A Christmas Wrasse on Christmas Eve 2023

I'm dreaming of a white urchin.

    Two days ago Sandra and I went snorkeling together at Kahalu'u.  We picked a time based on tide, halfway between full and empty it was going to be one foot at one o'clock, and the wave conditions, which were mild.  We also noted the weather, which was just about the opposite of what Bing Crosby crooned in Mele Kalikimaka.   His Hawaiian Christmas was clear and bright while what Kona was experiencing was stormy with a chance of meatballs.  Did I get that right?

     Hence, at the height of Christmas vacation the bay was almost deserted.  But the water was still somewhere on the warm side of frigid as the two of us pushed off towards the corner, going for the Christmas Wrasse first.  Just as we reached the boulders near Alii Drive, we heard a gentle pattering, like someone making popcorn in the next room.  Yes, Virginia, big fat raindrops were falling on my head.  And Sandra's, too, for that matter.  When you're already submerged, the latent heat of evaporation doesn't come into play, so the effect was actually pleasant.  Perhaps this is the closest you can get to a White Christmas in Kona.

Stout Moray with lockigen haar.  Kahalu'u December 2023

     And the tutu sings, "I'm dreaming of a wet Christmas, on any cold Hawaiian day. Where the puddles glisten, and keikis listen, to hear raindrops in the bay."

    Undeterred, we swam on.  Almost out to the Rescue Shelter, we were met by a nice, fat Christmas Wrasse speeding in the other direction.  Hoping for a picture, I struggled to free the camera, but before I could shoot he was long gone. Aloha nui loa.

     By this time, the rain had stopped and we made our way into the middle of the bay.  There we saw a bunch of long spined urchins and one that was almost white.  Well, maybe it only seemed that way.  But it was different enough that I held out hope for something special, even though it fell into the standards of the Banded Urchin.   I even sent this picture to John Hoover, who must be bored, because he wrote back immediately, confirming what it said in his book.  "Sometimes those urchins are almost all white. Check out p.313 of the creature book."  Which I already had.  Why do I waste his time?

A Plump Puffer and His Christmas Cleaner

     A bit further along, we saw this nice eel, golden of hue and with an unusual rectilinear pattern behind his head.  He was  just brave enough to maintain his position while I dove to take his picture, which he promised to put on a Christmas card and send to all his slithery relations as soon as he can get to the post office.  As long as I was boring John Hoover with urchins, I ran this one by him and he conformed, despite the interesting  geometric patch, stout moray. 

   Finally, we saw this fine chubby puffer with an attentive cleaner wrasse, always a treat.

     Sadly, the following morning, it was revealed that the snorkeling experience had left the lovely Miss Sandra hors de combat.  Or at least, hors de plongées libres., as Jaques Cousteau might have intoned.

    Accepting what life gives us, in the late morning, following our yuletide run to the yard debris, I was dropped off at the pier for a swim on Paul Allen's Reef.  As an aside, it almost doesn't seem like Christmas in Kona without Paul's helicopter hovering over the Kailua Pier.   

Yellowtail Scad in the Inner Harbour,  Christmas Eve 2023

    Christmas Eve was overcast, but not raining.  Starting out in the Inner Harbour, the water was cold, but tolerable, and only a bit cloudy.  This was lucky, because out by Kamehameha's heiau I ran into a school of Yellowtail Scad.  This was only my second experience with this species.  Unlike its far more common cousin, the Big-eye Scad, yellowtails tends to live in deeper water, as opposed to inshore bays.  So while far from rare, it is not seen commonly by snorkelers.  And is not found on any page in Hoover's fish book.

Saint Freckleface perched upon his Christmas Coral

    Shortly thereafter, I saw a juvenile Surge Wrasse.  Very similar to Thalasoma yuletideii.   In the pas,t and under duress, I have been tempted to claim this fish for the completion of the Christmas Wrasse on Christmas Day quest.  The juveniles are very similar, but there are a couple good clues to separate them and to the best of my recollection I have not succumbed to that Grinchy temptation.  

   The water was much warmer in the small bay that faces both the luau grounds of the Kamehameha Hotel and the entrance to Paul Allen's lagoon.  And in patches it was fairly clear.  On one clump of meandrina coral I spotted a small Freckle Faced hawkfish that held still.  And there were other fish, but not a profusion. 

   I checked a couple other cauliflower corals for Spotted Scorpionfish and Coral Croucher, but to no avail.  And then I turned towards the point that separates this small inlet from Kailua Bay proper.  And this is when all hell broke loose.  What had been a peaceful pond was now a very bumpy ride with lots of current and slosh.  I hate C and S, don't you?  I had hoped for a Christmas Wrasse in this area, but I was distracted by the need to stay clear of the rocks.  Without seeing too much, I made it around the point where there were a few of the usual suspects and then turned back.  

Whitespotted Surgeon at the entrance to Paul Allen's Lagoon

   It had been relatively calm on the ocean side, but back in the inlet it was actually rougher.  As I approached the entrance to Paul Allen's lagoon , I was greeted by three Whitespotted Surgeons.  A fish usually seen where the waves are breaking violently against the rocks, their presence here was indicative of the turbulent conditions.  

   The Whitespotted Surgeons were joined in the moving water by a pair of Sailfin Tangs and a school of yellow Tangs.  I got a couple pictures of this group, which was cavorting right in the lagoon entrance.   As it turns out, the lagoon entrance is formed by steep walls of lava reaching down ten feet or so, deep enough to provide a safe channel for boats at low tide.  Now these rocks, ordinarily ignored by the casual snorkeler, were being buffeted by waves, creating a playground for these kings of the surf.  

We Three Kings of Paul Allen' Lagoon.  /  We're determined to make Jeff look a buffoon.

The Christmas Wrasse on Christmas Eve 2023

    Well, I made it across the lagoon entrance, a mere forty feet, to the opposing ridge of steep lava, and there I struck pay dirt.   In the swirling water was a large, beautiful Christmas Wrasse.  He was swimming hither and yon, the light conditions were terrible  and the water was turbulent and full of debris, but a picture, the type that verifies what you saw regardless of pleasing aeshetic quality, was mandatory.  I took a bunch of pictures and you see the best. 

     As I was working on getting a picture, while placing a priority on keeping myself afloat, a smaller Christmas Wrasse swam by.  Much smaller, but with full adult coloration.  I tried to get his picture, as well, but only succeeded in getting a tail on perspective.

    While what you see here is not fit for a Christmas card, it at least it documents our success on Christmas Eve in Kona.   

    The swim wasn't over.  I made it across the bay uneventfully, but ended up  a good distance to the left of the entrance into the Inner Harbour.  As I made my turn, a juvenile five stripe wrasse swam by.  I followed him for a bit and attempted some pictures.  The deplorable conditions persisted and he wasn't really a very pretty fish.  As I was failing at this endeavor, an even smaller, less colorful five stripe appeared. 

   In lieu of showing you another poor picture, I'm including a picture of the same fish, initial phase Five Stripe Wrasse, taken in exactly the same spot on Christmas Day 2018.  Merry Christmas from the editorial staff at the blog.

   Admitting the futility of this enterprise I started for the harbor entrance.  Perhaps I wasn't paying attention, which isn't the best thing to do when you are swimming by yourself in the ocean, but I made a wrong turn onto rip rap that terminated on the wave tossed shore.  Luckily I was able to turn around with only a few bumps, and no cuts, and found the correct rip rap to swim over.   Soon enough I was back inside, where young families from places like Fresno and Omaha were enjoying the calm, frigid water. 

The Warrior of Kalikimaka.

   On shore, I was  standing in front of the Kona Boys shack, putting on my hat and dark glasses when a gentleman stepped into the shallows a few yards away.  Bare to the waist, he struck a pose like a Hawaiian petroglyph and then at the top of his lungs he exclaimed, " I have been a warrior!  I killed ten years ago! This is my testimony!..." It went on for an uncomfortable while.  The people from Omaha were aghast, but the ones from Fresno were like,  "Just get on with it."

     And that's how it is when you go snorkeling at the Kona Pier on Christmas.   

Mele Kalikimaka. 

 jeff