Sand Island
Laie Beach Park
Laie Point State Wayside
Laie Point State Wayside
Koolina
Koolina
Mokuleia Beach
Bellows Beach Park
Bellows Beach Park
Ekuhai Beach Park
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Waimea Bay
Shark's Cove
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Vog Alert!?!?!?!
Vog has been forecasted for March 10 - 12, 2013. Please be careful out there!
The same information can be found at:
https://sites.google.com/site/shoheisoahutips/vog-alert
So, I guess there is a vog alert today in Oahu. Being relatively new to the area, this was a first for me. I didn't even know what a "vog" is, so I did a little googling. It turns out this is volcanic dust/ash cloud from Kilauea Volcano on the Big Island that rides the winds and wreaks havoc on lungs. Simply, vog = volcanic fog. Actually, it looks like just another smoggy morning in Southern California...
The same information can be found at:
https://sites.google.com/site/shoheisoahutips/vog-alert
So, I guess there is a vog alert today in Oahu. Being relatively new to the area, this was a first for me. I didn't even know what a "vog" is, so I did a little googling. It turns out this is volcanic dust/ash cloud from Kilauea Volcano on the Big Island that rides the winds and wreaks havoc on lungs. Simply, vog = volcanic fog. Actually, it looks like just another smoggy morning in Southern California...
The vog is expected to last from today (10/9/2012) through Thursday (10/11/2012), which is the same time the jellyfish invasion is happening. The advice I heard on the radio was simple; stay indoors, and run the air conditioner. I guess the air conditioner usually has an air filter that will filter out some of the vog particles from the air.
I found another page that has 10 useful tips on how to minimize the effects of vog:
I guess this is a recurring problem on the Big Island, and it's an infrequent problem in Maui, but never a problem in Oahu or Kauai. I guess this instance we are currently experiencing is a rarity, but it's always good to be informed.
In any case, please try to stay safe, stay indoors, and keep your air fresh. Talk about breaking the aloha spirit; a vog alert, and a jellyfish invasion at the same time will do the trick.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Jellyfish on the Leeward Coast
The same content on this blog can be found on:
https://sites.google.com/site/shoheisoahutips/jellyfish-on-the-leeward-coast
9 - 10 days after every full moon, for about 3 days, there is a box jellyfish invasion on theLeeward Coast (from Kaena Point, to Waianae, to Barber's Point, to Ewa Beach) andSouth Shore (Ewa Beach, to Ala Moana, Waikiki, Hawaii Kai, Hanauma Bay, to Makapuu Beach). The invasions are pretty consistent, and the jellyfish authority here on Oahu have been able to predict them pretty well. It's best to stay out of the water in Waikiki, Ala Moana, Hanauma Bay, and other popular South Shore spots during this time. If you're planning your vacation, as inconvenient and silly as it sounds, it's best to plan your vacation around the jellyfish's schedule.
Check this calendar link below to plan your outings/vacations to the Leeward Coast and South Shore areas:
http://www.to-hawaii.com/jellyfishcalendar.html
There are 2 main types of jellyfish in Hawaii:
box jellyfish, more dangerous when stung - these are the primary jellyfish that invade during the days marked on the calendar
portuguese man-o-war, still hurts, but not as dangerous as the box jellyfish - mostly found on the Windward Coast (east facing shores on Oahu)
To give you some kind of perspective, (movie spoiler alert:) remember that movie in which Will Smith kills himself to donate his body parts? He used box jellyfish to kill himself.
My friend, while at Waimanalo Beach, had a portuguese man-o-war wrap itself twice around his neck. He delicately unwrapped it with his bare hands. He had a slightly red rash where he was stung on his neck, but he was fine in a day or two.
I have always observed the jellyfish calendar, and have never gotten stung.
Just a side note, while we are on the subject of jellyfish, on the Windward Coast, which includes my favorite body boarding spots, Bellows Field Beach Park, and Waimanalo Beach Park, the portuguese man-o-war is always present. I have gone there many times with my wife, but we have never been stung by the portuguese man-o-war. A local there gave me tips on how to avoid the portuguese man-o-war on the Windward Coast.
Hope that helps. Stay safe, and don't mess around with these jellyfish.
https://sites.google.com/site/shoheisoahutips/jellyfish-on-the-leeward-coast
9 - 10 days after every full moon, for about 3 days, there is a box jellyfish invasion on theLeeward Coast (from Kaena Point, to Waianae, to Barber's Point, to Ewa Beach) andSouth Shore (Ewa Beach, to Ala Moana, Waikiki, Hawaii Kai, Hanauma Bay, to Makapuu Beach). The invasions are pretty consistent, and the jellyfish authority here on Oahu have been able to predict them pretty well. It's best to stay out of the water in Waikiki, Ala Moana, Hanauma Bay, and other popular South Shore spots during this time. If you're planning your vacation, as inconvenient and silly as it sounds, it's best to plan your vacation around the jellyfish's schedule.
Check this calendar link below to plan your outings/vacations to the Leeward Coast and South Shore areas:
http://www.to-hawaii.com/jellyfishcalendar.html
There are 2 main types of jellyfish in Hawaii:
box jellyfish, more dangerous when stung - these are the primary jellyfish that invade during the days marked on the calendar
portuguese man-o-war, still hurts, but not as dangerous as the box jellyfish - mostly found on the Windward Coast (east facing shores on Oahu)
To give you some kind of perspective, (movie spoiler alert:) remember that movie in which Will Smith kills himself to donate his body parts? He used box jellyfish to kill himself.
My friend, while at Waimanalo Beach, had a portuguese man-o-war wrap itself twice around his neck. He delicately unwrapped it with his bare hands. He had a slightly red rash where he was stung on his neck, but he was fine in a day or two.
I have always observed the jellyfish calendar, and have never gotten stung.
Just a side note, while we are on the subject of jellyfish, on the Windward Coast, which includes my favorite body boarding spots, Bellows Field Beach Park, and Waimanalo Beach Park, the portuguese man-o-war is always present. I have gone there many times with my wife, but we have never been stung by the portuguese man-o-war. A local there gave me tips on how to avoid the portuguese man-o-war on the Windward Coast.
- Check the beach and make sure there are no jellyfish lying around on the sand. If there are jellyfish on the sand, then they are sure to be in the water.
- Avoid high surf days.
- If you're in the water, look beyond the breaking point of the waves. If you see jellyfish floating on the other side of the break, get out quick.
- When in doubt, talk to the lifeguard. If he's treated a bunch of people for stings, then it's probably not a good idea to go in.
Hope that helps. Stay safe, and don't mess around with these jellyfish.
Bodyboarding at Bellows Beach Park
https://sites.google.com/site/shoheisoahutips/bodyboarding-at-bellows-beach-park
For beginners of body boarding, Bellows Field Beach Park, a beach slightly north of Waimanalo Beach Park, is highly recommended. This is a good place to get started, as the waves are always a nice size, the waves are always consistently present, the water is shallow, the sand is fluffy, and it's just so God dang beautiful. The only problem with this beach is that it is only open on the weekends, from Friday afternoon, to Sunday evening. If you wander in to the beach accidentally when they are not open, a polite, but scary looking Military Security guy will come up to you and ask you to leave.
Optimum body boarding conditions are when surf heights are waist to chest or above. The quality of the surf may be clean, fair, or choppy without affecting conditions too much. This is a shore break so it does not matter much. Tide conditions are negligible, so you can go any time and expect pretty good conditions.
Today's Surf Information:
Video of Bellows Field Beach Park:
Video of me body boarding at Bellows Field Beach Park:
In order to ride the wave with your body board, you want to jump with the wave right when it breaks, so finding a spot where the wave breaks is important. Your body also needs to be out of the water in order to get a good jump into the breaking waves, so finding a shallow spot is important as well. The way to spot these is by observing the ocean water from the beach.
First, finding a good break:
After a nice sized wave breaks, it usually leaves a trace of water bubbles in a triangular shape with one tip of the triangle in the ocean. Find that tip of the triangle, and you have just found the breaking point of the wave. Find a spot where the wave breaks far from the shore to enjoy longer rides on the wave. The larger the bubble trace size usually indicates larger sized waves that will break for longer rides.
Second, finding a shallow spot:
Just take a look at the color of the water. The force of the waves tend to mix up the sand in the water, so the shallower a place is, the more sandy the water looks.
In summary, find the tip of a bubble triangle far from shore that has sandy colored water. Stand there until a good wave comes, and jump in! I hope that helps. Good luck riding the waves!
After a nice sized wave breaks, it usually leaves a trace of water bubbles in a triangular shape with one tip of the triangle in the ocean. Find that tip of the triangle, and you have just found the breaking point of the wave. Find a spot where the wave breaks far from the shore to enjoy longer rides on the wave. The larger the bubble trace size usually indicates larger sized waves that will break for longer rides.
Second, finding a shallow spot:
Just take a look at the color of the water. The force of the waves tend to mix up the sand in the water, so the shallower a place is, the more sandy the water looks.
In summary, find the tip of a bubble triangle far from shore that has sandy colored water. Stand there until a good wave comes, and jump in! I hope that helps. Good luck riding the waves!
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Blog will be continued on web site
After consideration, I've decided that a web site format is easier for people to navigate to the information that is pertinent to them. So, I've created a web site for the information that I was going to present in this blog. For topics that are not already on this blog, please go to:
https://sites.google.com/site/shoheisoahutips/
Thanks for your patience.
https://sites.google.com/site/shoheisoahutips/
Thanks for your patience.
Monday, October 1, 2012
Snorkel Goggle Anti-Fogging Plant
If you're an avid snorkeler like my wife and I, we all know that the snorkeling experience can differ vastly by how well you can keep your snorkel goggles defogged. Basically, your enjoyable snorkeling time will end when your goggle fog up.
So, beware when you buy a snorkel goggle defogger because not all anti-fogs are created equal. The best store bought anti-fog I have come across is Spit.
Just spray this on your goggles, rub them in to the lens with your fingers, then rinse with ocean water. Be careful not to rub the lens after you rinse, as this will decrease the anti-fog ability. Do not get the Neptune brand anti-fog spray. Although it's cheap, it works for a couple of minutes, and then your goggles fog up, and your snorkeling experience is ruined after that. See, I thought I was being smart possessing this anti-fogging knowledge and all. Wrong!
After going through obtaining knowledge of all of that, I learned that you don't need all of this stuff to anti-fog your goggles. This picture below is of the naupaka plant. These plants are usually plentiful on Hawaiian beaches.
Notice the oval shaped leaves, and more importantly, the uniqueness of the flowers. The most unique feature about this plant is that the flowers look like they have been cut in half.
To anti-fog your goggles, you can take a couple of the leaves of the naupaka plant, crush them with your hands, and then rub the leaf juice into your goggles. This works wonders to keep your goggles defogged. My friend Tim taught me about this and I was dumb founded because all this time, I was paying like $15 for a tiny bottle of Spit. Looking back, I'm thinking that all of the locals were probably thinking "Dumb tourists!" when I was spraying my goggles with expensive Spit, while I was thinking "I'm such an experienced snorkeler!" Lesson learned. Seriously though, the locals are all very friendly, and they were probably too polite to tell me that I was being an idiot and wasting my money.
Having said that, it's always good to keep a bottle of Spit around because you will occasionally come across a beach park without the naupaka plant growing on the side.
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