Category Archives: Activities

Jeweled Anemone Crab

A Jeweled Anemone Crab in the waters off Hawaii
A Jeweled Anemone Crab in the waters off Hawaii

I spotted this Jeweled Anemone Crab scuttling over some very uneven rock and coral, but it was still able to move at a pretty good pace. The Jeweled Anemone Crab is a hermit crab, meaning it lives in a snail shell, either one it found unoccupied, or one from which is evicted the current tenant.

This one looks to have found a colorful shell, but looks are deceiving. The shell isn’t visible at all, because it’s covered by at least four large anemones! These are Calliactis polypus anemones. They give the crab some protection because, if disturbed, they shoot out stinging threads. In return, they get transportation and possibly scraps of food from the crab.

Siphonophore

A siphonophore in the waters off Hawaii

I was snorkeling recently when I saw this strange tubular stringy thing. That’s not a scientific term. My first thought was that it was a Chained Salp, a tunicate that is a colony of individual Salps. But this one seemed a bit different. There was the main tube, but also thinner strings hanging off it.

I started taking photos, which was a bit of a trick in the lumpy swell. I wasn’t worried about getting too close since Chained Salps are harmless. I wasn’t worried until I got too close and realized I’d been stung on the hand by some those tendrils! That was enough for me and I headed to shore.

Back at the house, I couldn’t identify it in my book so I emailed a fellow snorkeler who is well-versed in these sort of things. She had encountered these before and identified it as a Siphonophore (Thanks, Wendy.). Like the Chained Salp, this is a colony of individuals, but unlike the harmless salps, siphonophores have stinging tentacles which they use to catch prey.

Possibly the best known Siphonophore is the Portugese Man-Of-War, one of which had stung a fellow snorkeler just a few days earlier. His wounds were very painful, but I got off easily, with just red welts and a mild burning sensation for a couple of hours.

A siphonophore in the waters off Hawaii

Cauliflower coral

Fourspot butterflyfish and a head of cauliflower coral
Fourspot butterflyfish and a head of cauliflower coral

A pair of Fourspot Butterflyfishes disturbed a pair of Arc-eye Hawkfishes perched in a head of Cauliflower Coral, as they often do. The coral head is doing OK, but areas of it have died off, probably during one of the coral bleaching events that have happened in the past few years, where the water gets too warm.

I can get chilly fairly easily when I go swimming, but for me, it’s more distressing when the water feels oddly warm because I know this is bad news for the corals.

A traditional sail

A small sailboat off the coast of Hawaii

This little sailboat is a modern rendition of a traditional Hawaiian style. The two hulls are common in various forms in Polynesian culture and the sailing rig features a Hawaiian Peʻa sail, otherwise known as a Crab Claw sail. These sails used to made from the woven leaves of Hala trees.

On this boat, the sail is made from a modern material and it’s speedy progress through the water wasn’t down the the light breeze, but rather an outboard motor, which is also not traditional!

Signs: Heineken Sailboat

A neon sign advertising Heineken Beer

Back in the day, I used to make home brewed beer. I needed bottles to put the beer in and that required emptying bottles that formerly held beer. Heineken was one of the many brands that were pressed into service. But there was one problem. Those green bottles were made with thinner glass and had a tendency to blow up under the pressure of my home brew.

I kept my beer brewing bottles in my wardrobe and the Heineken bottles’ volatility meant that my clothes acquired a certain aroma. It’s probably why I wasn’t more successful in the job I had at that time!

None of this has anything to do with the sign of course, but any time I see the Heineken name I immediately associate it with those days.

A green turtle pops up for air

A green turtle swims n the waters off Hawaii

On a recent snorkel, I saw this headless creature a little ways off. I took me a few moments to realize that this was a green turtle getting a breath of air. When it dipped back below the surface, it kept coming towards me. I thought it might come really close, but it decided that it didn’t like what it saw and glided down to deeper water.

A green turtle swims n the waters off Hawaii