Archive for month: April, 2014

On this pleasant Hawaiian morning, we took off with high spirits and many thoughts about where to dive. We had some requests for the Corsair but with one jumping on just out of her open water class I did not feel that we needed to go to the deepest wreck that we have in this bay. So we decided on the LCU, Landing craft utility and enjoyed a blissful 30 minutes dive with some of the most laid back and self contained divers that I have ever had the pleasure of diving with. After we started to ascend we saw a Hawks bill sea turtle down on the LCU, wishing that he was there only 5 minutes earlier. After we had a 45 minute surface interval. We jumped in for a drift dive at Fantasy Reef, absolutely incredible visibility with a mass amount of green sea turtles. Drifting along the Fantasy we also came across a  cavern with a Giant Hawks bill sea turtle and an equally giant Yellow moray eel, and a cleaner shrimp the size of my middle finger! They were all blissfully hiding in their cave having a quaint little get together. After a 45 minute dive we had drifted all the way to Larry’s Ledge and began our ascent.  I want to thank Harun for being so flexible and taking a lovely morning ride with me to Hawaii Kai, you are always welcome on my charters with your cheery attitude and need to dive. Another thanks to Justine and Sarah for coming last minute and making my day completely worth it, it is nice to see two awesome chicks showing the world how talented you both are, you rocked it today. Thank you to Caleb for coming back out with us for day two you made my day easy with your low maintenance and your stamina thank you for coming back to join in the fun again. And lastly thank you to Robert for coming out and having a very upbeat tempo and making me laugh all day long, you were a treat to have on the boat. Thanks to all of you my day was incredibly simple and quite enjoyable I can not wait to dive with you all again very soon and I hope you all had as much fun as I did. Mahalo!

Weather conditions: 2 to 4 foot south swell, Kona winds
Dive sites: LCU and Fantasy Reef
Dive conditions: LCUs; max depth 90 ft, 30 minute dive, temp 74 f, light inward current: Fantasy Reefs; max depth 62 ft, 45 minute dive, temp 76 f, light east current
Marine Life observed: Green Sea turtles, Yellow moray eel, cleaner shrimp, Barracuda, Horned helmet and Cushion star fish
Staff: Captain Joe, Crew: Dene, Instructors: Maxine

Monday – The crew geared up and left the dock on the AM Fox.  On board were Chris, Caleb, and Rianne, plus a few guests from Sunshine Scuba.   Making our way to Kahala Barge, the current was just light enough that we were able to tie up. In reality the current was moving so heavily, I had to turn down my reg to keep it from freeflowing. Using the downline was definitely a crucial step.  We did some awesome swim throughs, and generally tried to stay to the lee of the wreck.  From there we went over to spitting caves and drifted along, ending up with an impromptu cleanup session.  It turns out that fishing from the shore there is incredibly wasteful.   Thanks all for making it a fun trip, and remember to stay safe out there.

Weather Conditions: Clear, Sunny, Medium swell
Dive Sites: Kahala Barge, Spitting Caves
Conditions: 90ft/45ft, 25min/40min, 78F water, Strong Strong Koko current/No current
Marine Life Observed: Turtles! Fish! Eels!
Staff: Capt Joe,  Crew: Maximum,  Instructor: Kellan

On this rainy and laid back Sunday morning we were in debate on where to dive. After long thought we decided on Kahala Barge or Big Barge. After jumping in for the line and seeing the current was too strong I decided that we should drift the barges. Courtesy of Captain Joe we were dropped right on the shark cave of the Baby Barge and saw a 5 foot eagle ray. Starting our dive off on a good foot, we then proceeded to the baby barge and spotted a baby turtle with a little help from Max. After we went down the reef ledge for a bit, we arrived at the New Barge. After about 35 minutes we ended our dive with some of our advanced student Yvette and Mike practicing their surface marker buoy deployment. On the surface interval we enjoyed the magnificent view of Diamond Head. Some of people not feeling so hot but diving anyways, way to be troopers guys you all dove with grace and I applaud your resiliency! We tied up at the YO-257 with one of the new Dive Master candidates Steve learning the lines, once we were tied up we descended down and spotting  a white tip reef shark off the port side of the YO- 257 incredible! He circled the wreck 3 times before leaving and going west. After enjoying the shark we swam over to the San Pedro off of the port side of the YO-257 and saw a pack of 3 giant green sea turtles. Truly spectacular, once back at the YO-257 we saw one of the biggest puffer fish I personally have ever seen, as well as a free swimming yellow margin moray. Once we had completed a 30  minute dive including our 3 minute safety stop we were greeted by crew mate Lauren and Captain Joe with chips and sandwiches. On our trip back around Diamond Head Captain Joe caught a Mahi Mahi. We made it over to Spitting  Caves after taking a quick breather in the bay. We did a 40 minute dive enjoying the viper moray getting his teeth cleaned by a cleaner shrimp. All in all we had a solid group of divers today. Thank you to Greg Long for taking all the featured photos I only used one selfie because it was perfect. Thanks to Instructor Callie and her Dive Master Candidates Steve and Juan you guys helped out a bunch today I look forward to seeing you guys on the boats more often. Another thanks to Cody and Carlos for coming out today and teaching Yvette and Mike during their Advanced open water course, you guys did an excellent job today. Thanks to Michael and Brandon for coming out again and again with us always down to dive anywhere. Ling thank you for coming diving today I’m extremely impressed with your diving talent and you were as well a pleasure to have on the boat today. And Last but certainly not least Dan thank you for being so punctual and being so self sufficient all day long, a neighbor is always welcome to me. I hope you all choose to come back and dive with Island Divers Hawaii again, and I look forward to your return! Mahalo.

Weather Conditions: Light showers with hints of sunshine, with 20 knot SE winds, and 4 to 6 foot seas
Dive Sites: Baby Barge to New Barge, YO-257, Spitting Caves
Dive Conditions: Baby Barge to New Barge; max depth 98 ft, 30 minute, water temp 75 f, slight east current. YO-257; max depth 90 ft,  30 minutes, water temp 76 f, east current.Spitting Caves; max depth 62 ft,  40 minutes, water temp 75 f, west current
Marine life observed: , Yellow margin moray, white tip reef shark, spotted eagle ray, puffer fish, and green sea turtles.
Staff: Captain Joe, Crew: Lauren, Instructor: Maxine, Cody, Callie Assistant Instructors; Carlos and Dive Master Candidates; Juan and Steve

The conditions were looking great for the afternoon dive on the Sea Fox. With two students, Sarah and Donovan, and a handful of certified divers, we were bound to have an awesome day out on the water. After a short briefing from Captain Joe, we were on our way to the open water so that our students and divers could have some time to play underwater.

At our first site, Koko Crater, divers got to experience awesome conditions with great visibility! Laura, Robert and Vanessa (our certified divers) got to spend some time with some really friendly turtles.  Lead by divemaster Dave, this group of divers got an up close experience with one of Hawaii’s most beloved sea creatures.

Students Sarah and Donovan completed their skills with flying colors. They had a chance to experience some of the wonders of the underwater world for the very first time. I think that they were quite impressed with some of the local marine life!

Back on the boat, our divers got a bit of a break and enjoyed the nice weather before hopping in at our second dive site.

At our second dive site, both students and certified divers dove as one to enjoy the clear waters at Pa’a’awa. Teeming with marine life, divers descended on a rather busy reef filled with all different kinds of fish.

Students and certified divers were forced to split so that the students could complete the remaining skills. There was no doubt that both Sarah and Donovan would able to complete the remaining skills with ease, and they proved me right!

Needless to say, PADI can now welcome its newest certified diver! Congratulations Donovan!

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Conditions: Slight overcast with a breeze.

Visibility: 70-80′+

Dive Sites: Koko Crater & Pa’a’awa

Dive Conditions: Koko Crater 80+ vis, max depth 39′, 32min dive time, water temp 75f; Pa’a’awa 70+ vis, max depth 40′, 28min dive time, water temp 75f

Marine life observed: trumpet fish, green turtles, wrasse, butterfly fish, eels, pufferfish

Staff: Capt Joe, Instructor Marnie, Divemaster Dave, Divemaster Candidate George, Crew Maxine