Snorkelling with Manta Rays, Captain Panda and Chris… Eka Canoe

This is my story of how I feel in love with snorkelling with Mantra Rays.

I first fell in love with the magical shape of the sail passing below the setting sun. It was different to any sail I was used to seeing. It was upside down to start with, and was small …   much, much, much smaller than what I am used to. This photo, looking beyond the forged coastline of Keauhou Bay, was taken on our first night in Kona, Hawaii. My girlfriend and I embraced the warmth of the setting sun and the mild sea breeze, occasionally stopping to take magical photos as we surrendered to our new surroundings.

I wanted to find that boat, see her and hopefully put my feet on her, talk to the crew and go sailing… 

This is my story. This is my story of how I fell in love with this beautiful boat that I later learnt as called “Wa’a Kini Kini”, her skipper “Captain Panda” and swimming with Manta Rays.

I spotted an image of the boat on a brochure in the hotel. I grabbed it and eagerly searched for more information.

Kini Kini is a Hawaiian Sailing Canoe. And she is beautiful. She is hand built without a nail, a screw, sealant, nut, bolt, washer etc. OK, there is a little bit of plastic on her. She was found as a wreck and rebuilt about 20 years ago. The two canoes that are lashed together are plastic and I am kind of OK with that. She is beautifully crafted and sits low in the water. The timber and rope securely marry together the canoes which were to transport us to what was to be an unique and intimate experience. Intimate, because they only take 6 people out at a time. Unique, because it is not a commercial plastic boat, a Gin Palace or a “stink-boat” as I have come to know them. And, it is the only Hawaiian sailing boat offering adventures in the Keauhou Bay. 

I was so happy and looked at the brochure and found myself drawn to the Manta Rays Snorkel. I was curious. My first insight into swimming with Manta Rays had been through the eyes of Douglas Adams (Think, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy) and through his eyes I was lost in a world that intrigued me. 

I was not sure I really wanted to be in the water on dusk or in the evening. I was concerned about sharks. 

Well, I was not so sure but I booked anyway. I seriously wanted to see the Manta Rays.

I turned up early for fear of not finding the right bay. No problems, I was in the right spot. As I chilled and hung out I watched another boat, a trimaran, boarding their passengers for the evening. It is a plastic party boat and it was getting more and more crowded. I told myself I had made a great decision. 

And then my boat turned up.

I was so happy. She was under motor, not sail. I was soon to learn that we would only be motoring on this trip. Mental note. Next time, I’ll gather some friends together for an evening sail. But still I was happy. 

So, the anticipation began. My attention was drawn from the boat to the crew as they briefed us on what to expect. In a nutshell, you just followed their instructions to get on, where to sit etc, etc, etc. It was simple, easy. 

I was already in love with Captain Panda.

She was a little bit shorter than me. She was tanned. Her hair was crazy and fell past her shoulders. She was bare foot and her tattoos reflected her love of the water and the beauty it contains. You could just see the outline for the next tattoo. And she had an awesome sense of humour… She also told every-body I was their good luck charm. I was happy to be the Manta charm.

Chris (aka crew) was totally in tune with her and everything happened seamlessly. 

And now my attention was back on the boat, the water and we were motoring the very short distance (5 minutes tops) to the Manta Ray Bay in front of the Sheraton hotel.

We followed instructions like well-trained sheep and jumped into the water. And we let our adventure unfold.

If I was to sum the experience up in one word it would be breath-taking. OK that’s two words and clearly, one word if hyphenated counts. It is irrelevant as I intend to use more words. Breath taking…

Imagine this:

You are in the water, wearing a wet suit jacket and snorkel, holding on to what was best described as an old favourite surfboard with some beautiful and probably expensive lights underneath her. Chris (crew) who could only be described as having legs of steel, is dragging us (remember there are 6 of us holding on to the surfboard straps) from point-to-point to optimise our viewing experience. We are on our own. Free from any fixed attachments to the earth or sea bottom. And Captain Panda is watching from a safe distance. We are at one in the water just floating.

I put my face in the water and the pool noodle under my feet and assume the super woman pose to float looking down into the depths of ocean underneath me. The lights are on. We see their amazing blue light underneath us and we are surrounded by dark. It is almost like a tunnel, however the seabed depth does not change. 

It is a very still night. 

I hear Chris talking. I tune into his words, “We have our first ray, look ahead.” I gasp in awe. She is doing a graceful roll about 4 meters away from me. I can feel my face grin and my body does an unexpected shiver. It is almost goose-bumpy. I am not cold. The water is beautifully warm. And the I hold my breathe.

While looking over at this beautiful ray, my view is obstructed by a massive glide-by of a ray so close that I feel myself wishing to levitate to avoid touching her. Seriously, she is centimetres away. Majestic, graceful and huge.

She passes and I look down to my left and see two smaller manta rays almost dancing together, spiralling upwards and then rolling away and again a ray comes so close she brushed against my wetsuit. I shiver again. This time I have to get water out of my ear. I am keeping my head slightly tilted, with one ear in the water and one ear out. It is comfortable and easy to hear Chris talk. He is also talking to crews from other boats. They know the rays by sight and can name them.

I am so happy right now. Then I hear “There’s Bertha!”

And the chatter amongst the various crew, “Is it Bertha?” “Yes, it is!” There is excitement. “It is Big Bertha!” She is beautiful and rolls just underneath me. All I can see is her. She has a 4.30 meter (14 feet) wingspan. Everyone is excited. They tell us they believe she is approximately 80 years old. She is magnificent.

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Side note 1- Rays are identified by their unique markings (spot patterns) on their underside. They have been catalogued. And they love to do these massive rolls, so it is pretty easy to see their markings. 

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So, what transpired over the next 50 minutes was the on-going dance of rays watching the plankton amass under our board and gracefully flying in with their mouths wide open to take their fill. 

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Side note 2 – The Manta Rays come to the lights. Why? Because the lights attract the plankton and the manta rays feed on the plankton. 

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I am in awe. I continue to gasp and occasionally attempt to levitate as they are so close, they occasionally brush us.

There are two distinct memories I wish to share. 

The first was of a very large manta ray who had a damaged left cephalic fin (the fin near her mouth) and a scar on the right one. I can’t recall her name. And in my mind, she is “Lefty” (I later found that that was in fact her name). It reminded me, we are in their world and we must be mindful to stay out of their way. I understand she received her injury from a power boat.

The second moment was I recall Chris talking to another crew and saying, “Look at the stars they are amazing” and one of the guys on our board, popping his head out of the water ever so briefly saying something along the lines of, “He can’t he’s looking down.” To which we all giggled.

And all too quickly Chris told us it was time to go. I was the last one out of the water. Happy, glad and grateful.

I don’t recall the short trip back beyond a feeling of contented joy and gratitude. 

I’d done this trip the week before and only sighted one ray from a distance and Eka Canoe Adventures have a policy if you don’t see Manta Rays you can come again for free. I’m so glad I went again. 

The first trip I took an underwater camera that I had forgotten to work out how to use before hoping on the boat, and realised after talking my glasses off I would not be able to read the instructions. This trip I took my camera, but I forgot I had it strapped to my wrist as I was too engrossed in the experience and when I remembered, I took a couple of photos that I am not sure will turn out. But I got a couple of great photos from someone else. On the way back, Chris offered us hot chocolate, which I declined. I decided to soak in the hotel hot-tub and look at the sky and just be in the moment. And that, is exactly what I did.

#MantaRays #Whatareyouwaitingfor #LiveYourLife #Ilovesailing #BigBertha