2015 - Page 10 of 25 - Island Divers Hawaii

Maunalua Bay diving adventure, octopus in the coral!

August 18, 2015/in Dive Reports/by David Sanchez

A nice day as the PM Fox departed its dock and headed out to Maunalua Bay in search of adventure. On board was a group of explorers: Angela, Amanda, Caleb, Kristen, Aodhan, Tim, Christine, Oliver, Tessia, Chong, Davin (OW1/2) and Elizabeth (OW 3/4).

First stop: Koko Crater. The conditions were fantastic as we entered the water at black crater…A few turtles were observed swimming above, under and around the ledges of Big Buddha crater, and Eels poked their heads out of holes looking for a meal.

On to Turtle Canyon where visibility dropped a bit but was still 60ft plus. 2 Eagle Rays swam around the site, a small Octopus was found, and a host of Green Margin, Viper, and Snowflake Eels were darting in and out of the coral. An awesome day of diving! Thanks to all our divers for a safe and fun day out on the Fox. ALOHA!

Koko Crater/ 35FT/ 30min/ 79*

Turtle Canyon/ 40ft/ 35 min/ 79*

Lead- Dave

Support- Sarah

Captain- Joe

Crew- Kelsey

turtle

Dive certifications, moray eels, reef fish and more diving in Honolulu!

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

Today was another beautiful day out on the water in Oahu. We had three students on the boat this afternoon, one doing his first two ocean dives towards his PADI Open Water certification and two working on their Advanced Open Water certifications. There were also 6 certified divers on the boat and 8 friends who came along to snorkel! The first dive site we went to was . Here we found a couple moray eels, one of which was huge! We saw lots of little reef fish like sergeant majors, damsel fish, and butterfly fish. We also saw a porcupine fish! After a 40 minute dive at 40 feet we headed back up to the boat.

The second dive site we went to was Turtle Canyons. Here we saw quite a few more moray eels. One eels was out swimming around and came up to surprise Jennette when she wasn’t looking! We also found a few and some pincushion sea stars. After another 40 minute dive at 40 feet we headed back up to the boat and back into the marina. Overall it was a great day of diving with some great divers.

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

Conditions: Water Temperature 82 degrees Fahrenheit, Visibility 150+ feet

Oahu wreck dives and spitting caves yield multiple turtle sightings!

August 9, 2015/in Dive Reports/by Mary Christensen

What a stellar day at sea for Island Divers and our fantastic guests! Kahala Barge was our first dive, max depth 100 feet! Such a great time inside and outside the wreck!

Dive two was New Barge and the first thing we were greeted with at the max depth of 85 feet was a large reef shark! We also had a great time inside this wreck then skirting the outside.

After our lunch on the boat, thanks Captain Kendal for that this morning, we headed to our final dive! This was just the icing on the cake. We drifted Spitting Caves and did a max depth of 50 feet. So many beautiful things on this relaxing dive….the best being the school of baby green sea turtles! We started counting and ended up with six on the dive!! SIX!what a great day to be a diver in Hawaii!! Thanks Chad, Steve, Fred, Evan, David, Scott, Imran, Ole, Jamen, Mike, Joseph, Veronica, And Joshua!! You make our jobs a sheer pleasure!!

Discover Scuba diving in Hawaii with turtles, moray eels and Humuhumunukunukuapua’a!

August 7, 2015/in Dive Reports/by Sarah Moore

Today was a beautiful day out on the water in Hawaii. We had a few students on the boat working towards their certifications, some discover scuba divers trying out diving for the first time, and some certified divers so it was a mixed bag of divers. We headed out to our first dive site, Koko Craters with lots of excitement. As we approached the dive site we were greeted by the turtles on the surface coming up for air. It was beautiful conditions underwater with 80+ foot visibility and 82 degree water temperature. While on the dive we encountered more turtles, moray eels, schools of sergeant majors, and an octopus! After a 40 minute dive to 37 feet we headed back up to the boat to go to the next dive site.

The second dive site we went to was Turtle Canyons. Once we dropped down to 35 feet we found a couple viper moray eels in the reef. They have such crazy teeth, wouldn’t want to get caught in those chompers! We found a few porcupine fish, blue dragon nudibranchs, and of course the state fish of Hawaii the Humuhumunukunukuapua’a. After a 35 minute dive we headed back up to the boat and back in to dry land. Thanks to everyone for coming out and diving!

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

Turtles, eels, wrecks and Nitrox, diving Baby barge and Fantasy reef!

August 5, 2015/in Dive Reports/by Mary Christensen

What a great day on and in the water. While the current was a little strong at the surface my fantastic group followed all directions and at the bottom were rewarded with an amazing dive on baby barge. We had 100+ viz and calm water. Hawaiian green sea turtles, moray eels and to many fish to count. Our max depth was 85 feet. Some of the group took advantage of using Nitrox and got to have extended bottom times.

Fantasy reef was just that…..a perfect Fantasy, max depth was 55 feet. This dive was breath taking for sure. There were so many turtles we lost count. It seemed like they came to dive with us. Every time we looked around there was another one swimming along side of us! Obie completed his PADI Enriched Air course today, Congratulations!! You did an amazing job. Steven, Nick, Steve, Obie, Tom, Debra, and Dave it was a pure pleasure having you with us today on the boat!! Happy Diving!

Octopus, turtles and eagle rays diving Koko crater and Turtle canyon.

August 5, 2015/in Dive Reports/by David Sanchez

A great Tuesday out in Maunalua Bay today… with a great group of Certified Divers, Students, and Discover Scuba Enthusiasts! Joining us today were Katie, Joe, Au, Molly, Joe M, Barbie, Brennan, Grandma, Nelson, Matthew, Jong, Paul, Jeong, Seoin, Jyhyun, Tapio, and Luca.

First stop: Koko Crater… great visibility (80+ ft) no current, and some awesome sea friends met it down at 35 ft. Turtles, various reef fish, and a nice sized Taco (Octopus) all greeted the divers on the crater floor.

Then on to Turtle Canyon where 2 Spotted Eagle Rays glided along the reef edge at 30ft again with great vis (70ft). It was a great day and thank you to all our divers for a safe and fun day out on the Fox. Aloha!

Dave- Lead Inst

Mark- Support Inst

Larry- Support Inst

Joe- Capt

Ashley- Crew

Baby barge and fantasy reef, home to turtles, sharks and eels. Drift diving Oahu!

August 2, 2015/in Dive Reports/by Larry Hogan

Hawaiian green sea turtles are true giants. At over 5 feet in length and up to a quarter ton, these big guys continually amaze and amuse our lucky divers with their size and demeanor. I smile frequently underwater while one of my divers stretches his arms as wide as he can after seeing his first huge turtle with an amazed and happy look on his face! Today we dropped in at Baby Barge which plays host to a nice variety of marine life including a free swimming shark, several turtles, big eels, and loads of reef fish. 2nd jump was a drift of staff favorite Fantasy Reef which is truly the home of the hawaiin green sea turtle, as we saw at least one over 5 feet long, and who knows how many pounds! We also saw more sharks, more eels, lots of reef fish, and the beautiful volcanic topography of that dive site. Thanks to all for safe diving! Larry, Kelsea, and Joe

Baby barge – 80 feet 150 viz 35 minutes

Fantasy – 52 ft 150 viz 50 minutes

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.