The Benefits of Jellyfish

   Yesterday I was dropped off for an afternoon swim while Sandra went shopping.  As I made my way down to the pier I spied a strand of danger tape across the steps down to the little Ironman beach.  I was

The cushion starfish in its new location.

 expecting that there was some physical problem.  Perhaps a tsunami had snuck in unbeknownst and taken out the steps.  But, no.  A piece of paper attatched to the yellow and black tape advised, "Danger!  Jellyfish! Swim At Your Own Risk."

     One thing was for sure, without my cell phone, I was going to be at the pier for the next hour and a half.  Luckily, there was a young lady stripping off her wetsuit who informed me that she had just swum a mile, presumably out past the Royal Kona Resort, and had not seen any jellyfish.  She reported that some people had seen some box jellyfish out on the other side, by which she meant Paul Allen's Reef.

    With that encouraging information, I completed my preparation and made my way under the danger tape, careful not to dislodge the admonishing piece of paper, and down to the water.  It was extremely peaceful there.  No children were engaged in sand fights.  No novice paddleboarders flapped and fell.  No adolescent couples were engaged in their flirtations.  Only a couple of thirty somethings from New Zealand were there.

A Polynesian Halfbeak Swims the bay oblivious to jellyfish

 And they were leaving.  As they strolled out of the sea, the young man reported that they had not seen any jellyfish.

    I was truly alone on the beach.

    As I put on my fins, the Bodyglove set to sea, full of tourists huddled high above the dangerous waters.  Now I was truly alone.  Watching carefully for jellies, I swam through some remarkably clear water.  In fact, the clarity was better than it had been for a while and I was hopeful that, jellyfish not withstanding, this might be a day for a good photograph.  Or two.

    First thing, I swam beneath the floating line and out to the spot where we have seen the cushion star.  He was a bit deeper, but basically in the same spot, opposite the light post where the tenders from the cruise ships dock.   One never really knows how much an animal like that moves around.  In the case of this particular starfish, about three

Shortnose Wrasse, Kailua Kona February 2016

 feet in the course of five or six days. During this time, two cruise ships have come with multiple tenders delivering scores of tourists.  (As the local economy apparently depends heavily on these worthies, my editor forbids me to refer to them as sea going rats.)  Regardless, the starfish appears unaffected by this maritime  activity.

    Having photographed the sea star (again) I made my way back toward the swim area where I caught up with a school of polynesian halfbeaks.  They permitted me to get fairly close and I was lucky to get the picture you see here.

    As there were still no jellyfish to scare me away, I swam out to the first orange mooring buoy.  You will recall that the day we found the cushion star I also spotted a Potter's Angelfish and a shortnose wrasse in the vicinity of this buoy.  I believe those species will stick around in a location for weeks, but the last time I

Hidden Hermit Crab, Ca. latens,  February 2016

 checked, I found neither of these individuals.  It took a few minutes, but the shortnose wrasse finally made an appearance.   I dove several times in about ten feet of delightfully clear water, coming up with the picture you see here, possibly my best picture of this handsome fish.  As we have mentioned before, the shortnose is not extremely uncommon,  If one is observant, he can hope to see one or two individuals in a year.  However, I was really lucky to catch this guy in clear water on the day the jellyfish cleared out Kailua Bay.

   As I was diving the shortnose, I saw a few hermit crabs on the coral.  Diving down and holding on I finished off the day with this nice picture of a Hidden Hermit Crab who had taken up residence in a small triton shell.  So ornamented is the triton that you might mistake the hermit for Aunt Winifred on Easter morning.  Or possibly the queen at Ascot.  One needs to remember that both this

Look carefully for the tentacles

species and guamensis have that black band with a constellation of white spots on the claw.  The Guam hermit crab is introduced while this slightly more uncommon hermit is a native.  This guy was obliging, and when plucked from the coral, he poked his head out and said hello.



   On the way in I did not see any jellies, but I did notice a couple of those jars (so handy for consuming potent potables) in which they are sold up the hill at Safeway.  I leave it up to cousin Don to photoshop a jelly jar bearing the likeness of a box jellyfish.  Smucker's Box Jellies, its got a real sting to it.

jeff

Being a hermit crab, I'll have my Scotch on the rocks. 

And if you don't mind, bring it one of those handy little jars.