Kona in January Questions????????

[friscuba]

I was just at Ho'okena yesterday, it's one of my favorite beaches also. It has shallow reef that's exposed to high surf when it comes through, so it's not particularly nice reef, but you can walk to the beach side of the old wharf and get in 30 inches or so of water 30 feet from the beach and start snorkeling right away (head to the right, it has a lot going on for snorkeling). Took a short video while snorkeling, nothing great, but it gives you an idea of what you can see in just a few feet of water here.

 

[spoolin01]

I'd be interested in a topic hijack where you explain the first part of this statement ...

Maybe he meant 'readily accessible' reef structure. For shore diving, Kona beats Maui pretty solidly that I've seen, on fish, viz, and reef quality, and Maui is better than Kauai. I've only seen a bit of Oahu. If you don't mind dropping $150 for each 90 minutes of uncertain-quality diving, it may well be that there's less distinction among the islands. Flame on! :ar15:

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

We have been diving in Maui several times. Actually I was certified there at the black rock at the Sheraton hotel by Charles Carter. I am not sure where he is now. But that was in 1990.

Charlie Dolfun's Scuba ~ Welcome! ~

Charlie has outgrown his last name; mostly he is now referred to as Charlie Dolfun.

You could be one of Charlie's last West Side certifications, since very near that time Charlie got the gig as Grand Wailea dive operator.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

the first part

Kona has the best overall reef structure in the main Hawaiian islands

Reef - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water (six fathoms or less at low water).

reef - Definition of reef at YourDictionary.com

a line or ridge of rock, coral, or sand lying at or near the surface of the water

Reef - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary

a : a chain of rocks or coral or a ridge of sand at or near the surface of water — compare atoll, barrier reef
b : a hazardous obstruction

Reef Crest: Structure, Habitats, Marine Life

It's not my fault; both my parents were geologists.

While there are "many little reefs" off the Kona Coast, the vast majority of the water shallower than 6 fathoms is not reef; it is the shoreline slope. Due to it's age, or lack thereof, I'm of the opinion that the Big Island has limited reef structure.

Kauai's North Shore has impressive "reef structure" - notably Tunnels at Ha'ena.

Anyone who has sky dived Oahu's North Shore has probably seen more "reef structure" than exists off the entire Kona Coast. The picture below is more than 2/3 of a mile off shore, the top of the reef is 30' deep and the base of the wall is 90' deep; this fringe reef is nearly a mile square, and it has similar neighbors. What is the average depth 2/3 mile off the Kona Coast?

[c][/c]

Olowalu to Thousand Peaks off Maui may also be more "reef structure" than the entire Kona Coast, in an erosional pattern that is often misidentified as spur and groove.

NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - New NOAA Maps Show Big Island Has Most Live Coral of Main Hawaiian Islands

Most live coral. OK.

 

[friscuba]

From what I've seen, the vast majority of the Kona coast between 2 fathoms and 6 fathoms consists of lobe and finger corals, along with mutiple species of other corals. Sorry, not that many rock piles and sandbars. The few areas that do have beaches have sand. The NOAA article says straight out that younger islands have better live coral coverage, unfornately I did say "reef structure" and if that includes largely barren rock, sand, algae, then you've got me on that. I should have said healthy coral reefs.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

The NOAA article says straight out that younger islands have better live coral coverage, unfornately I did say "reef structure" and if that includes largely barren rock, sand, algae, then you've got me on that. I should have said healthy coral reefs.

Since you again bring up the "NOAA article" I will point out that it NEVER makes any statement with regards to the Big Islands "reefs."

NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - New NOAA Maps Show Big Island Has Most Live Coral of Main Hawaiian Islands

The Big Island has submerged lava flows and lava shelfs which have a relatively thin layer of healthy live coral, but again the Big Island is so young that it is not yet to the Fringe Reef stage of volcanic Island evolution.

Coral reef - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The three principal reef types are:

Fringing reef – this type is is directly attached to a shore, or borders it with an intervening shallow channel or lagoon.
Barrier reef – a reef separated from a mainland or island shore by a deep channel or lagoon
Atoll reef – this more or less circular or continuous barrier reef extends all the way around a lagoon without a central island.

Other reef types or variants are:

Patch reef – this type is an isolated, comparatively small reef outcrop, usually within a lagoon or embayment, often circular and surrounded by sand or seagrass. Patch reefs are common.
Apron reef – a short reef resembling a fringing reef, but more sloped; extending out and downward from a point or peninsular shore
.....

While there has been no argument in this thread with regards to the health and quantity of Hawaii's coral, the statement I questioned was "Kona has the best overall reef structure in the main Hawaiian islands" which is wrong in more than one way, IMHO.

Just out of curiosity, could you define the physical boundaries of "Kona" and name the other than apron reef areas inside this location?

 

[friscuba]

I guess if you are talking structure as including old dead coral, sand flats and relatively barren stoney shelf, you're right. In a few million years the Big Island will subside and erode enough that the shoreline will be closer to the mountains and technically it will have more structure than it does now.. that's not to say that it'll have a nicer or healthier coral population than it currently does.

When I said reef structure I was focusing on the coral. Technically, if you are looking at structure only, some of the best of that which I've dove was off Lanai (not dove Ni'ihau yet), but frankly the coral wasn't as nice as I'm used to here.

I guess we're focusing on different things. The reefs on the other islands do extend outward much further than on the Big Island, but here I can run parallel to the island in many places and see nothing but coral for an entire dive. I'm not necessarily talking about some of the more popular dive sites here, I'm talking in generalizations... There are spots I have dove that you could pick a direction and go and not see much sand for a dive.

Kona technically runs from the south end of Anaehoomalu beach to south of Miololii, but I tend to include Kohala into the mix when I speak of Kona diving.