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

Making the Most of A Shark

    Hot on the heels of the great shark  abuse imbroglio out at Honokohau, we arrived yesterday afternoon at Kahalu'u to find the beach closed.  There was a sign on the beach alerting one and all to the Shark Sighting.

鮫  攻撃 How Could a Shark Attack These Cuties?

The friendly lifeguard (Not!) had even called two of Kailua's Finest to be on hand in the event that someone should attempt to enter the shark infested waters.  I suppose that if one insisted on swimming with the shark, the men in blue would have no alternative but to shoot you.  The ensuing exsanguination would then attract even more sharks, proving their point beyond a reasonable doubt.

    There was no swimming to be done, but the chances for improving international relations were almost boundless.  I went down to the littoral to nab a picture of the Shark Citing sign, only to find a Japanese gentleman ahead of me.  He was photographing the sign with his four cute girls to provide human interest.  I assumed that  he was Japanese because he was speaking to the on'nanoko (girls) in Japanese.   After he got his shot, the on'nanoko wandered off.   I asked if I could include his daughters in my picture, as well.  The dad spoke to his daughters (heaven only knows what he said) and the and the results speaks for itself.  Domo arigato.

Yoshi and His Family.  Waiting for the Shark.

    Having made the most of that opportunity, I spotted my good friend Yoshi and his family milling around on the beach.   They've been hanging around K Bay for about a week.  A few days ago, attracted to their handsome red swim shirts, I screwed up my courage and attempted to ask about the shirts.  Yoshi speaks very little Engilish, so on my first attempt I didn't learn much, except that the shirts were purchased in Japan.  With such paltry information, I was unable to find the shirts on the internet.  

   Well, as there was little else to do and as Yoshi had proved to be such a good sport, this seemed like the ideal time to show him that (in these United States) no good deed goes unpunished.  So I approached Familia Yoshi for a second time.  He was still in good humor, but wondered what time the beach would re-open for swimming.  I said, "How the heck do I know?"   And then I asked if he would tell me the manufacturer of his shirt.  Which looks even better on the two josei, but I didn't tell him that.

Why is he talking about me?  I don't even like swimming.

   The answer was Mont-Bell, a clothing company founded in Japan by  Isamu Tatsuno, whose lifelong goals were to climb the Eiger and sell moutaineering equipment.  Sounds like he should be working for (or own) REI.  Just to show that he is well rounded, Isamu also practices the Tea Ceremony and plays the Japanese flute.  Which may make him the Nippon equivalent of Rajesh Koothrappali. 

    At any rate, I tracked down Mont-Bell on the internet.  They are going to open a flagship store in Portland next month, but there is no way that we here on this side of the pond can buy one of their swim shirts...in Portland or on Amazon.com Mont-Bell sells only running, climbing and winter sports equipment.  I don't need another high end parka.  Anyway, as far as I can tell, Mont-Bell is not currently producing snappy red swim shirts.

Look at Sandra's Cute Eyes!

 畜生 (This is the symbol for chikusho, which is the equivalent of  "Damn it!"   An indication of frustration and failure.) Yoshi and his ladies were happy to pose for a picture and we said sayanora.  And watch out for the shark!  鮫  攻撃

    As a parting cultural tidbit, I'd like to point out that in both of the pictures, the Japanese girls held up the V sign.  In Japan, this dates back to 1972 and the Sapporo Olympics.  Janet Lynn,  a U.S. figure skater gave a plucky performance and became a minor  celebrity.  Everywhere she went, she flashed the peace sign.  If you are my age, you will remember those days.  The Japanese, especially young women, began imitating her  peace sign.  Its now a singular Japanese gesture, especially for girls being photographed.  It may mean peace and sometimes they will say "Peace!", but its more in the fashion that we say,"Cheeeese!"  Its more likely to mean "I'm ready to have my picture taken."    It is said that when they hold the peace sign near their face, it is to draw your attention to their smiling eyes.  And possibly away from their cute bodies!

jeff

The Tiger Sharks of Honokohau

    Recently a video went viral on YouTube.  Two young men caught a tiger shark while fishing from the entrance to the harbor at Honokohau.  They took turns landing the shark and making a video of their

It Was Either Him Or Me!

exploits.  Being teenagers out on a lark, they exhibit a fair amount of youthful exuberance, bordering on frivolity.  They weren't alone out there.  This is, after all, the only boat harbor for the Kona Coast.  Other people observed them and a couple captured their deeds on film.  Supposedly the boys released the shark after the battle.

     Shortly after the episode, the boys posted their video on YouTube.  It took a day or two for it to catch fire, but soon enough it had gone viral.  Sandra and  I first heard about the video from Chris Barela, the artist who makes the cool octopus tables (and is now marketing them in his own gallery at the Mauna Lani shops.)  By the next day, the media had weighed in with a wheel barrow full of sanctimonious baloney.  The following evening we heard from my brother, who had seen the affair lambasted on one of the morning news programs.  Chuck came away with the impression

Peter from Jack's Dive Locker  and the Scene of the Crime.

that the tiger shark was a harbor pet!

     It was obvious that we here at Kona Snorkeling blogspot had to weigh in on this nefarious situation, so the next morning, after dropping off our yard debris at the Kona recycling center, the Redoubtable SKG and I made our way another mile north to Honokohau.  There we discovered an office for Jack's Diving Locker.   Jack's is a great company.  They'll take you diving or snorkeling from a boat, are good at reef fish identification and dedicated to protecting the marine environment.   I was lucky to interview Peter, the dive guide who was holding down the fort.  He was kind enough to take Sandra and I outside and show us the spot from which the boys caught the shark...essentially the rip rap at the mouth of the harbor.  He confirmed that the tiger shark was

Sandra Looks Cool in the Park at Honokohau

no pet.  There are a number of tiger sharks that frequent the channel outside the harbor waiting for lunch in the form of fish guts chucked overboard by the returning fishing fleet.  The victim was lured to its doom by chumming, throwing something in the water to attract fish, which is illegal in Hawai'i.

   In fact, the only law the yutes (see My cousin Vinny) broke was chumming.  This transgression got them a stern talking to by Kailua's finest, probably the first time the men in blue have given a rat's pitoot about a fishing infraction.  Proving once again that he power of the box is an amazing thing. 

    Back inside, we talked about Jack's mission statement, how the company had sent representatives, including our new friend Peter, to testify at the hearings held to discuss limiting spear fishing and collecting by scuba divers. Peter told us that a member of Jack's staff had appeared on TV in relation to this incident.  He also pointed out  the parking lot where 18 months ago 500 reef fish were dumped.   The fish were apparently collected for the aquarium trade and inadvertently killed.  This was a source of great interest for about two months.  I think the police got involved in that one, as well, although no one was apprehended.  So make this current incident the second time the men in blue have given a pitoot.   

Perhaps the Boys Were Channeling Richard Dreyfus.

 
     Peter was under the misapprehension that Governor Abercrombie ( he of the killer Orson Welles impersonation) was about to do something about all this fish abuse.  Your humble correspondent, having read the same blurb in the local paper, had followed up on this with a call to the the governor's office.  I had to give Peter some bad news. The edict is no where near the governors desk and Orson's ladylike phone representative cautioned me not to hold my breath.  Unless, of course, I wanted to end up like the fish in the Honokohau parking lot.

     Our last stop out at the boat harbor was the scene of the crime.  As it turns out, if you follow the road out past the parking area for the Dog Beach, it dead ends at a pretty little park on the south cusp of the harbor entrance.  There was a nice breeze blowing and it was delightfully cool under the trees. 

A Small Boat Returns Through the Shark Channel

This would be a great spot for a picnic, shade being a top commodity here in Kona.  In fact, there were two guys in beach chairs taking their morning leisure amid the pleasant leafiness with a view of the boat traffic in the channel.  From the small park, we found a primitive stairway down to the water, the Via Della Vergogna employed  by our young Hemingways.   The morning sun wasn't too hot, so Sandra and I strolled down and sat on the very rocks where we enjoyed the historical perspective.  Not to mention the engaging boat traffic.

   Sitting on the rocks we were brought back to the issue at hand.   To wit, we have the talking heads and morning show hosts all decrying cruelty to animals by teenage boys.  I was a teenage boy once, and I gotta tell ya, peer pressure forced me to turn my back on a  veritable parade of animal cruelty.  Even then, I didn't like it.  But I would be a hypocrite if I denied that,
like many a good German circa 1942, I turned my back and pretend that my friends weren't doing some evil things.  And I probably participated in some things that I regret.  Mea culpa!

    To be intellectually honest, one has to take a step back and think about a few things.  First, sharks aren't the smartest animals in the sea.  The State of Hawai'i does precious little to protect reef fish, virtually all of which are much more highly evolved than sharks.  Do you think those fish you see on the stringer suffered less than the shark?  They were speared, strung and left to suffocate.  Sounds like something that occurred on Calvary.  And collectors, who are apparently more prevalent than we would like to believe, lose a large portion of their catch to disease and suffocation.  In this instance, I'm not talking about depleting our reefs of fish for our viewing enjoyment, just animal cruelty.  If you think those kids were cruel, I believe a parallel accusation could be made against every single fisherman.

    And while we're at it, lets acknowledge that Hawai'i permits endless cruelty to rain down upon the heads

The Octopus Table, Chris Barela Gallery

 of one of our most intelligent sea creatures, the octopus.  Compared to Señor Tiburon, the octopus is Albert Einstein.  Yet I am forced to listen to one of the neighbor children boast about spearing an octopus in the shallows by Kailua pier.  Do you think that cephalopod had a pleasant death?  Please! My new friend Chris Barela tried to explain why adolescents kill animals, in particular our mutual friends the octopus.  His feeling was that it was a way for them to demonstrate their power in a world in which they didn't yet have very much.  And, of course,  in these very Sandwich Islands, ain't nobody gonna say shit.

     At this juncture, I am going to throw a line into the ether in the direction of Paul Allen.  I don't know if Mr. Allen is much of an environmentalist, but he did name his yacht the Octopus.  I'm hoping that someone out there knows Mr. Allen and will let him know that a couple million aimed at octopus preservation in Hawai'i would be appreciated.  You might also tell him about Chris Barela's coffee table which I'm sure would fit into the decor on the namesake vessel!

. 

Whitebar Surgeonfish, Honokohau, 10 AM

    One of the Jack's Diving Locker associates, a well spoken and deep thinking lady named Patty, pointed out that shark conservation is genuinely important.  I can remember sitting in the college library in 1969
reading about shark fishing and wondering what effect this would have on the ocean.  Worldwide, we have seen a drastic reduction in shark numbers.  Regardless of animal cruelty, it is reasonable that sharks be protected in Hawai'i and around the world.

    The bottom line here, is that the reef animals need to be protected.  I'm willing to play the tourism card.  The cruelty card.  What ever.  The sea creatures are being killed off and they need a friend in the worst possible way.

     Now its time to get down to the nit and the grit.  This blog is dedicated in large part to safe snorkeling and fish identification.  Honokohau, aka The Dog Beach, is an excellent place to take your young family for a swim (as long as they are OK with canines) and a

Heller's Barracuda.  A Regular Only at Honokohau.

major arrow in my quiver full of great places to see unusual fish following a safe shore entry.  The people at Jack's Dive Locker are in an excellent position to tell us about sharks at this site.  Every time we enter on the Dog Beach we swim out to the mooring buoy used by dive boats.  Frequently I will chat with the people on board a boat.  Several times I have swum around the Jack's Dive Locker boat.  They are at this spot every week.

    According to the dive guides at Jack's,  they are now seeing one or more tiger sharks at this dive site at least half the time.  Sometimes the sharks approach them while they are diving.  They say that this has been the case for over a year and the sharks don't make them very nervous.  The dive guides  feel they are at less risk than surface swimmers. The people at Jack's have not heard of a shark attack at Honokohau.  However, everyone agrees that it is safer to avoid shark infested waters at sunrise and sunset and when the water is cloudy.   And make no mistake, every single shark attack in Hawai'i is perpetrated by a tiger shark!

A Dive Boat Moored at the Honokohau Reef

   Last April I went to Honokohau with my nephew Andrew.  Being early birds, we entered the water about 9:30.   Not exactly sunrise, but we were the first ones in the water that morning.   There were few fish until 10:00, when a huge school of Whitebar Surgeon emerged from the reef.  It was a mystical experience.  And we did not see a shark. 

   In the past year Sandra and I have taken other friends swimming there.  Its a great place with a fun entry and a chance to see some unusual fish.  (Heller's Barracuda and Yellowtail Filefish are two specialties of this site.) We have never seen a shark.  Sadly, though, Honokohau must now bear this warning.  I imagine I will go there again, but if you choose to swim there, please be aware:  These are Shark Infested Waters!

jeff

          

A Most Amazing Immature

     A couple days ago, I wanted to show Sandra the Yellowstripe Coris.  Kahalu'u has been good to us lately and our luck held.  A thorough search revealed the immature wrasse.   As it turns out, Sandra had

already seen that fish.  Over the last week or so she had been muttering about immature parrotfish and the Dancing Queen.  The latter is an immature Black Snapper, small with black and white stripes and dots that emerges at sunset to dance in the shallows of Lipah Bay, Bali.

     Well, Sandra had seen the immature Blackstripe Coris twice.  To the right, you can see a picture of a group of immature parrotfish taken that same day.  Its easy to see how she might have been confused, although the fish we pictured in the previous blog was three times as large as these. 

    However, in The Ultimate Guide.. John Hoover notes that immature Blackstripe Coris is seen occassionally in the main islands (while it is very unusual to see the female or male forms.)  He pictures a

Miniature Flying Gurnard, Kahalu'u, August 2013

 small Blackstripe Coris that could easily be confused with those tiny parrots.  In fact, I would be hard pressed to say for sure that there isn't an immature coris in the above picture!  Not only that, its a long ways from Kona to the northwestern chain.  Where do these immatures go?  Are they all waifs?   In the words of the King of Siam, "Is a puzzlement!"

     Leaving that conundrum behind, the Redoubtable SKG and I headed for the barn.  Just before we reached the exit, flitting around on the salt and pepper sand, we discovered an incredibly small Flying Gurnard. Cute as a bug, he was the same size as many a self respecting moth, less than a two inch wing span.    

    Not only that, but look at all the purple and gold in his wings.  Shortly after we spotted the baby gurnard, our beloved Huskies made gefilte fish  out of the Boise State Broncos.  The way I have it figured, if Sandra and I can spot a really cool purple and gold fish for the next nine Saturday afternoons, the Huskies could go undefeated in 2013.

Find the Stareye Parrot, Win a Prize!

     Before I let you escape, I wanted to share an amazing picture.  Swimming the next day in sunny K Bay, I looked down and saw a fish eye looking back at me.  So deceptive was his cryptic coloration, that it took my brain a few moments to construct the rest of the fish.  We all know that fish can change color, and some are really good at blending into their surroundings, but this immature Stareye Parrot had tucked his belly under the lip of a stone encrusted with coraline algae and just disappeared.  Believe it or not, this picture has been photoshopped to make the fish more visible!  For those of you who can't find the fish, I'm including the follow up photo of him breaking cover.

   

Stareye Parrot Breaks into the Open

   May you always find your fish.  Especially if it is sitting on your plate next to a glob of wasabi!

jeff

Price Sees Him in the Corner

Touchdown Huskies!