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!
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.
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 large patch of sand is sculpted into patterns by the water movement over it. Sometimes these patterns can last quite a long time. Other times they change from day to day. Sandy areas tend to have less fish activity, but there is one fish in this photo.
One of the things I enjoy when snorkeling is watching the turbulence that occurs when swells encounter rocks in shallow water. The trick for this activity is to find a safe spot to observe it without getting caught up in it, and being slammed against the rock.
Early morning at Spencer Beach Park with one of the campsites seen under a full moon.
When I go snorkeling, one of the first fish I’m almost guaranteed to see are needlefish. The often congregate in the shallows just below the surface of the water. I can often get very close to them before they scoot to one side or part in the middle as I go through.
At my local snorkeling spot, a lot of trees on the shoreline have suddenly sported fall colors. I’m sure this has nothing to do with the season. Rather, I think a series of large swells has battered the trees with more salt spray than they’re used to and this is the result. Hopefully, they will bounce back when things settle down again, although swells in Hawaii were large enough last weekend for The Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational surf competition to be held for the first time since 2016.
