E Palekana Me Ka Manō: Be Safe With Sharks
By Wendy Noritake I have a daily ritual of swimming in the ocean, enjoying nature, and anticipating what magic I might see. One morning in October, I swam with a friend in the warm turquoise waters at Nishimura Bay, in…
Beauty and the Beasts: The Art and Craft of Hawai‘i’s Big Game Lures
By Jim Harrold If you ever venture on a Kona sportfishing charter, you’ll likely note that the fanciful handcrafted lures trolled behind the boat don’t look anything like common bait for ono, mahimahi, ahi, and marlin. The colorful lure heads,…
‘Ohana Wa‘a Laulima: Making Paddling Accessible
By Mālielani Larish On a bright Sunday morning, half a dozen members of ‘Ohana Wa‘a Laulima respectfully hold the hull of a sleek canoe while Kahu (Reverend) Kauila Haumea invokes a Hawaiian prayer of blessing. ‘Ohana Wa‘a Laulima (the canoe…
Sampans, Mahai‘ula Bay, and the Big Bang
By Pete Hendricks I was enjoying a pleasant morning one day back in 1996, snorkeling at Mahai‘ula Bay (now known as Kekaha Kai State Park) in North Kona. Just off one of the lava fingers of the reef, I spotted…
Education on the Ocean: Pua Ka Ilima Treats Keiki to Sailing Adventures
By Ma‘ata Tukuafu It was a 19-day adventure on the open seas for Ralph Blancato and his crew to pilot a 42-foot sailboat from California to Hawai‘i Island. In July 2022, Ralph and his team of three people sailed successfully…
Mālama Mokupuni: Caring for Our Island Environment — A Rare Night Visitor: ‘A‘o, the Newell’s Shearwater
By Rachel Laderman The strange, croaking-squawking calls started in August. Was it a sick chicken? A keiki’s squeaky toy? A lost donkey? I asked neighbors, I did a web search. I stayed up to listen closely: it had to be…
Talking Story With Jerry Benson, Master Canoe Builder
By Mary L. Moody When I first met Jerry and Leina‘ala Benson in October 2011, I was unaware that their neighbor and good friend, Herb Kāne, had died earlier that year, in March. Having recently moved to the island from…
Kawaihae Canoe Club Celebrates 50 Years
By Jan Wizinowich It’s early morning at Kawaihae and outrigger canoes dot the horizon carrying the kūpuna paddlers. Soon, the men’s master crew will be gliding into the boat ramp after an early morning run heading north. A Matson barge…
FreediveSafe! Hawai‘i: Lifesaving Training for the Next Generation of Spearfishers
By Sara Stover On a breezy Saturday morning at the beginning of the summer, 25 of Hawai‘i Island’s youth willingly gather in a classroom at Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy (HPA). Dylan Currier and Sandy Hammel of Freediving Instructors International are demonstrating…
Birthplace of the Boogie Board: Wai‘aha Beach, Kona
By Fern Gavelek A small beach located just on the outskirts of Historic Kailua Village is officially the birthplace of the boogie board. Known by the local water sports community for decades, the designation was recently declared by state and…
Tsunamis: Hawai‘i’s Most Dangerous Natural Hazard
By Walter Dudley Just before 7am on the morning of April 1, 1946, Seaman Perry Minton was in the radio room aboard the USS Thompson headed toward Pearl Harbor when, he recalls, “Almost as soon as I put on the…
Donnie’s Thanksgiving: First-hand Story of Halapē’s 1975 Tsunami
By Leslee Engler and Donnie Cruz If you lived through an earthquake and tsunami on the beach where your family was camping, you would remember that very clearly. It took place 47 years ago, and Donnie Cruz remembers every minute…
Secrets of the Sand
By Walter Dudley A beach is a magical place for most of us, whether to swim, surf, snorkel, sip a Mai Tai, or simply watch the sunset. When people dream about going to the beach, they envision soft, warm, golden…
What Lies Beneath: Coral Reef Education Institute
By Brittany P. Anderson On a clear day in Kamuela you can see everything—from the top of Mauna Kea, across the pasture lands, and down to the blue Pacific. Birds glide overhead, as trees bend in the winds of the…
Stepping Beyond the Water’s Edge with Adventurer and Artist Joshua Lambus
By Sara Stover Joshua Lambus is literally paddling through a sea of foam noodles. Clinging to these bright green, blue, and pink cylinders are visitors of all ages, many of whom have never been snorkeling before today. As he scans…
Mikey “Redd” O’Shaughnessy: In Search of One Perfect Wave
By Stefan Verbano “One wave will change your life.” This is the motto of big wave surfer Mikey “Redd” O’Shaughnessy, who throughout his 29 years of life in Hawai‘i has seen those words play out in the best and worst…
Two Artists Transform Trash into Treasure
By Karen Valentine When two artists each blend their creative talents with their passion for the environment, magic can happen. For both Kat Crabill and Mattie Mae Larson, growing up in Hawai‘i meant falling in love with the ocean—only to…
Hawai‘i Wai Ola Is Stepping It Up To Test Coast Water Quality
By Rachel Laderman When government can’t catch up with a pressing environmental problem, concerned residents often step in. Here on Hawai‘i Island, water quality equates to quality of life, yet the state Department of Health (DOH) Clean Water Branch has…
Kai ‘Ehitu: An Outrigger Team Remembers Its Roots and Its Papa
By Sara Stover “Never forget your roots,” Puamaile Kimitete insists. Her mother Augustine, sister Healani, and brother Richard all nod their heads in agreement. “Even though he lived in Hawai‘i for over three decades, Papa never forgot his Tahitian roots.”…
Every Paddler Knew the Voice of Aunty Maile
By Karen Valentine Kapono It’s race day at Hilo Bayfront. The summer outrigger canoe paddling season is in full swing. Colorful canoes are lined up, ready to race. Canoe club T-shirts with club insignia move through the crowd on paddlers…
Mālama Mokupuni—Caring for Our Island Environment: Nursing Along a Coral Nursery
By Rachel Laderman How do you create an ocean in an aquarium? This is the challenge Michelle Nason took on in 2017, when she was a student in the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo’s Marine Science Department and Marine Option…
Paddling for Hope: Derek Park Fundraises for Breast Cancer Education and Early Detection
By Karen Rose The “Prince of Preachers,” Charles Haddon Surgeon said that hope itself is like a star—not to be seen in the sunshine of prosperity, but to be discovered in the night of adversity. Nine years ago, paddler Derek…
Corals: Living Rainforests of the Sea
By Stefan Verbano Hanau ka ‘Uku-ko‘ako‘a, hanau kana, he ‘Ako‘ako‘a, puka “Born was the coral polyp, born was the coral, came forth” —Kumulipo, Hawaiian Chant of Creation, line 15 Surrounding the islands, inhabiting a narrow column of warm water—with destructive…
Start Fishing! The Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament Celebrates 60 Years
By Karen Rose On August 21, 1959, statehood was granted to the territory of Hawai‘i, making it the 50th state in the union. Two days later, the first Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament (HIBT) was introduced to Kona. This year marked…
Chuck Leslie: The ‘Ōpelu Man
By Karen Anderson One day in the late 1990s, third-generation Napo‘opo‘o fisherman Chuck Leslie headed north toward Keauhou in his 56-foot longlining vessel, Hana Like, when suddenly and inexplicably he passed out at the wheel, just outside of Pu‘u ‘Ohau…
Mālama Mokupuni–Caring for Our Island Environment: Telling the Story of the Archipelago
By Rachel Laderman When the 6.9 earthquake rocked Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park on May 4, 2018, it seriously damaged park buildings and infrastructure. The park had to close until the volcanic action settled down, reopening on September 22. During those…
Where are the Whales? Humpback Whale Sightings are on the Decline
By Karen Rose The Senegalese environmentalist Baba Dioum said that in the end, we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught. Researchers at the National…
Diving into the World at Pacific Aquaculture and Coastal Resource Center
By Brittany P. Anderson The constant low hum of bubbling water provides a soothing soundtrack to the work taking place at the Pacific Aquaculture and Coastal Resource Center in Hiloʻs harbor area, Keaukaha, on the east side of Hawai‘i Island.…
Statewide Boat Mooring Program Boasts Kona Roots
By Fern Gavelek From time to time, something is done purely because it is the pono (right) thing to do. How the statewide day-use mooring (DUM) system came to be is one of them. The strategically placed moorings protect marine…
Mālama Mokupuni–Caring for Our Island Environment: The Break Down on Microplastics
By Julia Meurice From the stomachs of sea birds to the muscle tissues of fish and the beaches across Hawai‘i, tiny plastics are quickly building up in our marine environment. They may seem harmless enough, but both scientific data and…
