July 2015 - Island Divers Hawaii

Koko craters and Spitting caves give sightings of white tip sharks, moray eels, and lots of exciting marine life.

July 31, 2015/in Dive Reports/by Sarah Moore

Today was an amazing day out on the water in Maunalua Bay! We had 5 certified divers on the SeaFox this afternoon. The first dive site we went to was Koko Craters. We dropped down to 37 feet and explored the series of sand craters, blowing bubbles with the fishies. We ran into lots of turtles while we were swimming around. They must have been having a turtle party because we swam up on four of them all in the same spot! We also found a few moray eels and tons of reef fish swimming around. After 40 minutes we headed back up to the boat. The second dive site we went to was Spitting Caves. We did a drift dive along the wall and found tons of cool stuff. We did a negative entry and dropped down to 54 feet. As we drifted along we found a couple moray eels, porcupine fish, two devil scorpion fish, and four white tip reef sharks! It was an amazing dive with some amazing divers. After 40 minutes we were picked up by the boat and headed back into the marina.

Crew: Captain Joe, Instructor Sarah, Crew Paige

Conditions: Water Temperature 80 degrees Fahrenheit, Visibility 80+ feet

Spotted turtles, sharks, sponge crab and that’s not all while enjoying double drift dives in Oahu!

July 31, 2015/in Dive Reports/by Lauren Smith

Today was a perfect day for an Advance Charter at Island Divers Hawaii. On the boat we had divers from Canada, Chile and the United States! With strong currents this morning we collectively decided to dive not one wreck but three! So we prepared to DRIFT THE BARGES, with the current heading East we began our descent at Baby Barge and soon spotted Green Sea Turtles and a White Tip Reef Shark hiding under the wreck. We then started cruising with the current to New Barge to penetrate the wreck and continue on. Last but not least we arrived at the LCU where 3 spotted Eagle Ray were seen hovering near by. Our second dive of the morning was a drift dive over Fantasy Reef. In the beginning of our dive a large Sleepy Sponge Crab was hanging out in a lava tube right next to a Blue Dragon Nudi! Throughout the drift we crossed past many large turtles and schools of trigger fish as well. A nice and relaxed drift that lasted 47 minutes! Wonderful dives and great divers today at Island Divers Hawaii!

Crew: Bradley (instructor) Mark (instructor) Joe (captain)

CONDITIONS: Sunny, mid 80’s*F Air, 80*F water, visibility 100+ft

DIVE PROFILES: Drifting the Barges: 81ft max depth, dive time 44 minutes. Fantasy Reef: Max depth 51ft, dive time 47 minutes.

MARINE LIFE: White tip reef shark, Sleepy Sponge Crab, Nudibrachs, Green Sea Turtle, Scorpion Fish, Spotted Eagle Ray.

Fantasy reef and Corsair had great visibility for viewing butterfly fish, yellow margin moray and more.

July 25, 2015/in Dive Reports/by Mark Savel

This morning was a great day diving off the southeast side of Oahu. There was a rising swell today on the south side but the water was crystal clear with a little surge. For the first dive we tied up to the Corsair and we could see the wreck from the surface. As we got down to the plane there were large schools of butterflyfish and goatfish swimming about. There was also a large yellow margin moray hiding on the wreck and garden eels out in the sand around it. We had a great dive but soon had to be up for the next site.

For the second dive we drifted Fantasy Reef and again had great visibility. There were turtles resting all over the site and even a large white tip reef shark swimming about. There were a few eels hiding in the reef and reef fish all about the reef. It was a great day and a perfect start to the weekend.

Barracudas, white tip sharks, eagle rays, sea cucumbers and more drift diving Fantasy reef and landing craft in Oahu.

July 24, 2015/in Dive Reports/by Larry Hogan

Looking like giant caterpillar-worms the Spikey Sea Cucumber always gets some amazed looks by divers who have never seen one. At a foot of two in length they are reddish-brown in color, tubular in shape, and (my favorite part) covered in soft spikes! They don’t really do much spike-wise, well who knows how the soft spike evolved? In any case they look impressive!! Often the belly will have a small grouping of various tiny micro critters – crabs usually. First dive at the Landing Craft not only had the aforementioned, we also got to see an eagle ray, a cruising whitetip shark which was chased and nipped by a great barracuda (according to instructor Jeremy!) as well as schools of reef fish. 2nd jump was a drift of Fantasy Reef and we got surrounded by giant turtles, spotted another shark, and joyfully cruised through the volcanic topography of this beautiful spot. Richard and Dean were working their Advanced – great job. Thanks to all for safe diving, Larry, Kendal

Landing Craft 90 ft 100 viz 35 min

fantasy reef 52 ft 110 viz 45 min

Wreck and drift dives provide for views of Coral, eels, turtles, reef sharks and octopi!

July 22, 2015/in Dive Reports/by Larry Hogan

Great day for diving today as waves were moderate, the ocean was clear, and the sky was blue! The Corsair airplane sits at 107 feet of depth in Oahu’s clear blue water and it is always a crowd pleaser. The fuselage is still in one piece, although it is beginning to separate, and one of the wings sits next to it in the sand. Beautiful to see! Clouds of various fish surround it, and garden eels live by the 100’s in the sand around it. Lots to see! 2nd jump was a drift of Fantasy Reef, home to huge hawaiin green sea turtles, reef sharks, eels, octopi , and beautiful coral and volcanic topography! Lots of smiling divers on the boat today! Thanks to all for safe diving, Larry, Joe

corsair 107 ft 36 min (EAN32) 120 viz

fantasy 52 ft 49 min 120 viz

Moray eels, turtles, devil scorpion fish plus more spotted at Koko craters and Turtle canyon dives.

July 17, 2015/in Dive Reports/by Sarah Moore

Today was an amazing day out on the water at Maunalua Bay! The sun was shinning bright and the divers smiles were shinning brighter. We had a few certified divers on the boat this afternoon, one diver Discovering Scuba Diving for the first time, some students working towards their Open Water Certification and even one student working on his Advanced Open Water. The first dive site we went to was Koko Craters. We dropped down to 37 feet by the little Buddha statue to start our dive. After swimming over to the big Buddha statue we found a couple turtles sleeping underneath the ledge! We also saw a group of Sergeant major fish swimming around by the statue. We kept cruising along running into a few more turtles during the dive and found a couple moray eels in the reef. After 40 minutes we headed back up to the boat. After hanging out in the sun for a short surface interval we headed over to Turtle Canyons for our second dive. Our maximum depth on this dive was 33 feet. We dropped down on the reef and were immediately greeted by a large Spotted Moray Eel. We went for a 38 minute dive finding quite a few more eels, a devil scorpion fish, a few porcupine fish, and of course the Humuhumunukunukuapua’a! Overall it was an excellent day both on top of the water and underneath! Thanks to everyone for coming out and see you next time! Happy diving!

Crew: Captain Joe, Instructor Sarah, Instructor Kevin, Instructor Larry, Crew Paige

Conditions: Water Temp 79 degrees Fahrenheit, visibility 60+ feet

Fascinating marine life spotted during Honolulu dives! Sharks, turtles, Humuhumunuknukuapua’a, and a lot more!

July 14, 2015/in Dive Reports/by Mary Christensen

What an EPIC dive day we all had. The boat had quite the international mix. We had Aussie’s and German’s. Our first stop was the Corsair (max depth 107ft). The water was clear, no current just the best day to dive there. It was everyone’s first time there and they really enjoyed the only actual plane wreck in Oahu. Ben and Michelle enjoyed extra time taking advantage of their NITROX certifications. Atticus enjoyed his very first wreck ever and Tilo really enjoyed the dive also. Many scorpion leaf fish on the wreck as the garden eels floated in sentry around the wreck in their regular fashion.

We did an amazing drift dive on Spitting Caves (max depth 50 ft). In one of the caves we found a sleeping 5 foot white tip reef shark, again another first for some of our divers. We also got the chance to remove a hook from the state fish, Humuhumunukunukuapua’a ! He was trapped with a fish hook in his lip and stuck on a line. He let me hold him and remove the hook. What a great day. We got to see lots of turtles, trigger fish, moorish idols, and a big fat frog fish.

Another Amazing dive day with Island Divers!!

Turtles and Eagle ray spotted while drift diving Fantasy reef and wreck dive in Oahu!

July 12, 2015/in Dive Reports/by Mary Christensen

The skies were overcast today but the water was beautiful! Our first wreck dive of the day was Kahala Barge (max depth of 90 feet) Huge turtles were swimming about the wreck today and rather interested in our divers. What a great crew we had today. Everyone enjoyed exploring the wreck inside and out. Zach even did the first part of his PADI Wreck Specialty!

Our second dive was at Fantasy Reef (max depth was 52 feet). The reef was alive with activity this morning including a huge feeding Eagle Ray. Everyone had a great dive here also even got to explore a little more off the west end of the reef. What a fantastic day to drift.

Drift Diving in Waikiki brings many sightings of turtles, reef sharks, and eels

July 10, 2015/in Dive Reports/by Larry Hogan

Hawaii is such a pristine dive destination, due to being the most remote set of island on our Earth. The ocean is beautifully spectacular out here, being 1000’s of miles away from any continent. This being the case, we get to do some fantastic drift dives, as these remote islands often have strong currents as the tide rises and falls. Yesterday was such a day, and we had a terrific drift dive out in the bay, dropping a bit east of Big Barge, and cruising the ledge towards Baby Barge. Such a fun and unique dive! The 2nd jump was a staff favorite, Fantasy reef, home to huge turtles, lots of eels, schools of reef fish, and white tip sharks. Thanks to all for safe diving, Larry, kendal

Barge drift 90 ft 30 min

Fantasy reef 50 ft 45 min

Eagle Rays, Sharks, and Turtles in Honolulu Today!

July 6, 2015/in Dive Reports/by Mark Savel

Today was one of those perfect days to be scuba diving on Oahu. We had a small group of divers as we headed out this morning off the Sea Fox. We got out to the LCU for the first dive but the current was real strong so we decided on doing a barge drift. With the right current and good divers we can see 3 different wrecks on one dive. There were fish all around the LCU and even a spotted eagle ray cruising by the site. As we made our way to New Barge we found a white tip reef shark hanging out on the bottom. For the final wreck we made it to Baby Barge where we found a couple green sea turtles.

For the second dive we dove Fantasy Reef and again had great conditions. There was a good 100+ ft visibility and a light current as we swam around the site. There were a few turtles resting on the bottom and fish everywhere. We had a nice dive and even found a few eels hiding out and a couple large puffer fish swimming about. It was a great start to the week.