Dawn Patrol - 2/7/2021

Super cold (for Ewa Beach) on the dawn patrol this morning.  So cold in fact I couldn't hold the cell phone steady enough to take the picture ;)  Waves were slightly smaller than yesterday, but every now and then a nice belly sized set came through.

Zero wind made for wonderful conditions, but the tide was below my foiling threshold - out came the TJ Everyday for the third straight day in a row.  This is perfectly fine because this board is so much fun to ride.  I had plenty of super long rides, and a couple where I stalled and rode tight to the pocket - but on  one wave that I took all the way in, I got hit by a box jelly on my right arm pit.  Not fun.

I could have used a long sleeve wetsuit top today for multiple reasons - regardless this was a super fun session.

UH Manoa's ORE Program 50th Anniversary

This past Saturday evening, the Ocean and resources Engineering Program at UH Manoa celebrated it's 50th Anniversary at the Waikiki Aquarium. Of course I walked through the exhibits - not much has changed but the Hawaiian Fish Pond and the Opae Ula exhibits were not in the interior spaces (I didn't get to look on the outside - it got dark while I was looking around in the inside). The Giant Clam was still there nice and happy. The Hunters on the Reef exhibit was still there (and now I look at the Uluas with a whole different perspective) - these shark jaw pictures are for my future reference for id purposes. The ubiquitous jellyfish A pair of healthy Harlequin Shrimp A Scorpionfish Another Scorpionfish that mimics debris An "Asian" Arrowana The Tako Tank - I couldn't see if the Triton's Trumpet next to it was alive or not. An Urchin A Boxer Shrimp An Urchin with the Boxer Shrimp trying to box the spines. Must get rough living in confined quarters. And a picture of one of my Professors. It was a really good time reflecting on the past, checking out some cool exhibits, eating some food and looking to the future.

National Aquarium - Jellyfish

Another instance of "I think I have been to too many aquariums that every thing is starting to run together". There are jellyfish exhibits at nearly every aquarium - and they all look the same. They are all very interesting and calming - but they are all very similar. Makes you wonder if the aquariums are all run by the same consortiums. Or maybe they are all built and designed by the same companies...

Today was not the same as yesterday...

Less clouds.

Wind shift (from the WNW).

Much hotter (our SUV thermometer read 112 at one point!!!).

Jellyfish everywhere (damn b@st@rds even got me).

We completely got this one wrong.

But even though there were negatives, it was still fun!

Save the Jellys!!!

That was the mission Marlon and Noe accepted this afternoon -

Poor Noe discovered that some jellyfish do in fact sting (she stepped on one). These two kiddoroos still had no fear and had filled a bucket - with the goal to repatriate them to the ocean.

It's the simple things in life that count - I know what I'm thankful for!

Jellyfish, Jellyfish, Jellyfish

This photo is completely unedited - and yes it is almost solid moon jellyfish.

And yes - my troops and I had to make dives through this (these jellyfish don't possess nematocysts strong enough to penetrate human skin, so it doesn't hurt - unless you have sensitive or unusually thin skin).

Go with the flow

While we were working our way back down to Oxnard from San Francisco, we stopped in a bunch of places - one of which was the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Lots of cool displays that had lots of happy specimens in them. I'll use this trip and other points on the way down as posting sources for the next few days (yes - the surf is down, but thats not the only reason I'm moving in this direction - it's my blog...).

For now - here are some cool jellyfish!

Enjoy!