December at the Dog Beach

   It had been a while since I had been to the Dog Beach, that sweet little crescent of sand just seaward of the Honokohau boat basin.  My regular snorkeling partner, the Redoubtable SKG, has been rendered hors de combat by her ophthalmologist at KP.org (he said no swimming for 30 days following cataract surgery).  

Bluestripe Butterflyfish  Kailua Pier  January 2014

This being the case, it took little convincing to get Bob Hillis to join me for a snorkel at Playa del Perros.

    It was a calm morning in Kailua with little wind and moderate wave action.  Big surf was in the offing, though, so this seemed like just the time to squeeze in this adventure.  As you know, it is only a couple miles from Kailua to the harbor, so we were surprised at the power of the wind.  And the surf was bigger, too.  We watched the breakers for a few minutes and saw a couple sets with 18 inch faces.  All this was inside the margin of safety so Bob and I headed on down to the Dog Beach.

     I'm pleased to say that at this point the pathway from the parking area down to the beach is as easy as it has ever been.  Below the ridge, either mother nature or a kindly menehune has positioned stones through the boulder field to make an easy transit.
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    On the beach, the wind was blowing about twenty knots.  Although this created a bit of a problem positioning a grass mat, it rendered the area a no fly zone.  Curiously, Bob said that he hadn't noticed a fly

Orangetail Filefish  at the Dog Beach, Honokohau April 2013

problem on the Dog Beach.  For Sandra and myself, it is a fairly big issue.  We used to love to lounge on this beach after a swim.  People still hang out under the trees here, but we can't understand how they tolerate the flies.  Anyway, there were no flies on Frank today and only one friendly border collie for Bob to play with as we headed into the water.

    We must have timed our entry perfectly, for the bay was full of water and washed us right out.  On the outside, I immediately spotted a Blue Stripe Butterfly.   You don't see that fellow very often, so the trip was already a success.  We swam back and forth in the shallows, hoping for a Fantailed or Orangetail Filefish.  Neither put in appearance on this day.

    Another fish that did not put in an appearance was a tiger shark.  You may recall that following the great shark imbroglio of September 2013, we have become aware that these beasts are found near this dive site with appalling regularity.  I was on red alert.  Despite my vigilance, I did not see a shark.  Which I guess is a good thing.   If circumstances had worked out well  (i.e., without a call to the EMTs or the county coroner) it might have been fun to add the shark to our 2014 list.   But I can live without it.  Literally.

     Bob dove down in an area where he had seen a frogfish a month ago,but was unable to find froggy this day.   About fifty yards this side of the green buoy we got a close look at a large Thompson's Surgeonfish.

My charming daughter Tara wading at the Dog Beach

On the way in, we nabbed a juvenile Reticulated Butterfly, only about two inches long, working his way in and out of the coral in the surge zone.


    The swim back in was easy and we soon found ourselves walking back up the lava ridge to the parking area.  As we left the ridge we encountered a family of four on their way down.  The two children were wearing life preservers, which probably indicated that these were tourists.  Bob gave them a run down on the ocean conditions and I chimed in the the little bay was a very safe place for the kids to frolic.  I neglected to tell them that it was unlikely that the tiger sharks would enter the little bay.   Live and learn That's my motto.

jeff