This is one of about 25 ten to fourteen foot tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier), which were feeding on a dead humpback whale just off Kailua. When we pulled the boat up near the carcass the sharks came over to have a look at us. This photo was taken while standing on the swim step and reaching down within a couple of feet of the hungry sharks. The technical term for all the white stuff in the water is “Whale Scrapple.”
The white tip reef shark (Triaenodon obesus) is the most common shark we see around Kona. Usually, they are sleeping during the day in caves or small overhangs.
We continue the tradition of doing our Adventure Days, long range 3 tank days, looking for cool new sites and big animals. This year we had some great days. On a day when we went north, we came across a really interesting current line with all kinds of flotsam and jetsam floating about. On a big bunch of net and plastic ribbon, there was a big striated frogfish, also called a Sargassumfish (Histrio histrio) hanging around.
I love frogfish, and this is one of the neater specimens. The Striated frogfish or Sargassumfish (Histrio histrio).
Also, in the same area there were several By-the-Wind Sailor jelly fish (Velella velella). By themselves, the jellies were pretty neat, but swimming around with them was one of the coolest nudibranchs I have ever seen, the Man-of-War Nudibranch (Glaucus atlanticus). This nudibranch actually feeds on poisonous jelly fish including the Portuguese Man-of-War Jelly (Physalia physalis), hence its name. What a crazy looking creature!
This is by far the coolest nudibranch I have seen, the Man-of-War Nudibranch (Glaucus atlanticus). It is posed in the lens cap from my camera (it is only about an inch and a half long) and was returned to the ocean unharmed.
A big group of Short finned Pilot Whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) passing by in the deep blue.
As always, we keep our eyes open on Adventure days for the bigger critters out there like Kona's year round resident Pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus). Sometimes we get lucky and get a good look as they swim by.
The past year has also brought some exciting new things to Dive Makai. For instance, we are now running regularly scheduled Night Dives in Search of Mantas. This uniquely Kona experience has been consistently rated as one of the top ten dives in the world. It is a truly magical experience to be in water with sometimes as many as 20 huge manta rays (Manta birostris). We have been running this trip as a two tank trip with the first dive in the late afternoon.
Just the end of another day in paradise.
On the busy manta nights we often get a chance to see these special creatures in the daylight. After the afternoon dive we kick back and watch the sunset while we get ready for the night-time festivities. After sunset we jump back in and hope the mantas decide to play along and show up. I have to say that diving with a bunch of rays up to 16 feet wide was new to me this year and all I can say is “WOW!” It really is amazing. I've always been a big fan of night diving, but this is truly special. These giant rays get really close, sometimes even bumping into you as they swoop and dive through the lights scooping up huge gullet fulls of plankton. Again, “WOW!”
This is the Manta ray, Koie, who was first sighted in Kona in August of 2001. She is about 9 feet from wingtip to wingtip. If you want to know more about mantas, and view all the ID photos, check out www.mantapacific.org .
Even on those few nights that the mantas don't want to come and play, the Garden Eel Cove site is a fun night dive spot. We've seen tons of eels out hunting (some even catching fish) and more crustaceans than you can count. We have even, on occasion, seen the Oval Squid (Sepioteuthis lessoniana), a remarkable color changer.
These giant rays get real close.
On your next visit, this is a dive you really shouldn't miss.
One of the coolest things to see on the night dives are the eels out hunting. Every now and then we are lucky enough to see an eel, like this Yellow Margin Moray (Gymnothorax flavimarginatus), catch its dinner.
This photo of the Oval Squid (Sepioteuthis lessoniana) was taken by George Robinson, another of our long time guests.
The Marbled Shrimp (Saron marmoratus), is one of the most commonly seen crustaceans on our night dives.
Speaking of exciting new things here at Dive Makai, this tidbit may be the most exciting. Dive Makai has been dragged kicking and screaming into the late 20th century and now takes credit cards. We, of course, still love cash and might even consider trade for fine wine, but because it was a constant request by our guests, we have relented. So, if you would like to pay for your next Kona dives with your Visa or Master Card, you can.
Of course not all the news here revolves around diving. One of the things we have found is that when you move to Hawaii, people love to come and visit. Kimberly's dad, Bob, was here in the fall for a visit with his wife Sharon. While they were here, I took both Kimberly and Bob on an introductory dive. They both had a great time, even getting to see a white tip reef shark. Kimberly has made several intro style dives and will be certified as soon as we get her to demonstrate her scuba skills in the ocean. Even though she's not quite certified, Kimberly has been trying to get out on the boat at least one day a week.
Kimberly and her dad, Bob, on their safety stop.
This is my dad's boat, the Les Prelude, in the harbor at Kona.
My dad, Phil, and my brother, Mark, also visited this last year, but got here in a more unconventional way. They left San Diego last January aboard my dad's 40 foot sail boat, the Les Prelude. My dad actually built this boat while we were kids in Seattle . After about 4 months of cruising down the Mexican coast they got up their courage and turned right, leaving from Manzanillo, Mexico, which is just south of Puerto Vallarta, and arriving in Hilo 27 days later. I met them over there and the three of us sailed the boat around to Kona. My dad and the boat hung around for the summer and then my dad, my brother and a friend sailed her home. They left from Kauai and had a somewhat slower trip home than expected, arriving back in San Diego 42 days later.
Long time customers always ask about Tom, Lisa and Kendra so here is a quick update. Lisa is still in the Solomons and seems to be loving it. We haven't spoken often, but she seems happy and to be settling in nicely. Kendra is still living in Pauhilo, helping Chris run their restaurant, the Back to the 50's Highway Fountain. The big news with Kendra is that she is expecting a little girl in April.
And Tom. Tom continues to be the Voice of Dive Makai, so if you really want to find out what's up with him give him a call. He will of course try to get you to sign up for some diving. One pretty exciting thing to happen to Tom this year was the Great Cement Truck Debacle. Tom decided to finally get his driveway paved and the cement trucks were there to start the pour. Well, one of them misjudged the width of the current driveway and found out about Tom's lava tube. Luckily, no one was seriously injured. It only took a month and 3 tries to get the carcass out of Tom's yard.
“A little to the right . . . a little more . . . just a bit more WHOA!”
Kimberly and I would also like to take this chance to say that the most important thing we've learned this year is that we have been lucky enough to have the best crew in Hawaii . I've heard from lots of our guests what a great group of people we have leading our dives and it makes us proud that they have chosen to work with us here at Dive Makai. If you haven't met them yet have a look at the crew page .
Well, there you go, the year in a nutshell. With any luck this year will be just as fun and exciting as last year. We hope your year was as fun as ours and wish you all the best for a happy and healthy 2007.
Aloha,
Kimberly and Mike Henshaw
CURRENT NEWSLETTER
Aloha,
Well, here at Dive Makai, Kimberly and I have completed our first full calendar year as owners and what a year it has been. We have really enjoyed it, mostly because of all of the wonderful people we've had the opportunity to take diving here in Kona. It has been a pleasure to meet all of you and we hope you've enjoyed diving with us.
"Hello? You want to dive when? Ok, let me find a pen . . .”
Of course, it hasn't all been diving and fun. We've been adjusting to being in charge with all the responsibility of owning our own business. It has certainly kept me busy, having to answer the phone at even most inconvenient times. And yes, that is my excuse for not getting our Christmas letter out until now.
Can you see what this diver is taking a photo of? It's a Devil Scorpion fish
(Scorpaenopsis diabolus), a master of disguise.
The Bicolor anthias (Pseudanthias bicolor ) is usually a pretty deep water species, but we see the juveniles in relatively shallow water at a few sites.
One of my favorite fish, the Commerson's Frogfish (Antennarius commersoni).
Although the Leaf Scorpion(Taenianotus triacanthus)
comes in several colors, white has to be one of the most beautiful.
The Day octopus
(Octopus cyanea) is a master of disguise.
Prized by aquarium collectors, there are not too many of these gregarious butterfly fish left in recreational diving depths. Thankfully, there are still a couple of spots where we can find the Tinker's butterfly fish(Chaetodon tinkeri) fairly regularly.
How'd you like to wake up with this on your chest? If you were a Crown-of-thorns star (Acanthaster planci) an attack by the Triton's trumpet shell (Charonia tritonis) would be an all too real nightmare here in Kona.
“Are you sure you've been flossing every day?”
In addition to all the usual fish and critter sightings, it has been a year with lots of rare creatures. For instance, on a trip down south we ran into a fish that was feared extinct in Hawaii , the Giant Grouper (Epinephelus quernus). According to John Hoover's book, Hawaii's Fishes, 2004, the last record of this fish in Hawaii was a 554 pounder, caught off Maui in 1989. Hoover finishes his discussion of this magnificent fish with the hope that “somewhere in the islands a few remain.” At least one does.
It's not a great photo, but this is indeed the almost mythical Giant Grouper ( Epinephelus quernus .) We estimate this specimen to be about 3 feet long and perhaps 100 pounds.
We have also been seeing a bit of resurgence in sightings of lionfish, both the Green lionfish (Dendrochirus barberi) and the Hawaiian lionfish or Turkey fish (Pterois sphex).
The Green lionfish (Dendrochirus barberi), the current stars of Driftwood.
It's just a baby!! Turkeyfish (Pterois sphex), that is.
The Turkey fish (Pterois sphex) all grown up. By the way, if you look real close in the lower right corner, you'll see that this Turkey fish was sharing it lair with its cousin the Decoy Scorpion (Iracundus signifier).
Another rare critter we've seen quite a bit of this year is the Harlequin shrimp (Hymenocera picta) with no less than 3 pairs seen this year
This little nudibranch, the Gloomy nudibranch (Tamja morose) is quite rare, but very pretty.
I found this one on the pipe at Pipe Dreams, off Keahole Pt.
It has been a great year for finding Harlequin shrimp (Hymenocera picta).
We spotted this Whitley's boxfish (Ostracion whitleyi) at Koloko Arches last summer. It is just beginning to make the change from a female to a male. Notice the blue at the nose and the fading of the markings
on the side.
Check this guy out! This is a Whitley's boxfish (Ostracion whitleyi) half way through a sex change from female to male. The male Whitley's boxfish is an extremely rare fish around Kona. Frankly, we're not sure how they make new boxfish.
This past year has been very “sharky” with lots of shark sightings. As a group, sharks are having a tough time. More than 200 of the approximately 400 shark species are listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (www.redlist.org), including all the species we regularly see here in Kona. Consequently, anytime we are lucky enough to see any sharks, it is a real treat. This year we have seen Tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier), Scalloped Hammerheads (Sphyrna lewini) , Whitetip Reef sharks (Triaenodon obesus) and Oceanic Whitetips (Carcharhinus longimanus).
Apparently we were in the way of this big Scalloped Hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini) , as he came within about 15 feet of us at the drop-off at Big Arch. This photo was taken by Paul Anderson, who, along with his wife Pat, have been diving with Dive Makai for more than 20 years.
This is perhaps the scariest shark we see in Kona. The Oceanic Whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus), is scary only because it always seems to be curious about divers. I'm much more comfortable when the fish with big teeth just ignore us.