The Toilet Bowl
Have you ever done something so dumb you look back and wonder how you made it through life? Well, I’m here to tell you, this is a story about just that and I am lucky to be alive.
In September of 1980 I was still in the navy and had just reported to my last ship, USS Ft Fisher LSD 40. When I arrived, I learned the ship was going to escort a new ship, USS Peleliu LHA 5 to Hawaii where it was to be home ported. I was looking forward to going to sea as I had never been to sea on a surface ship, having been a submarine sailor. I was also excited because we would be spending the month of October in Hawaii.
When we arrived in Pearl Harbor, I looked forward to some time off the ship to explore the Island of Oahu. We were given as much time off the ship as we wanted except for when we had duty. I wanted to do some diving at Hanauma Bay and other things in and around Pearl Harbor.
Hanauma Bay is an ancient, extinct, volcano and a popular diving spot. While diving at Hanauma Bay I learned about an attraction called the “Toilet Bowl”, located around a point on one side of the bay. It’s a large hole in the lava rock 10 feet around. There is a tube in the rock that extends from the “Toilet Bowl” to the open ocean 30 to 40 feet long. As the ocean surge came in against the lava rock, water would be forced through the tube filling the “Toilet Bowl”. The water would rise and fall much like a toilet when flushed. It really was pretty cool.
A few days after diving Hanauma Bay some shipmates and I took a guided tour around the island. One of the stops was Hanauma Bay. Our tour guide mentioned the “Toilet Bowl” adding it was dangerous, but people would jump in, and every year people died because they did not heed the warnings to stay out. She also warned us to stay out of it,
The next day several of us went to Hanauma Bay to do some snorkeling. The water was so clear and warm, and fish were teeming around the coral. I would use my dive knife and break open small sea urchins and hand feed the fish. I did not know at the time, but this was illegal and if caught there was a hefty fine and possible jail time.
In the late afternoon I mentioned to one of my shipmates, “Dave”, that we should hike around the point and check out the “Toilet Bowl”. Dave agreed and we arrived at the “Toilet Bowl” about a half hour later. We saw there were people in the water, including some very young boys. With each surge of the ocean, the people would go up and down as the water rushed in and out. They looked like they were all having a good time. I suggested to Dave that he jump in, and if he felt it was safe, I would jump in. Dave said “Okay” and jumped in and rode the water up and down. He was laughing and seemed to be having fun and told me jump in. Like a big dummy, I jumped in.
Well, that was a BIG mistake. By the time I jumped in, the water had filled the hole. The water was so deep I couldn’t touch the sandy bottom. I went up and down as water flowed in and out a few times. The last time, the water drained out completely and I was standing on the sandy bottom, along with Dave and several other adults and kids. Suddenly the water came in with a vengeance and filled the “Toilet Bowl” so fast I didn’t have time to react and was shoved off my feet and onto my side as the water began to flow out, sucking me with it into the tube. I don’t know how far I was sucked into the tube, but I had lava rock all around me and I started to panic. I was scared and started to flail around in an attempt to get out, but the water was still flowing out and I couldn’t make any headway. The water started to flow back in pushing me back into the “Toilet Bowl”. I couldn’t see anything, but I was still flailing my arms. Suddenly I felt someone’s legs and I was able to grab onto them and pull myself up their body and to the surface. I was so scared when my head broke the surface of the water, I flew out of the water and onto the lava rock. I don’t know whose legs I grabbed, but I am glad they were there. Once on the rock, I looked back into the water and saw several people still in the water attempting to climb out. One person was floating face down and not moving. Dave was still in the water and helped get him out. After Dave climbed out, I looked at him and I could see he was as scared as I was. His eyes were wide open, so I know my eyes were too. He climbed out of the water and sat down next to me. We sat in silence, then started laughing. It was that nervous laugh someone has when they have cheated death. After sitting for a while, I noticed blood coming from some cuts on my legs and my head hurt. I had hit my head on the top of the tube as I was sucked in. I don’t know how I got the cuts on my legs.
I nearly drowned that day, and I was pretty shaken up. I think about every this now and then and laugh, although it’s a nervous laugh. I know how lucky I was that day. It could’ve been my last!
