Archive for month: May, 2014

how often do you get to see a !SUBMARINE! when you go diving? NEVER!,  is the answer almost every diver will give, no matter how experienced or traveled, they are.  But here on Oahu, we at Island Divers get to see one at least once a week!  And it is a fantastic experience!!  The wreck of the YO 257 is on the route of the tourist submarine off Waikiki, and while on that dive the sub captain will stop and give the tourist and the divers the chance to wave hello to each other, and maybe shoot a few photos! the wreck itself is also spectacular, rated one of the top wrecks to visit in the world!  schools of bannerfish and barracuda often surround the wreck.  while loads of reef fish – big eyes, hawkfish, butterfly fish, tangs etc are all over the nooks and crannies of the wreck.  not to speak of sharks, rays, and turtles.  just a great dive, with viz up to 150 feet, and the deck only 75 feet deep, and the wheel house even shallower.  definitely a must see if you dive hawaii!  Our first dive was another world beater dive site, the Corsair airplane, sitting in sand and surrounded by garden eels, at 107 feet.  good viz and mild current gave us a great dive, and with two huge morays in the cockpit, not a good day for a photo while sitting in there!  our 3rd dive (every sunday we do a 3 tanker) was a drift of Fish Garden, with captain joe letting us drift in the opposite direction we usually do.  i loved it!  viz was a bit green, but we saw 1000’s of fish and several huge turtles!  thanks to all for good diving!  larry, flora, and captain joe

It was a wonderful Saturday morning for diving on the southeast side of Oahu. It was a calm day on the water as we headed to the LCU for the first dive. There was little current and great visibility as we headed down the line. There wasn’t any big animals around the site but lots of fish life swimming around the wreck. There were schools of goatfish and butterflyfish all about. There was also a large undulated morey sitting on the top of the wreck.

For the second dive we went to Sea Cave, the surface was a little choppy but the dive was great. The current was really strong today but for a drift dive it was perfect. We hung in the current as turtles and reef fish went by us. There were a few eels about the reef hiding in the corals. It was a great drift and we made it all the way to Hanauma Bay before we surfaced.

Yes they are!  especially since they never really fly, but instead just mostly hide on the bottom, when not crawling around searching for snacks.  We did find one on our second dive at Turtle Canyons and it was a real treat (photo above)!  We had beautiful conditions, 100 plus foot viz, and mild current. We also saw several species of morays – vipers, white mouths, stouts, and yellow margin!  a great dive for eel fans! vipers are my favorite!  also loads of reef fish, as turtle canyons is a nursery for the juveniles of many species.  Congrats and great job to both  Britt (from alaska – brr! – but on her way to sunny Spain) and always smiling Akemi, both of whom are now certified Open Water divers!  also along were a great group of divers from Utah – Greg, Linda, Aaron, Jeff, and Randi all loving their first dives in Hawaii!  First stop at Koko craters was also a real treat, as besides the huge turtles and eels, we had a large pod of spinner dolphins cruise right by us as we made our way back to the Sea Fox!  there were at least 30, all bunched together, just swimming silently by, probably napping!  beautiful sight!  Instructor Marnie got some awesome footage of the same pod on her morning dive, hopefully she’ll post it!!  thanks to all for a great day of diving in Oahu!  Larry and Captain Kendal