How we look underwater

Sylvie at 18 months

Sylvie at 6

Blowing bubbles

Josie 2011, age 9

Night Snorkeling

Snorkeling after dark is so much fun. Hanauma Bay is open until 10 p.m. on one Saturday a month in the winter months. Walking up or down the path after dark you see a dozen circles of light indicating the location of snorkelers exploring a nocturnal, underwater world. There are pictures here.

They may not be a different set of creatures compared to those you see in the daytime, but they look different at night. Sometimes all you see are eyes peering out from every crevice, catching the light and holding it. Other times brittle stars abound. Last time I was there, sea cucumbers with thorns poking out all over were everywhere. With my sister in 2004 I saw a crab anemone, a grotesque walking creature that mystified us until a park official explained that crabs attach anemones to the top of their shells as camouflage; when they change to a larger shell, they pop them off and stick them to the new shell. Here's a picture Marilyn took; what would you think if you saw this lumbering across the sea bottom?

But perhaps the best night snorkel was with Janet and her housemate, in November 2009. Emily found us an octopus to play with. It ate and ate, appearing to keep an eye on us but not disappearing into a hole. We finally got cold  and made a break for shore. Here are some photos of that memorable night:

banded urchin

mystery sea cucumber

We saw it walk, but I didn't get a picture of it.

Baby squid

In July 2006, I was snorkeling at Queen's Surf with Christy and Will. We were about to head in when we noticed a squid hovering out about 50 yards from shore. Soon we realized there were two smaller ones--babies? Will said the adult was keeping its eye on me as I took pictures of the small ones, perhaps being protective. Will might have taken one or both of these photos, as I handed the camera (a Canon PowerShot 610 with an underwater case) to him. It's hard to frame a shot in midday with the sun shining on the screen. I usually look through the viewfinder, but that's not easy either.

Looks like a baby having fun

The mother being protective?

The Barracuda and the Boxfish

Who knew snorkeling in shallow water at Kuhio Beach could be so interesting? After patrolling the sand the length of the beach to pick up plastic bags and other debris about three o'clock today, I went in for a half hour. Right away I saw a peacock flounder--it so matched the bottom that I wouldn't have seen it except that it moved.  Its two eyes were on the same side of its head  and circled 360° independently. I've never taken a picture  of one, but here's a link:  peacock flounder  It wasn't this colorful, because the sand was monochromatic and it blended in perfectly with that.

I also saw a beautiful spotted boxfish, and then the hairs on my arm stood up as I saw a Giant Barracuda staying steady with its triangular mouth occasionally opening and closing. It's the biggest one I ever saw, at least 2 1/2 feet.  It was striped, whereas others I've seen have been 18" or so and with black tails. I watched it to see what it would eat. Most fish gave it a berth, but it didn't even go for the cute male boxfish that swam near (like the one on this long page compiling photos of all kinds of pufferfish--boxfish are a subset of pufferfish). Females aren't as colorful; they are dark with spots all over, whereas the male has electric blue sides. Maybe the barracuda didn't eat it because, according to John Hoover in Hawai'i's Fishes, their skin secretes a toxin when they are attacked. 

male from the top (a preview of the night snorkeling post)

Snorkeling right in Waikiki

I've decided to keep a web log (a blog) of fish I see in my twice weekly swims in Waikiki, which lately have been in Kuhio Beach, at the Diamond Head end of Waikiki. That's because it's November and there have been some south swells, making it less clear at Queen's Surf, which is an old favorite--it's the next beach Diamond Head (east) of Kuhio. On east of Queen's Surf is Kaimana, or Sans Souci, which was my first regular snorkeling beach, beginning in 2001 when I lived down on Ainakea Way.  All the beaches I'm describing fall within a crescent beginning at the Sheraton Waikiki, which is at the beach end of Seaside Ave. (my street), looking up toward the hotels and apartment buildings that start at Kaimana Beach. I took this photo on my iPad in early October 2011.

                   

Here is a photo of Kuhio Beach that Marilyn* took in 2004. The waves wash many fish over the wall; I haven't had an underwater camera with me, but I have other pix of those I have seen lately, which include a giant pufferfish and many Moorish Idols.
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*Marilyn is my sister; she'll get photo credits frequently, as she took some underwater photos in 04 too.

Beginning with humuhumunukunukuapua'a pix--what else?