Rotary Club of Kihei-Wailea members Dennis Bagshaw (from left) and Gary Redfern are joined by Monterey Bay, Calif., Rotarian Dale Presson and fellow Kihei-Wailea member Richard Lindrup in servicing a rescue tube station at Cove Park in Kihei on Thursday morning. Redfern, who is the Kihei-Wailea Club’s Rescue Tube Program chairman, said about 100 of the lifesaving devices have been placed on Maui beaches by Rotary Club members. Once the stations are installed, however, they need maintenance. From new flags and poles to lines and tubes, he said it seems like “every one of them needs something different.” He said the tubes were used to save 10 lives in 2018, with four of the rescues coming at Keawakapu Beach, which does not have lifeguards. The Rotarians noted that some residents on Keawakapu Beach have pulled the stations out of the ground to remove them from their view. The stations are located every 300 feet of beach and are numbered and GPS-located so first responders know exactly where to respond to calls for emergency assistance.

The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo