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The rare underwater phenomenon found in Hawaii’s waters

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The rare underwater phenomenon found in Hawaii’s waters


Right off the coast of Lanai, the First Cathedral site takes divers to a large lava tube where sunlight beams down through tiny openings in the cave.

Kristin Belew

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The caves that exist in the Hawaiian Islands don’t stop at the surface. Underwater, there are lava tubes, or caves that formed when magma flowed beneath the surface of the earth. Some of these sites have turned into a playground for scuba divers, with tunnels, chambers and arches. 

A few of them, such as two dive sites off the island of Lanai, feature a rare phenomenon. A dive down into the large underwater lava tubes known as First Cathedral and Second Cathedral sees rays of sunlight streaming through holes, resulting in a lighting effect reminiscent of a cathedral.

“Lava tubes are not rare. Finding a lava tube underwater that is within scuba diving depths that has the ceiling broken out in a couple places to create windows for sunlight to come in, there just aren’t that many that are known of in Hawaii,” Chip Fletcher, interim dean for the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology at the University of Hawaii, told SFGATE.

First Cathedral is about 100 feet tall and features a central rock that divers have come to call the “altar.” 

First Cathedral is about 100 feet tall and features a central rock that divers have come to call the “altar.” 

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Kristin Belew

Fletcher has been on both Cathedral dives and says he knows of just two others like them on Oahu.

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First Cathedral is a five-minute boat ride from Manele Bay, near Puu Pehe (aka Sweetheart Rock), and at a depth of 55 to 70 feet. Kristin Belew, a scuba instructor for Lanai Ocean Sports, estimates First Cathedral to be very large, at about 100 feet long, 70 feet wide and 20 feet tall.

“It is more like one big chamber or room,” Belew told SFGATE. “You enter through this really beautiful archway. When you’re inside, the back wall has lots of little holes, and the light comes through these holes, giving it a stained-glass effect.”

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Belew moved to Lanai in 2011 but got certified to scuba when she was 14 years old in 1994. She’s racked up over 1,000 dives at each Cathedral site. “The diving off of Lanai is some of the best diving in the state,” Belew says. “We’ve got really clear water, really healthy reefs and not very many people, too.”

Menpachi are seen swimming together at the First Cathedral dive site off the island of Lanai. 

Menpachi are seen swimming together at the First Cathedral dive site off the island of Lanai. 

Kristin Belew

At the center of First Cathedral is a large rock that has been nicknamed the “altar.” Depending on the time of day, light shines on this rock from the ceiling, illuminating it and the surrounding area. Belew says weddings do happen here, though not very often. Proposals are easier. Kneeling is possible, and the person proposing can use underwater slates for messaging.

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When surf breaks over the rocks above, divers shoot out of the lava tube to exit the dive. “It generally gives you a little burst of speed as you pass through the smaller exit hole,” Belew says of what divers call the “shotgun.”

Second Cathedral is also at a depth of around 55 to 65 feet, and its lava cave is massive, at 80 feet in diameter. This dive site is farther down the southern Lanai coastline, closer to Kaunolu.

Belew describes it as a “big Swiss cheese” because there are about seven different ways to enter and exit. A rare black coral hangs from the ceiling, which divers refer to as the “chandelier.” 

Scuba divers swim at the large Second Cathedral dive site off the coast of Lanai. 

Scuba divers swim at the large Second Cathedral dive site off the coast of Lanai. 

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Kristin Belew

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Nocturnal fish are often found inside this lava tube, while the exterior is home to a large school of bluestripe snappers that swim together in a ball. “I think it’s really awesome to be down there,” Belew says. “You’re never going to see the same exact fish or eels. Sometimes we see an octopus now and then, a reef shark or a turtle. It’s always different.”

From a scientific point of view, Fletcher doesn’t believe these lava tubes were formed by lava falling into the ocean but rather that they were formed at a time it was on dry land. “Lava tubes that are underwater like this had to form when sea level was lower, and since they form from lava flows, they require that the volcano be active at the time,” Fletcher says. That means they’re very old.

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Scuba divers at an opening in Second Cathedral off the coast of Lanai. 

Scuba divers at an opening in Second Cathedral off the coast of Lanai. 

Kristin Belew

The Cathedral lava tubes were created by the Lanai volcano. “The lavas are between 1.3 and 1 million years old,” Scott Rowland, undergraduate chair and specialist for the Department of Earth Science at the University of Hawaii, told SFGATE in an email. The island was created by the one volcano, with Lanaihale being the highest point. 

For Belew, even after diving into the Cathedral sites many times, she says it never gets old. “To me, they’re absolutely gorgeous,” she says. “It’s always a different experience.”

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Hawaii

Hawaii Adopts Fines For Excise, Rental Tax Reporting Failures – Law360 Tax Authority

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Hawaii Adopts Fines For Excise, Rental Tax Reporting Failures – Law360 Tax Authority


By Zak Kostro · June 25, 2024, 6:57 PM EDT

Hawaii will impose fines for failures to comply with the reporting requirements of the state’s general excise tax and transient accommodations tax laws as part of a bill signed by the…

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California mother is arrested for confronting drag queens at Hawaii hotel over ‘inappropriate’ Pride show

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California mother is arrested for confronting drag queens at Hawaii hotel over ‘inappropriate’ Pride show


A University of California Davis employee was briefly detained after she was seen aggressively confronting drag performers at a resort in Hawaii.

Beth Bourne, a program director at UC Davis’ Institute of Transportation Studies, was filmed raging at drag queens after she spotted them at the Alohilani Resort in Waikīkī, where they were to perform for a pride event.

Bourne, who is a leader for the conservative group Moms for Liberty, became enraged after she spotted the drag queens in the lobby, and accused the hotel of failing to provide a safe environment for her son.

Beth Bourne, a program director at UC Davis’ Institute of Transportation Studies, was filmed raging at drag queens after she spotted them at the Alohilani Resort in Waikīkī

‘I’m sorry but I paid to be a customer at a hotel where I thought you believe that women were for real,’ the activist yelled as she held her phone up to record the drag queens.

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‘Because you put on make-up, you’re wearing high heels, you have a Barbie outfit on – you don’t think this is degrading.

She added: ‘This is misogyny… if you give me back my money right now, I will leave the hotel, but I’m not going to have my children come down from the 30th floor and see what’s happening here.’

Bourne then asked the performers their names, saying she wants to know who they are as a hotel employee attempts to escort her away.

‘Are you a man?’ she asked one of them. ‘What do you think about my son who might think that he can put on make-up and fancy clothing and high heels and have his penis cut off and take estrogen so he can grow fake boobs?’ 

One of the performers, who goes by Marina Del Rey, shared video of the incident on social media, saying Bourne attacked his group.

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One of the performers, who goes by Marina Del Rey, shared video of the incident on social media, saying Bourne attacked his group

One of the performers, who goes by Marina Del Rey, shared video of the incident on social media, saying Bourne attacked his group

He said on Instagram: ‘There was prior dialog from her ahead of what I filmed and ultimately she was taken off the property by the police.

‘I would like to say a huge THANK U to the resort for your care and concerns during and after, to all of us…. those within witness – guest or staff – many extended compassion of which I’m very very grateful…

‘We are all okay. A little shook & saddened but grateful to the people we were in the company of and everyone who reached out. and still keeping faith in humanity.’

Marina Del Rey explained the group was in the lobby to film a video that saw them playing roles as hotel staff.

‘This woman saw us filming and came to a slow burn and then she popped off. Her rant went on and on – possibly with the attempt to get a riled angered response,’ the performer added.

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Bourne became an anti-trans activist following the rupture of her relationship with her nonbinary eldest of two child

Bourne became an anti-trans activist following the rupture of her relationship with her nonbinary eldest of two child

DailyMail.com has reached out to UC Davis and the Alohilani Resort for comment on this story.

Many social media users have demanded that Bourne be fired from UC Davis following her recorded actions.

Elaine Vinton said on Facebook: ‘To all of my CA friends, I am urging you to contact UC Davis Human Resources, and lodge a complaint for their employment of Beth Bourne, the chairwoman of Moms For Liberty, Davis CA. 

‘She is harassing students and staff, quoting UC Davis’s practice of cutting of the penises of male children, among other practices. She is an unhinged bigot threatening the LGBTQ+ Community. Please make a call!’

Bourne is a controversial figure and claims without evidence on her social media accounts that ‘1/22 kids is trans’ at UC Davis.

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Responding to the video on X, Bourne wrote: ‘I am not okay with children being exposed to drag queens. 

The performers were at the hotel to participate in a brunch for Pride month

The performers were at the hotel to participate in a brunch for Pride month

‘Several other Alohilani hotel guests told me they also found it offensive so I spoke up to the manager yesterday. I was briefly detained by police, refunded my hotel charges, and have no regrets for speaking up. 

‘If we can be heard, this will end.’

Bourne became an anti-trans activist following the rupture of her relationship with her nonbinary eldest of two child.

Lily, 18, came out as nonbinary five years ago, moving out of Bourne’s home in their junior year of high school after clashes over their gender identity, as reported by The Sacramento Bee. 

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'Pirates Of The Caribbean' actor killed in Hawaii shark attack

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'Pirates Of The Caribbean' actor killed in Hawaii shark attack


A Hawaiian surfer who also acted on TV and in movies including Johnny Depp’s Pirates Of The Caribbean has died in a shark attack, authorities said.

Tamayo Perry, 49, died on Sunday at Malaekahana Beach on Oahu, moments after the encounter.

Perry played a buccaneer in the fourth installment of the popular swashbuckling franchise, Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

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He also appeared in the re-boot of Hawaii Five-O and in cult TV series Lost, which was largely filmed on the US archipelago, as well as in the 2002 surf movie Blue Crush.

In addition to his big and small screen appearances, Perry was a lifeguard and professional surfer who was well known in the local community.

In this undated image released by Christa Funk, shows well-known Hawaii lifeguard Tamayo Perry pipeline surfing. Photo: AP

Honolulu acting Ocean Safety chief Kurt Lager said as a lifeguard, Perry was “loved by all” on Oahu’s north shore.

“Tamayo’s personality was infectious, and as much as people loved him, he loved everyone else more,” he said.

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Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi told a press conference on Sunday that Perry’s death was “tragic.”

“Tamayo was a legendary waterman and highly respected. (He) grew up right over here, and just a great member of our ocean safety team.” – AFP



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