Canoe Racing: Aug-Sept-Oct
Just exactly when the paddling
season is over can be confusing. The
regatta season was over with State Championships on Oahu August 2nd. Many people quit for the year at that point –
and the club has a club clean up and of course, an End of Season party.
Hanalei River - Namolokama Canoe Club (NCC) is on right (trucks)
Someone went fishing and was very generous with a cooler of ahi
Dueling grills - one donated just that morning
Namo party - they can grind and talk story
The serious competitors continue
with the long races, this year the schedule was: Na Pali Challenge on Kauai August 9th, Queen
Liliuokalani on the Big Island August 30th, Pailolo from Maui to Oahu Sept.
13th, Henry Ayau race around Oahu Sept. 14th, and Molokai Hoe from Molokai to
Oahu, Oct 12th. Molokai ends the season
and then there is a club clean up and an End
of Season party.
The long distance logistics are
pretty phenomenal. Of those mentioned
above only the Kona is an iron race (6 guys that go non-stop) and no escort
boat is required for the individual canoe.
The Na Pali race is 6 women and 6 men and uses an escort boat. The Henry Ayau race was chosen to practice for the
Molokai Hoe and those required 12 guys; both races required escort boats. Moving canoes by barge (or borrowing an
unknown canoe), arranging lodging, transportation for drops and pick-ups,
flights, etc. Logistics.
Hurricane interuption
The Na Pali Challenge was
cancelled this year due to hurricanes Iselle and Julio headed our way. For all those who lived here and especially
those who travelled in – teams from the mainland and other islands – it was
very disappointing. The escorts had been
hired, lodging, transport set up, race fees paid. All
for no race. We were grateful the hurricanes were stopped by the Big Island –
thank you Mauna Loa & Mauna Kea for blocking the storm. We had a beautiful sunny weekend on Kauai and then got
the storm in the form of rains only, relatively mild.
Waiting for the hurricane Aug 8, 2014
We were spared because it hit the Big Island and dispersed
They weren't so lucky, lots of damage
Hawaii Island or the Big Island
The hurricane hit between the eastern point and the southern point
The two big mountains, Mauna Loa & Mauna Kea each almost 14,000' above sea level
knocked the wind out of Iselle & Julio protecting the rest of the chain
Kona Race
The Queen Lilio or Kona race as
it is often called, is always the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, this year on
August 30th. The women’s race
leaves the King Kamehameha Hotel at 7:30 am, they race to Honaunau Bay. When the boats come in the men grab them and get
ready to go (the ladies catch a party boat back, or a van). We had breakfast at King Kam and then headed
down.
The guys are waiting for the ladies to arrive, find their canoes,
and start the men's race back to King Kam
and start the men's race back to King Kam
Some adrenaline pumping?
OK - got their boat - Gil in seat 4, stretching out
The race has begun, over 100 canoes
See Map - race is 18 miles between arrows
Kona Coast
Tom, Steve, Jack, Gene, Gil, Lucky
GOLD MEDALS - Gil, Lucky, Gene, Jack with print, Steve,Tom
Instead of going to the park and getting torches to be in the parade, the guys opted
to go to dinner and watch as the torches came by
Henry Ayau Race
No
pictures available from the Oahu race.
The 12 guys left Saturday and came back Sunday night. I did not go and they were really too busy to
photograph much.
32 miles around Oahu, the 12 guys got to work out the bugs
How long to paddle, how many changes to make, who, where, when
They won Silver and felt ready for Molokai although they got beat by an all-star 60s Oahu team that was put together just to come after them called Team Gilbert (a different Gilbert).
Molokai Hoe
They
left Friday this time for the Sunday race, coming home Sunday night after
paddling 42 miles. They did have some
breathing room going a day early.
Early morning light catching the waves from Gil's digs
The day before the race
Molokai is pretty special
Colony Club / Molokai Shores - Gil checked this out
We spent a week here in the 80s when my late sister was the manager
before she moved to Maui
before she moved to Maui
Colony Club / Molokai Shores view
Lanai is lost in the glare
Lanai is lost in the glare
The take-off beach - Hale O Lono
miles from nowhere
Checking it once, twice . . .
Lots of people for this quiet little island
Scoping out the channel - random folks
Broken ama Tahitian style
The water was big Friday afternoon but the Tahitians went out anyway
There were broken outriggers and booms (amas & iakus)
They were lucky there were spare parts for them
No
photos from finish at Waikiki. Once they
got in, got their medals, they boogied for the airport. In the 60s group, California Gold took 1st,
another Oahu all-star team got 2nd and our Namolokama guys took bronze. Namo did beat Team Gilbert from Oahu that bumped them out of first at Henry Ayau!
Medals 2014
Henry Ayau, Queen Lilio, and Moloaki
One
more official End of Season party,
this time at the Tahiti Nui, with a clean-up party a couple weeks later. But . . .
there are one-man races for the truly addicted; for them the season
shifts but does not end. OC-1 races are
a hassle because individual boats have to be driven to the start and cars
shuttled to the finish, etc. then the boats returned to storage. All day
affairs, Logistics.
KONA & VOLCANO
Manta Rays
OK
so while Gil and the boys rigged boats the night before the Kona race, I
scheduled the night Manta Ray trip again for friend Marion and me with Kona
Diving. I love being in the dark
water. Unfortunately, one of the effects
of the hurricane was that all the plankton got sucked out of Manta Bay and it
had not recovered. When I did the trip
two years ago (see post Sept 2012, Ocean,
Mantas, Coral) there were a record number of 31 animals and this year we
only saw two. Magnificent animals, the
number of eager people outnumbered them.
On
the way out of Honokohau Harbor (red bar on map above) we had a Tiger Shark off the
starboard and dolphins off the port. The
Tiger was just a 15 foot shadow and the captain sees him in there frequently
because the fishermen clean their fish at the harbor – free food.
These guys didn't stay with us long, neither did the shark on the other side of the boat
Once we turned the corner outside the harbor we were on our own (maybe)
Coastal Manta Rays usually range from 8-12 feet across from wingtip to wingtip.
The afternoon snorkel gives us the lay of the land for later
The afternoon snorkel gives us the lay of the land for later
It was a treat to see this guy early, just scooting along the bottom
No green flash tonight
Sorry about the blur, different camera this time
Our daytime friend also made a quick appearance and took off
Just a treat to share the water with them
Our
Kona digs were very nice at Sea Village, just south of downtown. Sunday we chilled a little and saw yet
another canoe race from the room. The
guys 18 years old and under raced and the turn-around was right in front of our
room.
Nice place with view of entire Kailua Bay
No beach here so we just enjoyed the elevated view
The kids race around the two yellow buoys and head back
The
other fabulous treat was seeing an adult and young Eagle Ray cross right in
front of us. They were not in a hurry
and we enjoyed them as the mom was teaching the little one some moves. It has been a mother/child year for me to
witness. Wow!
Eagle rays, mom was probably 10’ across
Honaunau
We
always snorkel at Honaunau between our days at Kona and heading up to Volcano
Village. Marion and I went Saturday as
soon as the men’s race started and the hubbub died down. Then all three of us went on Sunday. What a wonderful location.
It is easy to imagine Hawaii as the early Polynesians saw it here
One of the fishponds at the City of Refuge or
Pu'uhonua O Honaunau
Gil got a few shots with his diving mask, he can take his past 50 feet. Mine just works at the surface where I pretty much stay.
Gil's collection
Palenose Parrotfish 12", Yellow Tangs 8", and Convict Tangs 10"
Another in Gil's collection
Marion diving
Gil's Flowery or Peacock Flounder 19"
His eyes are both at left, the dark spots part of a defensive design
His eyes are both at left, the dark spots part of a defensive design
Fun to watch them swim and then disappear on the sand, perfect camouflage
Ornate Butterflyfish 8"
I know, I put these guys in every time, but they are so fun to watch
Always in pairs
Sailfin Butterflyfish 15"
(remember tail is not included in length on fish)
These guys on the other hand, I don't get to see very often and
I didn't get one with his fins up that really make him seem BIG
Had to finish with this cluster of Yellow Tangs
because we are very lucky to see even one at time on Kauai due to the aquarium trade
VOLCANO
Time
to head up to Volcano Village (see red bar on map below). We like to stay
in a corner unit at Volcano Inn – but there were three of us and after
deliberation in May decided to share a unit.
We were really happy with it.
Fireplace, TV with DVDs, on the second floor in the tree ferns. A few steps to the Jacuzzi, we didn’t care if
it rained and the clouds totally obscured the pit of the volcano from view at
night.
We have all been here many times
and while very dramatic when visible, we didn’t really need drama. We did hike a little, check out the lectures
at the museum, Volcano Art Center, a store that is gallery quality, and just relaxed. The Thai Thai restaurant is excellent, we
were happy with that since our favorite restaurant in Volcano Village had been
Kiawi Grill – now closed.
Volcano Inn at Volcano Village
The deluxe corner unit
Out our window - we were up in the tree ferns and Ohia Lehua
Standing on the heiau near the Art Center, looking at
Halema'uma'u, the active part of Kilauea Crater
It was too cloudy to see anything at night
Mauna Loa
Out of the village, we
drove up toward Mauna Loa, 13,677’ – one of the two large shield volcanoes of
the Big Island. Our vistas were blocked
by weather but the drive was lovely. The
road through the koa forest was more like a foot path. We had to get a permit to even use the road –
no other cars the whole way. At the
point we stopped, see lower arrow on map, it is only accessible by hiking the rest of the
way.
Lucky there was a stone picnic area or our lunch would have been wet!
The road through the Koa forest seems a mere path - love it.
A large Koa that fell in the hurricane,
we could see the huge dent in the asphalt where it hit the road
Gil & Marion give it scale, glad the park service had moved it but so sad
Baby Koa, hope he makes it to the size of the one that fell
Mauna Kea: Astronomy mecca of the world
We
had an evening flight back from Hilo Airport so had decided to spend our last
day driving up to Mauna Kea (upper arrow on map above). No roads
traverse the two massive mountains, we drove into Hilo and then back up the
Saddle Road to the astronomy center at 9200’.
Only serious 4WD vehicles attempt the road to the summit, another 4500’
of very steep gravel.
We saw a great video about all
the countries who have observatories at the top. The highest point of the Islands, in the
middle of the Pacific, there is the least amount of light pollution here on the
planet. University of Hawaii has one for undergrad
students and a mega one for faculty and grad students.
Japan, United Kingdom, Canada, Netherlands all have individual or shared
telescopes. The Gemini is operated by
seven countries. Each one has something technologically
unique so that the information gathered is not overlapping but contributory to
world understanding of the universe.
WHEW!
The center we were at is open
year round for night time stargazing and the store features funny star goods
and warm clothing! Another trip for
sure. It was very cold even in the
daylight and glad we had our socks, gloves, hats and coats available. Still cold.
At 9,000 feet, we would need 4WD to go the last 4500 feet to the top
Looking across at the slope of Mauna Loa where we were a couple days ago
This land was all scraped clean by grazing cattle over the last few hundred years
A few Mamane trees grow
The center also has housing for the scientists that work at the observatories
Gil and Marion and I were walking among the Mamane and newly added
Silverswords (see flags at right)
We had to play cop with a Euro family stomping off the marked area. Very annoying!
Silversword - surrounded by rocks to protect it from feet
Sunflower family (see alpine sunflowers in previous Colorado post)
The first time I've seen the bloom because we always go to Haleakala on Maui too late
This plant is about ten years old and will die when flower is finished
Stunning up close, the mist is caught in a ghostly spider web
HILO
Being on the Hilo side, we had to catch one or two waterfalls and the botanic garden before heading to the airport.
Boiling Pots on the Wailuku River
upstream from Rainbow Falls
Rainbow Falls
Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens
These gardens are located at Onomea Bay, just north of Hilo. We've been there a couple times before but since I posted the hibiscus at Limahuli Gardens recently, I thought I'd include my anthurium pics - so symbolic of Hawaii Island. We moved through pretty quick so I didn't try to get botanical names. The variety is what is fun here.
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