A Finescale Pair

      About ten days ago, at the Mahalo Banquet for Ironman volunteers, I made two new friends.  In fact, they were both friends and countrymen, they being Finnish, as was my mother.  Juha and Emmi are affiliated

Hyvää päivää Ho'okena

with the University of Nations.  In the spirit of the great Finnish diaspora, they agreed to accompany us snorkeling.  It was a bit hard to put things together, but finally on Sunday we picked them up and headed to Ho'okena.

     There were no dolphins, so we waited until 9:30 and then swam and swam.  We swam for over an hour.  The two young Finnns were good swimmers and admired the usual suspects, such as deigned to make an appearance.  Ashore, we had a nice early lunch of chicken salad sandwiches and Finnish Chocolate Cake, while Emmi and Juha told us a bit about Finland.  For what it is worth, Finland is remarkably rural with pine forests and bears.  To Finnish off the day, we took them to the Painted Church in Honaunau and St Peter's down by Kahalu'u.

Finescale Triggerfish, Kailua Kona Pier October 2013

    Although we enjoyed our new young friends immensely,  Sandra and I were disappointed that Ho'okena had shown so poorly.  This despite our pushing as hard as we could to find something interesting.  Sometimes it just isn't your day.   You can't force the fish.

     Happily, today I proved the corollary:  no matter where you go swimming, there is always a chance to see something special.  I had an hour to snorkel while Sandra visited her friendly dentist.  A ship was in down at the pier, so I had the chance to take a portrait of an older couple (with their camera) as they wandered into the village.  Tervetuloa to Kona! 

     My reward was found in the shallows not fifty feet from shore:  A pair of Finescale Triggerfish. This large gray triggerfish is a difficult species here on the Ironman course (and elsewhere in Kona.)  I see one only a   

Finescale Triggerfish, Balistes polylepis, Kailua Kona 2013

few times a year.  Usually, he is cruising fifteen feet deep.  The moment I turn in his direction, he takes off kovalla kiireellä into the gloom.   The closest I have been to one of these gray ghosts has been about thirty feet.  Suddenly, two of them were right below me.  I watched them at close range for about five minutes.  Here are two of my best pictures.

    In the last month, I have seen a single individual twice out in front of Hulihee's Palace.   In both instances the fish was deep and he sped away when I attempted to close.  Is it possible that he was scouting our shallows as a place to nest?  Rectangular Triggerfish lay eggs that hatch in one day.  That is why when you have a female humu humu chase you from her nest, she is gone the next day.  This year we have had a bumper crop of baby Rectangular Triggerfish in the shallows by the pier and at Kahalu'u.  It behooves us to look for tiny gray ghosts a few days after Halloween.  Spooky.

Hei hei,
jeff

Beach 69 and Proper Nutrition

     Beach 69 is not my favorite place to go snorkeling for a couple reasons:  it  is in the belt of coastline subject to the Waika-blowah winds and the water over the reef is frequently cloudy.  If I had a family, though, it would be among my favorites for a day at the beach.  The sand is as soft and inviting as Hapuna,

The Beach 69 Group:  Oval Chromis, Bluestripe Snapper and Milletseed

 just to the north, and there are lots of shade trees close to the water, the better to lounge while the kiddies build sand castles.    Last Thursday was perfect, not too hot, not too windy and Sandra and I arrived to find plenty of kids fossicking on the sand with their shovels and buckets.

    After setting up camp we hit the surf.  The water was cool and clear near shore.  The coral, such as it is,  starts about twenty yards offshore.  Sadly, the majority of the reef at Beach 69 is a poster child for coral death.  There are little bits of living coral, but mostly deteriorating, ragged stumps.  It seemesd appropriate, therfore,  that the water around this deteriorating coral garden was quite murky.  In the process of making our way through the devastation we saw three Stripebelly Puffers.  The third was a large one with golden fins (similar to the fish I saw recently at Kahalu'u) and he took off the moment he saw us.

    Once we were on the far side of the coral, the water became clear.  We swam all the way over to the northern cusp of the bay.  A year ago, we had spied a school of milkfish in the shallow water over the sand bottom.  This time there was nothing.  Just off the point, though, there were two small coralheads with a surprising group of fish.  In addition to the usual suspects, there were a large number of small Bluestripe Snappers, at least ten Milletseed Butterflyfish and group of Oval Chromis.  I have never before seen Oval Chromis in such shallow clear water.  They were beautiful and when I dove to take a picture, they could not

dive deeper.  Lucky me.  I got my best picture ever of this elusive fish.

    On the way back in, we again swam through the coral snags.  The water was surging back and forth, giving me and the Redoubtable SKG a chance to see if we were still good little swimmers.  It was a bit like Luke Skywalker negotiating the channels of the Death Star.  We all came through unscathed.

    At this point Sandra headed to the beach and I continued south to the outside of the big offshore rock.  there were a couple of intrepid 20 somethings sheltering on the seaside of the rock.  In the water, virtually at their feet, was an immature surge Wrasse.  If you look in any book, you will say to yourself, "How can he be so sure; the Surge and Christmas Wrasse

 immatures are sooo similar.   This fish was twice asa big as a Christmas Wrasse.  It was moving fast in the surging water so there is no accompanying picture.  But, as above, it looked like an immature Christmas Wrasse, albeit on steroids.

    Two days later I went swimming at the pier.  It was usual suspects until I made the turn for home.  In about ten feet, out by the last swim buoy, I encountered a Barred jack enjoying a good cleaning.  Nothing like a Cleaner Wrasse to render an otherwise wary fish into a subject for photography.

     Last but not least, especially if you happen to like coral, I'm going to share with you a picture from the day before the Ironman World Championships.  Prior to my swim,   I stopped at the Ironman Village

where I ate my fill of Powerbars, Bonk Breakers and Gu Chomps.  Chock full of energy and ready to swim, I discovered that the authorities had virtually closed the pier.   Employing local knowledge and a bit of stealth, I found my way onto the KIng Kam beach.  It was a glorious afternoon and I had a delightful swim out to Paul Allen's Reef. Off the entrance to the lagoon, I found this killer colony of Mushroom Coral.  This is a pretty rare species around the shallows of Kona...I'm sure I have never seen a more handsome colony.  

    Enjoy your Powerbars and see a fish for me.

jeff

Oval Chromis, Chromis ovalis,  Beach 69,  2013

Snap, Crackle, Pop ! Its A Great Day in Kona !

     Yesterday was a full and delightful day.   It began at 0630, loading the car with monstera.  If you're not a

With Golden Fins, Mr. Stripe Belly is a Real Show Horse!

tropical gardener, Monstera deliciosa is the plant that looks like giant philodendron, with leaves two feet wide and two and a half feet long.  The creeping fibrous stem can reach two inches in diameter.  From a gardener's standpoint, it really is a monster.

    Once loaded, I was off to the yard debris depository.  Luckily, it wasn't yet 8 AM.  The yard debris drop off faces the ocean.  Between about 4 and 8:30 Kona enjoys a land breeze which blows your leaves and stems into the bin.  If you come after 9:30, there is a strong sea breeze which blows the debris back in your face.  Earlier is better, but then you can't combine it with a trip to Costco. Decisions, decisions.

    My intention, apres monstera,  was to bop on down to the pier for a swim.  But as the fish don't really wake up until 10 AM (Jeffrey Hill, unpublished data) I motored back to Casa Ono, where the Redoubtable SKG and I chilled for a while before heading down to Kahalu'u.

Spotfin Scorpiofish,  Free Swimming Eclipse

     It was low tide at K Bay.  Sandra hates going in there at the ebb, but Sandra wasn't swimming yesterday.  She was still recovering from a gardening accident.  Which is to say, gardening in our yard is not for wimps.  Anyway, I made my way past the Reef  Teachers (who deliberately clog the entry thereby captivating their audience) and made the usual turn toward the sea.  Twenty yards along I was greeted by the loveliest Stripe Belly Puffer ever.  This is a fish that is rarely called lovely, but aren't those yellow and black fins the coolest thing ever?  Its also a fish that we hardly ever see anymore, so this cutie was a double delight.

    Following my efforts to photograph the Golden Fin Puffer, who was remarkably stand-offish for one of his clan, I made the clockwise circuit.  On the way I saw a fine Yellow Margin Moray, who posed cooperatively.  I always make a last run to the breakwater.  This time I was rewarded with the same Yellow Stripe Coris we saw a month ago.  The golden headed imature hogfish is long gone, but this guy seems to have made K Bay his home.  I could detect just a trace of of yellow towards the caudal peduncle.  Maybe he'll be turning into an adult pattern soon!

Spotfin Scorpionfish, Scorpaenodes balllieui,   Kahalu'u  October 2013

      Heading for home, among the rocks, I saw a small, dark and vertically striped fish.  I had observed this guy the week before.  That time, he swam under a rock and vanished.  This time I watched him as he swam to a rock and underwent as remarkable a metamorphosis as any fish I have ever seen.  This beauty sat still and allowed several photos at close range.  A couple were in perfect focus and the amazing result is here for your enjoyment.  After he left his hideaway, he donned an even more prosaic coat, which I am including for comparison. The only animal to which I can compare this Kafkaesque transformation is the Day Octopus.  And that is quite a compliment to the fish from the land of Snap, Crackle and Pop. 

     Authors Alert!     Resorting to the books we identified the fish as Kellogg's Scorpionfish.  When I submitted it to Dr Randall and John Hoover they both got back to me in less than 24 hours with the news that it was Spotfin Scorpionfish, S. ballieui.   Also a small unobtrusive fish.

     Back up on the slopes of Hualalai, the day was young.  After down loading the fish pictures it was time to get ready for the Parade of Nations; each year in the week prior to the Ironman World Championships, the participating athletes parade through the village.  Somehow, Sandra and I had never attended the parade, which is Kona's answer to Olympic Opening Ceremonies.  .

Marine Photographer Joshua Lambus

 This day we got in the car at 4 (the parade started at 5 PM) and were in gridlock on the Kuakini Hwy by 4:10.  We dodged into the large parking lot behind Coconut Grove  and found one of the few remaining parking spots.  (Its worth noting that when an event is held in Kailua, public parking is woefully inadequate.)

    Kailu's Finest had secured Alii Drive, so we strolled down the middle of the street on our way into the village.  Across from the market, we caught the tail end of the Keiki Dip and Dash.  This is an event in which Iron Children swim and then run the length of the village, about two hundred yards.  This is roughly the degree of exertion with which I would personally feel comfortable.  A little further on we ran into an IronFamily of five, the kids still in their dip and dash regalia, that consented to walk onto our blog.

    As we entered the village proper, we stopped into the JLambus Art Gallery.  Joshua is a local photographer of sea life.  We meet on the beach sometimes and compare notes.  I showed him the killer
picture of Kellogg's Scorpionfish. (Joshua is a killer fish identifier and he did not correct my erroneous identification.) In turn, he told that on a recent dive below 100 feet he had seen a  Decoy Scorpionfish.  Joshua is the real deal and he's got the killer hairdo.  You can look for his blog, as well.

Tiare with Judy and John Collins 

   We finally found a seat on sea wall and were soon joined by a lady of a certain age from New Zealand.  Tiari has run several Ironmans and was running again this year.  She had decided to rest with us and join the Kiwi contingent when they reached that point on the parade route.  Soon the parade began and Tiare leaped up to embrace a gentleman and his wife who were wearing the leis of honored guests.  She told us the man was John Collins, who as an officer in the  US Navy stationed in Honolulu, invented the Ironman on in 1978.  I guess Tiare is the real deal, too.

    The teams marched by alphabetically and all were greeted warmly by the crowd.  The French team sang the Marseilles (They had Sandra and I looking for Victor Laslow and Richard Blaine.) and the Germans sang that olay olay song heard at soccer matches.  The team from Brazil marched to a couple humongous bongo drums.  It seemed to me that Joshua Lambus, with his

The Ironman Timing Director with the Ultimate Ajudicator.

 outstanding dreadlocks should have been made an honorary member of the team (There was no one marching from Jamaica.)

     Finally, the team from the USA appeared.  Hines Ward rode by in a car with his posse throwing small nerf footballs to lucky kids.  Hines has lots of credentials:  NFL receiver, Korean rights advocate, Dancing With the Stars and, now, the Ironman.   He qualified by winning the the Kansas 70.3 (which is exactly half a true Ironman).  That's pretty impressive, but its not clear that he's ever run a full Ironman Triathlon.  He seems like a great guy.  Good luck to Hines.

    At last it was time for for Ironman Jeopardy for 1000.  Alex Trebec: "She is pushing her bike in the middle of the USA contingent and is hands down the cutest girl in the Ironman."   To which I shout out, "Who is Kelly Miyahara?"   Yes, it was!  She was looking hot in a red tank top and long, black bike pants (I'm talking a seriously high temperature on this breathless Hawaiian afternoon)  In any event, she made me so proud to be an American that I yelled her

Kelly Can Represent My Country Any Day!

name.  She turned, smiled, shook my hand and asked, "Do I know you?"  To which I replied, "Only through the internet."  This apparently is a pretty good answer in the age of Twitter, for she shook my hand again and gave me a dazzling smile.  I felt like Ned Niederlander after he met Dorothy Gish.  I bid her good luck in the race and she returned to the parade.

    Kelly qualified for the World Championships by competing in Kona Inspired with a touching story about the passing of one of her triathlon teammates.  She didn't win anything on the road.  However, unlike Hines Ward, she has actually completed a full Ironman Triathlon.  Her time at the Ironman Canada 2012, competed at Whistler, was such that we predict she will finish between 7 and 8 PM.  Four hours before the ultimate adjudicator closes the course.   Hopefully we will see neither Kelly or Hines in the medical tent, but just thinking about those 141 miles under the blazing sun are enough to give me a stroke!

    Well, U is near the end of the alphabet, so we started walking back to the car, passing many of the contingents along the slow moving parade route.  Just as we broke free, we reached one of the celebrities who you've never heard

 Natascha Badmann is the Real Deal.  And a Good Sport.

of.  Natascha Badmann of Switzerland was riding in the rumble seat of a shiny old car replica.  She was the women's champion six times between 1998 and 2005.  And she's running again this year.  Not be outdone by the minions of Alex Trebec, Natascha smiled and signed our program.  She is likely to finish between 5 and 6 PM.

    Its really unlikely that Natascha will end up in the medical tent, so it was a good thing we met her at the parade. And there's nothing fishy about her or the Ironman World Championships. 

jeff

While you're at the Ironman,  won't you please drop in for a bite at K Bay.

My Father Would Disown Me if I Didn't Include the Canadians!

The Ironman Is Coming...and So Is Kelly!

     Last week the pace picked up in Kailua Kona.  There were more cars driving faster, more people on the

Deck the Halls with Flags of Athletes 

streets. More bike riders.  And way more people swimming on the Ironman side of the peer.  Which is far from coincidental, as the Ironman World Championships will be run next Saturday.

    The King Kamehameha Hotel is decorated for the occassion; Sandra and I were there the morning that the national flags of the athletes were hung in the back hall.  They have the countries with the greater number of athletes at the front of the hall.  There's a lot of flags (Sandra says that 52 countries are represented by athletes, but I swear there's more like 100 flags.) hung in echelons of thirty or so.  The USA, Australia, the UK and Deutschland are at the front.  By the time you get to the back of the hall there are some truly obscure flags.

    As the Ironman side of the pier is now largely taken over by practicing swimmers (I ran into one rather

Speckled Scorpionfish Sebastapistes coniorta  Kahalu'u 2013

 painfully a week ago) I have been snorkeling alternative venues.  At Kahalu'u last week I got my best picture ever of the obscure and cryptic Spotted Scorpionfish.  This little guy lives in Pocillopora (cauliflower) coral.  Dive down and look at enough corals and sooner or later you will find one.  They are difficult to photograph because they are wedged so deeply among the branches.  I'm very proud of this picture.  If you look carefully you will see the spines on the dorsal fin!

    Its fun to hang with the training Ironmen and with that in mind, Sandra and I volunteered this week at the information booth on the pier.  Mostly this involved filling the five gallon juice dispensers, but we did get to talk to a few of the athletes.  And I've been swimming on the north side of the pier, out on Paul Allen's Reef.  Sadly, it hasn't been all that productive recently.  No barracuda or porcupinefish and Mr. Scribble is no where to be seen.  

Saddleback Butterfly Swimmin' in the Crystal

However the water has been warm and clear and there's been a few good fish, including an orange tailed immature of the Pink Tailed Triggerfish and a Saddle Back Butterfly swimming in the Kona crystal.

    Since the shark episodes of the summer, I've been swimming out on the PAR a lot less frequently.  A good part of this is that one is, more often that not, truly alone out there.  Some days there might be a kayak or another swimmer, but usually its just me and my friends the fish.  The Ironman has proved a good impetus for getting me back into this special spot.  Regardless of seeing a new species, it is truly beautiful out there.  The coral is as intact as anywhere in Hawaii, the water is frequently perfectly clear.  And to be honest, I have not heard of a shark on the PAR. 

    The biggest news I have today has virtually nothing to do with fish.  Hang on all you Kailuaites, because Kelly is coming!   Unless you are a Jeopardy geek like me, you may be oblivious to Kelly Miyahara.  She is

Go Kelly!

the perky Asian member of the Jeopardy Clew Crew.   As a typical day at Casa Ono includes an invigorating swim and hopefully a killer fish or crab encounter, so does it include watching jeopardy, which comes on at 4:30 in the afternoon.  the quiz show stars Alex Trebec, who is both the good cop and the bad.  Serving as foil to Trebec are the three young adults who deliver some of the clues.  Kelly is my favorite.  Check out the Ironman site to read the touching story behind Kelly's appearance in the Ironman.   

    Your humble correspondent will be working in the medical tent at the finish line.  I don't hope to see Kelly in the infirmary, but maybe she will wave as she walks by.  Or maybe we'll see her swimming out on the PAR!

jeff