Living The Hawaiian Dream

Big Island of Hawaii – University of Hawaii at Hilo

2011-09-21T21:49:00.000-07:00

University of Hawaii -- Hilo

One of the real advantages to living on the east side of the Big Island is the University of Hawaii at Hilo. I have been fortunate to lecture at the school the past two years teaching Introductory Business to some 40-60 students, depending on the semester, and a management class in Organizational Behavior to about 30-40 upper class men.

The students in my classes have been heavily represented by the Hawaiian Islands but also came from the mainland, Guam, Tonga, Samoa, Micronesia, Japan, Korea, the Philippines and Sweden. And their overall attitude and approach to learning is excellent.

The University is composed of six Colleges, and has received recognition for numerous academic programs including its marine biology, volcanology, astronomy, Hawaiian language, pharmacy, agriculture, computer science, and nursing programs.

Its College of Hawaiian Language, Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani, is the only school in the United States to offer graduate degrees for study in an indigenous language.

And the University’s College of Pharmacy is the only approved pharmacy school by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) in the State of Hawaiʻi and the Pacific Islands.

According to one survey by U.S. News and World Reports the University of Hawaii-Hilo ranks in the top ten for having both the most ethnically diverse and the lowest percentage of students with debt at graduation.

Seeing this University up close almost daily made me wonder about its origins. The school was originally founded as the Hawaiʻi Vocational College (Hawaiʻi College) and in 1947 it became as an extension division of UH Mānoa (the main University of Hawaii campus).

UH Hilo enrolled 1,600 students by 1986. And since 1998, the university has increased enrollment every year. The Fall 2011 headcount of 4,077 is the highest enrollment in the history of the campus and a 150% increase since 1986.

Its Center for the Performing Arts is home to the Hilo Symphony as well as offering a full program of entertainers this year from The Billy Cunliffe Trio to the Bad Boys of Dance to the play Hairspray.

The University of Hawaii at Hilo is truly the jewel in the crown for those fortunate to visit of live near Hawaii’s second biggest city.

A Hilo “Luau” on the Island of Hawaii

2011-08-07T15:25:00.000-07:00

A luau is a Hawaiian feast or party usually featuring food such as poi, kalua pig, poke, lomi salmon, opihi and haupia, along with beer (and rum drinks); and often entertainment, like Hawaiian music and hula.

On July 4^th we had some friends over to watch the fireworks over Hilo Bay and decided to turn it into a mini-luau. For something special, my wife Devany and I wanted to prepare a Cuban style roasted pig, something similar to kalua pig which we have had at several Hawaiian celebrations here.

The word kalua literally means "to cook in an underground oven" and also describes the flavor of food cooked in this manner, i.e., “kalua pig.” Kalua is an ancient Hawaiian cooking method that uses an imu, or underground oven.

At a traditional luau, a fire using kiawe wood (a species of mesquite tree) is built in a sand or dirt pit (the imu). It is about six feet long, four feet wide and three feet deep. Rocks are placed in the imu to retain cooking heat after the flames have burned down. Once the rocks have become extremely hot, the hole is lined with vegetation such as banana leaves.

Imu Ready for Firing

The meat to be cooked (in this case a suckling pig) is salted, rubbed with herbs, stuffed with more hot rocks, and covered with ti and banana leaves. To maintain even heating and to retain the meat's natural moisture, it is covered first with wet burlap, then with a layer of sand or soil. The meat is then left to cook in the pit for six to seven hours.

Since we did not particularly feel like digging up our yard, we did perhaps the next best thing which was to use a pig roasting box purchased from “La Caja China”. The La Caja China is a box designed to accommodate the roasting of a marinated whole pig, butterfly cut. The pig is placed inside the box, and charcoal is placed on top of the lid to roast the meat inside. After about five hours the pig is well roasted and tastes amazing.

We were able to buy the big from a local abattoir in Hilo not far from our house. It probably weighed about 60 pounds (80 pounds live weight) and barely fit in the La Caja China.

Devany had marinated the pig in a solution of sour orange and garlic with spices for 24 hours before the day of its cooking. She also injected the pig with more of the marinade just before the coals were started. Her recipe for the (marinade) is as follows:

2 gallons of orange juice

1 quart of lime juice

1 cup of dried chopped oregano

¼ cup garlic salt

3 cups of chopped garlic

½ cup of cracked black pepper

At the "Luau"

The results were well enjoyed by all, and while not quite a real luau, it certainly was a great feast. I’ll discuss some of the other gastric elements to a traditional luau in subsequent postings.

Golfing on the Island of Hawaii (the Big Island)

2011-05-23T17:43:00.000-07:00

Golf is a great game, in fact I have been playing it since I was twelve years old, but on some days it can be less than exhilarating – like when you shoot your weight rather than your age (Bob Hope's quote). But for those who love the game like I do, there are few places better to live or visit than the Big Island.

Fairmont Orchid Golf

We live on the windward/East side of Hawaii Island in Hilo. While the best golf resorts are on the island’s other side (see my earlier entry All Around the Island), the nearby Hilo Municipal public course is quite challenging with its multiple elevated greens and lava creeks that come into play on about twelve holes (slope: 121). The course is well maintained and playing pressure is about average. And unbelievably, if you are a resident over 60 years of age the monthly green fees are only $24 for unlimited play.

Courses on West Side of BI (Google)

Within 45 minutes of our house are two other public courses, one in Volcano and the other in Waimea, plus a nine hole course in downtown Hilo near the oceanside. Volcano Country Club is beautiful and located at about 4,200 feet you can get some really nice drives (slope: 124). Waimea Country Club is challenging for the beginner given its gorse-like roughs that make finding errant balls almost impossible, but a lovely course (slope: 132 ).

Four Seasons Golf

Most of the serious golf action is located on the drier west side nearer Kona/Kiluea and the luxury golf resorts around Waikoloa Bay. The only three that I have been lucky enough to play have been the Hapuna Golf Club, Big Island Country Club and the Waikoloa Village Golf Club. All were magnificent.

The Big Island course was designed by Pete and Perry Dye and features an island green (slope: 136). Unfortunately, as I recall, no one in my foursome avoided the water.

Big Island Country Club

The other eight courses that I hope to play one day (listed from Kona northward):

+ Kona Country Club – Mountain and Ocean Courses

+ Makalei Golf Club

+ Hualalai Golf Club (near Hawaii’s only five-star resort, the Four Seasons) – designed by Jack Nicklaus

+ Waikoloa Beach Resort – Beach Course (Robert Trent Jones designed) and Kings’ Course (Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish Scottish links-style )

+ Mauna Lani Resort – North and South Courses (the favorite of Hilo’s golf guru George at Golf Treasures)

+ Mauna Kea Golf Course

George at Hilo Golf Treasures

Numerous golf course vacation packages are available. And for more information on these and other golf courses on the Big Island, check out the following link: Big Island Golf. And, most important, if you are in town and need someone to play, let me know! All of the above courses are closer than two hours from our Hilo home.

The Deep Blue Sea

2011-04-18T16:19:00.000-07:00

I grew up vacationing and fishing on a lake near Dayton, Ohio (Grand Lake St. Mary’s) that was about nine miles long by three miles wide and had a depth of less than seven feet. So you can imagine my disconnect now when looking out our backyard and seeing humpback whales swimming past and ocean going cruise vessels entering the Hilo Harbor.

"Valentine" in Backyard

This led me to wonder just how deep the ocean was off of our lanai, which in turn led me to the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) site which was brought to my attention by a friend of mine in Marine Science at the University of Hawaii - Hilo: http://www.nauticalchartsonline.

www.NOAA

So the ocean seems to be about 14 feet deep near our cliff, then increasing to 25 feet in depth and quickly to 34 feet. Beyond that the water becomes about 90 feet in depth which must be fine for humpback whales. It seems that humpback whales seem to prefer "shallow/protected" waters and spend the majority of their lives in waters that are 300 feet or less, and in this case, considerably less than 300 feet. http://www.whalewatchmaui.com/maui.html

Credit: Devany Vickery-Davidson

From deep water on the north, there is a ship channel to the inner harbor edge to the wharves in Kuhio Bay. A Federal project provides for an entrance channel 35 feet deep and a harbor basin of the same depth in Kuhio Bay. Channel and basin are maintained at or near the project depth. www.NOAA

As you can see, our weekly Tuesday visitor, the “Pride of America,” has a draft of only 26 feet.

www.NCL

Humpback whales and the cruise ships seem to coexist peacefully. We have even seen whales swimming next to the ship and “porpoising” in and out of the water next to the boat.

Interestingly, the 20-fathom depth (120 feet) curve is seldom more than one mile from shore in Hawaii and usually not far from the coral reefs that fringe much of the island coastline. The bottom generally pitches off rapidly to great depths from a narrow coastal shelf. Under normal conditions the color of the water changes from a deep blue in the open ocean to a blue-green between the 10- and 15-fathom (60 feet to 90 feet) curves; and bottom features become visible at 6 to 7 fathoms (36 feet to 42 feet). www.NOAA

"Coco Palms"

2011-02-10T11:55:00.000-08:00

I do not usually post about my office's real estate listings. But this is a special situation. The property is owned by a good friend --and some of the finished carpentry work on the home was done by another. Plus I believe it represents an outstanding buying opportunity for the right purchaser. And not only that, it is walking distance to an "almost secret" white sand beach.

Known as “Coco Palms,” it is located on 1.4 acres and is a planned twelve-unit Polynesian-styled residential complex zoned 'Hotel and Resort'. Cantilevered over an ancient fishpond located in the center of the property is a completed thatch-roofed three bedroom, three bath model unit. The property has a total of twelve Condominium Property Regime ('CPR') units with plans included in the sale for the eleven additional units.

Located by the beaches in Keaukaha, just three miles east of downtown Hilo, the future potential uses for this property are many. You could live in the model home and enjoy the large natural fishpond all by yourself. Or build a few units -- or build all eleven. (Plans are included for eleven other homes similar to the model home.) They could be used for friends and family or for vacation rentals – or you could build them and sell them. As the new owner you would control the density and the build out.

The model home is environmentally conscious with a solar hot water system. And, obvious attention-to-detail is evident. Spanning the Oceanside length of the main living level is a spacious ten feet deep lanai with ceiling fans and a granite counter outside of a kitchen pass-through. Inside a great room opens to a gourmet kitchen with granite counters, a cooking island and bar, Koa veneer kitchen cabinets and top-of-the-line stainless steel appliances.

Call me if you would like to learn more. Land ownership is fee-simple and its listing price is $995,000. The Big Island real estate market is gradually starting to improve, so with low interest rates, now might be the time for you to invest in this very special place.

Wes Davidson, MBA, SFR, Realtor(S)

Hilo Brokers, Ltd.

400 Hualani Street, Suite 296

Hilo, Hawaii 96720

wes@hilo-brokers.com

www.WesIsland.com

http://www.WesIsland.blogspot.com

Office: 808.969.9400 x19

Cell: 808.315.5760 (preferred)

Fax: 808.969.7900

Singin’ in the Rain

2010-12-10T11:45:00.000-08:00

Yes it does rain often in Hilo and after my last posting on the trade winds it made me wonder even more, “Why?” Since the wind is coming across the open ocean from the east and then hitting the mountains, it seems the air would pick up moisture as it goes over the volcanoes and drop it on the Kona side of the Big Island. But no, thanks to the phenomenon of orographic (my spell checker keeps wanting “pornographic”) precipitation the rain drops on Hilo and the Big Island’s east side.

Before defining this let me say that much of the rain comes at night. For instance, I play golf just about weekly and have not been rained out once; rained on occasionally but not rained out. And the average temperatures are superb as you can see below.

NOAA

So to recap, in Hawaii, local climates vary considerably on each island due to their topography, divisible into windward (Koʻolau) and leeward (Kona) regions based upon location relative to the higher mountains. Windward sides face the east towards northeast trade winds and receive much more rainfall; leeward sides are drier and sunnier, with less rain and less cloud cover.

http://www.thefullwiki.org/Orographic_precipitation

The rainfall is caused by orographic precipitation which is when masses of air pushed by wind are forced up the side of elevated land formations, such as large mountains. Upon ascent, the air that is being lifted will expand and cool. This cooling of a rising moist air parcel may lower its temperature to its dew point, thus allowing for condensation of the water vapor contained within it, and hence the formation of a cloud.

If enough water vapor condenses into cloud droplets, these droplets may become large enough to fall to the ground as precipitation. In parts of the world subjected to relatively consistent winds (for example, trade winds), a wetter climate prevails on the windward side of a mountain than on the leeward (downwind) side as the moisture has been removed by the effects of orographic precipitation.

Full Wiki

In the state of Hawaii, Mount Waiʻaleʻale on the island of Kauai is notable for its extreme rainfall, as it has the highest average annual rainfall on earth with 460 inches. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orographic_precipitation#Orographic

A true-color satellite view of Hawaii shows that most of the vegetation on the islands grows on the north-east sides that face the wind.

Hawaii Islands

The result of this phenomenon on the Big Island is one very green side with waterfalls (the eastern) and one very sunny, dry side (the western). Most of the resorts are located on the western side and served by Kona International airport. Waterfalls and beautiful greenery are on the eastern side and served by Hilo International airport. We prefer life on the “green side,” with visits to the beautiful beaches around Kona. (See East Side/West Side - All Around the Big Island
for other contrasts.) And rain does bring these!

Devany Vickery-Davidson

That’s the Way the Wind Blows

2010-11-26T16:29:00.000-08:00

We were accustomed on the mainland to the prevailing wind coming from the West, and tailwinds making the travel from say Denver to New York generally much faster than the return trip. When we moved to the east side of the Big Island I assumed that we would be on the leeward (“away from the wind”) side of the island. But no, in the middle of the Pacific the prevailing winds turn out to be from the east, putting us on the windward side after all.

It so happens that solar radiation warms the air over the equator, causing it to rise. The rising air then proceeds south and north toward the poles. From approximately 20° to 30° North and South latitude, the air sinks. Then, the air flows along the surface of the earth back toward the equator. This phenomenon creates several effects well known to pilots of ocean sailing vessels.

The Doldrums
Sailors noticed the stillness of the rising (and not blowing) air near the equator and gave the region the name "doldrums." The doldrums, usually located between 5° north and 5° south of the equator, are also known as the Intertropical Convergence Zone or ITCZ for short. The trade winds converge in the region of the ITCZ, producing convectional storms that produce some of the world's heaviest precipitation regions.

The Horse Latitudes
Between about 30° to 35° north and 30° to 35° south of the equator lays the region known as the horse latitudes or the subtropical high. This region of subsiding dry air and high pressure results in weak winds. Tradition states that sailors gave the region of the subtropical high the name "horse latitudes" because ships relying on wind power stalled; fearful of running out of food and water, sailors threw their horses and cattle overboard to save on provisions.

tradewinds‑lrg.jpg

The Trade Winds
In the central North Pacific, the trade winds represent the outflow of air from a great region of high pressure, known as the North Pacific High, typically located well north and east of the Hawaiian Islands. The North Pacific High is a semi-permanent, subtropical area of high pressure in the North Pacific Ocean. It is strongest in the Northern Hemispheric summer and is displaced towards the equator during the winter.

Blowing from the subtropical highs (or horse latitudes) toward the low pressure of the ITCZ are the trade winds. Named from their ability to quickly propel trading ships across the ocean, the trade winds between about 30° latitude and the equator are steady and blow about 11 to 13 miles per hour. In the Northern Hemisphere, the trade winds blow from the northeast and are known as the Northeast Trade Winds; in the Southern Hemisphere, the winds blow from the southeast and are called the Southeast Trade Winds. http:/geography.about.com

frontiernet.net

Hilo Hawaii is located roughly at 19.7 degrees north of the equator (see my earlier blog Changes in Latitudes). As described above the trade winds at this latitude blow westward from the northeast thus putting the east side of the Big Island facing the prevailing wind known as the Northeast Trade Wind. Whereas, in the mid-latitudes where most of the United States mainland is located the “westerlies” blow eastward. In fact in both the northern (30N to 60N) and southern (30S to 60S) latitudes, the prevailing winds are from the west. wikipedia

Confusion resolved!

It is Illegal to be an Ugly Governor in Hawaii

2010-11-11T18:59:00.000-08:00

Yes that’s true. It is against the “Aloha Law” for a Hawaiian governor to act ugly or mean spirited in carrying out their duties. You may find the actually law at the end of this entry, but it all has to do with the meaning and spirit of Aloha.

Many Hawaiian words have multiple meanings and perhaps none more so than aloha. Aloha is the most popular Hawaiian word known and spoken around the world. It is also among the most sacred and powerful of all Hawaiian words. Speaking it over time is said to have the power to transform one's attitude, heal one's negative emotions, and to help protect and guide one's lifetime journey.

Hawai'i is also the only American state to have two official languages, Hawaiian and English. However, a third unofficial language is also widely spoken, Pidgin which is a slang combining words from many aspects of island life and culture. Instant Hawaii

Pidgin was used as a way to communicate amongst the various nationalities that were in Hawaii to work the fields, containing enough English language references to generally communicate with their supervisors who primarily spoke English.

We recently adopted a kitten and wanted to give it a Hawaiian name. We settled on Pili Aloha which was suggested be a friend and which we understood to mean “esteemed companion,” which it does. However, it could also mean any combination of the following:

Pili

To cling, stick, adhere, touch, join, adjoin, cleave to, associate with, be with, be close or adjacent; clinging, sticking; close relationship, relative; thing belonging to, connection. Pili maikaʻi, fitting nicely, compact. Hoa pili, intimate friend. Koʻu pili, my partner.

Aloha
Aloha, love, affection, compassion, mercy, sympathy, pity, kindness, sentiment, grace, charity; greeting, salutation, regards; sweetheart, lover, loved one; beloved, loving, kind, compassionate, charitable, lovable; to love, be fond of; to show kindness, mercy, pity, charity, affection; to venerate; to remember with affection; to greet, hail. Greetings! Hello! Good-by! Farewell! Alas!
http://wehewehe.org/

And if that does not impress you with the beauty of the Hawaiian language, how about the name of the state fish? It is humuhumunukunuku'āpua'a.

Rivaled perhaps only by the longest place name in America (in Massachusetts) which my brother for some reason can pronounce flawlessly:

Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg.

Aloha!

From the state Charter:

§ 5-7.5 "Aloha Spirit".(a) "Aloha Spirit" is the coordination of mind and heart within each person. It brings each person to the self. Each person must think and emote good feelings to others. In the contemplation and presence of the life force, "Aloha", the following unuhi laulā loamay be used:

"Akahai", meaning kindness to be expressed with tenderness;

"Lōkahi", meaning unity, to be expressed with harmony;

"ʻOluʻolu" meaning agreeable, to be expressed with pleasantness;

"Haʻahaʻa", meaning humility, to be expressed with modesty;

"Ahonui", meaning patience, to be expressed with perseverance.

These are traits of character that express the charm, warmth and sincerity of Hawaii's people. It was the working philosophy of native Hawaiians and was presented as a gift to the people of Hawaiʻi. ''Aloha'' is more than a word of greeting or farewell or a salutation. ''Aloha'' means mutual regard and affection and extends warmth in caring with no obligation in return. "Aloha" is the essence of relationships in which each person is important to every other person for collective existence. ''Aloha'' means to hear what is not said, to see what cannot be seen and to know the unknowable.

(b) In exercising their power on behalf of the people and in fulfillment of their responsibilities, obligations and service to the people, the legislature, governor, lieutenant governor, executive officers of each department, the chief justice, associate justices, and judges of the appellate, circuit, and district courts may contemplate and reside with the life force and give consideration to the "Aloha Spirit". [L 1986, c 202, § 1]

http://clear.uhwo.hawaii.edu/lawaloha.html

Babe Ruth in Hilo

2010-10-29T19:50:00.000-07:00

With the World Series in progress it seems fitting to discuss Babe Ruth’s presence in Hilo on the Big Island -- particularly since his Hilo visit was memorialized in such a spectacular way. The year was 1933 and The Babe was in Hawaii to play a series of exhibition games against various local teams.

About that same time several park commissioners in Hilo decided that it would be a good idea to have celebrities’ plant banyan tree saplings along the Waiakea Peninsula. In late 1933, Cecil B. DeMille was on the island filming "Four Frightened People". Several of the actors planted trees in their own honor, along with Mr. and Mrs. DeMille. Some eight trees were planted in October 1933. And in addition to the movie stars, one tree was also planted by one of the most famous men in America, Babe Ruth. This drive, now named Banyan Drive is also known as the "Hilo Walk of Fame.”

Over time probably some fifty trees were planted with many surviving until today having grown into a thick canopy, making it popular for walking. The Waiakea Peninsula is anchored by the beautiful Liliuokalani Park and Reed’s Bay Beach Park, and not far from the Hilo airport. The name comes from wai ākea which in Hawaiian means "broad waters,” and sometimes what is now called Hilo Bay was once called Waiakea Bay.

The Banyan tree is an example of a strangler fig that often begins life in the crown of another tree. Its roots grow down and around the stem of the host, their growth accelerating once the ground has been reached. Over time, the roots coalesce to form sort of a pseudotrunk. Older banyan trees are characterized by their aerial prop roots that grow into thick woody trunks which, with age, can become indistinguishable from the main trunk. Old trees can spread out laterally using these prop roots to cover a wide area.

The first banyan tree in the U.S. was planted by Thomas Alva Edison in Fort Myers, Florida. The tree, originally only four feet tall, now covers 400 feet. Robinson Crusoe, in the 1719 novel by Daniel Defoe makes his home in a banyan tree. Due to the complex structure of the roots and extensive branching, the banyan is also extensively used for creating Bonsai. Taiwan's oldest living bonsai is a 240-year-old banyan in Tainan.

Big Island = Big Scary Story

2010-10-15T16:47:00.000-07:00

As we approach the Halloween holiday, it may be appropriate to retell a frightening story that happened here on the Big Island; in fact just some twelve miles south of Hilo in the quiet village of Ola’a.

Ola’a is in the sacred Ola'a forest, which was once an area restricted to bird-catching families (whose occupation was to collect hulu or feathers for the ruling class) until the abolishment of the kapu system in 1819 and the arrival of the missionaries shortly thereafter. A small church was established in 1835 to serve Hawaiians living in the area. As Hawai'i island developed with small coffee farms and with the establishment of sugar plantations in the 1890's Ola'a saw the arrival of immigrant labor. Soon the church and community embraced an ethically and culturally diverse plantation community. Ola'a Church

Ola'a Church

In 1947 in Ola’a children were playing near the local pond when one of them fell in and drowned. The boy, named Tanaka, was later found by divers sitting on a rock with his eyes and mouth open and body swaying with the currents. Yet, he was dead and his corpse was retrieved and buried.

Later, people who walked by the pond would often fell something tug at the bottom of their trousers. Rumors spread that the boy’s spirit was trapped beneath the water. In his book, Obake Files, Ghostly Encounters in Supernatural Hawaii, Glen Grant writes:

“On some evenings the villagers could hear a cry emanate from the pond in the middle of the night. At first most everyone believed that the haunting cry was the wind blowing through the tall sugar cane fields. But a few of the older people said they knew the spirit of the Tanaka boy- cold, wet, and desolate at the bottom of the pond. The soul was crying out for help and deliverance. Trapped in this world by accident, he sought someone’s spirit as a substitute. They would take his place at the bottom of the pond so that he could be free to go to the otherworld.

“Those who were present at the second accident swear that the other boy was pulled into the water against his will. It was the noon hour. He was walking about 50 yards behind his father along the edge of the pond, occasionally picking up a flat stone to skim across the water. When he fell, he screamed out to his father that something was pulling him into the pond. He clawed at the earth, trying to hold on, to fight back. But in what seemed like an instant, the force tugging at his legs pulled him into the watery depths of the pond. By the time the young boy’s body had been located, it was found sitting naturally on a rock on the bottom of the pond. He seemed so natural sitting there- arms placidly at his side, eyes and mouth open, swaying gently to and fro in a light current. Fortunately, the rescuers were able to bring him back to the surface in time to be resuscitated.

“A Shinto priest was brought from Hilo to bless the waters, and the haunting cries finally ceased. Yet, on peculiarly dark nights when the evening skies seem bathed in black ink, those who live closest to the pond say that they sometimes hear the Tanaka boy’s cry. But are the cries melancholy or sinister? And will the Tanaka boy ever find peace?” Weird Hawaii

Pretty spooky…..I’d say!

Sugar Cane in Hawaii

2010-10-01T16:49:00.000-07:00

By the mid 1800s, the Hawaiian kingdom’s economy was not very bright. Sandalwood, (wesisland.blogspot.com) an important trade item, was almost gone from the forests of Hawaii. And whalers who wintered in Hawaii and restocked their boats were fewer in number; partially because the need for whale oil had diminished as petroleum became a source of fuel for lamps.

RagTime

The Great Mahele of 1848 allowed for the private ownership of land for Hawaiians and foreigners for the first time. Many American and European businessmen quickly gained control of large tracts of land that led to the development of agriculture and especially the sugar industry in Hawaii.

Sugar was brought to the islands by the early Polynesians who chewed on the plant as a source of energy and food. In 1778, when Captain Cook happened upon the Hawaii islands, the lands were already abundant with sugar cane. The first serious sugar plantation was at Koloa, Kauai in 1835 by Ladd and Co.

In September 1835, Ladd & Co., began the first major Hawaiian sugar plantation. Hooper, Brinsdale, and Ladd managed to do something that no one else had previously done in Hawaii. With the help of missionary settlers, they obtained the first major land lease in Hawaiian history. The lease comprised 980 acres in Koloa, Kauai, which was set aside for sugar cane production. The lease ran 50 years at $300 per year.

Sugar Mill

The missionaries were bent on making farmers of the Hawaiian natives so Ladd & Co. fell nicely into those plans. By employing Hawaiian natives, they would be teaching them the skills missionaries felt were so necessary. However, perhaps not so surprisingly, native Hawaiians were far from eager to work the fields and the native population had been reduced to 70,000 people by the 1850s, diminished greatly by disease. Ladd history

Sugar meant plantations and mills and the need for workers. Plantation owners turned to workers in devastated areas of the world that were ravaged by wars and famine initially in China, and then Japan, the Philippines and Portugal which explains the rich, varied racial make-up of present-day Hawaii. http://www.hvcb.org/media/bigisland/

Sugar Cane Production

The Big Island's lava soil and regular rainfall offer ideal conditions for growing sugar cane. Ah Kina, a Chinese planter, began raising cane at Amauulu above the town of Hilo in 1851.

Among the biggest producers of sugar cane was the Pepeekeo Sugar Company not far from where we now live along the Hamakua Coast. When it was established in 1857, it was named Metcalf Plantation after the owner Theopilus Metcalf. When Metcalf died in 1874, the new owners of the plantation changed its name to the Pepeekeo Sugar Company. http://www.hawaiistateinfo.com/pepeekeo.php

In the early 1960’s Hawaii produced a million tons of sugar cane annually. One of every twelve workers participated in the sugar industry. And these workers were among the highest paid in the world.

Ocean Vodka

Ultimately cheaper sugar from the Caribbean and other locales doomed Hawaii’s sugar cane industry. The last plant closed on the Big Island in 1996. However, the islands still possesses a rich agriculture industry, with large amounts of papaya, vegetables, coffee beans, flowers, and macadamia nuts still being grown and produced. Hawaii Island is also known as the Orchid Isle due to its large production of tropical orchids. http://pinanius.org/tag/island-of-hawaii

Ancient Hawaiian Fish Ponds

2010-09-16T13:57:00.000-07:00

I spent a weekend recently at the Fairmont Orchid at the Mauna Lani Resort, and learned that the Kalahuipua'a Fishponds are the spiritual center of the area. Predating even the earliest Western contact, the ponds are from the days when the land and sea supported the Hawaiian Ali'i (royalty) -- the original inhabitants of the land.

The first true fishponds were probably built during the latter half of the fifteenth century. And increasingly thereafter as chiefs could command the labor necessary to transport the tons of rock and coral used in the enclosing walls. These ponds, which yielded several hundred pounds of fish per acre annually, were not only feats of engineering technology, but reflected chiefly power and were a major symbol of the intensification of agricultural and aquacultural production. nps.gov

Auburn University

The Hawaiian people practiced the most advanced fish husbandry among the original peoples of the Pacific. Fishponds (Hawaiian: loko I’a) were typically shallow areas of a reef flat surrounded by a low lava rock wall built out from the shore. Several species of edible fish such as mullet thrived in such ponds, and methods were developed to make them easy to catch. The Hawaiian fishpond was primarily a grazing area in which the fishpond keeper cultivated algae; much in the way a cattle rancher cultivates grass for his cattle. Ponds were fed with cut grass, mussels, clams, seaweeds, and taro leaves. The porous lava walls let in seawater or sometimes fresh or brackish water but prevented the fish from escaping. servinghistory.com

zazzle.com

The ancient Hawaiians and their vast system of fish ponds are one of the foremost examples of successful fish farming in the world. Royal fishponds and ancient walled fish traps were part of the everyday landscape of old Hawaii. When Captain James Cook reached Hawaii in 1778, there were approximately 360 fishponds producing almost two million pounds of fish per year. uhh.hawaii

The coastal fishponds and their resources were the exclusive property of the district chief and were not a major economic resource to the general population, who were prohibited by kapu from fishing, collecting seaweed, or polluting the pond.

Joseph Farber

Commoners, especially women, were seldom in the vicinity of royal fishponds. There was little advantage for commoners to live near a pond for fear of breaking the kapu. (Kapu means forbidden, though it also carries the meanings of sacred, consecrated, or holy. In ancient Hawaii, kapu refers to the ancient system of laws and regulations. An offense that was kapu was often a corporal offense, but also often denoted a threat to spiritual power, or theft of “mana.” Kapus were strictly enforced. Breaking one, even unintentionally, often meant immediate death.) Possibly after abandonment of the kapu system in the early nineteenth century did the population concentrate more around these ponds because the resources became available to them. www.nps.gov

By 1985 only seven ponds remained in use. It is estimated that the yields from the Hawaiian fishpond systems operating before the arrival of the Europeans would be on par with most contemporary extensive aquaculture systems; yet the traditional Hawaiian fishponds did not receive fertilization from animal or human wastes of any kind. http://cmbc.ucsd.edu/Research/student_research/fishponds/

I have no idea how many fish ponds are in use today. I did see notice of a recent study, supported by the National Science Foundation of a project at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, whose goals were “to improve upon current techniques and management practices for marine aquaculture, through a detailed study of historical techniques that were used successfully throughout the Hawaiian Islands.” http://cmbc.ucsd.edu/Research/student_research/fishponds/

nal.usda.gov

With the world's fish populations dwindling at an alarming rate, interest in aquaculture is on the rise. From the ancient loko iʻa to the advanced aquaculture research facilities at UH Hilo, Hawaii has a long tradition of innovation in this field. The reemergence of the use of fish ponds may one day be an important source of ecologically sound and sustainable fish production and an important export business for the people and state of Hawaii.

Mark Twain: “The Cherimoya is Deliciousness Itself.”

2010-08-31T14:18:00.000-07:00

“We had an abundance of mangoes, papaias and bananas here, but the pride of the islands, the most delicious fruit known to men, cherimoya, was not in season. It has a soft pulp, like a pawpaw, and is eaten with a spoon.” (Mark Twain, The Sacramento Daily Union, October 25, 1866, Kilauea, June, 1866.)

Ever since I read this quote by Mark Twain almost one year ago (see Monkey Pod Tree) I had been searching out the cherimoya. We spent this past weekend in the Waipio Valley on the Big Island, considered one of the ten most beautiful valleys in the world, and home to the steepest county road in the nation, at a fund raiser for the Slow Food Organization -- and to my great pleasure, I was given two cherimoyas.

http://skysukai.net78.net/

The taste has been said to be indescribable, or a mixture of banana and pineapple, but to me it seemed slightly pear-like in its flavor. The texture was of custard. And, yes it was magnificent!

Even Purdue University had this to say, “Certainly the most esteemed of the fruits of the genus family annonaceae, also called the custard apple family, is the cherimoya.”

The family is comprised of flowering plants consisting of trees, shrubs or rarely lianas (vines). With about 2300 to 2500 species and more than 130 genera, it is the largest family in Magnoliales (yes, like the magnolia tree). The family is concentrated in the tropics, with a few species found intemperate regions like the paw-paw in the Midwest of the U.S. which is the largest edible fruit native to America.

The cherimoya is believed indigenous to the interandean valleys of Ecuador, Colombia and Bolivia. In 1790 the cherimoya was introduced into Hawaii by Don Francisco de Paulo Marin. It is still grown in the islands and naturalized in dry upland forests. http://www.hort.purdue.edu

The flesh of the ripe cherimoya is most commonly eaten out of-hand or scooped with a spoon from the cut open fruit. It really needs no embellishment but some people in Mexico like to add a few drops of lime juice. The skin and seeds are not to be eaten. Occasionally it is seeded and added to fruit salads or used for making sherbet or ice cream. The seeds are often crushed and used as an insecticide.

I had read that it was probably apocryphal that Mark Twain really said on tasting his first cherimoya that it was “deliciousness itself,” but entering in Google the words “Mark Twain” and “deliciousness itself” yielded 916 results, and then on page two, I found it!

http://www.feedbooks.com/

“We had an abundance of fruit in Honolulu, of course. Oranges, pine-apples, bananas, strawberries, lemons, limes, mangoes, guavas, melons, and a rare and curious luxury called the cherimoya, which is deliciousness itself.” (Mark Twain, Roughing It, 1872)

Two famous botanists from the middle of the 19^th century had this to say about the cherimoya.

Thaddaeus Haenke, geographer and explorer in South America, called it a "masterpiece of nature.”

And, the famous fruit expert and botanist, Dr. Berthold Carl Seemann, who traveled widely and collected and described plants from the Pacific and South America. said, “The pinapple, the mangosteen and cherimoyas are considered the finest fruits in the world, and I have tasted them in the places where they are said to be at their best and reach their highest perfection--the pinapple in Milagro (Ecuador), the cherimoya on the slopes of the Andes and the mangosteen in the Indian Archipelago." Dr. Seemann's unhesitating choice was reported to be, of course, the cherimoya.

I am not aware of any Hawaiian cherimoya mail order farms, but you can buy them from California growers. One example is http://www.rain.org. You indeed owe it to yourself!

Big Island = Big Cattle Ranch

2010-08-16T17:31:00.000-07:00

http://www.honokaa.org/

You could probably win many bets on the mainland, especially in Texas, asking people to guess where the largest U.S. cattle ranch in the country’s history was located. It certainly surprised me to learn that it was in Hawaii and, in fact, right here on the Big Island.

And it is still the largest ranch under a single private owner, and the fifth largest beef producing ranch in the nation. It is also one of the country’s oldest ranches, with more than 160 years of history.

http://pica-org.org/

This is yet another story involving King Kamehameha I and his impact on Hawaii. It began in 1809, a single generation after Captain James Cook first encountered the Hawaiian Islands (or the Sandwich Islands as he called them). It also started very modestly when the British Captain George Vancouver presented Kamehameha with just one bull and five cows 21 years earlier in 1793.

From these animals released on the Big Island, which reportedly arrived in a very beat-up condition, they generated a huge heard of thousands of feral cattle roaming about the Big Island, causing untold problems for the subjects of the great King. You may recall that David Douglas (for which the Douglas Fir tree is named) fell or was pushed into a “bullock pit” and died in 1834.

So it was that in 1809 King Kamehameha asked John Parker, a 19-year-old New England sailor from Boston (part of the family owning the Parker House Hotel), to round up the wild cows. His story is fascinating as well -- Parker had jumped ship here in Hawaii and somehow soon came to the attention of King Kamehameha who, in turn, entrusted him with important assignments. With the help of Hawaiian workers, Parker established a booming beef, tallow and hide business with visiting whalers and sandalwood trading ships.

http://www.bigisland.org/

Due mostly to Parker’s efforts, salt beef eventually replaced the increasingly scarce sandalwood as the island’s chief export. As the need for beef increased, so did his fortune and influence. And in 1815, Parker married Kipikane, the daughter of a high-ranking chief, who bore John a daughter and two sons, and the Parker dynasty began. http://parkerranch.com/Parker-Ranch/161/history-of-parker-ranch

By 1832, Parker was desperate for help. He worked with King Kamehameha III to contract Mexican vaqueros, expert horsemen with plenty of cattle experience. They arrived with boots and saddles, a new language and a flamboyant new lifestyle for the island. Called “paniolo” (“espanol”) by Hawaiians, these cowboys trained local men to rope and ride 20-30 years before their American counterparts in the Wild West. Their contributions to local culture included the guitar, ukulele and slack key tuning, and a lifestyle of hard work, close-knit family ties and music that thrives to this day.

http://www.kakufm.org/

The beef business boomed and Parker Ranch was born. Over the next century it grew into the world’s largest privately-owned cattle ranch with 150,000 acres raising 30,000 head of prime Angus and Charolais beef cattle. (At its peak it spread over half a million acres.) And until 1992 the ranch was controlled by a descendent of John Parker, after which the ranch has been governed by the Parker Ranch Foundation Trust. http://www.bigisland.org/activities-cultural/464/history-of-paniolo-ranching-on-hawaiis-big-island

Today the Parker Ranch is a respected cattle ranch across some 175,000 acres of the Big Island and known for its quality beef, producing 10 million pounds of beef each year and ranking as the fifth largest cow-calf operation in the United States. http://www.hawaii247.com/2010/06/24/parker-ranch-waives-admission-to-historic-homes-june-26/

Hawaii’s “First Industry” -- Sandalwood

2010-08-03T15:36:00.000-07:00

The history of Hawaii after European contact can be traced through a succession of dominant industries: first sandalwood, followed by (beef on the Big Island), whaling, sugarcane, pineapple, military, tourism, and education. Since statehood in 1959, tourism has been the largest industry, despite efforts to diversify.

Sandalwood ('iliahi) is the name of different fragrant woods. These woods are often used for the essential oil they contain. The wood is heavy and yellow in color as well as fine-grained, and unlike many other aromatic woods it retains its fragrance for decades. The sandalwood fragrance is very distinctive and is used in countless applications. Sandalwood has been valued and treasured for many years for its fragrance, carving, medical and religious qualities.

Unlike most trees, sandalwood is harvested by toppling the entire tree instead of sawing them down at the trunk. This way, valuable wood from the stump and root can also be sold or processed for oil. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandalwood

By the time Captain Cook landed on the Hawaiian Islands in 1778, India's supply of sandalwood was nearly depleted. This set the stage for Hawaii's entry into the international commercial market. During the 1800s, traders made deals with Hawaiian chiefs to cut down the native sandalwood trees, and sailing ships carried thousands of tons of heartwood to India, Asia and Europe. Soon the native forests of sandalwood and other beautiful hardwoods (such as Acacia koa) were all cut down, a massive deforestation from which the islands have never recovered. http://www.indiadivine.org/audarya/hinduism-forum/189256-sandalwood-india-hawaii.html

http://www.pacificislandbooks.com/cookislands.htm
(Sandalwood trade in Rarotonga)

In 1811 Kamehameha controlled the sandalwood trade as a near-monopoly through the use of his agents. While a few individual chiefs also dealt directly with traders, it was not until the death of Kamehameha I that a wholesale pillaging of sandalwood forests took place. While Kamehameha I still held the reigns, he placed a kapu on young trees and no transaction was ever done on credit.

After Kamehameha's death in 1819, his son Kamehameha II fell into debt with sandalwood traders. Having given away his own lands, he relied on the wood supplies of others. http://www.hawaiihistory.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=ig.page&PageID=274

In December 1826, the kingdom of Hawai'i enacted its first written law — a sandalwood tax. Every man was ordered to deliver to the government a half picul of 'iliahi, or pay four Spanish dollars, by Sept. 1, 1827. Every woman older than 13 was obligated to make a 12-by-6-foot kapa cloth. The taxes were collected to reduce a staggering debt level.

This period saw two major famines as 'iliahi was harvested to the point of near extinction in Hawai'i forests. The common people were displaced from their agricultural and fishing duties, and all labor was diverted to harvesting sandalwood. http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2006/Apr/14/il/FP604140306.html

By 1830, the trade in sandalwood had completely collapsed. Hawaiian forests were exhausted and sandalwood from other areas in the Pacific (e.g., Rarotonga) drove down the price and made the Hawaiian trade unprofitable. Although forests were ravaged, sandalwood trees still survive today, tucked away on less accessible mountain slopes. http://www.hawaiihistory.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=ig.page&PageID=274>

Spinning Dolphins?

2010-07-20T16:28:00.000-07:00

Last April we witnessed an astounding sight, at least for us. Off of our lanai, too far out to be seen clearly, were what appeared to be about seven huge fish seemingly walking on their tails. It turned out that they weren’t fish, nor were they walking on their tails – they were actually dolphins that were spinning while virtually totally out of the water.

And they are known as Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins (Nai’a). They can leap into the air and make as many as seven complete spins rotating around their longitudinal axis before diving back into the ocean. And, no one seems to know why they spin.

Around Hawaii, spinner dolphins congregate at night in large herds in the deep channels between the islands to feed. During the day, they break up into smaller groups and come near shore to rest and play. One of the places where they can commonly be seen is in Kealakekua Bay on the island of Hawaii.

Kealakekua Bay is twelve miles south of Kailua-Kona on the west side of the Big Island. The bay is historic because it marks the site where Captain James Cook landed on the island. Cook was the first British explorer to establish contact with Hawaii in 1778 (on Kauai). Only a year later, he was killed in a skirmish with native Hawaiians in Kealakekua Bay.

A white obelisk on the shore of the bay memorializes his death. On the east side of the bay there is also the Hikiau Heiau (sacred temple) dedicated to the Hawaiian god, Lono.

Spinner dolphins are the smallest of Hawaii’s dolphins. They are generally between five and six feet in length and weigh 130 to 200 pounds. As mammals, dolphins bear live young and the mothers nurse them on milk and provide care.

Pasted from <http://hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov/explore/spinner_dolphins.html>

Dolphins are protected under the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act. It is against the law to harass, hunt, capture, or kill, or attempt to harass, hunt, capture or kill a dolphin. NOAA. For the dolphins' sake, and for your safety, visitors and residents are asked to please not feed, swim with, or harass wild dolphins. People are encouraged to observe them from a distance of at least 50 yards.

Five Volcanoes !

2010-07-06T18:51:00.000-07:00

All Hawaiians know the Big Island was created by the commingling lava flows from five immense volcanoes, but most visitors know only two – i.e., Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea. And, somewhat uniquely, the volcanoes of Hawaii are not where plates meet, but actually thousands of miles from the nearest plate boundary in what is known as a “hot-spot” in the Pacific Plate. Also, Hawaii’s volcanoes are not the type like Mt. St. Helens or Mt. Etna that can have explosive eruptions; they simply release flows of relatively fluid lava.

http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/

Currently there are two volcanoes on the Big Island classified as active:

1. Kilauea, actively erupting for almost the past 30 years is the world’s most active volcano. It has been spewing lava continuously since January 1983. Kilauea nestles into the side of Mauna Loa and was once considered a part of Mauna Loa, but subsequent research showed that it has its own “magma-plumbing system.” http://hawaii.aloha-hawaii.com/hawaii/big+island+volcanoes/

Located in Volcanoes National Park near the caldera of Kilauea is the “fire pit,” which is known as Halemaumau (“House of Everlasting Fire”). Halemaumau at times has a contained lake of boiling lava. The pit is enlarged periodically by steam blasts and collapsing walls. Typical eruptions consist of lava flows forming lava lakes in Halemaumau or elsewhere on the caldera through fissures and rift zones. Volcanoes National Park is actually Hawaii’s most visited tourist attraction, with nearly 9,000 daily visitors coming to the park. http://www.hawaiilogue.com/active-volcanoes-in-hawaii.html

Pele, the Hawaiian Volcano Goddess, is said to live within the Halemaumau firepit.

2. Mauna Loa (“Long Mountain”), which last erupted in 1984 is the world’s largest volcano. It is also considered one of the most active volcanoes, having erupted 33 times since 1843.

Both of these active Hawaiian volcanoes share the Hawaiian hot spot, but retain unique volcanic histories and compositions.

And three volcanoes on Hawaii are generally classified as dormant:

1. Kohala, the oldest, which is believed to have emerged from the sea more than 500,000 years ago.

2. Hualalai, with six different vents that spewed lava, two of which produced lava flows that reached the ocean. The Kona International Airport is build atop the larger of the two flows. It last erupted in 1801, but some still consider it still “active,” which would be a major problem for the population center around Kona-Kohala.

3. Mauna Kea (“White Mountain”), reaching 13,796 feet above sea level is the world’s tallest mountain (measured from the floor of the ocean to its summit) which last erupted about 4,000 years ago. It is often snow covered in winter. It is also the site of 13 astronomical observatories and is expected to be home to what will be the world’s largest telescope, the Thirty Meter Telescope.

http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/GG/HCV/haw_formation.html //hawaii.aloha-hawaii.com/hawaii/big+island+volcanoes/

Since the vast majority of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur near plate boundaries, how did the Hawaiian Islands which are entirely of volcanic origin, form in the middle of the Pacific Ocean almost 2,000 miles from the nearest plate boundary?

“J. Tuzo Wilson came up with the Hotspot Theory in 1963. According to his theory, the Hawaiian Island chain resulted from the Pacific Plate moving over a deep, stationary hotspot in the mantle, located beneath the present-day position of the Island of Hawaii. Heat from this hotspot produced a persistent source of magma by partly melting the overriding Pacific Plate. The magma then rises through the mantle and crust to erupt onto the seafloor, forming an active seamount.

Over time, countless eruptions cause the seamount to grow until it finally emerges above sea level to form an island volcano. As the plate movement carries the island beyond the hotspot, the magma source is cutoff, and volcanism ceases. As one island becomes extinct another develops over the hotspot.” http://www.pdc.org/iweb/volcano_history.jsp

In fact right now a young submarine volcano called Loihi (“Long”) is growing about 20 miles south of the Big Island. Its ascending summit is currently 3,000 feet below the ocean surface. http://www.bestplaceshawaii.com/island_insights/bigisland/volcanoes.html

When most people envision a volcano, they think of a tall and cone shaped volcano (think Mount Hood outside of Portland, Oregon). These strato volcanoes tend to have dramatic and explosive eruptions (think Mount Saint Helens).

The five volcanoes of the Big Island are shield volcanoes, which are long and broad and have gently sloping hills. Shield volcanoes’ lava has a lower viscosity, meaning that the lava is thinner and more fluid. Because of the fluidity of the lava, major explosive eruptions generally do not occur. This is why the almost constant flowing lava of Kilauea can be approached and seen by visitors to Volcanoes National park. http://www.hawaiilogue.com/active-volcanoes-in-hawaii.html

All the photos in this post are by Bryan Lowry, are © protected and usage requires his permission. Please visit Bryan‘s website to see the vast collection of images by this award winning photographer whose photos have also appeared in National Geographic (http://lavapix.com). Significantly, 20% of Bryan’s website sales profits go to Easter Seals Hawaii on the Big Island.

Big Island to Maui -- Crossing the Channel

2010-06-22T18:03:00.000-07:00

The Alenuihaha Channel (or the “I'll-end-you, ha-ha” channel), between the islands of Hawaii and Maui, is 26 miles wide in its narrowest part and has sometimes been referred to as the most dangerous channel crossing in the world.

Roughly translated, Alenuihaha means “of very large, trough-like waves.” Like most Hawaiian words or phrases there can be several interpretations. Another one breaks down the channel’s name into ale meaning to swallow or engulf, nui meaning large or great, and haha meaning to breathe hard or pant. And a third translation suggests Alenuihaha is "the angry woman.”

The U.S. Coast Guard’s view is that the “channel is generally regarded as one of the most treacherous channels in the world because of strong winds and high seas.” Basically channel travelers are getting blasted by the venturi effect between two of the world's tallest mountains – on Maui, Haleakala and on Hawaii, Mauna Kea. Experts say all of the ocean has to funnel in between the two islands and this creates a pretty strong current. “It’s like the whole Pacific Ocean trying to squeeze through something.” Hawaii Kayaker

Oh, and the channel is also shark infested.

Penny Palfrey

In fact until just last year, there had only been one successful solo swim of the channel ever from the Big Island to Maui. Then, in March 2009, the Australian Penny Palfrey became the second person, and first female, to cross the channel. It took her 14 hours and 51 minutes. And she had to deal with occasional 20-foot ocean swells where her crew lost sight of her. Penny Palfrey

Then in quick succession in September 2009, Linda Kaiser of Hawaii became the third swimmer, at age 59, to do the channel -- in 17 hours. Also, Linda is the only person in the world to swim all eight Hawai’i channels

The first to accomplish this feat was Dr. Harry Huffaker in either 1969 or 1970 (“within a mile of finishing”) according to Hawaiʻi Sports: History, Facts, and Statistics by Dan Cisco, with a time of 20 hours and eight minutes. Not sure why the last mile does not count in solo swimming, but Dr. Huffaker is clearly considered the first to have swum the channel.

Mike Spalding, who was inducted into the Hawaii Swimming Hall of Fame in 2008 for his seven successful channel swims between Hawaiian Islands, said he has only one remaining, “the hardest one,” the 30-mile Alenuihaha channel.

Cookie Cutter Shark Teeth

His first attempt at age 61, was like Penny Palfrey’s in March 2009, but it lasted only 4-1/2 hours when he was bitten by a cookie-cutter shark. It left a three-inch diameter, one-inch deep would on his left leg. This species of shark grows to about 20 inches in length and takes melon-ball sized chunks of flesh from its prey. Spalding said. “I’ll be back in the hunt, back trying to train for the channel again. . . . I’m looking forward to the next time I get out there and finish this channel.” Maui News

An article about the channel in Sports Illustrated back in 1973 (Carlton Fisk was young) had the following title and teaser:

“Olly As In Jolly, Haha As In Crutch”

“The Alenuihaha Channel was no laughing matter; it was miles of thrashing current and biting wind that tossed the ocean racers. And it was only the beginning of the first around-a-state contest ever held.”

The article by Richard W. Johnston went on to say that yachtsmen would do well to memorize the name: “olly as in jolly, nooey as in hooey, and haha as in crutch.” I am certain that the haha part is not haha funny but probably more like haha sad. So the “crutch” part is either “funny as a rubber crutch,” or some nautical term, insider-joke that misses me totally. Richard W. Johnston

If anyone reading this knows, please leave a comment.

Aloha

"Time and Tide Wait for No Man"

2010-06-08T15:41:00.000-07:00

Continuing the topic of tides, we now know why there are two high tides and two low tides at most places on the earth daily (see “Swimming with the Tide in Hawaii”). How high or low the tides are depends on the relative location of the earth, moon and sun.

Spring Tides

When the moon is full or new, the gravitational pull of the moon and sun are combined. The combined gravitational attraction of the two bodies produces a very strong tide that “springs forth” onto the coast, and thus is called a spring tide. (Spring tides have nothing to do with the season of the spring.) They occur when the Earth, the Sun, and the Moon are in a line. The gravitational forces of the Moon and the Sun both contribute to the tides. Spring tides occur during the full moon and the new moon.

Redfishpro.org

Neap Tides

During the moon's quarter phases the sun and moon work at right angles, causing the bulges to cancel each other. The result is a smaller difference between high and low tides and is known as a neap tide. Neap tides are especially weak tides. They occur when the gravitational forces of the Moon and the Sun are perpendicular to one another (with respect to the Earth). Neap tides occur during quarter moons. http://home.hiwaay.net/~krcool/Astro/moon/moontides/

Redfishpro.org

Tide Charts

http://freetidetables.com/?tides_data%5bttiq%5d=-16,2

Tide charts show a tremendous amount of information (please follow link to see larger size). They show the times of sunrise, sunset, moonrise and moonset. They also show the phase of the moon and the times of the two high and two low tides each day. And the vertical axis shows the height or depth of the tide in feet as a variance to the Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW) level – defined in the last post.

You can see for example that in Hilo the high tide this week will be on Saturday with the new moon at about three feet above MLLW and occurring at 15:55 (3:55pm), and lowest tide that day will be about 0.7 feet below MLLW at 8:30am. And these are spring tides because the sun, moon and earth are in a straight line with each other.

Four feet is about the maximum variance of the tides at Hilo which isn’t much as you can see by the two photos below taken from our home here.

Low Tide

High Tide

The highest tides in the world at over 50 feet (!) are at the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia, Canada. The Bay of Fundy even has an interactive site where you can see the impact of such tides at http://www.bayoffundytourism.com/.

Swimming with the Tide in Hawaii

2010-05-24T14:24:00.000-07:00

For those of you who do not remember their 9^th grade General Science Class, like me, the ocean’s tides have always been sort of a mystery – e.g., why are there two of them each day?

A search of the literature reveals a complicated, and even somewhat controversial, explanation of why and how tides occur. And some parts of the world do not even have two tides per day! So I will keep it general about why tides occur, but be more specific about what happens.

http://www.soest.hawaii.edu

First, a key definition: Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW): the average of the lowest tide recorded at a tide station each day during the recording period, usually nineteen years. It is the “0” in tide charts, but more about them later.

Simplifying, and ignoring inertia, tides are created because the Earth and the moon attract each other, like magnets. The moon tries to pull at anything on the Earth to bring it closer. However, the Earth is able to hold onto everything except the water.www.hiwaay.net

The gravitational attraction is strongest on the side of Earth that happens to be facing the Moon, simply because it is closer. This attraction causes the water on this “near side” of Earth to be pulled toward the moon (see below).

www.HowStuffWorks.com

On the opposite of Earth (the “far side”), the gravitational attraction of the Moon is less because it is farther away. Thus, the moon’s gravity creates two bulges of water. One forms where Earth and Moon are closest, and the other forms where they are farthest apart. That then means in most of the country, each day there are two high tides and two low tides. The ocean is constantly moving from high tide to low tide, and then back to high tide.

www.TidesfromSpace

A high tide is as high as the water will reach before it starts to fall again. It is highest when the Earth and Moon are closest, and the other daily high tide is somewhat less than the highest tide (shouldn’t these tides have different names (?)). A low tide is as low as the water goes before it starts to rise again. And the same with the two daily low tides; one is lower than the other.

http://freetidetables.com/?tides_data[ttiq]=-16,2

A common misconception is the thought that since there are four tides daily they must be on a six hour schedule. It takes the Earth about 24 hours to rotate once, relative to the Sun. But, because the Moon is moving with respect to Earth and the Earth is spinning, it takes the Earth a little longer to complete a rotation relative to the Moon—24 hours and 50 minutes. Thus, two daily tides occur separated by 12 hours and 25 minutes. www.Woods_Hole.edu

The amount of rise of fall in the tide is directly related to the relative location of the earth, moon and sun, but we’ll address that next time.

Music: Falsetto Singing in Hawaii

2010-05-11T13:03:00.000-07:00

Hawaiian falsetto is a style of singing which is unique to the Hawaiian Islands.

http://www.mauiislandpress.com/Sample_Island_Life_101.html

In fact, the characteristic vocal vibrato prevalent in Hawaiian singing is partially what led to thpopularity of the steel guitar (as mentioned in my last posting) in Hawaii.

Falsetto singing is a vocal style that can occur when a normally natural tenor, baritone, or bass sings “falsetto” (Italian diminutive of falso, "false") in the alto range. Technically, the vocal chords vibrate at a shorter length than with their ordinary voice. When sung by men it is that top part of the voice which takes on a lighter, more feminine quality (think: BeeGees).

Ancient Hawaiian chanters were known to use a technique of a characteristic break for the transition from a normal voice to a falsetto voice. This was referred to as kauna, which may have been the Hawaiian word for counter, as in countertenor. A countertenor is a male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of a contralto, mezzo-soprano, or (less frequently) a soprano, usually through use of falsetto, or far more rarely the normal or modal voice.

In the 1830’s, the Mexican vaqueros were brought to the Island of Hawaii to teach Hawaii’s paniolo to become cowboys. As discussed in an earlier posting the tuning of their guitars became the origin of the Hawaiian Slack Key guitar style. Mexican singers were also known to use falsetto and yodeling, and it is common knowledge that a predominance of early Hawaiian falsetto singers came from the Big Island. http://digital.thinkindie.com/search/release.php?release_id=27247

http://www.hawaiianmusichistory.com/recordings/falsetto-contest-cds.htm

Additional influences such as missionary hymns, and the music of the Spanish, and Portuguese immigrants to Hawaii blended together for 100 years to produce this unique singing style, or as it is known in Hawaiian, leo ki'eki'e (high voice). http://www.hawaiianmusichistory.com/falsetto/history.htm

Some female singers use falsetto techniques, such as veteran Auntie Genoa Keawe and young stars Amy Hanaialii Gilliom and Raiatea Helm, but it is usually associated with male singers like Mahi Beamer, Dennis Pavao and the Hoopii Brothers. http://www.mauiislandpress.com/Sample_Island_Life_101.html

http://www.folklife.si.edu/hawaii/falsetto.htm

Check out the Hoopii Brothers doing some beautiful Hawaiian falsetto singing here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlRugBW-_6I.

This posting then completes my summary of the essentials elements of Hawaiian music. That is, the slack key guitar, the ukulele, the steel guitar and lastly, falsetto singing. There are many more elements to the unique sound of Hawaiian music, so this is just a start. I’ll leave a more thorough discussion to the artists out there actually making this wonderful music.

Music: The Hawaiian Steel Guitar

2010-04-26T15:53:00.000-07:00

A major part of Hawaiian culture is music. Hawaiian music combines the sounds of the ancient Islanders who beat drums, blew conch shells, and chanted to their gods. It contains the styles of 19th-century Christian missionaries who taught Islanders to sing in four-part harmony.

The Hawaiians are praised for three contributions to music history: slack-key guitar, the ukulele and the steel guitar (http://alohaisles.com/hawaii/culture.html). I have discussed the first two earlier and will focus on the steel guitar now and then falsetto singing in my next posting.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com

Joseph Kekuku (1874-1932) is regarded as the inventor of the steel guitar. Kekuku was born in Lāie, a village on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. As a boy, he would experiment with guitar techniques; sliding ordinary household objects across the strings to see what sounds could be produced. By the time he was an adult, he had developed a unique style of playing. He traveled extensively, teaching and performing throughout the USA and Europe. He died in Dover, New Jersey January 1932 (personal footnote: I used to vacation nearby at Cranberry Lake). (http://www.enotes.com/topic/Joseph_Kekuku)

Legend has it that around 1880, Kekuku, while just a schoolboy, discovered the sound while walking along a railroad track strumming his guitar. He picked up a bolt lying by the track and slid the metal along the strings of his guitar. Intrigued by the sound, he taught himself to play using the back of a knife blade.

http://1800sunstar.com

The steel sound imitates the characteristic vocal vibrato prevalent in Hawaiian singing. He shared his style with others and the sound became popular in Hawaii. The name 'steel guitar' comes from the fact that it's played with a steel bar, and usually played lying flat. It's not to be confused with 'slide guitar' where a guitarist uses a glass bottle neck or metal hollow slide to make notes. http://www.pedalsteelguitar.net/histeel.php

The Hawaiian steel guitar is laid across the knees of the player, who stops the metal strings by gliding a metal bar along the neck. The strings are usually tuned to the notes of a given chord. http://www.guitarsite.com/history.htm

http://www.waikiki-islanders.com

There is no one standard tuning for the steel guitar and the solid body electric steel allowed for instruments to be made with two, three and even four necks, each tuned differently. Multiple necks made holding the instrument on the lap almost impossible, and legs were added, making the first 'console' instruments, although a few single neck consoles were already being played by 'steelers' who preferred to stand.

In the early 50's several players began experimenting with adding pedals which raised the pitch of a string, and in 1953, Bud Isaacs was the first player to use a pedal steel guitar on a hit recording: "Slowly" by Webb Pierce. The sound quickly caught on and many steel players converted to playing the 'pedal sound’. http://gohawaii.about.com/cs/hawaiianmusic/a/steel_guitar.htm

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?

Both lap and pedal steel guitars were closely associated with the development of country music and western swing. The pedal steel's liquid, yearning sound is still coveted by many modern musicians, even in jazz and blues.

In particular the popularity of alternative country has brought the instrument's beautiful sound to a much wider audience, and it has been used in many different musical genres. Jùjú music, a form from Nigeria that evolved in the 1920’s, uses pedal steel extensively. http://en.wikipedia.org/

Please give a listen to Hawaiian Steel Guitar "Sand" by Ross Costa (http://www.youtube.com/). “A favorite among ‘steelers,’ this classic song evokes the soft, lilting sounds of the islands. "Sand" was written by the great steel guitarist & saxophonist Andy Iona in 1930. The tuning is B11: low to high C#,D#,F#,A,C#,E. Costa used an "Aloha" 1950's Steel Guitar. Various island images accompany the audio. Visit his website for more info: www.rosscosta.com.”

Music: The Ukulele in Hawaii

2010-04-08T14:45:00.000-07:00

My last piece discussed the slack key guitar…but what about the uke or ukulele? From the Honolulu Advertiser (October, 1953) over 50 years ago:

“Sing Hawaiian songs or dance the hula without ukulele accompaniment. Isn't there something missing?”

A ukulele, also spelled ukulele, looks like a small, four-stringed version of a guitar. The “uke” is tuned and played just like a guitar, with tuning going from the top string to the bottom string using G C E and A on the piano, though the ukulele is usually tuned an octave higher than the guitar. The ukulele comes in four types, or sizes: the soprano, the concert ukulele, the tenor, and the baritone. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-ukulele.htm

Painted Ukulele

When the ship the 'Ravenscrag' arrived in Honolulu in August, 1879, it was carrying over 400 Portuguese immigrants from the island of Madeira to work in the sugar cane fields. (Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago and one of the autonomous regions of Portugal, with Madeira Island and Porto Santo Island being the only inhabited islands.)

It had been a long and hard journey of over four months and some 15,000 miles. In celebration of their arrival, Joao Fernandes borrowed his friend's braguinha, jumped off the ship, and started playing folks songs from his native land on the wharf.

The Hawaiians who came down to the dock were very impressed at the speed of this musicians' fingers as they danced across the fingerboard and they called the instrument "ukulele", which translates into English as "jumping flea". http://www.pedalsteelguitar.net/histeel.php>

Uke CD

Three immigrants in particular, Madeiran cabinet makers Manuel Nunes, José do Espírito Santo, and Augusto Dias, are generally credited as the first ukulele makers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukulele

Though primarily cabinet makers, Nunes, Espirito Santo, and Dias followed an ages-old European tradition prevalent in their profession: that of turning their woodworking skills to the craft of stringed-instrument making, or luthiery. Augusto Dias was listed as a “guitar and furniture maker” in the 1884- 85 Honolulu City Directory. http://www.ukuleleguild.org/history.php

This may help explain the shop here in Hilo in the picture below:

Credit: Jay Johnson (Butchy Fuego)

The ukulele received royal acclaim with nobles such as King Kalakaua, Queen Emma and Queen Lili'uokalani playing this instrument. This in turn may have made it more accepted by the people of Hawaii

It was around 1915 that the ukulele's popularity migrated to the mainland. A Hawaiian music craze had hit starting in San Francisco and made its way across the country causing ukulele sales to rise. The craze even swept across the ocean to the UK. http://www.ukes.com/ukelele_history.html

In the 20’s, mainland manufacturers such as Gibson, Harmony, Regal, National, Dobro and Martin were mass-producing ukuleles by the thousands. Martin produced their first uke in 1916 based on the Nunes design. Many Hawaiians prize their Martin ukes, and have been heard to speak of its special tonal qualities to this day.

In the 40’s and 50’s, the British music hall great George Formby and the American Arthur Godfrey kept the little instrument in the mainstream. Great players like Roy Smeck and Eddie Karnae kept playing fabulous music with the uke. But even with the arrival of Tiny Tim in the late 60’s the popularity of the uke seemed to recede into people's closets and by the early 70’s, Kamaka was the world's only manufacturer of ukuleles.

Kamaka Ukes/Guitars

Today we are seeing resurgence in popularity of Hawaiian Music and the ukulele. Hawaii is home to several luthiers who have turned their talented hands and eyes to the ukulele.

"My Dog Has Fleas" is being heard by another generation throughout Hawaii. There is The Ukulele Festival here in Hawaii, which features many of the world's finest players, there are schools such as Roy Sakuma's Ukulele school (http://roysakuma.net/ ) and Mainland events from all over including Northern California's Ukulele Festival and the Uke Expo in Massachusetts. This instrument seems to be here to stay.

“The ukulele - it's light, very portable and brings a smile to just about every person that hears its beautiful melodies.” http://www.ukes.com/ukelele_history.html

One of my favorite ukulele songs is by “Iz” (Israel Kamakawiwo'ole) doing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” If you haven’t heard it before, please give it a try.

This rendition was used to close Tim Russert’s funeral, and when the parishioners went outside – there was a rainbow over Washington DC. (You can see news coverage here: Tim Russert Funeral)

Myself, Gary Fujihara and Fred Hee

Also, a shout-out to my ukulele instructor, Macario who also took the above picture for an article about the Hilo Guitars & Ukuleles store in downtown Hilo.

Music: Picking Up the Slack (Key) in Hawaii

2010-03-25T13:37:00.000-07:00

When many people think of Hawaiian music they often think of four distinctive elements. One is the slack key guitar (a tuning variation to a regular guitar), two is the ukulele, three is the steel guitar and four is falsetto singing. There are many more elements unique to Hawaiian music but these are probably the four most widely know.

Makana

This piece will talk about the slack key guitar while future postings will address the other key contributions of Hawaiian music to the world’s cultural richness. Hawaiian slack key guitar (ki ho'alu) is truly one of the great acoustic guitar traditions. Ki ho'alu, which literally means "loosen the key," is the Hawaiian language name for the solo finger picked style unique to Hawai'i. http://www.kbeamer.com/sk_history.html

First off, the slack key guitar is generally your basic six-string acoustic guitar but with a different tuning than is usually played on the mainland. Hawaii had the guitar before the ukulele mostly due to Portuguese immigrants at the end of the 18^th century. In standard guitar tuning each string is tuned to a different key, often EADGBE. When tuned this way and strummed without fingering, an unharmonious sound is produced. However in Hawaiian slack key guitar tuning the strings produce a harmonious sound even without fingering.

KCAdventures.com

This style of tuning may have had its origins with the first vaqueros (cowboys) -- known in the Islands as “paniolos” and unique to Hawaii -- who came here from Mexico. They tried to play the guitar but did not understand the jarring sound when the strings were strummed together. They experimented with other tunings by loosening or slackening the strings to produce chords that matched the singers’ vocal ranges.

The most common slack-key tunings are usually set to a full chord without the need for fretting/fingering, like the “taro-patch” tuning where the strings are tuned to DGDGBD to produce a G major chord. But bear in mind, there are endless variety of other tunings, well over fifty at least (e.g., the “wahine” tuning of DADFAC). http://www.to-hawaii.com/this-and-that.php

These are also known as “open tunings.” And the open tuning set the stage for evolving the slide playing technique known today as steel guitar (more about this later in another piece).http://www.pedalsteelguitar.net/histeel.php

Peggy Chun/ Daniel Ho

At first, there possibly were not a lot of guitars, or people who knew how to play, so the Hawaiians developed a way to get a full sound on one guitar by picking the bass and rhythm chords on the lower three or four pitched strings with the thumb, while playing the melody or improvised melodic fills on the upper two or three pitched strings.

In the old days, there was an almost mystical reverence for those who understood ki ho'alu, and the ability to play it was regarded as a special gift. To retain and protect the slack key mystique, tunings were often closely guarded family secrets. This practice has changed with the times, as respect has increased for the preservation of older Hawaiian traditions, and now slack key guitarists are more willing to share their knowledge outside the family circle with those who wish to learn. Because many of the beautiful old traditions in Hawai'i have been changed by outside influences, this greatly increased respect for the older slack key traditions and the sharing of tunings is helping to ensure that traditional slack key guitar will endure.

There are a number of major slack key festivals. The Gabby Pahinui/Atta Isaacs Slack Key Festival is held annually in or near Honolulu on the Island of O'ahu, generally every third Sunday in August (if interested, please verify date), and the annual Big Island Slack Key Guitar Festival is generally held on the next to last Sunday in July at the Hilo Civic Auditorium on the island of Hawai’i (if interested, please verify date). Other festivals also take place on Maui and Kauai, on the Mainland, and occasionally internationally. http://www.kbeamer.com/sk_history.html

How Do the French Say, “How Now Honu?”

2010-03-07T19:11:00.000-08:00

What do Hilo and France have in common? Not much, but a strange bit of history involving the discovery of an island and the green sea turtles that generally reside here in Hawaiian waters.

First about the island: In 1786 a French explorer “discovered” a large atoll at the end of what we now call the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The Hawaiian Islands are actually hundreds of islands that stretch 1,500 miles north and west from the Big Island at the southeast all the way past Midway Island to Kure and beyond.

This chain of islands is part of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, a U.S. National Monument encompassing 140,000 square miles of ocean waters and ten islands and atolls of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, making it one of the largest Marine Protected Areas in the world.

The “French Frigate Shoals” (Hawaiian: Kānemilohaʻi) island’s name commemorates French explorer Jean-François de La Pérouse, who nearly lost two frigates when attempting to navigate the shoals. French Frigate Shoals was included among the islands acquired by the United States on July 7, 1898, when Hawaii became a United States territory.

Now about the turtles: Four of the seven existing species of sea turtles can be found in Hawaiian waters. They are the green sea turtle, the hawksbill, the leatherback and the olive ridley. Of these, by far the most common is the green sea turtle, or honu (pronounced hoe'-new), as it is known in Hawaiian.

Green sea turtles get their name from the color of their body fat, which is green from the algae or limu they eat. Adult green sea turtles can weigh up to 500 pounds and are often found living near coral reefs and rocky shorelines where limu is plentiful. The life span of sea turtles in not known. Hawaiian green sea turtles seem to grow very slowly in the wild, usually taking between 10 and 50 years to reach sexual maturity - 25 years is the average. http://earthtrust.org/wlcurric/turtles.html

Green turtles were a source of food, tools, and ornamentation for early Hawaiians. With the arrival of western culture, however, the level of exploitation of this resource increased dramatically. Large numbers of green turtles were harvested throughout the Hawaiian Islands through the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. http://www.letsgo-hawaii.com/diving/turtles.html

In Hawaii, legend tells about a green sea turtle, Kauila, who could change herself into a girl to watch over the children playing at Punalu'u Beach on the Big Island. When Kauila's mother dug her nest, a fresh water spring surged upward, quenching the children's thirst. Kauila is the "mythical mother" of all turtles, and perhaps of our children as well. It's also said that turtles were the guides for the first voyagers to Hawaii. http://www.coffeetimes.com/aug97.htm

While we see the turtles frequently, particularly around Richardson’s beach in Hilo, the green sea turtle is now listed as threatened in Hawaii and is already endangered on the Florida coast and the Pacific coast of Mexico. At one time there were several million green sea turtles worldwide but today fewer than 200,000 nesting females remain, with only 100 to 350 females nesting each year in Hawaii. http://www.refugenet.org/critter/seaturtle.html

The Hawaiian green sea turtle is protected under the federal Endangered Species Act and under Hawaii state law. These laws prohibit hunting, injuring, harassing, holding or riding a green sea turtle. A violator can pay as much as $100,000 and serve prison time.

Although green sea turtles live most of their lives in the ocean, adult females must return to land in order to lay their eggs. Biologists believe that nesting female turtles return to the same beach where they were born.

The connection: Hawaii's green sea turtles migrate from their feeding areas along the coasts of the main Hawaiian Islands to their nesting beaches in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Males appear to migrate every year, arriving ahead of the females while females only migrate every two to four years. Males accompany the females during the migration, which usually occurs in the late spring, and mate with them off the shores of the nesting beaches.

The most popular nesting beaches are almost 800 miles from Hilo on French Frigate Shoals, where an estimated 90% of the Hawaiian population of green sea turtles mate and lay their eggs. When females mate they come ashore often- as many as five times every 15 days to make nests in the sand and lay eggs. http://www.sealifeparkhawaii.com/info_turtle.html

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So it will soon be time to say “bon voyage” again to many of these ancient reptiles – the French Frigate Shoals will be expecting them. (Photos courtesy of Devany Vickery-Davidson)

“Happy, Happy Hump Day in Hilo”

2010-02-17T11:32:00.000-08:00

That phrase perfectly describes the waters around the Big Island this time of year thanks to the humpback whale. Here is an incredible picture caught by my wife Devany off our lanai of two whales breaching at the same time (and no it wasn’t “photo shopped”).

The island chain insulates the water, warming it up to the perfect temperature for whales to give birth and raise their calves. And unlike Alaskan waters, Hawaii's waters are mostly predator-free. http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art65278.asp

During their stay in Hawaii, they do not feed, but rely upon energy stored in their blubber. Instead of feeding, the whales devote most of their time to mating and bearing their calves.

Another interesting behavior exhibited by the humpbacks during their stay in the islands is singing. The "songs" of humpbacks are made up of complex vocal patterns. All whales within a given area and season seem to use the same songs. However, the songs appear to change from one breeding season to the next. Scientists believe that only male humpbacks sing. While the purpose of the songs is not known, many scientists think that males sing to attract mates, or to communicate among other males of the pod. http://earthtrust.org/wlcurric/whales.html

How humpbacks create these sounds is unknown since they do not have functional vocal cords. Last week my wife was kept awake at night by the sounds of the whales that sounded like haunting cries and others that had a trumpeting sound.

The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary was created by Congress in 1992 to protect humpback whales and their habitat in Hawai`i. The sanctuary, which lies within the shallow (less than 600 feet), warm waters surrounding the main Hawaiian Islands, constitutes one of the world's most important humpback whale habitats.

Through education, outreach, research and resource protection activities, the sanctuary strives to protect humpback whales and their habitat in Hawai`i. On January 30th and again on the last Saturday in February and in March, dozens of volunteers will fan out to an estimated 60 sites along the shores of O'ahu, Hawai'i and Kaua'i for the sanctuary's annual whale count. The count provides key population and distribution information on humpback whales around the Hawaiian Islands.

http://hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov

A main reason the humpbacks winter in Hawai'i is to give birth to their young, which like any youngsters are less adept than their parents at staying out of harm's way. David Mattila, the sanctuary's science and rescue coordinator, advises boaters to think of Hawai'i waters in the winter as analogous to a school zone when class lets out. "Drive carefully. It's a nursery." <http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20100129/NEWS14/1290364/Humpback-whales-thriving-in-Hawaii-as-annual-count-begins>

By the way, does anyone still call Wednesday, “Happy, happy hump day?”

"The Humpback of Hilo Bay"

2010-02-01T15:19:00.000-08:00

To Hawaiians, the whale is a representation of the Hawaiian god, Kanaloa – the god of fish, animals in the ocean and greenery on land. My wife (Devany) and I have recently become interested in the humpback whale since on most days we can now see off our lanai some ten to fifteen of them – often doing many incredible feats.

www.enchantedlearning.com/

One thing humpbacks do is breach. This is when the whale lifts almost its entire body out of the water. It will turn its body while in the air so that it will land on its back. They may breach to remove parasites such as barnacles from their bodies. Other theories are that they want to take a look around, they are just being playful, or that they are trying to attract the attention of other whales.

Another thing they commonly do is tail slap. This is when a whale will hit the surface of the water with its tail in a slapping motion. It makes a very load sound although it is not quite known why they do this. Some have speculated that it is used by the males to either attract females or it is an aggressive posture to ward off other males.

And finally, there is fluke slapping. This is when the whale will raise one of its two flukes and slap it against the surface of the water. Researchers believe this is another aggressive posture toward other whales. It is also thought to be a method that the female whale uses to stress or enforce a lesson to her calf. mauicheetah

Humpback Whales show up in Hilo Bay from roughly Christmas to Easter. They make their annual journey from near Alaska to the waters surrounding the Hawaiian Islands. Here they mate and give birth to their young. You can often see babies which were just born traveling with their mothers and learning how to dive, and breach high into the air. Their annual migration of about 6,000 miles is one of the longest of any mammal.

Mother whales nursing their calves usually arrive first in Hawai'i. Then juveniles and newly weaned yearlings come. The adult males arrive next, double the number of adult females who follow. Finally, the pregnant females arrive, after feeding up to the last minute in Alaska. http://wildhawaii.org/marinelife/whale_migration.htm

Humpback whales are the fifth largest of the world's great whales; a mature whale can be up to 45 feet long and weigh about 42-45 tons. Even their tongues can weigh up to one ton!

The calves have a ten to twelve-month gestation period. On average, newborns weigh 1.5 tons and are 10-16 feet long. New born calves grow at the rate of about 100 pounds a day strictly from the milk they receive from their mothers.

Humpbacks are distributed throughout the world's oceans, although all populations were depleted by whaling from the mid-1800s and into this century. As many as 15,000 humpbacks may have once been present in the North Pacific, but the numbers were reduced to less than 1,000 animals by 1965.

Today however the whales are doing better, according to David Mattila, science and rescue coordinator for the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. His study co-authored in 2006 concluded that about 10,000 humpbacks winter in Hawai'i waters. The study also calculated that their numbers are increasing by about 6 percent to 7 percent each year.

At that rate, there now could be 12,000 or more humpbacks here each winter -- a very positive sign. www.honoluluadvertiser.com

We can hear them slapping and sometimes groaning and of course they are famous for their underwater songs – but I’ll “save” that for another posting. Aloha.

“Four Month Holiday for New Year’s Day !!”

2010-01-19T16:35:00.000-08:00

We sometimes feel guilty over the holidays for taking too much time off, but the ancient Hawaiians really had it down pat. In ancient times, as the old year drew to a close, the priests associated with certain temples on the western side of each inhabited Hawaiian island would watch for the appearance of Makali`i - the Pleiades- a star cluster which appears in the evening sky in our October. When the priests could finally distinguish Makali`i in the eastern sky shortly after sunset, they announced the next new moon would begin the Makahiki season. http://www.kaahelehawaii.com/

At sunrise, the following day, the Makahiki kapu (taboo) started: For four days no one was allowed to do anything but rest and relax! After those four days, for four moon cycles, the Hawaiian people were allowed no other work than necessary for survival. http://www.coffeetimes.com/

www.carenloebelfried.com/

The Makahiki Season was a celebration of abundance of land and sea and the accomplishments of the Hawaiian People. It was the time for healing, new growth, a time of peace and spiritual cleansing of the Hawaiian mind, soul and heart, in celebration of life. It is also, a time when the Makaainana (commoners) would honor Lono, their God of agriculture.http://hawaiiculture.com/

Throughout Makahiki an ironclad kapu forbade war and the god of war (Ku) rested, Lono ruled and softened the lands with rain. To keep their skills honed in a time of peace, warriors vied in the games. Engravings by early European visitors show the throngs that gathered to witness their champions compete in events ranging from Hawaiian boxing,

http://www.mauimagazine.net/Mau

to foot races, spear throwing; and traditional games like maika, a form of outdoor bowling that aimed a cylindrical stone between two pegs. Events requiring wit, oratory, artistry, and spiritual knowledge played a part, such as nane (riddle contests), hula, and haku mele (composition of chants). http://www.mauimagazine.net/Maui-

Surfing also played part in the annual celebration as thousands gathered to watch the famous tournaments, and these always included surfing. http://www.surfart.com/

After four months, the god Ku rose once again to rule over kau wela, the hot summer season. A canoe with offerings to Lono was set adrift to help return him to his ancestral lands and petition his generosity for the following year, and Makahiki concluded. http://www.mauimagazine.net/Maui-

Next year my wife Devany and I are going to celebrate for four months too! Hau'oli Makahiki Hou! (Happy New Year!)

“Who’s Your Papa (aloa)?”

2010-01-07T16:51:00.000-08:00

The old village of Papaaloa is located along the Hamakua Coastline on the eastern part of the Big Island -- 23 miles north of Hilo. It is one of the many plantation towns that line Highway 19. Papaaloa is near some of Hawaii’s most stunning waterfalls including Akaka Falls and the Kahuna Falls, as well as one of Hawaii’s most beautiful places -- the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens -- as well as close to the Laupahoehoe Train Museum and Laupahoehoe Point.

In 1954 two thousand guests celebrated the eighth birthday of Lani Matsu, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Matsu of Papaaloa. He was chairman of Unit 8, ILWU Local 142 and worked outside as a poison truck driver. This birthday party was significant because it symbolized improved labor relations between the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union (ILWU) and the Laupahoehoe Sugar Company who had its only remaining mill located in Papaaloa.

“The Filipino union members prepared a nine course dinner of their native dishes while the Japanese friends prepared their native delicacies. Tables were also decked with a full course Hawaiian dinner, “down to raw liver,” as guests commented. Gallons and gallons of delicious opihi and shrimps form the gulches were served. Hula dancers from Hilo in costume waited at tables and did several numbers.” hawaii.edu/Honolulu Record

The Laupahoehoe Sugar Company was established in 1880 and the new plantation employed 70 men, 50 mules and 70 oxen. Plantation fields extended approximately ten miles along the coast and rose to 1850 feet above sea level. Ending in high sea cliffs, 22 gulches divided the company land.

Laupahoehoe Sugar had a unique transportation system to supply the factory with cane. A steam hoist lifted cane-loaded cars up 1,100 feet by cable at Maulu Gulch. At the top, the cane was dumped into flumes and traveled to the mill about a mile distant.

Labor relations were not always what were hoped. In fact, seven years earlier in 1947 a young girl of 16 fell off a truck as she was riding to work in the fields during her summer vacation from school. She was subsequently run over by a company truck and suffered a fractured pelvis and permanent damage to her left leg leaving it one-and-one-half inch shorter than her right leg.

The company wrote to the Bureau of Workmen’s compensation, “On the basis of Dr. Hatt’s (a company hired “expert”) examination, technically there is no defect, but because of the pelvis deformity that exists, which will in future prevent normal childbirth” the company would be agreeable to an award of 10 per cent. Hawaii.edu/HonoluluRecord/

This was after such behavior precipitated the “Hilo Massacre” in August, 1938, in Hilo, Hawaii, when over 70 police officers attempted to disband 200 unarmed protesters. In their attempts to disband the crowd, officers gassed, hosed and finally fired their riot guns, leading to 50 injuries, but no deaths.

uhwo.hawaii

These protesters were multi-ethnic, including Chinese, Japanese, Native Hawaiian, Luso (people from countries with Portuguese roots) and Filipino Americans. In addition, the strikers were not from one single union; members of many different unions, including the ILWU participated. The different groups, long at odds, put aside their differences to demand equal wages with workers on the West Coast of the United States.

As a postscript in October 1938, injured protester Kai Uratani filed a lawsuit against the officers responsible for the shooting. He lost, and instead had to pay for the officers' defense costs.

So why was this party in Papaaloa some 18 years later such a big deal? Well, for one thing it was the culmination of a two-day program put on by the ILWU. And, the company’s manager participated (!) leading to the Honolulu Record’s comment, the Papaaloa and Laupahoehoe communities where the local newspapers made anti-ILWU attacks almost daily “are today not the same places any more. The shining proof of the healthy change was the gala celebration of the ILWU by Local 142, Unit 8.”

I guess time really does heal all wounds.

One reason I like selling real estate is the great people I get to meet. Another, is the opportunity it provides to learn more about the vast variety of towns and villages on the Big Island. My company recently listed a property in Papaaloa which led me to this research (www.WesIsland.com).

David Douglas (Douglas Fir) and Hawaii

2009-12-22T17:02:00.000-08:00

Living in Connecticut some time ago we always looked for Douglas Firs this time of year for our Christmas tree (“Doug-fir” to my son). Probably as a reaction to growing up in Ohio and having sparse balsam fir trees all my early life (think Charlie Brown trees), I grew to prefer the lush, long-needled Douglas Fir for the holidays.

Moving to Hawaii I was surprised to learn that David Douglas, for whom the tree is named, died here on the Big Island at the young age of only 35. On July 12, 1834 while trying to explore Mauna Kea he fell into a bullock pit, or was pushed, and then died from wounds from being gored by a steer either already in the pit or one that fell in later.

His life is venerated by many, particularly by botanists of all stripes, and by his native Scotland and those of Scottish descent. In fact, there is a marker indicating where his death occurred erected in the 1930’s by the Robert Burns Society of Hilo. It is called Kaluakauka ("Doctor's Pit" in the Hawaiian language).

David Douglas Memorial, Hawaii Island

Photo: Gordon Mason

The circumstances around his passing are confusing because before beginning his trek he was alerted to the location of the three bullock pits on the trail, and he had already passed two. Some think he may have been examining the third and accidentally fallen into it. Others think that his host the prior night, a “well-known scoundrel,” may have followed him and robbed Douglas of his gold – which he was known to carry with him – before pushing him into the pit.

We do know that Douglas was expected back in Hilo to again stay with the Lyman’s, one of the earlier missionary families. Virtually all visitors to the island ended up at the Lyman’s sooner or later, at least for dinner, including Mark Twain and the many whaleboat captains who used Hilo’s harbor for provisioning.

David Douglas had been with the Lymans prior to his successful climb over Mauna Loa and was expected to stay with them on his return from Mauna Kea.

His remains were salted and sent to Oahu for an autopsy which proved to be inconclusive. Douglas was then buried at Kawiaihoa Church in Honolulu, where a plaque commemorates his achievements.

Douglas accomplished an amazing amount in his short life, for instance, he introduced more North American plants to Europe than anyone else (more than 250). There are about 50 plant species and one genus (Douglasia) bearing his name. After his death, the great tree of western North America was given the name Douglas fir. Kathleen Airdrie

A documentary film, Finding David Douglas, about the life and achievements of Douglas has just been completed and its United States premier will be Thursday, April 8, 2010 at the World Forestry Center, 4033 SW Canyon Road, Portland, Oregon – time to be determined (http://www.ochcom.org/).

So heads up to all our friends in Portland! All pictures from Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission website.

Blog: Temperatures Drop Below Minus 459⁰F in Hawaii !

2009-12-08T11:21:00.000-08:00

Perhaps the coldest spot in the universe is on the summit of Mauna Kea on the Big Island. It is inside a giant, complex camera known as SCUBA-2 that is mounted on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT), a joint project of the national astronomy organizations in the United Kingdom, Canada and the Netherlands.

SCUBA-2, when fully operational, will detect sub millimeter radiation, which is sensitive to the heat emitted by the extremely cold dust in the Universe. This technical advancement is expected to make discoveries related to the origins of the galaxies, stars and planets.

Looking at Scuba2

In order to detect such low levels of heat, the detectors inside the camera must be as sensitive as possible. To achieve this they must be cooled to within a tenth of a degree above absolute zero (or about -459 Fahrenheit). And to prevent the detectors being affected by heat from the camera itself, the internal optics of the camera must also be cooled. As a result, the complete camera is the size of a family car, weighing about four tons!

“With a much larger field-of-view and sky-background limited sensitivity, SCUBA 2 will map large areas of sky up to 1000 times faster than the current SCUBA camera. All areas of astronomy will benefit, from studies of our Solar System and surveys of proto stellar complexes in the Milky Way, to answering key questions about the formation and evolution of galaxies in the early Universe.” (Science & Technology Facilities Council, UK Astronomy Technology Centre).

More details may be found at http://astro.uwaterloo.ca/SCUBA2/Posters&Presentations/SCUBA2_descriptionV1.pdf

http://www.roe.ac.uk/ukatc/projects/scubatwo/

All photos are courtesy of Devany Davidson.

SCUBA-2 took seven years to build and was the result of a joint initiative of groups and institutions in the United Kingdom and Canada including the Astronomy Technology Centre (ATC) at the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh; the University of Cardiff; the University of Waterloo;the University of British Columbia; the University of Lethbridge; and the Université de Montréal. Initial funding for development work came from the JCMT Instrument Development Fund. Funds for the construction of SCUBA-2 were provided by the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council(UK) and the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI).

Apologizes to anyone who blogged “scuba diving” and ended up here.