Summer Summary--2003 (03/08/30)

The Summer of Discovery

2003 was a Summer of Discovery. We were privileged indeed to be asked to monitor a new ohana of Hawaiian green turtles in the Napili area. We named the site Kuamo'o, Hawaiian for "spine."

The Spine plays host to dozens of turtles. We hope in the upcoming summers to get to know this new ohana better. We anticipate that this new site will help us better understand our own.

The Spine plays host to dozens of turtles. 54K JPEG

It was a summer to discover the advantages of a digital camera in a compact underwater housing.

Ursula poses with Uwapo to help test the capabilities of our new digital camera. 54K JPEG

We discovered that a kayak is a unique way to view turtles while getting an upper-body workout.

Landing the kayak after our first day solo. Photo courtesy M. Michener 57K JPEG

Kayaking also helped us confirm something we'd known intuitively all along: it can be a great way to see turtles. Of course, a better way to see turtles is to dive with them. The best way to see turtles is to take the time to learn about them and understand them.

Aloha means "hello", "love" and "good-bye"

Aloha to the Honokowai Ohana.

We gave the best flower to Ho'oulu (known since 1992) but she remained fast and deep in sleep. 54K JPEG

Aloha to the Kuamo'o Ohana.

We didn't dive at Kuamo'o on our last day, but we did go there and offer flowers to the turtles. 69K JPEG

Goals, goals, goals

Back in Canada, we'll have to exercise for another 10 months. Have to finish our book. Have to write up a paper. Have to analyze videotape. Have to log in the 2003 turtles into our database. Have to... meet our goals.

We only did 65 dives this summer. It's hard to exercise every morning and manage two dives as well. An exercise session is more strenuous than any dive--but our goal is to dive with the Honokowai ohana for another decade. Til 2013.

Ten more years of monitoring this ohana.

That's truly one Mother-Of-All-Goals.

Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp. Or what's a heaven for? --Robert Browning 63K JPEG

Summer of '03 at Honokowai

Turtle Happenings

Who's Who Underwater at Honokowai

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Last modified 03/08/30
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