Vortex: Kaena Point and more

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Kaena Point, jutting out into the Kauai Channel like a boxer's left jab, is one of the few unadvertised spots where one can relax and enjoy an empty shore.

1) Kaʻena or Kaena Point is the westernmost tip of land on the island of Oʻahu. The point can be reached by foot from both the West (Waiʻanae Coast) and the East (Mokulēʻia) coastlines; walking in from the north side is recommended. An unimproved track extends some 3 miles (4.8 km) along the coast from the end of the paved road on the north side, where a gate prevents entry of all except authorized vehicles.

Kaʻena Point does not have the popularity with surfers of other North Shore locations. Kaʻena Point is located in a very remote area with no direct paved road access and no rescue capabilities. Additionally, the Point's geography results in undertows, dangerous rip currents and other hazardous ocean conditions that make any water activity highly dangerous.

2. Kauai Channel There is no Kauai channel. Cussler (or his editor) must have meant: The Kaʻieʻi.e. Waho Channel, which separates the islands of Kauaʻi and Oʻahu, at a distance of 72 miles.

Too often is shores are whipped by rip currents extremely dangerous to all but the most wary swimmers.

A rip current, commonly referred to by the misnomer rip tide, is a strong channel of water flowing seaward from near the shore, typically through the surf line. Typical flow is at 0.5 metres per second (1–2 feet per second), and can be as fast as 2.5 metres per second (8 feet per second). They can move to different locations on a beach break, up to tens of metres (a few hundred feet) a day. They can occur at any beach with breaking waves, including the world's oceans, seas, and large lakes.

He kept his eyes keyed on the strange piece of flotsam as he narrowed the gap...

In maritime law, flotsam, jetsam, lagan and derelict describe specific kinds of wreck. The words have specific nautical meanings, with legal consequences in the law of admiralty and marine salvage.

Flotsam is floating wreckage of a ship or its cargo. Jetsam is part of a ship, its equipment, or its cargo that is purposefully cast overboard or jettisoned to lighten the load in time of distress and that sinks or is washed ashore. Lagan is cargo that is lying on the bottom of the ocean, sometimes marked by a buoy, which can be reclaimed. Derelict is cargo that is also on the bottom of the ocean, but which no one has any hope of reclaiming.