Diving the Kona Coast: Nai'a

Showing posts with label Nai'a. Show all posts

Friday, June 6, 2014

Artsy Dolphins

Sometimes the weather and the water and the dolphins all cooperate to give you a neat picture and it turns out blurry anyway. That's when you put that failed attempt into PhotoShop, try to make it look artsy, and convince yourself that you wanted it to look like that all along.

Monday, May 19, 2014

Dolphins in Honaunau Bay

Hawaiian spinner dolphins Stenella longirostris

Friday, March 28, 2014

Just Passing Through

spinner dolphins Stenella longirostris

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Thursday 8/26/10

First Dive of the Day...

...Second Dive of the Day!

Life (and diving) is good in Hawai'i!

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Super Sunday - Dive Report for 02/07/10

We were blessed with another day of great shore diving conditions at Honaunau on this fine Super Bowl Sunday morning. Clear skies and clear calm water once again. We have been having a wonderful winter diving season.

The Green Sea Turtles, also known as honu, have returned to the bay after a brief hiatus. I spent the first dive trying to get some shots of them at cleaning stations on the south side of the bay.

The trick to photographing this activity is to not scare off the fish doing the cleaning, in this case, a small group of Yellow Tangs.

I did alright by my somewhat low standards. The early morning sunlight filtering through the water lent a nice background scene.

I love photographing honus. They're big, docile, colorful (compared to other big marine subjects) and somewhat expressive. They seem to convey a sense of wisdom and dignity.

During the course of photographing the honu, this small Finescale Triggerfish gave me a photo op. These fish were only seen occasionally in Hawai'i until a few years ago. Until that time it was thought that they were swept in on currents from other parts of the Pacific. Now, experts believe they are established in Hawaiian waters and breeding locally.

During my surface interval, I watched 2 or 3 Humpbacks spouting and diving outside the bay. A pod of Spinner Dolphins also showed up, much to the delight of the assembled crowd. After an hour, I geared up and went below again.

The dolphins were spending a good amount of time in shallow water and remained pretty frisky throughout my dive. They are always a remarkable sight. I spent a little time looking around the reef but mostly I just hung out with the dolphins.

The two photos above are not ones I think are all that great, but they do illustrate how close the dolphins approach swimmers in Honaunau Bay. In the top photo, a pair of snorkelers hovers above a phalanx of dolphins. The lower photo shows dolphins gliding over a group of student divers.

As you can see, people could get a good look at the dolphins today without even getting in the water.

After my second dive, I hung out and got to see two whale breeches. I'm amazed at how many whale sightings there are this year. After going home and cleaning my gear, I took a nap and ended up missing the entire Super Bowl. I heard it was pretty good but I had a super day of my own!

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Dive Report for Saturday 12/05/09

The water was a little rough at Honaunau Bay on Saturday but nowhere near the double digits forecasted for west-facing shores. A high surf advisory is in effect through Wednesday. When I arrived at the beach, groups of Spinner Dolphins (Nai'a) were visible in the north end of the bay, approaching quite near to shore. I donned my gear and swam out in the general direction of the pod.

Even before I could get off the surface, the dolphins were all around me. It was still early in the morning (around 7:15) so there was not a great deal of sunlight to photograph by.

The dolphins were apparently freshly arrived after a night of hunting out in the deep ocean. They were leaping out of the water and the sea was abuzz with their clicks and whistles.

I give the dolphins plenty of space and how close they come is entirely up to them. On almost every encounter, there is a sub-group of three or four males who will make a few close passes. This seems to be their role in the pod, to check out any interlopers and make sure they pose no threat.

In the early morning light the image of dolphins descending on you is almost celestial or spiritual. I find myself thinking it's like seeing angels appear out of the heavens,

Very few days pass where I don't stop and think about what a fortunate soul I am. Especially so on mornings like this at Honaunau Bay. Encountering wild dolphins, on their own terms is like a waking dream. Moving to the Big Island was one of the best decisions my wife and I ever made.

I estimated there to be ~ 30 individuals in the pod although they were divided into sub-groups. When I started to get low on air, I retreated to the shallow waters of the reef to off-gas and look at some of the smaller creatures. When I returned to the beach, I looked seaward to find that the dolphins had departed from the bay. I was glad they spent part of their brief visit with me.

After an hour's surface interval, I re-entered the ocean again and was lucky enough to have another encounter with a big creature. This time, I happened upon upon a "baby" Spotted Eagle Ray in the south end of the bay. This individual is well known to local SCUBA and free-divers who have been casually observing her progress over the last couple months. She has an almost ridiculously long tail that she will "grow into" as she matures.

I took a few photos while she circled around in the sand looking for prey. As she drifted away, I turned my attention toward other matters. Like dolphins, rays pretty much control the duration of any encounter as they can swim away whenever they choose.

A few moments later I looked up and saw her soaring along the drop-off as gracefully as her namesake bird. It was a remarkable sight to see backlit against the morning light.

One last sight to share. This cheerful wreath is actually the egg mass of a large sea slug called a Spanish Dancer nudibranch. I include it here because it puts me in mind of the holiday season which I hope you all are enjoying!