation almost immediately that it was a rare littoral explosion from hot lava entering the ocean via a lava tube. The children on board have a story they can tell their grandchildren. How many people have had such an experience and lived to tell about it? I put it right up with the time I saw a meteorite hit.
Ken Obenski is a forensic engineer, now safety and freedom advocate in South Kona. He writes a biweekly column for West Hawaii Today. Email obenskik@gmail.com.