Category Archives: Activities

The Eddie

A surfer catches a wave at Keokea Beach Park, Hawaii

The Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational, commonly known as “The Eddie,” is scheduled to be held today. This big wave surfing event, at Waimea Bay on the North Shore of Oahu, only takes place when open-ocean swells reach a minimum height of 20 feet. Such swells result in wave faces of 30 to 40 feet in the bay. Because of this requirement, this event will be only the eleventh to go during the 40-year history of the tournament.

The tournament is invitation-only with 45 competitors lined up this year. If you’re interested in seeing the activities, the contest will be streamed on ripcurl.com or rogue.tv, starting around 8:00 am local time.

For more information about the event, go to https://www.theeddieaikau.com/ or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Eddie.

The photo was taken from Keokea Beach Park, and features much, much smaller waves!

Blackspot Sergeant

The Blackspot Sergeant is a solitary damselfish which lives near the surface in shallow waters. They’re fairly common around here, but quite shy, so tricky to photograph. Coloration can vary, but the black spot above the base of the tail is ever present, hence the name.

The Numbers Game #52

A windsurfer cruises in the bay at Kawaihae.

The idea of The Numbers Game is to enter a number into the search bar of your computer and then post a selection of the photos that turn up. This week’s number is 173. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

House construction at Hapuna Estates on the Big Island, Hawaii — Building houses in Hapuna Resort, with a good view of Maui.

A glass of gin and tonic — Building houses in Hapuna Resort, with a good view of Maui.

Lava oozes on my first visit to Hawaii in 2010.

A toy watering can left on a beach in Hawaii — Lava oozes on my first visit to Hawaii in 2010.

No metal

A Metallic skink crosses a road in Hawaii

A Rhyncholaeliocattleya Shingfong Gold Gem 'Golden Gem' orchid in Hawaii

This month’s Sunday Stills color challenge theme is ‘Metallic.’ See more responses here.

The top photo shows a Metallic Skink (Lampropholis delicata), which is also known as Delicate Skink, Garden Skink, Rainbow Skink, and less-flatteringly, Plague Skink. This one was crossing a road, luckily a lightly-traveled one.

The second photo is an orchid with the catchy name of Rhyncholaeliocattleya Shingfong Gold Gem ‘Golden Gem.’

The third photo is shoal of small, silvery fish, which I think are the aptly named Hawaiian Silversides.

Hawaiian Silversides in the waters off Hawaii

Rainbow from the water

One of the perks of snorkeling here is that there are often rainbows to be seen, such as this one just north of Lapakahi.

The view from below

Looking at the surface of the water from below in Hawaii

Recent swells stirred up the water so visibility in the water wasn’t great. Instead, I focused upward to where bubbles and debris floated on the surface, yielding some interesting images.

Don’t bump your head

Sergeantfishes swim below floating debris in Hawaii

An assortment of sergeantfishes swim beneath floating debris, gathered by a series of big swells. Unlike the fish, I got to swim through the debris, which can sometimes include sizable chunks of wood.

Gray Chubs and Hawaiian Flagtails

The surge zone is the area above shallow reefs near shore, where incoming swells churn up the water. It’s home to a variety of fish including chubs and flagtails, the turbulent, bubbling water acting as a screen from predators.

Chubs will venture out a ways during the day, but flagtails only emerge at night to feed on plankton.

Graham's Island

Life on the Big Island of Hawaii