June 2014 - Island Divers Hawaii

WHAT THE HECK IS THAT? 30 June

June 30, 2014/in Dive Reports/by Larry Hogan

haha, a scorpion fish of course ! often called a rockfish or a stonefish, cuz they look a lot more like a rock than a fish! we saw several of them today so i thought i would post a few photos which may or may not have a fish in them. see if you can tell! first dive was koko craters, and conditions were spectacular. we headed out from the back crater to the big fat chinese buddha statue which had a big fat turtle sleeping right under it! several more turtles, and lots of eels, plus jane, marco’s partner, snorkeled above us the whole time. a turtle swam right up to her for a breath! james and chris were doing open water dives one and 2, and they did great. plus old friend melissa came and joined us, a great diver, she didn’t want to surface! 2nd jump was turtle canyons, and we saw tons of eels and reef fish, plus all these scorpion fish, check out the photos! thanks to all for safe diving, larry and pete.

6/30 Double Wreck Makes Us Squashed Like Pancake

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

Monday – Finally the conditions let up enough to allow us to dive on the corsair. We’ve only been trying to do it for 2 weeks or so. The water is super clean and clear, and we see the big angry eel inside the cockpit, and a huge leaf scorpionfish on the tail. Also there’s another moray hiding underneath the anchor. From there we go over to the baby barge where the current has cranked up a bit so swimming over to the shark cave is a little difficult, but on the way we see some nudibranchs and some yellow tangs. Coming back to the barge we check out the small lava tube to the south and there’s a white tip! Woo! Today was the last dive of one of our staff, Patricia, and we will miss her as she returns to Germany. Sad day. Thanks everyone. Stay safe, relax, and have fun.

Brent at the Baby Barge

Just hang in there

Patricia gets upclose and personal

Moray under the anchor!

Weather conditions: Warm, sunny, and slight breeze, small swell
Dive Sites: Corsair 8:58am 104ft 28min and Baby Barge 10:37 am 79ft 50min
Dive Conditions: 100+ viz, strong Koko head current
Marine Life Observed: White tip shark, Spotted Moray, Leaf Scorpionfish
Staff: Capt. Jim, Kellan, Capt Joe crew

Current State of the Currents

June 29, 2014/in Uncategorized/by Mark Savel

The weather started off rainy this morning as we left the dock but everything turned out great as the day continued. There was little swell and a strong current for our first dive today. We decided on trying to drift the barges with the strong current and great viz. We descended on Baby Barge but the current was running slightly inshore which pulled us away from the barges but there was still life to be seen. We had green sea turtles around the wreck and a few more along the reef. We also had a spotted eagle ray swim by and tons of reef fish everywhere.

For the second dive we motored around Diamond Head to the YO-257. Again there was a decent current as we got down to the wreck and had a great dive swimming around the wreck. There were more turtles about the area and fish everywhere. We had blue stripe snapper and soldier fish in the YO and buttterflyfish and damsels swimming about the wreck. We had a great time with the Atlantis sub cruising around as we were diving.

For the last dive of the day we drifted Spitting Caves and had a nice current for the dive. There were again more turtles on the dive and plenty of great sea life. We had schools of yellow stripe goatfish and milletseed butterflyfish along the reef. We also found a large frogfish and even a small white tip reef shark hiding in a cave. The current eventually took us off the reef all together and it was time to end the dive. It was a great morning off the Sea Fox.

South-side Triple, 6/28

June 29, 2014/in Uncategorized/by Matt Negaard

The weather was beautiful ( maybe even a bit warm ) as we left Kewalo Basin with a full Sea Hound. The Sea Tiger, our first dive site of the day, had very little current and great vis. There were a couple Honu and a few Pacific Trumpet Fish hanging around, along with a large school of Blue Stripe Snappers. What a great start to the day!
Depth: 100′, Temp: 77 f, Vis: 100′ +

Pacific Trumpet Fish

Jason at the Helm, Sea Tiger

After a long surface interval with cookies, chips, and pineapple, our second stop was YO-257. We tried for 100 ft hole, but the current was cruising a bit too strong. With a bit less current and really good vis, the YO did not disappoint! More Honu ( Green Sea Turtles ), Pennant Butterflyfish, and the Atlantis Sub all joined in the fun.
Depth: 92 ‘, Temp: 76 f, Vis: 100’

Room with a View

Dry people..

To end the day, we chose Neptunes Throne, a bit shallower, but still with good vis and lots of great marine life. We visited the “Throne” room, then went on to explore the many coral heads and finger reefs in the area. There were Penant Butterflyfish, Yellow Tangs ( juvenile and adult ), and several eels. Brittany spotted a Tiger Snake Moray Eel ( mean looking, but really shy ) and there was a very large school of some yummy looking fish overhead. Reluctantly, we returned to the surface to end another great day of sub-surface adventures. Mahalo for letting IDH support your diving habit..it was a blast diving with you all today, and come back soon!
Depth:50′, Temp: 77 f, Vis: 70′

Shy Guy

Sushi?

Boat: Sea Hound
Captain: John, Instructors: Matt and Aughe
Seas: 2-3′ SSW, Temp: 86 F, Winds: 5-10, Mostly Sunny

OCTOPI OR OCTOPUSES ? 28 June

June 28, 2014/in Dive Reports/by Larry Hogan

according to Webster’s it’s octopuses, which is what we saw today – lots of octopuses! which means a great day of diving. 3 open water students, alex, will, and solomon joined us for dives 1/2, working with David and his 5 DMCs! they got lots of attention. and ward, kelly, and dana joined me for some cruising in the blue. first stop was Koko craters, and Flora led us over to Secrets ledge , spotting eels and turtles along the way. the current starting picking up significantly, so we headed over to the back crater mooring, did some more turtle watching and found an octopus peeking out of his little puka. he came out for a swim around with us! Fantasy reef was jump two, and it is always beautiful there, so much to see! despite some strong current we saw more turtles, big eels, an huge octopus, sponge crabs, slipper lobster, and coral shrimp! we just had a blast! thanks to all for safe diving! larry, david, flora, joe, and kelsea

koko craters – 38 feet 43 minutres

fantasy reef – 53 feet 41 minutes

Currents Won’t Hold Us Back

June 28, 2014/in Dive Reports/by Marnie Cadden

What a great way to start off the weekend! We had a group of 13 divers this morning for our Advanced Charter in the Maunalua Bay area. We had a lot of help aboard since we had some Divemaster candidates aboard. The weather was on our side and allowed us to have a rather calm drive out to our dive site this morning. We had decided as a group that we wanted to dive the LCU, which is a favorite of the Island Divers crew.

Dropping down on LCU

We had to fight a rather strong SE current during our descent, but once we dropped down onto the wreck, we were in the clear for some great diving.

Crown of Thorns

Visibility was on our side as we had crystal clear 95+ ft visibility on the shipwreck. Divers had the opportunity to swim under the flipped barge and swim with rather large schools of fish.

Exploring the underside of LCU

Swimming in the schools

Sitting at about 87 ft with varying bottoms times, the wreck proved for another great way to begin our morning.

Preparing to ascend

We had a 42 minute surface interval where divers got to chat with each other and share stories as well as enjoy a light snack. We decided that our best bet with today’s conditions was to have our second dive over at Fantasy reef.

A rather curious eel

We did a negative buoyancy entry on our second site, Fantasy Reef, and discovered that many of the local eels were out and about. The current was not quite as strong as it was a LCU, but it was strong enough for divers to enjoy a nice easy drift dive.

Drifting through Fantasy

After going through numerous swim throughs, divers came across some rather sleepy green sea turtles and got an up close and personal experience with some of Hawaii’s local marine life.

Enjoying a mid morning nap

All in all, this morning was a great morning for some diving in Hawaii’s pristine waters. Im sure we will be seeing some more of this awesome conditions in the company of great divers. Thanks to all who came out and made it a fantastic morning aboard the Sea Fox!

A great group of divers!

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STAFF: Marnie (instructor) David (instructor) Carlos (divemaster) Joe (captain) Kelsey (crew)

WEATHER CONDITIONS: Sunny 84*F, slight breeze, mild surge

DIVE PROFILES: LCU: 88ft max depth, 36min bottom time, 80*F water temp, strong SE current, 95+ft visibility

Fantasy: 55ft max depth, 23min bottom time, 81*F water temp, slight SE current, 85+ft visibility

MARINE LIFE OBSERVED: white tipped reef shark, green sea turtles, trumpetfish, triggerfish, eels, pincushion seastar, urchins, boxfish, butterfly fish, nudibranch, crown of thorns seastar

A Special Kind of Diving

June 27, 2014/in Dive Reports/by Mark Savel

We had a slight departure from our normal afternoon charter off the Sea Fox today. We got to head off and do a drift dive for the PM trip instead of basic reef dives. But for the first dive we tied up at Anglers Reef to make sure everyone was good on weighting and comfortable in the water. The water was nice and clear but there was a bit of a current as we headed down the line. The worked our way into the current as we checked out all the life on the reef. There were colorful reef fish everywhere and a few eels hiding in the coral. We also found a small red frogfish blending well with the bottom. Soon we surfaced and headed for Spitting Caves.

The water was great along the wall with nice viz and a bit of a current. As we dove along the site we came across all kinds of sea life. We had a few turtles swimming about and another frogfish on the reef. We also had a couple white tip reef sharks hiding out in one of the caves. As we got near the end of the dive we also found an octopus on the reef and a few eels hiding among the coral. It was a great afternoon on the southeast side of Oahu.

Pa’a’awa Fun

June 27, 2014/in Dive Reports/by Marnie Cadden

Conditions were fantastic this afternoon for another dive off the Sea Fox. We had a great group of divers from first timers to experienced veterans. We had some students who were competing their Open Water certifications on board as well.

We hopped in at Koko Crater, our first dive site, to check and see if some of the locals were hanging around this afternoon. As expected, the divers had the opportunity to check out the many green sea turtles that hang out under the ledges of the crater.

Cruising the crater

The students did fantastic completing their skills with Instructor Jessie and had their first look at life underwater. It was a real eye opener for our first time divers!

Reef Triggerfish

After a brief surface interval, divers were ready to hop in at our second dive site, Pa’a’awa. Here the divers had an opportunity to swim with large schools of our most observed reef fish and check out the small wall that follows along the dive site.

Threadfin Butterfly Fish

The small ridge that we followed was covered in urchins and the divers were fantastic at controlling their buoyancy and avoiding the spines of this rather hazardous reef creature.

Urchins

The students did fantastically, again, completing their skills and our certified divers got to spend a little more time at the bottom exploring while the first time divers were thrilled to explore the ocean floor.

All in all, it was another fantastic day in the Maunalua Bay area with some great divers. Thanks to all who came out and joined us and congratulations to PADI’s newest certified divers!

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DIVE STAFF: Marnie (Instructor) Jessie (Instructor) Kendal (Captain) Carlos (Divemaster) Steve (Crew)

WEATHER CONDITIONS: 82*F Slight Diamondhead Breeze

DIVE PROFILES: Koko Crater: 80*F water, Diamonhead current (W), slight surge, 40ft max depth, 36 minute bottom time, 80+ft visibility

Pa’a’awa: 80*F water, Diamondhead current (W), slight surge, 42ft max depth, 32 minute bottom time, 70+ft visibility

MARINE LIFE OBSERVED: pincushion seastar, sea urchins, green sea turtles, butterfly fish, nudibranch, triggerfish, trumpetfish

6/27 Day 20 of Strong Current in the AM

June 27, 2014/in Dive Reports/by Kellan Bernhardt

Friday – At leas that’s what it feels like. Moving out to the corsair, we find that we’re unable to dive the location because of super strong current. So we make our way over to the LCU, an awesome site for seeing schools of fish, and, it turns out, escaping the current. While the water ripped 50 feet above our heads, we finned around rather calmly. Saw some eels, some fish swimming upside down, and a ton of relatively unexciting concrete. From there we went over to Fantasea, where we got dropped a little far to the west because of that same strong current, and caught the north edge of the dive site. Saw some awesome dascillus, tried not to get bit by a green headed eel, and surveyed some huge coral stag heads. I made that name up. Deal with it.

Green head eel, not happy I woke him.

Gotta get those shakas in.

Just the one Jeff this time.

Weather conditions: Warm, sunny, and slight breeze, small swell
Dive Sites: LCU 9:17am 88ft 39min and Fantasea 10:40am 60ft 40min
Dive Conditions: 70+ viz, strong Koko head current
Marine Life Observed: Dascillus, Green head moray, Spotted moray, Horned helmet
Staff: Capt. Joe, Kellan, David, Greg crew

June 26- Titan Diving

June 26, 2014/in Dive Reports/by Davy Eleen Vercoe

The ocean’s creatures never cease to amaze me. Our diver Carly found a Titan scorpionfish today at a dive site called Fish Gardens. This fish was a little over a foot and half and it was sitting near the wall underneath a little ledge. That was my first time ever seeing a Titan scorpionfish.
It was truly awesome, and it makes me wonder how many countless creatures and fish I haven’t even seen yet. I gotta get back into the water now if I’m going to see it all. I love my job.
I also had the privilege of diving with some extraordinary divers who listened almost better than they dove. They were perfect guests on our boat and in our ocean. Thank you and way to go Alan who persevered and was rewarded with some great dives.

Safe Diving,

Davy

Little Turtle bomb

Goldlace Nudibranch

Weather Condition: Rainy & Sunny
Dive Sites/Conditions: Baby Barge 75 ft Viz, Medium East Current
Dive Site 2: Fish Gardens 40 ft viz light current plus surge
Staff: Captain Kendal, Lead Davy, David training DMC’s -Phil, Jeff, Slim, Izzy, Chris, Bodhi (DM), New crew Steven