Tag Archives: Snorkeling

A green turtle says hello

Green turtle says hello

During a recent snorkeling trip, I happened to turn around and saw this turtle heading toward me. Usually they will head off in a different direction when they see something as strange as me, but this one came up quite close before sliding off to the side and gliding away again.

As you can see, there’s nothing green in the appearance of green turtles. The name comes from the color of their fat, found between their organs and carapace.

Posted in response to this week’s Sunday Stills challenge on the theme of ‘Green.’ See more offerings here.

Green turtle swimming

A delicate shade

underwater shade

This photo makes it look like someone has placed this delicate shade on a beach. In fact, I found it in 10 feet of water in an area that is often buffeted by large swells, making it’s perfect appearance all the more unlikely. How or why the shade got there is unknown, but for me, that adds to the mystery of the scene.

Place of Refuge from the water

Place of Refuge from the water

This is a view of Pu’uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park, otherwise known as Place of Refuge. The pu’uhonua or place of refuge was a place that offered sanctuary to those who had broken laws or been defeated in battle. Reaching this spot meant they’d be spared and allowed to go home.

So this view is one that a young frightened warrior might see while trying to reach that spot. Hale o Keawe, the small structure with the steeply pitched roof, can be seen in the center of the photo. It sits on the edge of the pu’uhonua. To the right of it is safety; to the left death.

Fortunately that wasn’t my choice. I was just looking at fish.

An old abandoned anchor

Sunken Anchor

Sunken Anchor and chainThis week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Objects over 100 years old.’ (See more responses here.)

I can’t say for certain that this anchor and chain is more than 100 years old, but it almost certainly is. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, North Kohala was the center of the sugar industry with many plantations and several mills. This anchor likely dates from that time. It’s located in the bay where sugar used to be loaded onto ships.

I suspect the anchor isn’t lost from a ship, since it’s located in shallow water close to shore, with the chain leading out to deeper water – the opposite arrangement of how a ship would normally anchor. Instead, I think the anchor and chain were part of an offshore anchoring system used at the harbor. A ship would drop its anchor from the bow in deep water and attach to the anchoring system from the stern. This would keep the ship fairly stable and make the transfer of cargo, from small boats, easier.

After the sugar industry shut down, a lot of buildings and equipment were abandoned, and in the water, the anchoring system was left to rust.

Threadfin jack juvenile

Threadfin Jack juvenile

This is the time of year when juvenile threadfin jacks can sometimes be seen in inland waters. I’ve been on the lookout for them since May, but haven’t seen any. This doesn’t mean they’re not there; so small and shimmery, they’re easy to miss in murky shallow water.

Last week, my vigilance was rewarded. While the water wasn’t too clear, the swell was low so I headed among the rocks near the shore and saw my first threadfin of the year. I took the bottom photo which, while not great, does show the shallow area it tends to inhabit and the sun filtering through that water.

Next day, I went back to the same spot but didn’t see the fish. So I turned and headed out toward deeper water and almost bumped into it coming the other way. I quickly snapped the top photo as it went by, not sure if it was even in the frame, before it disappeared into the shallows.

In the past, these juveniles have stuck around for several weeks, so I’ll hopefully get to see this one a few more times. Ultimately, it will head out to deep water and grow up to be a stocky four-footer living up to 200 feet down.

Threadfin Jack Juvenile in sunlight

Two Step

Two Step

There are seasons in Hawaii. Summer is hotter, and wetter on the dry side of the Big Island. But let’s be honest, there are many people who live through freezing winters and boiling summers, sun-free winters and sun-seared summers. They believe Hawaii has summer year-round, and not just any summer, but a pleasant summer where it’s warm and sunny but not inhospitably so.

For those people, and in response to this week’s Sunday Stills challenge on the theme of ‘Summer,’ I give you a typical summer shot of people getting ready to go snorkeling, or just exiting the water. The photo was taken at Two Step, next door to Pu’uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park — in February. Bwahahahahahaha.

For more information about Pu’uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park, visit https://www.nps.gov/puho/index.htm.

See more Sunday Stills responses here.

Devil scorpionfish

Devil Scorpionfish displaying

Devil ScorpionfishAnother response to the last edition of the WordPress photo challenge with a theme of ‘All time favorites.’

There’s no doubt that moving to Hawaii has allowed me to gain an appreciation for creatures that live underwater. Where I lived before, in Washington State, getting in the water involved a huge amount of courage, which was rewarded by hypothermia and death 15 minutes later. I still consider it something of a minor miracle that I can jump in the water here, swim around for an hour, and emerge alive!

Photographing those underwater creatures is always something of a challenge. My camera is, essentially, a little point-and-shoot and I have no special lighting. The water is often murky and it’s always moving, I’m moving, the fish are moving. So I’m happy when I get a decent shot.

I spotted this devil scorpionfish when I was following a different fish and saw this unusual-looking ‘rock.’ It’s typical scorpionfish behavior. They have such good camouflage, that they can sit on the bottom in the open and not be noticed. After a few moments, the scorpionfish moved off and, as it did so, flashed the colorful undersides of its pectoral fins. This ‘flash’ serves as a warning to would-be predators that an encounter is not likely to end well for the attacker as the scorpionfish has venomous spines.

As for the other photo, I have it on good authority that his mother loves him.

Whitetip reef shark encounter

Whitetip reef shark

I went for a snorkel a few days ago and saw a shark for the first time in a long while. Well, I did see one a couple of months ago at Two Step, but it was tucked into a small cave, having a nap. The recent one definitely wasn’t at rest.

I was fairly far out, near where rock and coral gives way to sand, and happened to be looking out towards the sand when the distinctive shape of a shark came zipping into view. It was headed my way at speed, which was an invigorating moment, I can tell you. However, I did have the presence of mind to snap a few photos, of which this is the best. Considering the state of the water and the shark gliding across the bottom, I was pleased with how well this turned out. I think it shows the infamous lines of the shark and something of its powerful, sinuous motion and I was glad to capture the eye and lines of the gills.

I suspect it had detected my presence and was checking me out. When it saw what I was, it decided I wasn’t too interesting, cruised by, and then disappeared in the opposite direction. I headed back in, taking frequent glances behind me to make sure the shark hadn’t changed its mind.

A couple of weeks ago, a couple of paddle-boarders were attacked by a tiger shark near Hualali Resort. Tigers sharks are responsible for almost all the shark attacks that happen around Hawaii. The shark I saw was a whitetip reef shark (notice the white tip on the dorsal fin – many have white edging on other fins, too), which is capable of mischief, but mostly doesn’t. This one was around 5 feet long, maybe a bit more. For scale, the yellow tang at bottom right of the photo is probably between 6 and 8 inches long.

Posted in response to this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge ‘Lines.’