High surf had O'ahu lifeguards taking hundreds of preventive measures to save lives and prevent accidents yesterday. But one of the most spectacular surf casualties was the loss of a private yacht that had run aground the day before following a series of unlucky ocean mishaps.

What began as a leisurely ocean cruise Wednesday afternoon ended with a 54-foot yacht running aground at Poka'i Bay, and the destruction of the $100,000 craft after yesterday's wave surge left it sitting on the beach at the Wai'anae Army Recreational Center.

"I'm a Christian, but I don't know why God dealt me this hand," said the ship's owner and captain, Jim Dobson, as he surveyed the wreckage yesterday morning. "It's just ruined. Everything's destroyed. It's a total loss. It has no insurance, except liability."

The National Weather Service issued slightly lower surf warnings for today, but Dobson and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources were hoping to secure the yacht enough to keep yesterday's high surf from jostling it further while a decision was being reached on how best to remove the vessel from shore.

Trouble began for Dobson and his three female companions around 3 p.m. Wednesday after the blue and white yacht lost its anchor and then, as it neared Poka'i Bay, lost its motor after the props got snarled in the line of a kayak the boat was towing. Adrift, the boat began moving toward the bay's reef, unable to turn around by hoisting a sail. A passing fishing boat attached a line to the yacht and attempted to pull it out to sea.

But when that line snapped, and then another, the yacht finally ran aground. By then, Ocean Safety and Honolulu Fire Department rescue personnel had been alerted and quickly moved in to safely get Dobson and the three passengers to shore.

SHOVED ACROSS REEF

Bad as matters were for the yacht then, William Aila, harbormaster at the Wai'anae Boat Harbor, said they were made worse after yesterday's high surf shoved the yacht across the reef and into the bay, leaving it stranded with multiple holes in its bottom and a hull filled with water.

Dobson, 60, owns a car dealership in Oregon and has lived weekends in the yacht where it has been moored at the Ko Olina Marina. Yesterday he said he had no alternative but to have the yacht cut to pieces and hauled to the dump.

Heavy equipment was brought in during the afternoon, and by 4:45 all that remained of the yacht was a 12-ton pile of rubble. All that was left to do was sort out whether the Army or the DLNR had jurisdiction over the area. That, and filling out the necessary papers to allow dump trucks in to haul away the pieces.

STOIC CAPTAIN

Area resident Patricia Haller, 60, who had watched the drama unfold at the bay on Wednesday, stood by the beach yesterday and shook her head.

"I've never seen anything like it," she said. "And we've lived at Poka'i Bay since 1959."

Dobson tried to remain stoic.

"Well," he said, looking toward the mountains, "no one got hurt. All my kids are healthy. And I've still got a few years ahead of me."

Meanwhile, lifeguards up and down the coast were telling swimmers to heed the warning signs posted in the sand and to avoid getting in the water. Wai'anae's District 4 Ocean Safety acting captain, Kelly Krohne, said the 12-foot to 20-foot waves along the west-facing shores could be treacherous for inexperienced surfers. For those seasoned, though, he said the waves were excellent.

"They're out there having the time of their lives," he said.

MORE HIGH SURF

Today's forecast from the National Weather Service calls for 8-foot to 12-foot waves on the Wai'anae Coast, and 15-foot to 18-foot waves on the North Shore — down from the up to 30-foot North Shore waves the service predicted for yesterday.

Even though those monster waves never materialized, surfers and spectators still found plenty to like on the North Shore.

Sightseers dotted Sunset Beach as lifeguards put out "no swimming" signs and hung yellow caution tape to keep people away from the shorebreak. At Pipeline, dozens of people lined the beach taking in the picture-perfect waves known worldwide for their barrel shape.

Hundreds of people lined the beach at Waimea Bay, as well as the lookout above the bay and the road next to the stream outlet. Some 65 to 75 surfers were in the water along with water rescue crafts.

"Beach closed" signs and yellow caution tape were up, but still people ignored them. By midafternoon, three people had to be rescued and 500 warnings were issued on the North Shore, according to Bryan Cheplic, spokesman for the Department of Emergency Services.

Among the spectators at Sunset Beach were Mililani Mauka residents Creva Rooney and Kathie Gerken, who had dropped their children at school and brought their coffee, sand chairs and newspaper to the beach to watch the surf.

"We know this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity even for the local Hawaiians to see and we're just so happy that we're able to come out and do this this morning," said Rooney, who had the day off from work. "What a wonderful way to spend Valentine's Day in Hawai'i."

Reach Will Hoover at whoover@honoluluadvertiser.com and Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com.