March 2014 - Island Divers Hawaii

Sunday Wreck Tour Spectacular 3/30/14

March 31, 2014/in Dive Reports/by Mark Savel

It was a great morning on the waters of southeast Oahu today. There was a little bit of wind but great viz and only a couple of divers on the three tank trip. We left the dock with Dave and Sam for a couple wreck dives and a nice reef dive this morning. For the first dive we decided on drifting the Barges with a decent current. We dropped in on Baby Barge and right away had a few turtles resting on the bottom and a spotted eagle ray cruising by the wreck. As we made our way to New Barge the spotted eagle ray stayed with us for a while as we drifted over the sandy bottom to the wreck. There was another turtle resting at New Barge but not much else around. Just before we ended the dive we drifted pass the LCU but sadly didn’t have the air to see if any sharks were home.

For the Second dive we motored around Diamond Head and headed for the YO-257. The current had eased up with the tide change and the viz was pretty good. There were fish everywhere around the wreck with blue striped snapper and butterflyfish all about plus the Atlantis submarine was cruising back and forth between the wrecks. We swam over to the San Pedro to check out the fish live around that wreck before coming back to the YO to finish off the dive. We heard whale song throughout the dive but the were a little ways off.

For the final dive we came back around Diamond Head and drifted Fantasy Reef. The current wasn’t that strong and we swam a bit of the reef but the life around the area was great. There were a few big eels hiding around the area and reef fish all about. There were also a few turtles resting among the ledges and rubble. It was a great way to spend a Sunday.

Spotted Eagle Ray

New Barge

Atlantis sub passing the YO

San Pedro

Dave and Sam on YO-257

Yellow Margin Morey

Weather: 15-20kt E winds, 2-3ft swells, and partly cloudy skies
Sties:
Baby Barge-LCU drift, 80 ft viz, strong current, 85ft 30min
YO-257, 70 ft viz, mild current, 87ft 26min
Fantasy Reef, 70ft viz, mild current, 54ft 40min

Something Sinister Lurks in the Deep — March 21, 2014

March 31, 2014/in Dive Reports/by Lauren Smith

Staff: Capt. Joe, Dive Guide Pete, Boat Crew Erika

Weather Conditions: Swell: Mild, Winds: Moderate Trades

Dive Sites: The Corsair & Angler’s Reef

Dive Conditions: Visibility: Good, Current: Mild

Marine Life Observed: Green Sea Turtles, Blue Dragon Nudibrach, Yellow Margin Morray Eels, Moorish Idol, Harlequin Shrimp, Hawaiian Octopus, Leopard-Print-Evil-Cracken-Sam of the Deep…

The short ride out to the Corsair went quick as Pete deliverd his briefing. With the Sea Fox tied up the team of divers worked their way down the lines to where the WWII era wreck rests in 107′ of crystal clear seawater. We spent around 15-20 minutes exploring the incredibly well preserved wreck, now host to a myriad of sea life including Yellow Margin Morray’s, Sea Stars, an Octopus & countless other reef fishes. A nearby pod of humback whales serenaded us as we explored the plane though none came by for a visit.

Once everyone was safely back on the Sea Fox, Capt Joe navigated us back into Maunalua Bay where the divers could relax in calmer waters during their 45 minute surface interval.

Then it was back down for a drift dive at Angler’s Reef. All things were proceeding as planned as the team explored the ledge discovering octopus, Moorish Idols, Hawaiian Sergeant Major’s just to name a few. But about 10 minutes into the dive, the divers came accross something no one was expecting…

Something lurks in the deep…

No one was sure what to make of the strange creature donned in the leopard print. At first it seemed as though it was meerly curious. But it wasn’t long until the true nature of the beast was revealed and it began to attack our divers!

Fortunately our dive guide for the day, Pete, was adequately armed and defeated the treacherous beast in single underwater combat and everyone survived. He saved the divers, the day, and probably the whole world from certain destruction.

We all owe our lives to this great hero.

Harlequin Shrimp

Soomething evil looking fabulous in leopard print

The Corsair

March 21’s Divers

3/29 The Current Rips at Corsair, Sea Cave is Great!

March 30, 2014/in Dive Reports/by Kellan Bernhardt

Saturday morning: we make moves towards the Corsair because it’s a super awesome dive site, and it’s been specially requested. The mooring being taken makes a drop inevitable. Unfortunately, the currentt the site is the strongest it’s ever been. Making the downline becomes a hurculean task. I may have had difficulty holding onto it. Next up is Seacave. We sight a white tip shark! Note to self: next time bring a flashlight. Large hermit crabs have also set up shop. The rest of the dive goes by super calmly. What happened to that current?

Due to corrupted files, no media is available for this report. Sorry.

Conditions: Calm sea, medium swell, partly sunny

Dive Conditions: Strong current, high visibility, 76f, fish density:high

Sites: Corsair, Sea Cave

Staff: captain Joe, crew Kelsey, inst Kellan

Kickin’ It, Maunalua Style

March 30, 2014/in Dive Reports/by Matt Negaard

Weather seemed a little iffy as we pulled out of Hawaii Kai onto Maunalua Bay this afternoon. It was a pleasant surprise to find partly sunny skies and calm seas at both our stops this day. At Koko Craters, 10 Divers (plus 2 Instructors) hopped in to enjoy some pretty decent visibility and nice diving conditions. Cruising around the main craters, some moray eels and a few green sea turtles were spotted. And, special thanks to Jarrod for locating my dropped dive light (less than a week old). It was a short steam over to our second site, Turtle Canyons, where we toured some of the nicest coral growth in this area and came across the cutest little Honu ( Sea Turtle). We also saw some Puhi (eels), lots of Uhu (Parrot Fish), even a Leaf Scorpion Fish and two Devil Scorpion Fish. Eel species included a Zebra Moray, Viper Moray, White Mouth Moray, and a Stout Moray, pretty nice variety. Overall, it was a very pleasant afternoon with another great group of Divers. Mahalo to you all for joining our trek out on the Bay.

One of those Uhu

Headin’ down at Turtle Canyon

Who’s This Guy?

Coral Head Fly By

Staff: Captain Joe, Crew Kelsey, Instructors Matt Negaard and Mark Savel
Conditions: Wind 5 – 10, Seas 1-2 feet, Current near zero, Partly Sunny, Air Temp. 80 F
Dive Sites: Koko Craters, Turtle Canyons, Visibility 50-60 feet, Bottom Temp. 74 F
Marine Life: Green Sea Turtles, Various Moray Eels, Parrot Fish, Scorpion Fish (Leaf and Devil), Coral

Landing on a beautiful day 3/26/2014

March 29, 2014/in Dive Reports/by Maxine Markert

We departed on time on this beautiful Hawaiian day at 8:30. We went out to the Corsair, getting in the water at 9:05. We enjoyed the pleasure of the Corsair and the serenity of the site surrounded by garden eels and some beautiful horned helmets. After a 20 minute dive we did a 45 minute surface interval with whales jumping and breathing all around. Where we then made our way to Fantasy reef, entering the water at 10:30 when we did a 30 minute dive, seeing a magnificent white tip reef shark about 8 feet long. After the dive we started making our way in with high spirits about our wonderful day of diving in Maunalua bay.

Cone shell

Fantasy Reef

Descending on the Corsair

Horned Helmet

Shark in the water!

Weather conditions: 2 to 4 foot south swell, light trade winds
Dive sites: Corsair and Fantasy reef
Dive conditions: Corsair; max depth 107 ft, 20 minute dive, temp 74 f, light east current: Fantasy reef; max depth 55 ft, 30 minute dive, temp 76 f, light east current
Marine Life observed: White tip reef shark, horned helmet, and cone shell
Staff: Captain Joe, Crew: Dene, Instructors: Maxine and Larry

Hawaiian Monk Seal sighting during Scuba Diving

A Dive to Remember!

March 28, 2014/in Dive Reports, Uncategorized/by Amy Bossler

Hawaiian monk seal

Weather Conditions: Sunny with a slight breeze
Dive Sites: Skimman’s Reef and Sea Cave
Dive Conditions: 80′ visibility, slight current
Marine Life: Monk Seal, green sea turtles, white tip reef shark, dragon moray eel, trumpet shell, yellow legged hairy hermit crab, sponge crab, and various species of nudibranchs
Staff: Capt. Jo, MSDT Amy, and Eric (crew)

Aloha,
Thanks for choosing to dive with Island Divers Hawaii. We had a beautiful morning of diving. Wes, Paul, Alex, and Elena joined us for some fun in the Hawaiian waters. With the light winds and flat waters we decided to drive over to the south/east side to hit up some less commonly dove sites. Our first site was a :35 dive on Skimman’s reef (named in memory of our good IDH friend and coast guard pilot). This site is an amazing topographic dive. Lots of valleys, walls, and swim thrus. Our team saw some green sea turtles, nudibranchs, flat worms, and octopus. However, this site is by far known for its structural beauty. During our quick surface interval we watched some squid on the surface and attempted to catch some fish. After fueling up on Famous Amos and Red Vines, we headed in for dive two at Sea Cave. Today’s dive was one that will not be forgotten in the near future. We saw a white tip reef shark, yellow legged hairy hermit crab, sponge crab, various nudibranchs, multiple green sea turtles, AND a MONK SEAL and a DRAGON MORAY!!!! For those of you who don’t know, both are incredibly rare. There are currently less than 1000 monks seals left in the wild and they will very likely be extinct in our lifetimes. Anyone lucky enough to dive with one of these majestic creatures is truly blessed. Additionally, we found a dragon moray (equally rare). This was only my fourth sighting in HI waters in over seven years of diving!!! I’d like to think that our AZ friends brought us good luck today. Thanks to our four customers for diving with us and choosing IDH. We had a blast sharing the underwater world with you. Until next time, dive easy!

Aloha,
Amy and Capt. Jo

March 27, 2014- Clearfin Lizard Fish Chomps a boxfish

March 28, 2014/in Dive Reports/by Davy Eleen Vercoe

Watching the world through a camera can be frustrating. You miss things, but you also capture things beyond our wildest dreams. Today’s diving was a good example of this. Klaus and I dove with a group of divers consisting of Jack, Thyra, Brian, Diane, Glenn, Tom, Jesse, James, and Anna. We dropped on LCU to find the sharks missing and the frog fish so disguised we couldn’t see it. Later I find out that Anna came face to face with a baby frog fish and a baby shark. It seemed mother nature had her eye on someone in particular today.
Our second dive was at Spitting caves, we dropped into a bustling current that whipped us farther down the reef than I’ve ever been. Along the ride we encounter a Clearfin Lizardfish who just snagged lunch (see movie clip), a white tip reef shark with a busted jaw holed up in a cave in front of an old school turtle. I snap a couple go pro photos and proceed to record the moment. Or so I thought. The shark and turtle start to get nervous from all the attention. The turtle asks the shark to move, the shark comes out at me just enough to capture his busted jaw and enough to allow the turtle escape to the surface. The shark settles again and I look up to find a another turtle swimming over head. It was incredible!
I missed the whole thing on my Gopro, but got to see it first hand live and true. Nothing beats a great day of diving.

Safe Diving,

Davy

Crown of Thorns Star

FIsher’s Star

Davy down line

Weather: Sunny with 2ft seas
Dive Sites: LCU & Spitting Caves
Dive Conditions: 60-8-ft viz, Temp: 76F
Marine Life: Sharks and LizardFish
Staff: Captain Kendal, Davy, Klaus, Crew-Mia

Night Time is the Right Time..

March 28, 2014/in Dive Reports/by Matt Negaard

The Sea Hound left Kewalo Basin at 6pm with 11 Divers aboard, a group of fun-loving (obviously since they are divers) co-workers. We tied up at the YO-257 and headed down for our first sub-surface adventure. Exploring the many swim thrus of the wreck, we encountered lots of reef fish, a sponge crab, and some slipper lobster. Good visibility and mild current made for a really enjoyable dive. After a long, jovial surface interval, with sandwiches and refreshments provided by Jesse, the Sea Tiger was calling. Great conditions prevailed here, also. There was a large school of Unicorn Fish near the surface. On the wreck, lots of Pennant Butterflyfish, an Undulated Moray Eel, and one ginormous Green Sea Turtle were the highlights. What a wonderful way to spend a Thursday evening! Mahalo Nui Loa for coming with us on a great post work excursion, and hopefully we will see you all again soon. Thank you Captain Matt and Crew Lauren for getting us there.

Group Therapy at the YO-257

Skipper Matt

My favorite place to view a Sunset, in the water..

Staff: Captain Matt Z., Crew Lauren S., Instructor Matt N.
Divers: Greg, Mark, Donald, Kimberly, Rich, Jon, Brittany, Jessie, Ashley, Kevin, Mike
Conditions: Wind Calm, Seas Calm, Current Mild, Partly Cloudy, Air Temp. 78 F.
Dive Sites: YO-257 and Sea Tiger, both had mild current and 70 + visibility, bottom temp. 73 F.
Marine Life: Bioluminescence, Sponge Crab, Green Sea Turtle, Undulated Moray Eel, Lobster, Crown of Thorns, Pennant Butterflyfish, Unicornfish.

3.25.14 Spitting Caves: Sharks n’ Lobstah

March 26, 2014/in Dive Reports/by Lauren Smith

At 0830 Capt. Kendall and his trusty sidekick Parker (crew) lead the Sea Fox out of Koko Marina and into Maunalua Bay. With 7 divers aboard, including myself, we set our sights on LCU wreck as the first dive site of the morning. As we steamed out to the dive site, we passed a large humpback whale doing some impressive fin slapping.

After mooring at the site, the intrepid dive group entered the water and began exploring the large wreck. The LCU (landing craft utility) is a large upside-down landing craft vessel–reminiscent of D-Day–and an artifact of World War II. The impressive structure makes for an excellent dive, as it is easy to enter, provides a spacious overhead environment, and a great deal of three-dimensional space for coral growth as well as numerous refugia for cryptic critters. After a 40 minute dive, we returned to the surfaces for sugary treats and vitamin D.

After changing tanks, warming up, and doing our buddy checks, we had completed a sufficient surface interval and were ready to reenter the water. Capt Kendall then brought us to Portlock Point where we drift-dove Spitting Caves. With a moderate westerly current, he dropped us at the popular sea cliffs known as China Walls and we drifted around the point into Maunalua Bay. After Instructor Sam and Crew Parker made two additional diver checks, we lined up like lemmings and went in “paratrooper style” (negatively buoyant as to stay as one group) off the stern of the Sea Fox. Descending together, we dropped to around 45′ and began our Westward progression, drifting nearly 1 km.

It was a great dive. Although there was a good deal of surge, it added a sort of mystical haze near the surface as large schools of baitfish morphed with the surge. A total of 6 white tip reef sharks were seen in the caves, some nearly 7′! But not to fear, white tips are shy and completely harmless – we were fortunate to have seen them and so many! Unfortunate was the fact that 3 of the sharks seen were hooked with large gauge hooks, swivels, and ganions. We also saw a banded spiny lobster; this elusive critter is a rarity (although data deficient, the species is presumed endangered) so it is very fortunate Dave spotted the little guy with his keen eyes. Moreover, there were plenty of stonefish and lizardfish, morays, and several octopi. When we began to run low on air, I deployed my surface marker buoy. After completeing our safety stop, we surfaced and I signaled for Capt. Kendall to come over and scoop us up in the Sea Fox. It was a great dive shared by good divers. Thanks for reading!

sharkyshark. little white tip shark in a cave with a few larger friends just out of frame to the right

sharky – little white tip shark in a cave with a few larger friends just out of frame to the right

stonefish doing what he does best

banded spiny lobster – an elusive and rare sight

LCU (landing craft utility) wreck

Staff: Capt. Kendall, Parker (Crew), Sam (Instructor), Zach (assisting DM)

Divers: David, Paul, Jeff, Craig, Scott, Sam, and Zach

Weather Conditions: Good. Clear and Calm. Light Trade Winds. Partially cloudy. Warm (temp. high 70s – low 80s)

Dive Sites: LCU Wreck and Spitting Caves

Dive Conditions: @LCU vis. 90’+, max depth 95′, 40 min. dive time, water temp 76 f, mild westerly current; @Spitting Caves vis 50’+, max depth 50′, 42 min. dive time, water temp 76 f, mild westerly current

Marine Life Observed: white tip reef sharks, banded spiny lobster, frog fish, moray eels, turtles, octopi, lizardfish, stonefish, crown of thorns, nudibranchs, leaf scorpionfish, annnnd a humpback whale doing some impressive fin slapping.

New Divers are the Best Divers

March 26, 2014/in Uncategorized/by Kellan Bernhardt

When people talk about a thing, whatever it is, it’s very easy to gravitate to the worst experiences a person had. This is just as true with work.
“You will NOT believe what Becky did at the office today.” Or, “We had the WORST guy today. He was screaming, throwing a tantrum…” etc.
I’m here to tell you that people like to talk. It’s easy to talk about things that you didn’t like. It’s so easy to be negative.
That’s what’s so good about new divers. Teaching new people to dive is really the best part about what we do. Every time I get a new person in the ocean, I get to experience scuba diving for the first time through them. It’s a vicarious experience that has no parallel. The excitement, the satisfaction, all the hard work that pays off finally in certification, it’s really great. So thank you, all you new divers. You make it a pleasure to be around. Seeing people on their best days… there’s nothing else that comes close.
Congratulations: Sheila and John McClellan, Sydney Scarrow, Haley Hanna, and Eric Wisnom

Max with Fred, the Turtle

Robert Swain Getting Intimate With a Statue

Departure!

John, Sheila and Haley finishing up the paperwork for Open Water Diver with Kellan