Hurricane Lowell had drenched Maui over several days before I arrived for my September vacation. Fortunately there was little damage in the way of flooding or erosion. However the storm left snorkeling conditions less than ideal at one of my favorite spots, Honolua Bay in the island's northwest corner. A freshwater stream was flowing stronger than I've ever seen it as I followed the adjacent path to the rocky beach, resulting in brown patches in the normally turquoise cove. Murky water can not only diminish visibility, but it can indicate bacterial, chemical, and physical contamination. Nevertheless, I entered the water and headed to the middle of the bay where vibrant coral formations came close to breaking the water's surface. However before I reached those outcrops, I spotted a completely different sort of animal: my first ever shark in Hawaii.
A couple of months ago a shark sighting in Hanalei Bay on Kauai left me unnerved while I snorkeled nearby Hideaways Beach. The supposed tiger shark wasn't one I'd ever want to encounter; lucky for me, I didn't. Of course because I grew up not far from the Jersey Shore in the 1970s under the glaring marquees promoting the blockbuster "Jaws," I've obsessed ever since over the infrequent headlines about swimmers and snorkelers and their rare shark bites. And I've often wondered about the snorkeling guidebooks that show pictures of whitetip reef sharks right next to common, non-intimidating reef denizens like butterflyfish and tangs. Where exactly were those sharks? Honolua Bay obviously.
The water was murky, populated with leaves, twigs, and dirt as I paddled away from the shore. Some other snorkelers had said it started to clear a few minutes swim out and that the visibility improved where the coral reached close to the surface half way across the bay. And they declared that the sea life was as abundant as ever, which I soon confirmed firsthand as barred filefish, black triggerfish, and orangespine triggerfish soon came into view. I was also on the lookout for barracudas because I've seen them close to shore at Honolua and the shadowy conditions seemed like good habitat for the lurking predators.
My last time snorkeling on Kauai, I had a lot of luck finding green sea turtles resting on the sandy floor under rocky ledges so I peered into crevices where the morning sunshine shined bright enough. I excitedly gazed at what I thought was a turtle's fin but it looked too long and skinny. My heart skipped a beat when I realized it was the tailfin of a shark. But sudden fear soon turned into curiosity and then excitement.
I could see the namesake white tip of the tail - or caudal - fin quite clearly. In addition, the shark's second dorsal fin was in full view. But the first dorsal fin - the biggest one that protrudes from the water in all the movies starring attacking sharks - was hidden from view. In fact I never saw the animal's trunk or head, and I'm fine with that.
Whitetip reef sharks are one of the most common sharks in Hawaii. They don't grow much longer than five feet or weigh more than forty pounds. Unlike many other sharks, they don't need to keep moving to breath. Also because they hunt at night, it wasn't odd at all to see my shark resting during the day. The species is rarely aggressive toward humans, so I could have tried diving four or five feet to get a clearer view of the rest of its body. But polite observation seemed wiser than an inadvertent provocation.
I've snorkeled at Honolua Bay at least a dozen times, and I've always enjoyed the pristine waters protected as part of a Marine Life Conservation District. But because of the recent heavy rains, I've never seen the visibility so poor. Nonetheless on this outing I saw two green sea turtles and several morays, including one at least four feet long. Still, over the years I've envied the people that have recounted their epic stories of spotting dolphins, eagle rays, and yes, even sharks. Maybe the murk and shadows that day provided my shark its exact safe resting spot and, finally, my first-time luck.
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| My fuzzy, grainy shot of the tail of a whitetip reef shark resting in Honolua Bay on Maui. |
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| Another fuzzy, grainy shot of the tail of a whitetip reef shark resting in Honolua Bay on Maui. |
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