Most people can’t measure seas correctly. Three footers are commonly reported as five. From the video I saw it did look more like short chops than long swells which as you say are not nearly as dangerous as short choppy seas.
IMHO, a high profile death such as Fuddys should have been done by a team of physicians, anywhere but in Hawaii, who specialize in such deaths. This entire investigation looks like a typical low rent obama type coverup,IMHO.
I would have expected far more turbulence around a plane that was awash if the seas had been as ‘rough’ as claimed.
I have had to swim in far rougher water, and while there is a trick to it, what I was seeing in either the video or stills was not anywhere as bad as people are making it out to be.