WHAZ DAT?
Just another day in paradise.
The water was much clearer today and not as many jellyfish.
Having said that, there was one of those "surface inclines" today.
You can even see them when you look straight ahead while swimming. The water seems milky for about a foot deep. It is milky because it is a cold water influence (sometimes it is a underwater spring if localized) and is noticeably colder in this area.. You can not swim out of it, because it is everywhere. But that's the price you pay for living in Hawaii in the winter!
Check this site out for cool info on ocean temperatures.
So Wednesday is the Inter-Island Cruise ship day. We quite often see dolphins when other cruise ships are in because their GPS auto thrusters which keep the boats located in the same proximity, seem to attracted them. The Inter-Island boats do not use this system (they anchor), so there is no guarantee of seeing them with the Inner Island ship. I did hear them,but never saw them. You can almost count on dolphins when the other big cruise ships are in.
We made it to our usual buoy and back, with nothing of particular interest today. We tried to catch the cute outrigger guys who kept passing us while practicing in the Bay. Honestly though, were old enough to be their grandmas, and they were going way too fast anyway. Just another day in paradise. Beauty abounds!
Other than the young hard bodies, nothing grabbed our attention. That is until we got about 20 yards off shore. Linda noticed something peculiar on the bottom in about 5 feet of water.
Here is the million dollar question. Is it a "Stonefish" or a "Scorpoionfish"? Half my research said Hawaii does not have Stonefish, other research says we do. I am convinced it is a Stonefish.
Here are some interesting facts about this guy.
Scorpionfish: Scorpaenidae, the scorpionfish, are a family of mostly marine fish that includes many of the world's most venomous species. As the name suggests, scorpionfish have a type of "sting" in the form of sharp spines coated with venomous mucus. They are widespread in tropical and temperate seas, but mostly found in the Indo-Pacific.
Stonefish: Stonefishes are the masters of camouflage - usually they are completely covered with mud and sand and nearly can't be seen (check out the photos).
The rays on the dorsal ridge are highly poisonous!
You be the judge!
After playing photographer with this guy for awhile, we shoed him away out in deeper water as he was in shallow water. Shallow enough to step on.
I also added another Crown of Thorns (photo) "whack" to my 'Guinness Book of World Records' for killing the most Crown of Thorns (suffice to say for now, they kill our coral). Just another one of those pesky venomous creatures. Tell you more about those guys later!
A hui Hou from paradise!
P.S. Don't forget to check out our top of the line luxury oceanfront vacation rentals if visiting Hawaii in the near (or distant) future!
Who dat?
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