Introduced Risks & Hazards of Motor Boats and Sea Scooters in Avaavaroa Passage by Commercial Operators

Avaavaroa Passage on Rarotonga’s south coast has long been celebrated for its turtles, clear water, and spectacular marine life. It is also a naturally hazardous environment—a narrow reef channel with strong currents, rapidly changing swell, and deep ocean water just beyond the reef. Local authorities and experienced ocean users have consistently described reef passages like Avaavaroa as “highly dangerous,” with prominent warning signs advising against unsupervised swimming.

Over the past three years, however, this already challenging environment has undergone a significant shift. A rapid increase in commercial activity—inflatable boat taxis, motorised sea-scooter tours, and large groups of mixed-ability swimmers—has introduced new and avoidable hazards into a space that was always risky, but never designed for heavy motorised traffic.

At low tide, observers have recorded up to eight inflatable boat taxis and around 50 sea scooters operating in the passage simultaneously. For a channel only metres wide, this level of activity has fundamentally changed the risk landscape for swimmers, snorkellers, guides, and the marine life that draws visitors here in the first place.

1. A High-Risk Marine Setting Made More Complex by Commercial Activity

Avaavaroa Passage behaves like a strong rip current. Water from the lagoon funnels outwards through a deep cut in the reef, quickly carrying swimmers toward the reef edge and open ocean. Even before motorised tourism arrived, the passage had a history of drownings and serious incidents.

In the past three years alone, multiple high-profile tragedies involving visiting swimmers have occurred here. While these were not attributed to any specific operator, they highlight how unforgiving the environment is—and how any additional complication, such as vessel traffic or equipment reliance, increases the stakes.

Against this backdrop, the introduction of intensive motorised activity has not simply added new experiences—it has introduced new hazards that compound existing environmental risks.

2. How Motor Boats Introduce Additional Risk in a Narrow, Fast-Moving Channel

2.1. Increased Conflict Between Vessels and Swimmers

Avaavaroa Passage is physically narrow. Adding inflatable motor boats into a space already used by swimmers and snorkellers creates predictable conflict:

• Swimmers may end up dangerously close to propellers or tow ropes.

• Drivers must constantly navigate around people diving or surfacing.

• Strong currents further reduce reaction time for everyone.

• Even perceived proximity to a vessel can trigger panic—one of the most dangerous responses in rip-current environments.

2.2. Higher Traffic Density, Fewer Safe Options

Reports of eight boat taxis at low tide show how crowded the channel can become. When the passage fills with both swimmers and vessels:

• There are fewer clear routes back to safety.

• Guides must split attention between their guests and nearby boats.

• Approaching or assisting a distressed swimmer becomes significantly more dangerous due to props, wake, and limited manoeuvring room.

2.3. Wake, Noise and Turbulence That Escalate Stress

Even small 15hp engines can create enough turbulence to:

• Knock weaker swimmers off course.

• Reduce visibility with bubbles and spray.

• Increase disorientation or panic in guests already battling current.

In a passage known for drownings long before boats arrived, these introduced hazards significantly raise overall risk.

3. Risks Introduced by Commercial Sea-Scooter Operations

Sea scooters have rapidly become a popular commercial activity in Avaavaroa Passage. Many operators promote them as suitable for people who are “not very good swimmers,” positioning the devices as a confidence boost or a substitute for swimming ability.

This creates several serious, introduced risks.

3.1. High Speed, Low Awareness

Sea scooters propel users far faster than they can swim, narrowing the reaction window in an already congested channel:

• Users can unintentionally collide with swimmers, guides, or boats.

• Sudden direction changes can cause impacts or near misses.

• Scooter users may reach deeper, rougher water before understanding the conditions.

3.2. A False Sense of Safety for Weak or Inexperienced Swimmers

Messaging that scooters make the passage “easier” attracts people who would normally avoid strong currents altogether. This introduces a risk that did not previously exist at the same scale:

• Participants depend on the device instead of their own ability.

• If a scooter fails or is dropped, a weak swimmer may be unable to cope.

• Mixed-ability groups become harder to manage in a turbulent, fast-moving channel.

3.3. Reduced Environmental and Situational Awareness

Scooter users often focus downward on turtles or coral rather than outward toward approaching other water users. When multiple scooters operate together, it also becomes harder for guides to communicate or respond quickly in emergencies.

In a passage where situational awareness can mean survival, this is a major introduced hazard.

4. Accumulating Risks Over the Past Three Years

Government agencies, media reports, and visitor forums all point to the same pattern:
A naturally hazardous environment has been made more hazardous by the introduction of motorised commercial activity.

Recent communications from tourism authorities highlight:

• Ongoing drownings and medical emergencies

• Concerns about inconsistent safety practices among operators

• The need for stronger regulations to protect both visitors and biodiversity

• Repeated warnings that the passage is “notorious for drownings”

While not every incident is directly linked to boats or scooters, the cumulative effect is clear:
More motorised activity + mixed-ability swimmers = heightened overall risk for everyone in the water.

5. Why Commercial Motorised Activities Attract Higher-Risk Participants

Avaavaroa Passage is easily accessed from shore and heavily promoted online. This accessibility, combined with commercial marketing, draws a broad mix of visitors—many of whom are not prepared for the realities of a rip-current passage.

5.1. Less Confident, Low-Fitness, or Inexperienced Swimmers

When sea-scooter companies advertise that guests “don’t need to be very good swimmers,” the passage becomes a magnet for:

• Moderate or low-confidence swimmers

• People who rely on the equipment rather than ability

• Visitors who would never attempt the passage independently

Similarly, boat-based tours often appeal to those who prefer entering from a vessel rather than swimming out themselves.

5.2. Introduced Medical Risks

International research shows that many snorkelling deaths worldwide result from underlying health conditions—especially heart disease and immersion pulmonary oedema—not from rip currents alone.

These risks increase significantly when:

• Older or less fit individuals are encouraged into demanding environments

• Visitors with high blood pressure, diabetes, or low fitness participate

• Powered craft allows high-risk individuals into environments beyond their ability

In Avaavaroa Passage, recent confirmed medical-related fatalities highlight how serious these risks are.

When high-risk customers are placed into a crowded, motorised, fast-moving passage, every emergency becomes more dangerous:

• Rescues are harder to perform safely

• Other guests may be drawn into the incident

• Boats, wake, scooters, and current all reduce the margin for error

These risks are introduced by the nature of the commercial activities drawing these customers in.

Conclusion: A Delicate Environment Made Riskier by Motorised Tourism

Avaavaroa Passage has always been powerful, beautiful, and naturally hazardous. But the rapid introduction of motor boats and sea scooters has added avoidable, human-made risks into a space that cannot safely accommodate them at scale.

These introduced hazards—traffic, speed, turbulence, reduced awareness, and the attraction of high-risk participants—combine with the natural dangers of the passage to create a significantly more complex and risky environment for everyone.

Protecting visitors, staff, and the marine ecosystem now depends on acknowledging the reality of these risks and ensuring that commercial activity does not compromise safety in one of Rarotonga’s most iconic, yet fragile, natural locations.