Archive for month: December, 2014

well, we had some Vancouverians diving with us today, and they were really enjoying diving in Hawaii!!  warm waters and great viz goes a long way in the dive world.  then throw in some sharks, turtles, and big eels, and you have a great dive or two! Jasveen wanted to see sharks, so off to the Landing Craft wreck (LCU) we went.  Capn Kellen and Instructor Manolo got us hooked up and we jumped in to a mild current, with great viz!  everyone got down easily and we cruised underneath the wreck, spotting the sharks who were hanging around there, and gave us a nice closeup view!  no rays today, but we found a frogfish and a large barracuda was eyeing the feeding schools of fish around us!  2nd jump was over at Fantasy reef, and it is always a treat for divers!  huge turtles and eels, with beautiful topography – arches and chimneys to swim through and over.  good viz also, with a bit of current!  thanks to all for safe diving!  larry, captain kellen

LCU  90 ft    150 viz   35 min

Fantasy   50 ft   100 viz   45 min

It was an awesome morning today diving off the southeast side of Oahu on the Sea Hound.  We had a smaller group of divers today as we headed out to the LCU for the first dive.  When we got there the current was too strong and we decided on a barge drift.  We had wonderful viz as we dropped in and right away found a few white tip reef sharks sitting under the wreck. They got a little spooked and started swimming out around the area.  There was also a frogfish hanging on the wreck and schools of goatfish all about.  As we drifted to New Barge we came across a large sandbar shark just cruising through the area.  We found a green sea turtle at New barge and one more by Mini Barge as we were ending our safety stop.

For the second dive we drifted Fantasy Reef and had another wonderful dive.  There were turtles all over the reef resting on the bottom or swimming about the reef.  There were also reef fish everywhere with butterfly fish and wrasses swimming about and damselfish defending the little batches of reef.  Soon it was time to head up and enjoy the rest of the day.

blue skies are back, with strong trades, so bouncy on the surface but stupendous under!  Angie and son Julian were out today, and on her list was a shark or two!  so off to the Landing Craft Unit we went.  Captain sophie got us moored up, and we headed into the waves.  current was moderate, viz good, so no problem getting beneath the wreck to see the whitetips that rest there.  dennis and ron were out, as well dan and daughter isabella, and the millers!  plus Snow and Yan from SF. great group of divers!  all had a great dive, as we saw sharks close up, eagle rays, an octopus, as well as some whale song!   2nd jump was a drift of Fantasy reef, again a real crowd pleaser, with huge turtles, octopus, puffer fish, various shoals of reef fish, big eels, plus more turtles!   thanks to all for safe diving!  larry, dave, sophie

LCU   90 feet  100 viz  35 min

Fantasy   52 feet  130 viz   40 min

Wreck week flew by, as we had a blast traveling to various dive sites around Oahu that have the awesome wrecks.  today were two of the best sites for big animals also!!  LCU is rife with big whitetip sharks and eagle rays.  and they manage to appear at different parts of the dive so we get to see them all!  the sharks like the dark resting spot beneath the LCU and don’t really mind us cruising through to snap a few photos.  and i love to sneak up behind the eagle rays and join their formation! also some barracuda and lots of snappers today!  great fun.  it was also Monono’s (that what Davy calls Monolo when he goofs in the shop) birthday, so it was great to have him out for support, and we harassed him all day long!  the wreck weekers were paul, karchi,mark, michelle, dave, plus ryan and mike, all great divers and wonderful people.  2nd jump was a drift from new (or big) barge to baby barge.  always fun to explore and cover some distance!  so 3 wrecks today!!   along the way we saw turtles and eels, plus nice corral and shoaling reef fish!  thanks to all for safe diving!!  Larry, Manolo, and cap Sophie.

LCU –  90 feet   40 minutes

Barges – 80 feet  40 minutes

viz – 100 feet

temp  75