California Newlyweds Abandoned In Open Ocean During Honeymoon Boat Tour

A pair of newlyweds native to the San Francisco Bay area went snorkeling in Hawaii during their honeymoon and almost didn't make it out alive. According to SF Gate, Elizabeth Webster and Alexander Burckle were snorkeling off the Lana'i Coast in Maui when their tour boat departed for the next location without them. Webster and Burckle mentioned that the boat captain did not specify where the passengers were allowed to swim and when they needed to be back on the boat.

The pair relentlessly shouted and waived their arms at the boat as it sailed away with no prevail. A passenger who made it back on the boat tried to tell the captain that there were people left at the last snorkeling site, but the captain insisted that everyone was "accounted for." SF Gate mentioned that the couple tried swimming towards the boat for 30 minutes, but the "increasingly rough, choppy water" and high surf made it too difficult to continue.

The newlyweds soon realized that their only hope would be to swim to the nearest island. When they made it to shore, they wrote "help" in big letters on the sand in fear of being stranded. A "good samaritan" eventually noticed that they were struggling and let them use his cellphone to call for help.

Webster and Burckle made it back to California and have since filed a lawsuit against Sail Maui, pursuing $5 million in damages for "negligence and emotional distress."