I had been hearing it was bad, I really did not know how bad.
A cauliflower coral (Pocillopora meandrina) mostly bleached, just remnants of healthy coral with symbiotic zooxanthellae algae still in placeLast time we were diving south of Kona the reef looked really healthy. With all of the rains creating murky water we had not been out in over a month. While entertaining off-island guests we went to out favorite beach at Waialea Bay for a little snorkeling and swimming.
It is pretty bad.
The warm waters have been hard on our local corals. Nearly all of the cauliflower coral (Pocillopora meandrina) is completely white, completely bleached. The encrusting lobe and finger coral (Porites lobata) was better, but some colonies were looking a little lighter in color than I would like to see. Some of the other lobe corals (Porites evermanni) were also bleaching.
As we were snorkeling in a fairly shallow bay this could be a worst case sampling of the coastline. I hope so, it was distressing to see the reef under such stress. The water was warm, far warmer than I ever remember in my eight years on island.
The current El Nino event is forecast to last through the end of the year. It will be interesting to see if the corals recover, and how much of the colonies will die. I will have to make a point to swim the same section of reef a few more time as the fall turns to winter. I should swim to the same bit of reef and take a few more photos.
One of many freshwater pools along the Kohala CoastQueen’s Bath is a name you will find scattered through vacation guides to the island of Hawaiʻi. The problem is that there is more than one, dozens actually. The name Queen’s Bath tends to be applied to any freshwater pool, particularly near the ocean. Some are small, some are quite large pools of crystal clear freshwater, a few are hidden in lava tubes.
There is the well known lava tube at Kihilo just a pebble’s throw from the surf. Enter through a skylight into the crisp, cool water. Bring a dive light and swim all the way to the back of the tube. Careful, there are boulders waiting to scrape the shins of an unwary swimmer, reef shoes or river sandals are the ideal footwear here.
There are any number of pools along the Kohala Coast, particularly the low-lying section from Puako to Kiholo bay where enormous amounts of fresh water find their way into the sea. These often have reef fish trapped within, perhaps washed in by the winter surf. Other species of fish prefer these pools, grazing on the algae growing in the shallow, warm water.
The lava tube Queen’s Bath at KiholoThe Puna coastline hosts many pools along the shoreline. Kaimū beach at Kalapana hosted one of the most famous Queen’s Baths. It was lost to the lava on the 1990’s as successive flows covered the area and destroyed the famous black sand beach. I have heard the pool at Ahalanui Park called a Queen’s bath, yet another example of the confusion.
Some of these pools are brackish, the salt water mixing with fresh. The result is a swirling view through a dive mask with the mixed refractive indexes, looking a bit like mixing water and oil. As one swims away from the ocean the water becomes fresher, you often find startlingly cool currents where the fresh water enters the pool. Often the tides will affect the depth of the water in the pool, even pools a hundred yards from the ocean rising and falling as the tide backs up the flow of water.
Many of the pools are local secrets, directions not available to outsiders. Places where a hot afternoon can be enjoyed, swimming in the cool waters. I know a few of these, don’t ask me where to find them.
So last night a Russian satellite burns up over Waikoloa… And I miss it!!
Some of my friends and co-workers did not, asking me what it was this morning after personally witnessing it. There are videos all over Facebook. I am so envious!
The satellite was Cosmos 1315, a Russian signals intelligence mission launched in 1981. It re-entered just west of the Big Island about 11pm HST last night.
I have embedded a video below, the language is more than a bit rough, a few f-bombs. The language goes to illustrate just how dramatic the event was. Aside from the unfortunate choice of vertical format, the video is surprisingly good.
Several items stand out in the video… The giveaway that it is man made is the very slow speed of the object, not the high speed typical of most meteors. You can also see the satellite coming apart, fragments breaking away. Larger meteors can also do this, breaking up upon re-entry.
The guy (I believe Chris Jardine) identifies the object as a meteor, a good guess. I first thought meteor when I saw the video. I received word a bit later from Steve Cullen who passed along a link to information on the satellite. The gal thinks comet? We need to do more public outreach and education around the island!
It is bad… A wildfire burns a few thousand acres. Follow that up with torrential rains to sweep all of the ash and mud onto the reef. There is a reason we are not diving this weekend. We had planned to, the water needs a week to clear out the murk. It will be interesting to see the impact on the reef.
Growing up in the west I have seen quite a few rodeos. I have always preferred small town rodeos.
Riders compete in the 2015 Parker Ranch 4th of July RodeoI have seen the big rodeos, living in Tucson we attended the Tucson Rodeo several times. Six days of professional level events, riders competing for a chance at the national championships. No question, the competitors were very, very good.
The big rodeos do feature very high levels of performance, the top riders making it look easy. It isn’t of course, but professional level sports just seem contrived to me. Be it bull riding, pro football, or any professional sport, something is lost when it becomes a profession.
Small town rodeos are entirely different. Here cowboys, or paniolos in Hawaii, demonstrate the same skills they use day to day on the ranch. The event may be practiced, but the skills of great horsemanship, roping and riding are real. The scores tell another story, wildly different from rider to rider. These are not polished professionals, these are real cowboys.
A rider and horse lean into the curve at the 2015 Parker Ranch 4th of July Rodeo and Horse RacesThe island rodeos are perfect examples of this, small town rodeos that showcase local ranching skills and traditions.
It has been a few years since we last attended the Parker Ranch 4th of July Rodeo and Horse Races. The last couple years we seem to have found ourselves elsewhere come early July. Last year we were in Alaska when the 4th appeared on the calendar. Not so this year, a couple tickets and an early alarm for a Saturday saw us headed to Waimea.
Good timing all around, a beautiful day with perfect weather for a rodeo. Deb and I moved about, looking for good photo opportunities. Down at the end of the spectator area for the horse races. From there we could shoot the riders coming around the curve of the track. A little elevation was needed to shoot over the rails of the fencing. Unfortunately a barrier now keeps spectators away from the arena fence, this was not there years ago. No shooting through the rail. Maybe a press pass next year?
I have no idea who won or lost, it was just not important to me. Simply watching the skills on display was the good part. Each throw of the rope, the steer going down, the horse neatly backing and keeping tension in a rope without a rider giving directions. Simply impressive to watch.
