Mike Fliegelman treaded water until he spied Ryan Steindler on the beach, then held up his right hand, with his thumb and pinky extended to form a wide “Y.” In Hawaii, the gesture means “hang loose.” ...

Jason Smith can’t get the sight of those huge jaws out of his mind. “All I could see was a big white mouth opening up,” said Smith, who tussled with an alligator while snorkeling during the weekend.