December 2014 - Island Divers Hawaii

WORLD CLASS DIVING !! 29 dec

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

the Corsair airplane wreck for a first dive and then Sea Cave outside of Hanauma bay really are world class dives! i’ve been all over, and both of these two dives are a real treat to do. the Corsair dive had some current, so we had to work a bit, but the viz was very good, and we had a great time checking out the garden eels, the resident huge moray, and the amazing wreck itself, with it’s tail, propeller, cockpit, and wings still intact (although the wings have separated). it is a great deep dive, so the con of this dive is your bottom time is only 16 minutes (unless you’re on Nitrox – I was!). just a beautiful experience. lots of whale song too. 2nd jump was a drift of Sea Cave, and it is such a crowd pleaser. everyone comes up smiling from that dive! inside we found three sharks in the back of the cave, plus more coming in as we were going out! the dive continued as we drifted along the dramatic walls and canyons of the crater. just spectacular! along the way, several large turtles, an octopus, and lots of shoaling reef fish. thanks to all for safe diving, larry, sophie

Corsair 107 ft. 100 viz 35 minutes

Sea cave 50 ft. 140 viz 44 minutes

Sharks and Monster Sponge Crabs!!! – 12/29/2014

December 29, 2014/in Uncategorized/by Manolo Cabasal

Another beautiful sunset preceded tonight’s night dive here in Hawaii Kai. Conditions were amazing: no wind and no swell. The surface was glass like with rays of sunlight streaking across the top. The four divers on the Sea Hound paused their gear assembly to take it all in. The first dive site of the evening, the LCU.

*The LCU*
86ft – 30min
75 degrees

Dark and deep, the LCU always presents itself as an adrenaline pumping night dive. Throw in a moderate Koko Head current, and you’ll feel like an Advanced Open Water student descending into the darkness for the first time. The LCU didn’t fail to excite. Underneath the wreck a 6ft mama white tip reef shark circled the group, followed in town by a baby 2 footer. Swimming in the darkness over the z-blocks and the wreck yielded a couple of nudibranches and star fish.

*Angler’s Reef*
47ft – 52min
74 degrees

Angler’s Reef is a regular circus during the day time, and the craziness only gets better when the sun goes down. With the current completely dead, the divers enjoyed a lazy and thorough dive along the ledge. Right off the line the divers spotted a sponge crab the size of a grapefruit with legs strolling across the bottom. These things looking goofy in full stride. Swimming a long the ledge the divers also saw a scribbled file fish, sleeping parrot fish, night octopus, slipper lobsters, giant conchs, and a peacock flounder the size of a door mat.

Special thanks to Captain Kellan for bringing the boat out!!

Winter Whale Song 12/28

December 28, 2014/in Dive Reports/by Mark Savel

It was a spectacular Sunday morning for diving off the Sea Hound. We had a full boat today with great weather as we headed for the Seatiger for the first dive. There was little current and no wind as we started the dive and had nice viz as we swam about. There were schools of snapper and goatfish swimming around the wreck and a large green sea turtle resting on top of the ship. Throughout the dive we had whales singing loud but sadly never had them come in close.

For the second dive we dove the YO-257 and again had wonderful conditions. There was no current and great viz as we got down the line. With the Atlantis sub moving around the wreck we swam about with fish life everywhere. There were pennant butterflyfish and damselfish all over and another large sea turtle hiding in the wreck. Soon we had to leave the site and head for the next spot. On our ride to Fantasy Reef we came across a few humpback whales cruising pass Diamond Head.

For the last dive we drifted Fantasy Reef with life all over the reef. We had a couple sea turtles along the dive and found a large white mouth morey hiding in the coral. It was a wonderful dive with colorful reef fish all about and was a great Sunday in the winter time on Oahu.

Hey! Hey! its the MONK-ees!

December 27, 2014/in Uncategorized/by David Sanchez

What a BEE-utiful December day on Oahu… sunny skies, calm waters, and a great group of divers on the Hound!… what more can you ask for? Alex, Andrew. Bryan, Caroline, Courtney, Craig, Helen, Jim, Leslie, Peter, Scott, and Steve set out for a Saturday of breathing under the Pacific Ocean. Since the water was kind to us we set out to the East side of the Island, just past Hanauma Bay and South of Sandys Beach, to a site known as Skimmons Reef. A nice easy entry into the water and down 50 ft to the reef. Reef fish of all kinds scattered around the site; Yellow tail Goatfish, Trumpets, Moorish Idols, and Butterfly fish cruised the coral, and what site would be complete without a siting of…

our friend the Yellow Margin Moray Eeel!

Next it was on to Baboons Nose, a site just outside of Hanauma Bay… in and out of the lava walls and around the bend… where the current began to pick up. Just as the group was about to turn around 2 MONK SEALS dove down on the group!…

EPIC! Rare to see 1 Monk Seal… but 2? AWESOME! and as they went out of site another creature decided to buzz the group…

A friendly Green Sea Turtle buzzed bye…

and finally last but not least…

an Octopus darted out from the coral and showed off its color changing abilities… a fantastic showing by our underwater friends!

Thank you to all our divers for a safe and fun day on the Hound… and a Happy New Year to all!

Skimmons Reef 50 Ft/ 40 Min/ 74*

Baboons Nose 55 Ft/ 45 Min/ 74*

Dave- Lead

Sophie- Capt

An After Christmas Whale 12/26/2014

December 26, 2014/in Dive Reports/by Manolo Cabasal

You couldn’t think of a more perfect way to spend the day after Christmas. The skies were clear, wind was calm, and the surface was without drama in Manalua Bay. You were literally in the middle of the picturesque Hawaiian Christmas card that you send your friends. Not only are they freezing their butts off, they’re jealous of your diving adventures!

*Kahala Barge*
95ft – 38min
75 degrees

With postcard conditions and a very mild current, the divers aboard the Sea Hound descended down with relative ease into 70 foot visibility. Swimming through the wreck was the main highlight of this dive. The group of skilled divers elegantly flicked their way through the wreck without stirring up the bottom and even stumbled upon a massive green moray eel. Around the top of the wreck a couple dragon nudibranches, pincushion star fish, and moorish idols where spotted.

*Fantasy Reef*
53ft – 50min
75 degrees

The perfect conditions continued to prevail when the divers entered the water for the second dive of the day at Fantasy Reef. With 60 foot visibility, Fantasy Reef didn’t fail to impress. A giant school of fusiliers, a couple massive crown of thorns star fish, numerous turtles and a single pipe fish were spotted on the dive.

Just when you thought the day couldn’t get any better, Captain John spotted some whales surfacing off in the distance. John brought the boat closer and the whole boat was able to get a front row view of a mother Humpback and her calf playing on the surface.

Thank you Captain John for driving the boat and find those awesome whales!!!

GONE WITH THE WIND! 23 december

December 24, 2014/in Dive Reports/by Larry Hogan

well, a bit windy today, but beneath the waves the diving was excellent! the Landing Craft Unit (LCU) is the place to see sharks these days, which is, of course, what all divers want to see! so off we went with crew favorite captain sheila driving the Sea Hound. current was a bit stiff, but we moored up and got down the line and cruised under the wreck! 3 nice Whitetip sharks were hanging about and we enjoyed their company for a bit. heading out we saw two eagle rays cruising right by, as well as a good sized barracuda on a collision course with them. there was a bit of a flurry, but then they all just moved on! also saw a nice frog fish hanging upside down on the wreck. great dive! 2nd jump was Fantasy reef, as always a beautiful dive site, with spectacular topography of arches and chimneys. plus the giant green sea turtles that also love it! lots of coral and reef fish, plus another huge eagle ray! thanks to all for safe diving, larry, captain sheila

lcu 90 feet viz 80 35 min

fantasy 50 feet viz 120 45 min

Rainbows and Puffers! Dec 23

December 23, 2014/in Uncategorized/by David Sanchez

You know what they say…”If you don’t like the weather here in Hawaii stick around for an hour…” It worked to perfection today. The morning was a blustery, rainy, overcast day that turned into an awesome day of diving for Paula, Fred, Dylan, Akhiani, Pariya, Homed, Ronson, Duke, Kyle, Lilly, Carrisa, Brian, Justin, and Haolu (OW3/4). Once on the Hound we were off to Koko Crater to do some skill work and find some awesome sea life. The turtles were very active today, swimming about and darting under the ledges of the crater…

A puffer also made an appearance and swam amongst the Pennant Butterfly Fish…

Next it was on to Anglers Reef. Once down the lines many Eels were spotted peeking out of the coral…

and Pariya made a friend of a Puffer who decided to swim along side of her…

and as we came up the lines an awesome rainbow met the divers as they boarded the Hound and headed back to the shop…

Congrats to our newest certified diver Haolu, and thank you to all our divers for a safe and fun Tuesday of diving… MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Koko Crater 35ft/ 40ft vis/ 75*/ 35 min

Anglers Reef 43ft/ 60ft vis/ 75*/ 35 min

Dave-Lead

Mark-Support

Shiela- Capt

SURGE IS NOT A GUY FROM EUROPE dec 20

December 22, 2014/in Dive Reports/by Larry Hogan

surge is what we get when we have big waves, which only happens occasionally on the south shore of oahu. the north shore is where the big storm waves from the Bering Sea hit the suddenly shallow reef, creating the famous monster waves of Pipeline and Waimea Bay. so today we did have some sweet swells, making the local surfers happy! for me it is fun to dive thru the surge, as it can help you to become more in touch with the rhythm of the ocean, as it pushes you forward then pulls you back. otherwise we had nice viz and mild winds. koko craters was our first stop, and we saw several large turtles, as usually, plus schools of reef fish, and a quick visit from a monk seal – always a treat to see! 2nd jump was over to Anglers ledge, a bit deeper, so less surge. great viz greeted us, and we cruised the ledge, spotting big eels, lots of schools of shoaling fish, nice coral, huge helmet conchs, and a nice octopus! thanks to all for safe diving, larry, sophie

Down there is better…12/22/2014

December 22, 2014/in Dive Reports/by Manolo Cabasal

Showing up already wet. That’s how you start a morning of diving! Early morning showers lingered today in Hawaii Kai, but that didn’t stop divers on the Sea Hound from gearing for a morning of adventure. “It’ll be better down there…” was the resonating vibe on the boat. It’s a rare occasion when divers completely don their wet suits before leaving the pier. Mother nature did reward them for their resolve since the surface conditions outside of the marina were perfect. Light and variable winds and a negligible swell made the surface glass like. The first dive site of the day, LCU.

*LCU*
92ft – 37min
75 degrees

With glass like conditions on the the surface the divers descended into 70ft visibility with a mild diamond head current. Swimming under the wreck, the divers roused a couple of white tip reef sharks. The sharks even followed the group outside of the wreck for a few minutes. While swimming around the wreck a group of 4 spotted eagle rays were stopped flying in formation. Also spotted on the wreck were schools of fusiliers, a spotted puffer fish and a single tiny dragon nudibranch.

*The Corsair*
103ft – 28min
75 degrees

Glass like surface conditions persisted the rest of the morning. This prompted the desire to see another wreck, the WWII era fighter plane, the Corsiar. The Corsair, is Oahu’s only ‘real’ wreck in the sense that it wasn’t sunk on purpose. During WWII, the pilot ditched the plane during a training exercise after running out of fuel. The pilot survived and even went diving on the wreck several years after the incident.. Still largely intact, the divers delighted in the novelty of seeing a plane underwater. Fields of garden eels, trigger fish, and a runaway weight pocket that luckily got snagged on the mooring were also seen underwater.

Special shout out to the crew for making today’s dive possible! Much love to Captain Sophie, Liz, and Hollis.

Sharks + Humpbacks + Turtles = Epic 12/20/2014

December 20, 2014/in Dive Reports/by Manolo Cabasal

Today was another beautiful day in Hawaii Kai. Light and variable winds and a 2-foot swell made crystal clear waters of Manalua Bay calm and inviting. 8 Advanced diver answered the call of adventure today. The dive sites on the agenda: LCU & Fantasy Reef.

*LCU*
87 ft – 37 min
75 degrees

The conditions at the LCU were absolutely pristine: A moderate Diamondhead current and 90ft visibility. During the dive 3 different white tip reef sharks were spotted! All between the size of 3 to 5 feet long! Also spotted were a crown of thorns starfish, dragon nudibranch, and a lone spotted eagle ray. The epicness didn’t end when the divers returned to the surface. After a quick roll call, the divers were surprised with the sudden and bombastic appearance of Humpback whales breaching 300 yards away from the boat.

*Fantasy Reef*
53ft – 49min
75 degrees

How do you follow up a dive with sharks and humpbacks? A drift dive on Fantasy with tons and tons of turtles!!! With a moderate Koko Head current and 60 foot visibility the divers couldn’t get a way from all the turtles! Turtles here, turtles here, turtles everywhere! Aside from all the turtles there was a plethora of eels, large school of yellow tangs, and a few spotted puffer fish!

A special thanks to all the crew for making this EPIC day possible: Capt. Sophie and Isaac.