October 2015 - Page 2 of 3 - Island Divers Hawaii

DIVING THE WRECK OF THE NALANI TUGBOAT 18 oct

October 20, 2015/in Dive Reports/by Larry Hogan

rainy skies turned blue, blue, blue as we headed west out of Keewalo Basin, toward the wreck of the Nalani! The Nalani was a working tugboat working out of Sand Island. On january 22, 2015 this 95 foot vessel listed suddenly to its side and was swamped. All 11 crew were rescued, before the tug sank beneath the waves. the wreck was moved, and is now situated in about 60 to 70 feet of water, with the wheelhouse at about 40 feet. it is a spectacular wreck to explore. We are happy to dive it over and over again!! call the shop and tell them you want to see it! really fantastic. lots of marine life, including 4 white tip sharks, a turtle, eagle rays, and some extraordinary calm porcupine pufferfish! also nearby is another fantastic dive site we call Pinnacles. beautiful hard corals covering topography only hot lava can create! last stop on this 3 tank day was Mario world, a fun macro spot, with lots of sea life to investigate! thanks to all for safe diving! larry, captain neal

pinnacles 90 ft 120 viz 29 min

Nalani 70 feet 200 viz 35 min

Mario World 40 ft 50 min 30 viz

Best Night Dives EVER! 10/19

October 19, 2015/in Uncategorized/by Mary Christensen

As the skies darkened we headed out to do our Night Dive on this mostly clear night. The seas were calm and there was just a light wind blowing. The group was excited and we had a couple of people were just a little nervous. No problems there, we talked about the dive and made a choice to do a double at one of my favorite spots, Turtle Canyon, max depth 38 feet.

We started our first dive at dusk and were greeted in the first few minutes by a big sponge crab how was tormenting an octopus. The octopus was happy to come hang out with us for a bit and get relief from the crab. The dive was filled with many very cool critters. Huge snake eels out hunting, big puffer fish that kept swimming into us, helmets munching on a pillow star, more octopus, and so many fish!

Captain Joe had hot chocolate and hot tea for our divers, along with hot pours (hot water) to warm us all up after the first dive. The chatter on the boat was all excitement over everything we saw. Gear got all changed over by the two amazing DMC’s, Luke and Steven and we were ready to go again. All the nerves that were on the first dive were gone. Everyone was super ready to do it again.

This time we headed east and it was like the parade of eels! We saw to many to count on this dive. Also got to see a night octopus this time…..he was so cool when he flattened out on the rocks. So much life on the reef it was incredible. Also got to see one of my very favorite see creatures at the end of the night…..the very graceful Spanish Dancer! After the dive we had hot towels to clean up, thanks to Captain Joe!

A huge thank you for coming night diving with me tonight goes out to our divers: Ole, Tom (taking the PADI Night Diver Specialty), Agnes, Michael Sr, Michael Jr, Steven and Luke. You guys were AWESOME!

Dive site: Turtle Canyon max depth 38 feet

Captain Joe and Dive Instructor Mary!!

Amazing New Rescue Divers!! 10/18/15

October 18, 2015/in Dive Reports, Diving Courses/by Mary Christensen

A new group of students all signed up to become rescue divers. They were excited and a little nervous starting the class. They came to class all ready to take the next step in there diving skills. We finished the testing and all did excellent on the written portion of the class. Next we were off to the pool. We spent hours learning all the skills. Going over rescue breaths in the water. How to bring a diver up that was unconscious. Taking care of panicking person. Self Rescue, missing divers….we covered it all. By the end of our many hours at the pool they all felt a bit less nervous and really tired!!

Today we all boarded the boat and embarked on our open water skills. The sun was out and there were some slight winds. Each of the divers went through the required skills and earned a whole new respect for this sport. It was tiring and rewarding. Each of them laughing, being a little frustrated, working through their issues and at last being super proud of this great accomplishment!

Newest PADI Rescue Divers: Steven, Luke, Penny, Jeremy, Imran, Kevin and special thanks to Tyler (Dive Master Candidate) our victim of the day! You all are awesome and I was honored to be your Instructor!!!

All We Do Is Dive!

October 16, 2015/in Dive Reports/by Sarah Moore

Today was a wonderful day out on the water in Oahu! We had 14 divers on the boat as we headed out into Mauna Loa Bay. There were 5 students on the boat today working towards their Open Water Certification. We headed out to shallow reef sites excited to get in and get wet. The first dive site we went to was Koko Craters. There was a bit of surge from the incoming swell but the turtles still swam with us all the same! The reef fish were also out and about. After a 45 minute dive with a 36 foot maximum depth we headed back to boat and over to our second dive site.

The second dive was at Anglers Reef. We dropped down to 47 feet and followed the ledge along the reef. We were able to find a couple moray eels, a porcupine fish and even an octopus! After a nice 30 minute dive we headed back to boat. Overall it was a great day on the water with some great divers. An awesome job by Michelle, Sebastian and Eiko for completing their PADI Open Water Course!

Crew: Captain Joe, Instructor Sarah, Instructor Larry, Crew Kai

What do divers do when it rains? DIVE!!!!! 10-12 AM Dive

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

The skies were cloudy and we got a little wet with the rain but that never stops a hearty group of divers, does it? It was a fantastic day under the water. The viz was was over 150+ which made our dives super. Baby Barge was the first site today where Ole finished up his PADI Deep Diver Specialty. Everyone else explored the many nooks and crannies of the wreck and also the shark cave. We saw turtles and eels galore.
Fantasy Reef always delivers on sea life sightings. Today we had some experienced drift divers, first time drift divers and Mike that was finishing up his PADI Drift Specialty certification. We got to see loads of turtles, lots of eels again that were happy to show their pretty smiles and even had a good sized White Tip Reef shark join us at the swim through!! Everyone was super excited when we got back on the boat to talk about every thing they saw. So to answer the question above…..does a little rain scare us? No Way…..we just want to dive more then. We are gonna be wet anyway!

Dive Sites: Baby Barge, Max depth 85 feet, Viz 150+ feet, Fantasy Reef, Drift dive, Max depth 55 feet, viz 100 feet

Your Boat Staff and Instructors: Capt. Joe, Instructor Mary, Instructor Davy and Boat Crew Sam

Amazing Divers: Steven, Tyler, Ole, Mike, Alex, Andrew, Capt John, Daniel, Justin, Lisa, Zach, Lockie and Karen!

Thank you all for making the day Great!

New Rescue Diver!! 10-11-15

October 11, 2015/in Dive Reports, Diving Courses/by Mary Christensen

Pulling out on our afternoon charter we had many divers on the boat. The waters were calm and the sun was shining down on us.

What an awesome day to finish our Island Divers PADI Rescue and O2 Provider certification. Krishna did an excellent job doing all the required rescue skills. Bringing an unresponsive diver to the surface. Then he completed the unresponsive diver at the surface and bringing him back to the boat. His rescue breaths were flawless. Captain Chris did his part in our mock scene making this a perfect rescue.

Congratulations Krishna on your well deserved Certifications!

An afternoon of turtles and rays.

October 10, 2015/in Uncategorized/by Jeremy Sanders-Lewis

Turtle Canyon (40ft) and Koko Crater (38ft) supplied our divers with some great interactions with the hawaiian green sea turtles and eagle rays today. With experience levels ranging from Discover Scuba Divers, open water students, advanced open water, and certified divers we got to accomplish some great training while also taking pleasure in enjoying the warm clear waters.

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HAWAIIN GREEN SEA TURTLES! oct 8

October 9, 2015/in Dive Reports/by Larry Hogan

we have several dive sites here on Oahu where we can always dive with huge hawaiin green sea turtles. Baby Barge is one of the best, as they find lots of safe spots to relax between meals. they prefer overhangs and small caves, but also seem comfortable anywhere they can find something to stick their non-retractable head underneath! beautiful animals to see! we were not disappointed today as we were occasionally surrounded by turtles heading up for air. great dive! 2nd jump was a drift of world class dive site, Spitting Cave! and we saw more turtles, as well as 4 sharks, a huge octopus, and loads of reef fish! thanks to all for safe diving! larry, mark, kendal, ashley

Sharks, Turtles, and Eagle Rays

October 9, 2015/in Uncategorized/by Jeremy Sanders-Lewis

Today’s dives took us to the LCU, 90ft and Fantasy Reef, 55ft. The LCU gave us a great dive with four white tip reef sharks who happened to be hanging oUT underneath the wreck and a couple of eagle rays that cruised by. Our drift on fantasy reef provided the divers with some great interactions with hawaiian green sea turtles.

Amazing 3 Tanker with Sea Fox Specialty Captain OLE!

October 4, 2015/in Dive Reports/by Mary Christensen

What a grand day to dive. The skies started out a little overcast but by the end of the day it was quite brilliant on the water. We went to Kahala Barge for our first dive and everyone explored inside and out. There was a little current at the surface but after making our way down the line it was lovely on the wreck. Free swimming eel glided along the top for most to enjoy.

We made our way around beautiful and green Diamond Head towards our next dive site of the Sea Tiger. Going down the line we got to see a large and beautiful white tip reef shark who stayed at the wreck for the entire dive. Also on the deck there was a huge Hawaiian green sea turtle taking a nap. Lots of eels and schools of fish. Was a lovely dive with no current to speak of.

The crew prepared us a great lunch of sandwiches, fresh veggies, chips and juice. After our trip back around Diamond Head on smooth waters we picked Fantasy Reef as our drift dive. Wow!! So very clear down there and a nice current for us to float on. It was filled with Turtles at every turn, a huge feeding Eagle Ray and schools of fish. It was so peaceful no one wanted to come up.Ole at the Wheel doing what Captain’s Do!

Sea Fox from 90 feet down!

Congratulations to Ole on being the FIRST Ever student to complete the new PADI SEA FOX Specialty, only available at Island Divers. He drove the boat between our dive sites this afternoon and did an amazing Job! Also today Ole and Kevin completed their PADI Drift diving Speacialties. James completed his PADI Enriched Air Specialty today with flying colors and really enjoyed the extra time underwater using mixed gasses! Way to go guys you did an Amazing job! Thank you to all our divers today, Andre, Polly, Anthony, Bob, Brian, Chris, James, Kevin, Kewin, Stephanie, Kristin, Ole, Scott and Sean. You all make it possible for us to do what we do

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Kahala Barge, Max Depth 90 feet, 100+ viz

Sea Tiger, Max Depth 120 (at sand) 100 feet (at deck) 75 foot viz

Fantasy Reef, Max Depth 55 feet, 100 foot viz

Crew: Captain Joe, Instructors Mary and Jeremy, Deck Crew Sophia!