The Deep Blue Sea

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"

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

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