Manta rays are beautiful and majestic animals that have a life-changing effect on people who meet them. I want to protect them so humans can experience their transformational power for generations to come! My goal is to inspire people so they take action to protect the mantas' ecosystem and oceans all around the world.
Two hurricanes in less than one month…
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It's been a while since my last newsletter. Since then, quite a bit has happened here in Hawaiʻi. Many of you met me and the team in person, and we know some of you keep an eye on the islands from a distance and worry when storms roll through. On August 15, Hurricane Lala skirted the southern tip of the Big Island and brought an incredible amount of rain to Kaʻū, the southernmost district on the island. Certain areas got more than 4 inches of rain in a single hour – turning streams into rivers and causing major damage. According to Hawaii News Now, Hurricane Lala dumped enough rain to fill 1.9 million Olympic swimming pools. Entire homes were pushed off their foundations. Highway 11 (the main road around that side of the island) was closed off in several places. The elementary school flooded, and the bakery at Punaluʻu (a popular roadside stop) was filled with mud and boulders. At least three people lost their lives. All of that happened only a couple of hours down the road from us. Most of our team lives in Kailua-Kona or further north, and we had very strong winds and rain. Savannah, who lives south in Honomalino, had to wait two days to get her power back. Still, nothing compared to what Kaʻū went through. Then, last week, Hurricane Lowell swept past Kauaʻi and Niʻihau. Much of Kauaʻi lost power, roads were washed out along the north and west shores, and the piers at Waimea and Port Allen were badly damaged. Waves reached more than 25 feet (7.6 meters). Lowell stayed a few hundred miles offshore from the Big Island, but we still felt the effects here. The peak of the westerly swell rushed right into Kaunaʻoa Bay; see the image below for a during-and-after comparison. The ocean was simply not safe for swimming, so we cancelled the moonlight swim for several days. Two major storms in less than a month is not normal, even for a hurricane season (July to November). And unfortunately, the season isn't over yet. NOAA is expecting an above-normal season in the Central Pacific, with 5 to 13 tropical cyclones forecast compared with an average of 4 or 5. The storms may pass in a matter of hours or days, but the recovery takes much longer. Communities in Kaʻū and Kauaʻi will be dealing with the damage for months, and in some cases years. If you'd like to help, Vibrant Hawaiʻi is supporting recovery efforts on the Big Island, where we live and where most of you have visited.
On the bright side… Mantas always come back to feed in Kauna’oa Bay – even between storms. We had a wonderful three weeks of continuous sightings before Lala, and some of our favorite mantas (X-Wing, Vegemite Ray, Obama Ray, Louisette, Jolene Ray, Pu’uwai, and Georgia) showed up between Lala and Lowell as well. Find them and their stories in our manta ray library! Since the storms, we've had some beautiful nights back in the water, and it feels great to share those magical moments with guests again. Wherever you are, I hope your summer has been gentler than ours.
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Martina Wing
Manta rays are beautiful and majestic animals that have a life-changing effect on people who meet them. I want to protect them so humans can experience their transformational power for generations to come! My goal is to inspire people so they take action to protect the mantas' ecosystem and oceans all around the world.
Aloha Reader, November is almost here, and with it comes winter on the water. Hawaiʻi’s big-surf season runs from November through mid-April. Storms far out in the North Pacific generate large waves that travel toward the islands and reach the north and west shores of the Big Island - including the Kona/Kohala coast, where we (and other operators) run our manta ray tours. When a big swell rolls in, the surface gets choppy, sand lifts off the bottom, and visibility drops. We enter from shore,...
Aloha Reader, My last email wasn't the most cheerful one, with all the hurricanes sweeping through Hawaiʻi. So today, I'm happy to bring you some positive news! 😊 The Ocean Cleanup (TOC) is one of my favorite non-profit organizations: they come up with clever ways to remove plastic pollution from the ocean. In March, TOC reached a major milestone: 50 million kilograms of trash (that's about 110 million pounds) pulled out of oceans and rivers. In December 2024, the figure stood at 20 million....
Aloha Reader, It's been a busy winter season for us - while we haven't been in the water with the mantas much due to high surf and winter conditions, I wrapped up the first season of the Ocean Wings podcast. I thoroughly enjoy the long-form conversation, so I spent the rest of winter break working on another podcast I'll be hosting with my friend Tina Marie. That one has nothing to do with manta rays (or maybe it does 🙃). We recently soft-launched. 2025 statistics Back to the manta rays: we...