Swimming in Hawaii

Out of curiosity... what, specifically, are the reasons for not swimming at Polihale? I've also read that the area is known for "dangerous" surf, but I don't know what that means. Big waves? Riptides? Or just "dangerous" for poor swimmers and/or those without ocean experience? A few years ago I did a guided kayak trip of the Na Pali Coast that finished at Polihale. The waves were not small - my kayak flipped on the ride into shore. But it seemed like a nice bodysurfing spot. It means very unpredictable riptides. So, to tell my story: I used to be an ocean lifeguard, so I am very comfortable with the ocean in all sorts of conditions. But my partner is not (he's never been a competitive swimmer, either). I kept saying, no, we shouldn't go in, but other swimmers were in, and he wore me down and I gave in. All seemed fine until we looked back and saw that the current had taken us so far out that our umbrellas were tiny dots on the sand. So, we began the long journey in, and you had to be pretty smart about it or you'd end up fighting a riptide. I just kept trying to encourage him and keep us at a steady pace. I knew I could get in but didn't think I could bring us both in. Thankfully, he is not the type to panic and we eventually made it to the sand. But if we hadn't, we'd have been screwed. You are basically in the middle of nowhere... the road to the beach is... can't remember how long... 5 miles of rutted, dirt road? And once you get to the regular road, you are still in the middle of nowhere. Lesson: Even if it doesn't look that rough (i.e., even if the waves aren't that big), don't swim at Polihale (or any other place that has a similar record of drownings). My partner believes me now when I say that a certain beach is too rough to swim in. We were lucky. (I should also add that this was a relatively calm day for Polihale... I've seen the waves there be much, much bigger).

Out of curiosity... what, specifically, are the reasons for not swimming at Polihale? I've also read that the area is known for "dangerous" surf, but I don't know what that means. Big waves? Riptides? Or just "dangerous" for poor swimmers and/or those without ocean experience? A few years ago I did a guided kayak trip of the Na Pali Coast that finished at Polihale. The waves were not small - my kayak flipped on the ride into shore. But it seemed like a nice bodysurfing spot. It means very unpredictable riptides. So, to tell my story: I used to be an ocean lifeguard, so I am very comfortable with the ocean in all sorts of conditions. But my partner is not (he's never been a competitive swimmer, either). I kept saying, no, we shouldn't go in, but other swimmers were in, and he wore me down and I gave in. All seemed fine until we looked back and saw that the current had taken us so far out that our umbrellas were tiny dots on the sand. So, we began the long journey in, and you had to be pretty smart about it or you'd end up fighting a riptide. I just kept trying to encourage him and keep us at a steady pace. I knew I could get in but didn't think I could bring us both in. Thankfully, he is not the type to panic and we eventually made it to the sand. But if we hadn't, we'd have been screwed. You are basically in the middle of nowhere... the road to the beach is... can't remember how long... 5 miles of rutted, dirt road? And once you get to the regular road, you are still in the middle of nowhere. Lesson: Even if it doesn't look that rough (i.e., even if the waves aren't that big), don't swim at Polihale (or any other place that has a similar record of drownings). My partner believes me now when I say that a certain beach is too rough to swim in. We were lucky. (I should also add that this was a relatively calm day for Polihale... I've seen the waves there be much, much bigger).