May 2015 - Island Divers Hawaii

LCU and Keanu Reef with Spotted Eagle Rays and Green Sea Turtles 5/26

May 26, 2015/in Dive Reports/by Maxine Markert

A pleasant day on Oahu for scuba diving, we made our way out of Maunalua Bay heading west towards diamond head. The LCU (Landing Craft Utility) is a wreck sunk for diving purposes it sits in 98ft of water. The LCU flipped in the process of being sunk so the deck of the vessel creates an overhead environment, where white tip reef sharks hide from the current. We were lucky enough to see some white tips today at LCU along with 4 white spotted eagle rays! Sarah our European friend was thrilled to see the rays and sharks. Her dive buddy Ben was diving on our Enriched Air today and was able to reap the benefits with more bottom time today as we did a second deep site. Keanu Reef, reaching 75ft at it’s deepest one of my favorite reef sites. We saw an incredible frog fish which one of our favorite instructors David pointed out for us. Christine was extremely pleased to get a photo of the frog fish accompanied by Brian, these two were an absolute joy to have out on the boat and they knew an old friend of our Captain Joe! Hope to see you guys again soon! We also had another white tip reef shark and viper moray eel. I can’t forget our wreck and drift student Joe, learning from the best (David) hope you had fun today out on the water! I look forward to seeing you again Ben I know you come out with us quite often and it is always nice to see a familiar face! Hope everyone had as much fun as I always do 🙂 Thank you for diving with us and I hope you all do again soon.

White Spotted Eagle Rays

Sarah and I

Ancient Anchor Brian posing on it!

Christine and I

Frog fish

Wind/ Surf: Light North wind, 4-5 ft south swell

Dive Conditions and Sites:

LCU: 98ft max depth, Visibility 70ft, Mild South West current, Marine life observed; White tip reef shark, White spotted Eagle rays, schools of goat fish.

Keanu Reef: 75 ft max depth, Visibility 80+ ft, Mild East current, Marine life observed; White tip reef shark, viper moray eel, frog fish, crown of thorns.

Staff: Captain Joe , Crew Imran , Instructors Maxine and David

A RARE PAIR OF TURTLES 25 may

May 26, 2015/in Dive Reports/by Larry Hogan

well, i’ve seen lots of various creatures seeming to pair up while swimming or resting – eels and octopus in particular, but turtles always seem to be rather solitary, even if they are in close physical proximity. today we saw something different, a couple of turtles seemingly enjoying each others company, but not in an amorous way! check out the photos below! we saw this behavior at staff favorite, Fantasy Reef, our 2nd dive. the swells were large today, creating some fun back and forth surge, but dropping the viz down to about 80 feet, much less than our typical 150. still we had a fun time checking out all the turtles, reef fish, coral, and a big white tip shark that cruised by briefly! lots of smiles on the boat! our first dive was at Koko craters, and the surge was challenging, but fun, and a good experience in dealing with the ocean as a diver. the viz was ok near the surface , but the surge also kicked up lots of sand from the bottom so the viz could periodically drop down to 5 feet or less. we did manage to find a couple of turtles, and various reef fish, but the fun and challenge of the dive was learning to deal with the surge, which was significant! thanks to all for safe diving,

larry and captain todd

Koko craters 38 feet 35 minutes 5 – 40 viz

fantasy reef 45 feet 40 min 80 viz

THURSDAY AT THE YO 257 may 22

May 23, 2015/in Dive Reports/by Larry Hogan

our regular boat, the Sea Fox, had a coast guard inspection scheduled (passed with flying colors!), so we decided the run the afternoon charter out of Keewalo Basin on the Enzo with Captain Kellen. so we got to dive the YO 257, a great, intact, purposely sunk wreck off of Waikiki. really a fun dive, despite the strong current we had today! shoals of various reef fish, huge turtles, eagle rays, and the Atlantis submarine make this a world-class dive site, and everyone was smiling back on the boat. alexis was working on her buoyancy specialty with Mary, while husband max did his Navigation dive for his Advanced with me. Renee, Stephen, and instructor Pete were out for fun, and that we had!! our 2nd jump was Horseshoe reef, a beautiful shallow spot with lots of colorful hard corals, schools of reef fish, a couple of white tip reef sharks, and mild current! thanks to all for safe diving, larry, kellen, mary

YO 257 90 feet 30 min 100 viz

Horseshoe 40 feet 45 min 100 viz

Fantasy Reef on Honolulu is always a house full of Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles

May 23, 2015/in Dive Reports/by Larry Hogan

excellent dive conditions above and below today, as the winds are back to the gentle trades. everyone wanted to see turtles today so we dove two of our top spots to see those green hawaiins! Baby Barge has a turtle cleaning station right next to it, as well as comfortable napping spots, so off we went. turtle cleaning stations are fun to see, as often the turtle is somehow hanging motionless a few feet off the bottom, with various butterfly fish nibbling the algae off the turtle’s back. cool event to witness!! baby barge did not disappoint, and we saw several large turtles resting, getting cleaned, or heading up for some air, as well as a nice wreck. 2nd jump was a drift of Fantasy reef, arguably one of the best dive sites around for huge greenies! there has to be one there that is 100 years old. he is simply huge, and his shell is faded to a light, light green. and he looks relaxed!! we also saw eels, one who was actively hunting reef fish (unsuccessfully), beautiful schools of reef fish, and the spectacular topography of that reef! thanks to all for safe diving, larry, captain joe.

baby barge 80 ft 35 min 150 viz

fantasy reef 52 ft 45 min 120 viz

May 22, 2015

May 22, 2015/in Dive Reports/by David Sanchez

Almost perfect conditions met the advanced divers aboard the Sea Fox… ready for adventure was Alicia, Stuart, Eric, Hollis, Max, Rachael, Theresa, Vicki, Dan and Soon. Calm seas and sunny skies as we motored out to our first site… Baby Barge.

Dropping down the lines a slight current was found as we began our descent to Baby Barge. We decided to follow the ledge out to Shark Cave and found a few Turtles calmly enjoying the day…

and a school of Miltseed Butterfly fish out on a search for food…

Too soon it was time to surface and enjoy snacks on our way to Sea Cave…

seven

Unfortunately no Sharks or Monk Seals today, but lots of reef fish in the cave…

but the walls heading towards Hanauma Bay were alive with reef fish of all kinds and colors…

A fantastic day under the waters of Maunaloa Bay…

Thank you to all our divers for a safe and fun day of diving… Aloha!

Baby Barge/ 75ft/ 75*/ 25min

Sea Cave/ 45ft/ 75*/ 35 min

Dave- Lead

Mary- Support

Joe- Capt

Taco at Angler’s Reef

May 21, 2015/in Dive Reports/by Sarah Moore

We had an amazing afternoon today on the Seafox. The sun was shinning as we headed out into Maunalua Bay. The first dive site we went to today was Anglers Reef. We dropped down to 43 feet and followed the ledge around the reef. We found a few large Moral Eels sticking their heads out of the rocks. The reef fish were out and about swimming along side us the whole dive! We were also able to find an octopus sticking his face out of the hole he was hiding in! After a 40 minute dive we headed back up to the boat and over to our second dive site.

The second dive site we went to was Turtle Canyons. Our maximum depth at this dive site was 31 feet. We went for a swim to see what we could find. There were a few more moray eels hanging out at the this site. We were also able to find a devil scorpion fish! Right as we were ready to turn around we found a big turtle sleeping underneath the ledge. After a 47 minute dive we got back on the boat and motored in. Overall it was a great day of diving!

Crew: Captain Joe, Instructor Sarah, Crew Ashley

Conditions: water temperature 75 degrees Fahrenheit, visibility 30 feet

SHARKS IN SEA CAVE 19 may

May 19, 2015/in Dive Reports/by Larry Hogan

sea cave is an incredible dive experience, with large and small marine life – sharks, rays, monk seals, dolphins, as well as octopus and frogfish, to name a few. and visually, it is truly spectacular, particularly as the tunnel entrance begins to open up into an immense cave, with light from above. a photogs dream!! today we braved the winds and swells to get out on the wall and drift dive, and it was well worth it!! we saw sharks and turtles, and huge shoals of various reef fish in the clear blue water! lots of smiles back on the boat!! first dive was LCU and we saw eagle rays and a turtle, plus a large school of barracuda that eased off into the blue as we decended down the line. thanks to all for safe diving, larry, mary, capn joe

lcu 90 feet 35 min

sea cave 50 feet 40 minutes

EAGLE RAYS and MONK SEALS 16 may

May 19, 2015/in Dive Reports/by Larry Hogan

the LCU wreck, an old WWII style landing craft unit, has been the home of many of our larger marine animals. quite often we see whitetip sharks resting in the dark beneath the wreck, and I have seen some larger sharks – tigers in particular, out in the blue surrounding the wreck. maybe hoping to grab one of those whitetips! i’ve also seen turtles, dolphins, and whales there. lately we have been seeing the group of eagle rays that enjoys circumnavigating the wreck. today we got some good closeup views, and they are beautiful to see as they fly through the blue. 2nd dive was a drift over at spectacular Spitting Caves. this wall dive is really world class, as the topography is dramatic, with steep wall, canyons, caves, and a window to the deep blue opposite. we saw turtles, more eagle rays, a number of various moray eels, as well as large frogfish! thanks to all for safe diving, larry, joe

lcu 90 feet 35 minutes

spitting cave 50 feet 45 minutes

We Love Scuba, How about you!

May 15, 2015/in Dive Reports/by Sarah Moore

Today was an absolutely GORGEOUS day out on the water. The water was nice and calm and crystal clear! We had a good group out on the Sea Fox this afternoon. A couple certified diver, a couple discover scuba divers, and one PADI Open Water Student. The sun was shinning as we headed out into the bay. The first dive site we went to was Koko Craters. We dropped down to a maximum depth of 37 feet and then went for a swim. We were able to see a few turtles hanging out around the ledges today and quite a few moray eels poking their heads out of the rocks. After a 38 minute dive we headed back up to the boat for some surface interval cookies.

The second dive site we went to was Anglers Reef. The maximum depth at this site was 40 feet. We found quite a few more Moray Eels at this site. Tons of cute reef fish were swimming around with us the whole dive. We cruised around for a 32 minute dive and then headed back up to the boat to dry out and soak up some rays. Overall it was a fantastic day of diving with some fantastic divers!

Crew: Captain Joe, Instructor Sarah, Instructor David, Crew Krista

Conditions: Water Temperature 75 degrees Fahrenheit, Visibility 80 feet

Blue Jewel of Oahu 5/14

May 14, 2015/in Dive Reports/by Mark Savel

It was another wonderful morning diving off the southeast side of Oahu. The water was crystal clear and a great shade of blue as we motored out to the first dive site at the LCU. We could see the bottom as we got there and got in the water right away. There were fish all bout the wreck with goatfish swimming about and butterflyfish hiding underneath it. We also saw a school of 5 spotted eagle rays just off the wreck.

For the second dive we drifted Spitting Caves and again had a great dive with wonderful viz and a nice current. We had reef fish all along the site with more big schools of goatfish as well as wrasses and damselfish among the coral. There were also a few eels hiding about the area and even found a few octopus.