April 2014 - Page 3 of 6 - Island Divers Hawaii

Training Day, Turtle Style 4/19

April 19, 2014/in Dive Reports/by Mark Savel

This afternoon was a nice time to be on the water off the southeast side of Oahu. We had a group of divers working on the first ocean day of their PADI open water certification, as well as Lionel working on is advanced certification, and a handful of certified divers. We dove Koko Craters for the first site and had great viz as we got underwater. Right away on the bottom were a couple turtles and reef fish swimming about. We found a few more turtles resting on the bottom around the area before it was time to surface.

For the second dive we hit Turtle Canyons and again had a great dive. There were fish all about the reef with moorish idols, wrasses, and butterflyfish all about. There was also a large white mouth morey sitting at the mooring and a couple small one hiding around the area. It was a nice dive and great job to all the students on their first day of diving.

group shot 4/19

multiband goatfish

white mouth morey

HERE THERE BE DRAGONS !! april 18

April 18, 2014/in Dive Reports/by Larry Hogan

Yes, lots of dragons today. the photo above is a blue dragon nudibranch, quite an amazing looking creature! the curly growths on its back extract oxygen from the ocean and supply it to the nudibranch. Nudibranch is a latin word which means ‘naked lung.’ Which refers to those growths which function as exterior lungs! They come in a huge variety of incredible colors and shapes, but the blue dragon is my favorite! Other dragon relatives we saw today, were two that flew gracefully over us – two spotted eagle rays! while we visited the empty shark cave at Baby Barge I peered in and saw nothing, and was a bit disappointed. But then i saw Kathy pointing over my head, looked up right above me, and saw them. just beautiful to see! thanks Kathy! and thanks for bringing pat along too! also out were Matt, Greg and Erin, and Mike. 2nd jump was a drift of Fantasy Reef, and the current was perfect for a leisurely drift! We saw even more dragons there, several large and small varieties of moray eels! no wings, but some dragon teeth in those guys! also turtles and octopus!! thanks to all, on the boat Joe and Erica, and to all our divers today for good diving practices! Larry

4/17 Apparently “Thirsty Thursday” Means “Submerge Yourself In Saltwater”

April 18, 2014/in Dive Reports/by Kellan Bernhardt

Thursday – Onboard we have Sophie, a Lovely lady from Scandinavia who is also one of our AOW divers; Richard and Rachel, two OW students just finishing up certification; Tom and Autumn, Tom getting his Fish ID Specialty and Autumn a snorkeling expert; Chris, from LA is an awesome guy and is here on impromptu vacation; Warren and Amy, two newlyweds from Canada, stopping with us for a bit of diving refreshment before honeymooning in Indonesia; and Christos and Tatjana, two super DSD’s that were totally fish in their past lives (or dolphins if you don’t like fish). This was a very diverse boat.
We jumped in at Pa’ava for Christos and Tatjana’s first dive ever, and did some skills for the OW students. There were tons of fish for Tom to check out/catalogue, and I debated whether to stick my arm into a hole with a mooray in it to get some diving lead someone left behind. (The answer was no.) We moved over to Turtle Canyon to do some more diving and some CESA’s (Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascents), and everyone got in a super long dive in 25 ft of water. Congratulations all you students of diving, and remember: stay safe.

We Do Compass Nav While a Sea Chicken Stalks

Sophie Found a Heart Urchin

Beware the Distorted Man

Chris and Warren Swim

Weather conditions: Calm, No swell, Light trade winds, Partly sunny.
Dive sites: Pa’awa, Turtle Canyon
Dive conditions: Pa’awa: Medium current, 50ft, 78F; Turtles: Light Southerly current, 35ft, 78F
Marine Life observed: Eels, Pacific Octopus, Green Sea Turtle
Staff: Captain Kendall; Crew: Mia and Chris; Instructors: Kellan, Tj

April 17- The hungry diver mind

April 17, 2014/in Dive Reports/by Davy Eleen Vercoe

Island Divers Hawaii had some fun in Oahu waters today! If only there was seafood pasta, then it would have been perfect. Those random hunger cravings you have on scuba should be studied. Dropping down 60ft to the top of baby barge we found it impossible to hit the shark cave so we struck around baby barge exploring it’s nooks and crannies. We spotted a couple of green sea turtles, Kevin flew right over one. On our second dive my buddies and I moshed around a bit as if we descended into a rock show. No one was hurt, and in fact, Rill and I had the pleasure of spotting a teeny tiny Kahuna Nudibranch. We’re going on a nudibranch hunt! Wanna come?

Safe Diving,

Davy

Mr. Turtle

Beautiful diver

Kahuna Nudibranch

Kevin flies over Mr. Turtle

Kevin & Jon

Weather Conditions: Windy and Sunny
Diving Conditions: Strong current, 60ft viz, 79F
Dive Sites: Baby Barge 82ft max 43min & Turtle Canyon 35Ft max 54min
Marine Life Observed: Kahuna Nudibranch & Green Sea Turtle
Staff: Captain Kendal, Captain John, Davy, Bodhi, Chris, Mia- Thanks for all your work guys

Extreme diving! 4/16

April 16, 2014/in Dive Reports/by Maxine Markert

On this wonderful Hawaiian morning, we had the pleasure of the Corsair. We jumped in the water around 9 am exactly taking our day off to a strong start. We descended on the Corsair enjoying the 100+ visibility. After about 12 minutes on the bottom I spotted a crocodile snake eel! Extraordinaire just buried in the sand doing his thing. We had an marvelous surface interval in the calm waters protected by Koko Head. Where for the second site we had the beauty of Anglers. The truly epic instructor Kellen Bernhardt found us a playful little taco, he was very curious and really into Kellen, whom it so happened was having a birthday. Happy Birthday Kellen I hope your life continues to be epic! Thank you to all our lovely divers today, special thanks to Dane Hogue for all the incredible pictures. Also another thanks to Warren and Amy for the picture of the snake eel and coming diving with us multiple days you guys were a treat to have on the boat and we look forward to seeing you both tomorrow! Del, I’m stoked you were able to touch the friendly octopus today I hope that you come back again soon and dive with me! And Let us not forget Geoff you were full of cheering smiles all day even underwater I caught you with a big grin, I hope I affected your life today as you did mine. Your cheery spirits made me in a better mood. All in all the group on the boat today was full of excellent people. David Sanchez and Chris did an outstanding job with their dive master training by providing excellent service to all the customers today and to their teacher David, the ever happy instructor teaching his avid students. Thank you all once again for diving with Maxine (me) today, You all were an absolute pleasure and I can’t wait to see you all again really soon.

The whole crew getting ready! Corsair

Crew Dene cheesing for the camera

Captain Joe and Lead Instructor Maxine

Dive briefings all around

Warren and Amy enjoying the sun and the salt

Three stogies, Kellen, Maxine, David

Dane and Maxine post dive!

Weather conditions: 4 to 5 ft swell and 20 to 25 knot winds
Dive sites: Corsair and Anglers
Dive conditions: Corsairs; max depth 107 ft, 25 minute dive, temp 74 f, east current: Anglers; max depth 40 ft, 45 minute dive, temp 76 f, east current
Marine Life observed: Crocodile snake eel, horned helmet conch, and octopus
Staff: Captain Joe, Crew: Dene, Instructors: Maxine and Kellen (Happy Birthday Boy) and David Dive Masters in training: David and Chris

Koko Craters, Turtle Canyons, and a Sea Turtle – April 16

April 16, 2014/in Dive Reports/by Lauren Smith

Welcome back ladies and gentlemen to a new installment of Pete’s Dive Adventures and Rare Sea Creatures. This week our divers went to two dive sites on the afternoon fox, Koko Craters and Turtle Canyons.

This week joining us we had Cody and his dad Robert Sharen, both from upstate Washington doing their first Discover Scuba Diving experience! Great job guys! We also had Rachel Gardener doing her 1st and 2nd open water dives of her open water course. She lives here on the island and flies Blackhawk helicopters for the Army. Also, there was Jon Horn from my home state of Louisiana, be sure to tell Louisiana I said hello man! Last and certainly not least an awesome Aussie couple Chris and Joanne from Bundaberg. Great dives guys!

First dive site was Turtle Canyons and second was Koko Craters where we encountered a very strange sea turtle!

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to tune in next time for another edition of Pete’s Dive Adventures and Rare Sea Creatures.

Special thanks to Bryce Bertoli for his help with the turtle!

Jo and Chris

Feeding the fish with Robert Cody and Rachel

Strange Sea Turtle

Staff:

Captain: Kendal
Dive Guide: Pete

Weather Conditions:

Weather: Mostly Sunny
Swell: Mild
Winds: Moderate-High E Trade Winds

Dive Sites:

Koko Craters
Turtle Canyons AKA Mermaid’s Reef

Dive Conditions:

Visibility:Excellent
Current: Moderate Koko Head

Marine Life Observed:

Humuhumunukunukuapua`a
Cushion Sea Stars
Blue Dragon Nudibrach
Yellow Margin Morray
White Spotted Eagle Ray
Snowflake Morray
Moorish Idol
Day Octopus
Rare Hawaiian Sea Turtle..

SHARKS AND TURTLES! april 14

April 15, 2014/in Dive Reports/by Larry Hogan

sunny blue skies greeting us this morning as we motored out to Baby Barge, a great spot for turtles and sharks, as well as eels and octopus! strong winds created some surface swell, but tying up to the mooring was no problem. Kevin and his dad Dave were out diving with me today, as well as ER doc Michael, and his son michael, plus Mike, who was working on his Advanced training. And out for fun were Chris, Greg, Hollis, and helping me out was DMC David. At Baby Barge we saw 5 or 6 large green hawaiin sea turtles, and it was a bit unusual today as quite often they are napping in their favorite spots. But today, after seeing several doing just that, three other large turtles appeared swimming out of the blue, and continued right up to and through our little group! a real treat to see these marvelous creatures appear and swim right over or around you! we also saw a nice whitetip shark there, as well as several large eels. 2nd jump was a drift of Anglers Ledge, which was very mellow,relaxing, and fun! lots of reef fish, more large eels, helmet conchs, plus 2 large octopus. after a perfect drop by captain joe, we drifted for 40 minutes and had a great dive! Thanks to max, our onboard crew today, and to all for good diving practices! Larry

The events of 4/13 – A Tale of Greatness

April 14, 2014/in Dive Reports/by Kendal Vercoe

The day began as many days begin, a group of strangers boarding a craft, assembling their equipment, making introductions, listening to safety briefings. What this group of thrill seekers didn’t know was that they were bound for Glory. Yes, the kind of experience that sends one away a different man (or woman), one who wears animal skins and tells long stories about things of great interest by the light of a fire, one who faces the elements, a rider on the storm, one whose tail a tiger dare not hold, one who has looked into the abyss and seen that it is good.

Such is the story of Alicia, Robert, Chris, Todd, Pat, Karl, Hag, and Max as they embarked on their Island Divers Hawaii adventure with their guide, Lord Kendal (yes, I am a Lord, ask to see my credentials). The Sea Fox, as masterfully handled by Capt Joe and his trusty sidekick, Lauren-no-pants, braved the 25 kt winds as we careened headlong towards the wrecks of Southern Oahu this fine Sunday. After a fairly long conversation which pushed the limits of the commonly known “briefing” provided by yours truly, we descended 94 ft onto Kahala Barge for some wreckage and penetration. The wide open swim throughs of Kahala make for excellent photo opportunities and some excellent nudibranchs, eels, and octopus were spotted across the decks.

Diving next on the famed LCU, the hulking structure was enjoyed by all as we found vast schools of goatfish, and still further nudibranch action. Remaining on the wreck until our decompression limits began to nag our fearless band of aquatic daredevils, we ascended once more to find delicious sandwiches and hot tea for all. The rain failed to dampen spirits as we stomped around the vessel off gassing for one final plunge. As the shadow of spitting caves loomed nearer, holding promise of a Great and Glorious Encore.

Greatness and Glory were achieved as we swam amongst the myriad of Giant Green Sea Turtles, Whitetip Reef Sharks, and 6 dour-faced Frogfish. We found warring Sponge Crabs, Whitemouth Morays, a shy Dragon Moray (whose presence was overlooked due to the arrival of the slack-jawed Whitetip seen in the video below), Flatworms and even some Spotted Eagle rays came for a pass. After the fruits were enjoyed, we were retrieved by our trusted Skipper and carried forthwith towards Hawaii Kai Marina. Wiping the debris of excellence from our faces with hot minty towels provided by Lauren-no-pants (thanks Lauren) we prepared ourselves for the parade that surely awaited our arrival at the dock.

Sacrifices were made, the celebration commenced, and a heroes welcome was had by all. Enjoy the photos below.

Until next time, stay classy Hawaii

Kendal

Conditions: 25 kt east winds, seas 4-8 ft

Diving conditions: Light currents, 75f, 50-80ft visibility

Sites: Kahala Barge, LCU, Spitting Cave

Crew: Capt Joe, Lauren, Kendal, Karl, Max

Divers: Alicia, Robert, Todd, Pat, Chris, Thomas

Hawaii SCUBA University Technical Diving Program – Closed Circuit Rebreather Training in Oahu Hawaii

April 14, 2014/in Diving Courses, Technical Diving/by Lauren Smith

Hawaii SCUBA University Technical Diving Program

(Closed Circuit Rebreather Training)

Aloha and welcome to the Hawaii SCUBA University(HSU) Technical Diving Program. This post is designed to give you a basic understanding of what and how a Closed Circuit Rebreather (CCR) works.

All CCR units have two main jobs. They recycle the breathing gas by effectively removing Co2 (Carbon Dioxide) out of the Breathing Loop, and replace the metabolized oxygen needed to sustain life.

The Co2 absorbent is one of the key ingredients that allow Rebreathers to work. Without Co2 absorbent (Sofnolime, Sodasorb, Extend Air) the Co2 that is produced as a waste product would be recirculated and re-consumed, creating toxic levels of CO2. The proper rotation of absorbent as well as staying inside manufacturer limits for absorbent duration is paramount to survival.

There are 3 different types of Closed Circuit Rebreathers on the market in regards to how the oxygen is injected and controlled in the Rebreather.

Electronically controlled CCR’s have electronics built into the unit that measure the oxygen content in the breathing loop via oxygen sensors and will inject oxygen via a solenoid valve into the loop based on setpoint values programed into the controller.

Manually controlled CCR’s have some electronics located in the Po2 readout located either in the handset or within the HUD(Heads Up Display). The replenishment of O2 however is done with the aid of a constant mass flow injector controlled mechanically by the operator with a manual injection block in order to maintain the Po2 at the operator programed setpoint.

The third type of rebreather is a hybrid. This hybrid type of rebreather can be used in either manual or electronic mode. The rEvo CCR that is used as the primary training rebreather at HSU’s Technical Diving Program is a Hybrid CCR. With the rEvo the operator has options. You as the operator are able to choose between Manual Operation or Electronic Operation

Our recommendation to divers seeking rebreather training is to select an instructor having several hundred hours of rebreather dives. Other important aspects of choosing an instructor are what type of training the instructor has received and what type of support the instructor can offer after certification.

I have over 20 years of professional diving experience. I currently work with both commercial and recreational applications of diving. The equipment I choose is based on the mission of the dive. I have been trained by some of the best instructors in the industry. Paul Raymaekers (owner and designer of rEvo) and Jason Fisch (Ocean Edge Outfitters) have been my primary mentors during my rebreather training. I am fully endorsed by the manufacturer of rEvo CCR’s and the North American Distributor for rEvo CCR’s. I am personally certified on multiple units but fly and instruct exclusively on the rEVo CCR.

More importantly you are not alone after certification. We have a strong and growing community of CCR divers who are always willing to log some bottom time. If you are interested in finding out more about this amazing diving technology please contact:

Kevin Marks

Director of Training

Hawaii SCUBA University/Island Divers Hawaii

808-620-8402 kevin@islanddivershawaii.com

April 13, 2014 – Remarkable Russ’s Scuba Diving

April 14, 2014/in Dive Reports/by Davy Eleen Vercoe

Another windy day in glorious Maunalua Bay, Oahu. Russ’s exclusive group of divers loaded up the Sea Hound for some underwater exploration. After fresh takes on the giant stride entry, cautious swimming along side the rolling Hound, and finally descending with ease onto Turtle Canyons Reef we began our dive. Turtle Canyons is one of my favorite shallow reefs on Oahu due to the wide, long plateaus of colorful coral and fish. The plateaus are followed by a sandy bottom valley filled with nooks, crannies, and crevices. To my surprise we founds numerous different species of Nudibranchs including Gold Lace, Red-Spotted, White-Margin, and Imperial, another reason Turtle Canyons is one of my favorite reef dives.
On our second reef dive at Koko Craters, it was thrilling to find a pair of Harlequin Shrimp since they can be tough to find. Harlequin Shrimp have creamy colored bodies with large purplish spots and banded legs. They look like they belong at the circus but are considered lethal by many starfish when the shrimp flip them over and eat them alive over a span. Luckily, they’re only about two inches tall.

Safe diving,

Davy

Harlequin Shrimp

Gold Lace Nudibranch

Red-Spotted Nudibranch

White-Margin Nudibranch

Imperial Nudibranch

Weather: Rainy, Sunny, and Windy
Dive Sites: Turtle Canyon and Koko Craters
Dive Conditions: 60 ft viz, temp. 75 F
Marine Life Observed: Harlequin Shrimp
Staff: Captain John, Russ, Davy, Bodhi