For Brad and Lee, there was no greater thrill than finding new passageways in underwater cave systems — especially networks they had explored before. The idea that more people have been on the surface of the moon than in some of the caves they visited kept them going. It was all about the thrill of discovery. When Brad noticed a small corridor leading off the main cave system, he signalled to Lee that they should check it out. She immediately agreed. They didn’t let the other buddy team on the dive know they were taking off; they planned to be gone from the main line for only a minute. They just wanted to take a quick look so they could return later to map it for their records. After looking around for a few minutes and confirming they had found a cave neither had ever seen before, Brad signalled that they should return to find the other dive team. They turned around, heading back the way they came, but never found the main cave or the line the other divers had laid down.
Brad and Lee were husband and wife. They found that their long relationship aided in their cave explorations, helping them to anticipate each other’s moves before they happened. Both were experienced cave divers who had similar goals when it came to exploration. Brad was a cave-diving instructor and typically led the way, but Lee was never far behind him. They were in their mid-40s with no health issues to speak of. Brad and Lee joined a second pair of divers to explore a cave system all four of them knew well. Even though they had dived the site many times, Brad and Lee never stopped looking around for new offshoot caves. Most of the time, they didn’t see much. New passages would go only a few feet before closing off to nothing, but it didn’t keep them from searching. Both divers on the other team had been certified for cave diving by Brad, so he knew their skills and was comfortable with them. As a group, they agreed that the two less-experienced divers would lead, laying out the cave reel and controlling the dive. A cave reel is a strong, thin line attached outside — or just inside — a cave opening that divers use to find their way back to the surface. In general, divers know to never leave the reel without tying another line to it so they don’t get lost in the system.
When crafting a dive plan, cave divers determine their bottom time using the Rule of Thirds: allocating one third of their air for cave penetration, one third for the return to the surface, and the remaining one third for contingencies — though some prefer having even greater reserves. Brad and Lee agreed that when any member of the dive pair hit the Rule of Thirds and determined it was time to exit the cave circuit, they would all four begin making their way toward the surface. Recent rains had churned up the water somewhat, fouling the visibility, but they all agreed that the conditions would make the dive more interesting. The foursome entered the freshwater spring and made their way to the cave-system entrance. The lead diver secured his line outside the cave and confirmed that everyone was ready to enter before he moved forward. His buddy went second, followed by Brad. Lee entered the circuit last.
Visibility was worse than expected, but they still moved forward. Brad often said, “Any day diving is a good day,” so none of them considered aborting the dive at that point. To keep from interfering with the first team, Brad and Lee held back a bit. When one of them noticed a small opening off to one side of the corridor, they decided to check it out. Both divers were carrying cave reels of their own, but neither pulled them out to secure a jump line to the one their friends had laid. There is no way to know what happened next, but when the first buddy team turned the dive and began heading toward the surface, they realized Brad and Lee were no longer following them. They assumed there had been a problem and that Brad and Lee aborted the dive, so they continued reeling in their line as they left the cave. It was only after they returned to the surface that they realized Brad and Lee were missing. They knew the divers were still in the cave somewhere. Brad and Lee’s bodies were later recovered 250 feet from the cave entrance. Both divers had completely exhausted their air supplies.
ANALYSIS
Brad and Lee broke a cardinal rule of cave diving, one they both knew very well: Never leave the main line without attaching a jump line to it to ensure that you can find your way back out. The couple let their own familiarity with the cave system override their decision-making, and that got them in trouble. If Brad and Lee had tied off a jump line, they could have easily followed it back to catch up with the other divers. And if Brad and Lee were still in the offshoot when their friends came back, the line would show the other divers that they were still underwater. Then the other team could have waited, or left the primary cave line in place. Cave divers typically do not leave cave lines tied off in an effort to keep untrained divers from following them. The first dive team could have left a slate where they found the jump line tied off to say they had exited and to ask Brad to bring the reel to the surface. None of that happened.
There is an important lesson to learn from this dive accident, even for noncave divers. Brad and Lee were overconfident and chose to break the rules, rules Brad taught to all of his students. Too often, experienced divers and instructors believe they can rely on their experience to solve a problem that never should have come up in the first place. There are no “diving police” to catch you if you violate any rule of diving. Often, people can take risks and violate safety rules and make it back to the surface without a problem — that is, until the one time things don’t go their way. Don’t take shortcuts or fail to prepare for the diving environment. Underwater is an unforgiving place, and the moment you don’t take it seriously, you are at risk. Watching your pressure gauge drop to zero is no way to spend the last few minutes of your life. (By Eric Douglas March 24th 2016)
The very beautiful Kailua-Kona - Cornwell David / Getty Images
Things To Do in Kailua Kona, Hawaii 4k
Things To Do in Kailua Kona, Hawaii 4k
1-14-18 Kailua Kona Hawaii Surfing 4K 60 fps Panasonic GH5
1-14-18 Kailua Kona Hawaii Surfing 4K 60 fps Panasonic GH5
Kailua, also known by its post office designation Kailua-Kona to differentiate it from Kailua located on the windward side of O'ahu island, and sometimes referred to as Kona in everyday speech, is an unincorporated city (Census Designated Place) in Hawaiʻi County, Hawaii, United States, in the North Kona District of the Island of Hawaiʻi. The population was 11,975 at the 2010 census, up from 9,870 at the 2000 census. It is the center of commerce and of the tourist industry on West Hawaiʻi. The city is served by Kona International Airport, located just to the north in the adjacent Kalaoa CDP. Kailua-Kona was the closest major settlement to the epicenter of the 2006 Kiholo Bay earthquake.
2006 Kiholo Bay earthquake damage
The 2006 Kīholo Bay earthquake occurred on October 15 at 07:07:49 local time with a moment magnitude of 6.7 and a maximum Mercallo intensity of VIII (Severe). The shock was centered 21 kilometers (13 mi) southwest of Puakō and 21 km (13 mi) north of Kailua-Kona, Hawaiʻi, just offshore of the Kona Airport, at a depth of 29 km (18 mi). It produced several aftershocks, including one that measured a magnitude of 6.1 seven minutes after the main shock. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center measured a small, nondestructive tsunami of 4 in (100 mm) on the coast of the Big Island. The earthquake caused property damage, injuries, landslides, power outages, and airport delays and closures.
Kailua-Kona Mountain
The community was established by King Kamehameha I to be his seat of government when he was chief of Kona before he consolidated rule of the archipelago in 1795. It was later designated as the capital of the newly unified Kingdom of Hawai'i. The capital was later moved to Lāhainā, and then to Honolulu. Royal fishponds at Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park were the hub of unified Hawaiian culture. The town later functioned as a retreat of the Hawaiian royal family. Up until the late 1900s, Kailua-Kona was primarily a small fishing village.:58 In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the region has undergone a real estate and construction boom fueled by tourism and investment.
The Rock - AKA Dwayne Johnson
King Kamehameha I
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will star as Kamehameha I in The King, Warner Brothers’ New Line Cinema production company confirmed in a recent Deadline Hollywood announcement.
The film will be directed by Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump) with the script by Oscar-nominated Randall Wallace (Braveheart). King Kamehameha the Great is credited with unifying the Hawaiian islands under one rule. The King is described as a sweeping historical epic that could be compared to Braveheart, and only partly because King is based on a spec written by that film’s screenwriter, Randall Wallace.
Seven Bucks Productions’ Johnson, Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia are producing with FlynnPictureCo’s Beau Flynn, Zemeckis and Wallace.
The future of The King took shape in Hawai‘i when a Hawaiian kahu (priest) held a ceremony and blessed the project, Johnson, Wallace and Garcia. Johnson’s dream was to one day play Kamehameha, according to Deadline Hollywood. Johnson has Polynesian roots in Hawai‘i, as well as in Samoa and New Zealand. Johnson spent many of his formative years in Hawai‘i before heading off to play football for the University of Miami Hurricanes and before following his father Rocky Johnson and grandfather into the wrestling ring.
Community members in Hawaii protesting against the construction of a massive telescope on Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano of great spiritual significance in Hawaiian culture. Large groups of demonstrators blocked the road to the summit, leading to a number of elders, known as kūpuna—some of whom are as old as 80—being forcibly removed, or even arrested. Hollywood actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (who grew up in Honolulu) has lent his voice to the cause, joining protestors in Hawaii and bringing the issue to the attention of his 151 million Instagram followers, reiterating just how grave a blow it would be to the local community if the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) project were to go ahead on their sacred land.
The Rock speaks out on the opposed construction of a 30 foot telescope.
The telescope if built will be used to find Alien life in other solar systems and even galaxies millions of light years away.
"At the heart of any matter, is where the truth lies," Johnson wrote on Instagram. "Truth is, these people - our people - are the backbone and spirit of Hawaii and our culture. They are willing to die here to protect this very sacred land we stand on. This is not about stopping the progress of science. I’ll always be an advocate for science advancement, but not at the expense of human beings who are hurting. When we lead with empathy, we make progress thru humanity. I remain optimistic our leaders will do right by the people. Because in the end, that’s really the only thing that matters - people."
Johnson also appeared on local news station Hawaii News Now to speak about the need for respectful dialogue. "When things escalate to an emotional level, that is a sign that something needs to be done," he said. "This is a very steadfast culture... they are peaceful, but they are so powerful, and no-one's going anywhere. So I'm optimistic that something positive is going to come out of this."
Actor Jason Momoa, who hails from Honolulu, also took to social media to express his solidarity with the protestors, and praised Johnson for using his platform to raise awareness.
Construction of the telescope on Mauna Kea has been fiercely debated for over a decade, with the Hawaiian Supreme Court finally ruling in 2018 that the project would go ahead. However, project manager Gary Sanders said in 2017 that the site could be moved if building on the mountain proved too much of an issue: "If we keep on encountering obstacles to placing it [TMT] on Hawaii we would be very happy to build it in the Canaries. With the TMT on La Palma we could do marvelous astronomy."
Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi)
Kailua-Kona has a tropical, semi-arid climate Köppen BSh) with warm temperatures year-round, typical of its latitude in the tropics. It is the warmest place in the United States of America in January on average. The coolest month is February, with an average high temperature of 81.2 °F (27.3 °C), while the warmest is August, with an average high of 86.9 °F (30.5 °C). In addition to being the warmest place in the United States in January, it is also the city with the highest record low in the United States with an all-time low temperature of 56 °F (13 °C). Humidity is generally between 50% and 70%. Kailua-Kona is generally dry, with an average annual precipitation of 18.93 inches (481 mm). Mornings are typically clear, while thermal clouds created in the day raise the temperature during the day.
Kailua-Kona’s main thoroughfare, Alii Drive.
PHOTO: KATIE WINKENHOWER
Kailua-Kona is the start and finish of the annual Ironman World Championship triathlon, the annual Kona Coffee Festival, and the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament. Kona coffee is the variety of Coffee arabica cultivated on the slopes of Hualālai and Mauna Loa in the North and South Kona Districts. The Kona Historical Society manages two coffee related historical sites: the Kona Coffee Living History Farm and the H.N. Greenwell Store Museum just south of Kailua-Kona.
Ironman World championship finish - Hawaii Kona
2019 IRONMAN World Championship - Kona, Hawaii
2019 IRONMAN World Championship - Kona, Hawaii
Mokuaikaua Church, located on the "Big Island" of Hawaii, is the oldest Christian church in the Hawaiian Islands. The congregation dates to 1820 and the building was completed in 1837. Saint Michael the Archangel Catholic Church and Living Stones Church, a historical structure built after Mokuaikaua and used as a Christian Missionary landing location in the 1800-1900 are also close by. Parks include Laʻaloa Bay (also known as Magic Sands or White Sands Beach) and Kahaluʻu Bay, which is a popular snorkeling location. Boat tours which allow tourists to swim with dolphins, watch whales, and fish in the ocean usually depart from Honokohau Harbor.
Mokuaikaua Church, located on the "Big Island
The Pelagic Night Dives is a spectacular boat trip out into the South Pacific ocean and one that you will never forget. Blackwater diving is a unique night dive which will take you miles offshore where you will hang, suspended from a 60ft tether, over 4000ft of water to watch open ocean, or pelagic, animals drift by. You’ll have the opportunity to see animals ranging from perfectly clear larval fish and invertebrates to siphonophores, and even cephalopods out in the deep. If you want to observe something you have never seen before, this is the dive for you. Our divemasters are still surprised by new and exciting creatures in the deep.
A sheer drop of 4000 feet ensures a most spectacular view of the marine ecosystem in crystal clear water suspended 60 feet below a boat.
A myriad of marine life glows intensely in the depths of the pacific ocean.
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Pelagic Magic Kona Aggressor November 2016
Pelagic Magic Kona Aggressor November 2016
This dive is not for beginners as the requirements are as follows,
This dive is for the confident diver that has excellent buoyancy skills and is self-reliant
You must have at least 50 logged dives to join us on this adventurous dive
You must be in good health and have NO heart conditions
You must be able to converse in English.
The dive will encounter marine life that is completely different from everyday encounters in the nearshore reef environment.
The crew will load the boat with a small group of guests, maximum of eight, and head straight out to deep water off the west coast of Oahu. Pelagic night dives are conducted on the west coast of the island. The west coast is the lee side of the island making the boat ride more comfortable. The captain will set the sea anchor once the boat is more that one mile from shore. The sea anchor keeps the boat drifting slowly. The divers enter the water tethered to the vessel for safety. In black water, with no reference, it would be easy to understand how a diver could lose track of their depth while taking pictures. The tethers are required. Diving depth is approximately 40ft. With nowhere, in particular, to go, air consumption is good and the dive can easily last one hour. Clearly, a dive light is important, and one that lets you control the light level is best.
With nothing visible in the distance, your attention will be immediately focused on the few feet in front of your mask. You will also pick up creatures visible in your dive lights cone of light. Many of the creatures will be hard to identify as they are completely out of the normal divers’ experience. It is possible to see the larval stage octopi and crabs. Sea Palps are common. Jellyfish of all kinds are present. It is highly likely that you will encounter gelatinous creatures with prismatic displays of rolling colors along the edges of their bodies, Ctenophora. Zooplankton, which during the day live in the depths, are abundant. Larval shrimps and crabs can be seen scurrying about. Some glow with their own iridescent light, and others pulse when reflected by your dive light. Big and small jellyfish, ctenophores, salps, and many larval species can be seen while drifting in the open ocean at night. You never know what you will encounter. Occasionally divers are lucky enough to see Hawaii’s endemic pelagic seahorse, only seen floating in the open ocean.The company can conduct the dive any night with a minimum of four guests. The price is $160 with all equipment and dive light rental, or $125 if you have all your own equipment.
Shane Thompson, 43
By Debbi Baker
THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE
MARCH 31, 2016 11:25 PM
SAN DIEGO
A veteran San Diego scuba diving instructor died over the weekend while exploring underwater caves in New Mexico that had been sealed for 40 years. Shane Thompson, 43, was entombed overnight in a cavern underneath the Blue Hole, after being trapped in an accident Saturday, according to the Guadalupe County Communicator. The small lake near Santa Rosa, N.M., is a popular site for divers because of its crystal-clear waters. Thompson was one of several elite divers who were on an excursion with the nonprofit ADM Exploration Foundation, the newspaper reported Thursday. The group had received rare permission to enter the caves, which had been closed in 1976 after two scuba divers from Oklahoma got lost inside the labyrinth and died. Thompson and the team were using “rebreather” equipment that recycles divers’ breath with oxygen and allows explorers to stay underwater for long periods of time. Diver Mike Young told investigators that he and Thompson were looking for passageways when he ventured through a narrow obstruction into a small chamber and Thompson followed.
Shane Thompson, right, talks to fellow diver Mike Young, on the day before Thompson was killed in a diving accident in New Mexico. (/ M.E. Sprengelmeyer/ The Guadalupe County Communicator.)
“Shane was supposed to stay out, and for whatever reason entered the cave,” Santa Rosa Police Officer Mike Gauna told the newspaper. “At that point, that’s where everything went terribly wrong.” Young tried to exit the area but both divers became wedged in a narrow passage. After freeing themselves, Thompson took a wrong turn and became trapped in what was described as an unmapped area that led nowhere, Gauna said. By the time Young found Thompson, he had died. His body was recovered the next day. Thompson was a well-known scuba diving instructor for Advanced Underwater Training in San Diego. According to his bio, he had more than 20 years of experience working as a deep technical rebreather diver who had first worked as a diving instructor in the Navy. No more exploration is planned of the underwater cave system at Blue Hole, said Curt Bowen, president of the exploration foundation.
Santa Rosa - Blue Hole New Mexico diagram
A view from the top.
Explorer Brett Hemphill replaces his equipment after an attempt to squeeze into the 18 inch restriction.
Cinematographer Jim Killion prepares for another film dive to the grate of the Blue Hole.
Somewhere down in the Blue Hole
The beautiful Blue Hole from above ground.
“The cave system below is walled out. That means there is no cave passage left to explore,” he said in an email. “We mapped everything we could fit through, and it ended in a tight rock breakdown at a depth of 194 feet.” Because of the extreme environment within the cave system, the city accepted the group’s recommendation that the cave system remain off-limits to the public. The divers covered and secured the grate at the bottom of the bell-shaped swimming hole to prevent untrained divers from gaining access. Family members said Thursday they were struggling with Thompson’s death, but they acknowledged that diving was what he loved to do and that he had earned numerous certifications during his lifetime. A Navy veteran, Thompson began diving at a young age while growing up in the Florida Keys. After earning his first certification, he went to work for an underwater construction company and later started numerous diving businesses that focused on everything from boat maintenance to salvage work and training.
Diving Blue Hole Santa Rosa - New Mexico
"Blue Hole" Santa Rosa, NM
"Blue Hole" Santa Rosa, NM
Blue Hole: What's On The Bottom?
Blue Hole: What's On The Bottom?
Last year, Thompson rediscovered the wreckage of the B-36 “Peacemaker” bomber that had crashed in 1952 near Mission Beach. A video posted by Thompson’s San Diego-based Advanced Underwater Training business shows his flashlight scanning the engines and other corroded pieces of the plane as he makes his way through the darkness more than 250 feet below the surface.
Convair B-36 Peacemaker - The first intercontinental bomber
B-36D 49-2661, Ocean off Mission Beach, California, August 5, 1952.
The number-4 engine of B-36D, 49-2661 caught fire for an undetermined reason and fell from the wing off the coast of San Diego on August 5, 1952. The fire spread to the rest of the wing. Six of the eight crew members successfully escaped from the disintegrating bomber.
Retired Marine Corps 2nd Lt.Ed Middleton was an eyewitness to the crash of B-36D, 49-2661. He has provided this account (added August 16, 2003):
The Pratt & Whitney R-4360 were the 4 pushers" General Electric J47/19 were the 4 burning on B-36D. Service ceiling of 50,000 FT, Cruising speed of 423 Mph and range of 10,000 miles
I was a Marine MSgt. flying a AD3W, radar guppy and I had two radar men in my rear radar operating area. I was flying out of El Toro and I was on a training mission for an new member of our Early Warning Unit from MCAS El Toro, a Warrant Officer who was a radar jamming specialist and his associate who was an early warning specialist TSgt. My aircraft had a door on the right side which had a bubble window in it so the 2 guys in the back could see out at least one side anyway. I was flying almost directly south toward San Diego only about 3 or four miles inland from Point Loma. Using the intercom I told my two crew member to look out the right window and they could see a B-36 making an approach to Lindbergh Field. The plane was so big, it seemed that I was right next to it, but I was probably 4 or 5 miles away.
San Diego
Suddenly I saw a flame above the far wing of the aircraft and something fell off that far wing on fire and smoking, then I saw parachutes starting to blossom. I switched to the Emergency Frequency and called the Coast Guard reporting the crash and I counted the number of parachute that I saw. I counted one, two, three, four, five, six, seven on the emergency channel to the Coast Guard, as I watched the plane plummet into the drink and disappear, meantime I was turning toward the falling plane and did not see any wreckage on top of the water because it dove in almost nose first. The next day I read in the L. A. Times, I believe it was, that 6 men were rescued and 2 men were not recovered. I know that I had counted one more parachute than the number of men rescued. After about 2 weeks, the accident board found out who I was and I was called down to Consolidated as a witness to the accident. In my early warning unit we only had three aircraft and three pilots, a Major (Officer in Charge), a Captain, and me a Master Sergeant, Naval Aviation Pilot. Our OIC told me to take one of the AD's and go testify in San Diego, so I took our AD-4W (our newest updated guppy) and flew down to testify before the board.
I have forgotten now but I do remember a lot of Generals and Consolidated VIP's and when I said what I thought it was that fell off of the aircraft they acted like I didn't see what I said I thought I saw fall, but anyway of course I felt intimidated by them but I did guarantee that I saw one more parachute blossom that the number of crew member that were rescued. That I am absolutely sure of. In those days the only recorders we had in our aircraft were wire recorders so I don't know if the Coast Guard has or had and recording of my voice when I counted out the number of parachute that I saw blossom before they hit the water.