2015 - Page 23 of 25 - Island Divers Hawaii

Kings, Queens and Crown of Thorns! Jan 23

January 23, 2015/in Dive Reports, Uncategorized/by Lauren Smith

Divers ready, gear set and the Sea Fox launched into partly cloudy weather with a boat for full of advanced divers! Small waves with pockets full of sunshine during the twenty minute ride out to our first wreck to Baby Barge. On the boat today we had several Dive Masters in training and advanced divers looking to have fun! Once the boat was tied off our divers entered the water in stride, giant strides that is! Once the divers where in the water we began our descent down to the wreck. Bellow the water was cool, calm and crystal clear with 80+ visibility. With light current we made our way down to a max depth of 79ft to explore the broken barge and uncover lobsters and scorpion fish with our touches. After a peak around the sunken wreck our divers made the way down to a ledge that lead to lave tubes and caves that have been known to hide white tip reef sharks. Unfortunately the sharks where not around, but luckily for us several large sea turtles seemed to have taken their place!

We soon turned around after reaching 20 minutes into our dive and headed back to the sunken wreck for one more quick look around before making our slow assent and safety stop towards the surfacing and onto the boat. On the surface divers relaxed and enjoyed the sun while we motored around seeing whale spouts in the distance! Before we knew it divers where feeling a little do dry and ready to jump back into the water for another bubble. Once we reached our next destination divers where already geared up and ready to jump! With Capt. Joe over the dive site our divers got inline for the jump… divers ready!? DIVE DIVE DIVE! One after another we entered the water and regrouped below the boat to begin drifting Fantasy Reef!

Under the water we began searching for creatures hiding in the cracks. Our Dive Master in training had a keen eye for spotting Moray Eels and schools of Squirrel fish hiding in the shadows. A Hawaiian Lion Fish was found floating closely next to a large Crown of Thorns. A few types of nudibranchs were inching their way across the sea floor while the group drifted steady westward towards Diamond Head. Below the bottom the visibility was awesome! Turtles surfacing with the sound the dolphins in the distance, reaching 35 minutes divers where heading into the blue to begin a safety stop before heading back to the surface.

On the top the Captain and Crew prepared the boat for departure while our divers relaxed and shared pictures as the Sea Fox motored back into harbor just in time for lunch!

Another great dive on diving in Hawaii with great divers!

W: Bradley (instructor) Joe (captain)

CONDITIONS: Partly Cloudy, Mid 70′s , 74*F water, visibility 60+ft

DIVE PROFILES: Baby Barge: 79ft max depth, dive time 38 minutes. Fantasy Reef: Max depth 53ft, dive time 39 minutes.

MARINE LIFE: Nudibranchs, Moray Eels, Scorpion Fish, Hawaiian Lion Fish, Crown of Thorns & Green Sea Turtles!

The Call of the Wild! Jan 22

January 22, 2015/in Uncategorized/by David Sanchez

A great day to be out on the water… calm seas, good visibility, a small current, and great divers all added up to a fantastic day of diving.

Tracey, Toshiro, and James joined me on an advanced dive which began at LCU… one of my favorite sites. The Whales were out in force today, breaching, tail slapping, and the sound of their calls were amazing and sooo close! They were definitely having fun! Down the lines we go!…

First up…Two White Tip Sharks circling under the wreck… sadly they both had fishing hooks jutting out of their mouths. Wished I could just go up and pull them out… but I know better! Hopefully they find a way to spit them out.

Outside the perimeter of the ship a flight of three Spotted Eagle Rays flew gracefully bye…

and finishing our dive it was back up the line to return to the Fox…

After a short surface interval it was on to Fantasy Reef… always an awesome place to see turtles, Octopus, and Eels: it did not disappoint!

An Octopus crept between the coral and kept his eyes out for any intruders to his home…

and turtles of all sizes slept and swam along the reef…

an Eel slithered slowly bye searching for a place to make a home for the day…

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

LCU/ 85ft/Vis 80ft/74*/20 min

Fantasy Reef/ 55 ft/ Vis 85ft/74*/35min

Dave- Lead

Kendal- Capt

Ashley- Crew

LOOK DEEP INTO NATURE. . . 21 january

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

. . .and then you will understand everything better – Albert Einstein. well, i think that is true, and diving is certainly a unique look! Diving the volcanic walls off of Koko Head crater, with their canyons, caves, and lava tubes, always gives me a profound sense of power, mystery, and timelessness. Add in thousands of varieties of fish, mammals, mollusks, nudibranchs, reptiles, and, of course, octopus, then one is subject to a feeling of awe at this creation, and how it fits together. I enjoy diving so much more than Honolulu traffic! First dive was the ever-popular Corsair airplane wreck, still in great shape, with plenty to see around it – fish, eels, crabs, morays – and being a deeper site, the potential for whales, sharks, and amazing translucent critters riding the currents. great conditions – mild current and good viz, and we had a great dive. 2nd jump was a drift of Baboon Nose, and what a treat. such a spectacular dive experience! just amazing topography – walls, ledges, channels, and caves, all holding and supporting a myriad of sea life. thanks to all for safe diving! larry, joe

corsair 107 ft 100 viz 30 min

baboon nose 50 ft 140 viz 44 minutes

Craters and Reefs Tuesday… Jan 20

January 21, 2015/in Uncategorized/by David Sanchez

A beautiful Oahu day met our divers as we left the dock and motored out to our first site… Koko Craters. Certified divers Jon, Soon, Tim, and Jon… AoW students Haley and Irena… and DMCs Anthony, Nick, and Greg (with Manolo) were all ready to explore and learn some new skills. Good visibility and a small current were the conditions of the day.

Beginning at back crater the group kicked against the current and made its way to Big Buddha where one of the main residents of the area was resting under the ledge…

We pushed deeper into the crater, seeing Moorish Idols, Squirrel Fish, and Butterfly Fish go about their usual daily grind. Then a visit to a Warrior standing guard…

Back to the Fox and off to Anglers Reef… dropping onto the site with Yellowfin Goatfish, Longnose Butterflys, and Bird Wrasse darting around the reef…

and of course Yellow Margin Moray Eels!

A great day of diving, thank you to all our divers for a safe and fun day in the water, and congratulations to Haley and Irena for completing their Advanced Open Water!

Koko Craters/34ft/74*/Vis 70ft/35 min

Anglers Reef/42ft/74*/Vis 70ft/30min

Dave- Lead

Joe- Capt

Imran- Crew

Playing in the Currents 1/20

January 20, 2015/in Dive Reports/by Mark Savel

The wonderful conditions continue diving off Oahu today. We still have nice, calm winds and the surface conditions are great. We did have some strong currents as we had a big tide swing today so we headed out for a couple drift dives off the wall by Hanauma Bay. We dove off the wall by Sea Cave for the first dive but with some weird currents missed the cave itself. It was still a great dive as we had wonderful viz and fish everywhere. There were schools of pennant butterflyfish and wrasses swimming about us and found a few turtles in a couple smaller caves that swam out as we came upon them. Soon it was time to head up and continue to the next dive.

For the second site we dove Palea Point and it was awesome. The viz and current we perfect and we cruised the reef. Again there was life all around the site with large schools of butterflyfish and damsels swimming around the rocks. We also found a large octopus and a massive cornet fish resting near the bottom. There were a couple more turtles on the reef. It was a wonderful day diving the southeast side of Oahu.

Living in a Postcard 1172015

January 17, 2015/in Uncategorized/by Manolo Cabasal

It was another picturesque morning today in Hawaii Kai. Fourteen divers boarded the Sea Fox eager to take advantage of the postcard surface conditions: Light and variable winds with a 1 to 2 foot swell. It was as if you were looking out onto a massive lake. Eager for a healthy dose of narcosis, the first dive site of the day was obviously The Corsair.

The Corsair
106ft – 29min
73 degrees

Oahu’s only natural wreck never ceases to mystify. During a training exercise during WWII, the pilot ditched the plane in the bay after running out of fuel. Don’t worry, the pilot survived with no injury and eventually returned to dive the wreck he created in the 1980’s. With absolutely no current, the divers free descended in 70ft visibility. Besides the plane, a school of snapper, fields of garden eels, and a solitary octopus were all spotted deep in the abyss.

Skimmon’s Reef
69ft – 42min
73 degrees

The surface conditions continued to remain spectacular. The current also continued to remain dead allowing for a trip to the east side and a nice lazy drift dive. Entering negative into 100 ft visibility delighted the divers as they were able to witness Skimmon’s Reef teeming with life. Massive schools of moorish idols enveloped the divers and a gigantic crown of thorns mystified the group. The divers also saw a couple of snowflake eels and an juvenile octopus. Before returning to the surface, they also swam through a couple of archways.

A special thanks goes out to the Crew: Captain Joe, Everette, and the lovely Kelsey. Kelsey…you should sing more. Seriously.

CAVE DIVING! 16 January

January 17, 2015/in Dive Reports/by Larry Hogan

Well, not really cave diving, but lava tube diving. Our famous dive we call Sea Cave was dive number two today, and everyone was blown away as usual!! this ancient opening in the wall outside Hanauma Bay is a habitat to sharks, turtles, and often, monk seals. it is quite large inside, and quite bright due to the size of the surface opening. today we saw several white tip sharks inside, plus a huge hairy leg hermit crab. no monk seals today, but several turtles cruised by us as we drifted the wall toward Hanauma, plus huge schools of various reef fish! the current was perfect, and the viz was good, as we drifted along and over the coral and lava rock. baby barge was our first dive, and we moored up and visited the shark cave, spotting turtles and rays along the way. on the barge we saw a moray eel getting his teeth checked by a banded coral shrimp. amazing symbiotic relationship! fun to see!! thanks to all for safe diving! larry, joe

baby barge 80 feet 120 viz 35 minutes

sea cave 50 feet 100 viz 44 minutes

A-TEAM Divers!

January 16, 2015/in Dive Reports/by Lauren Smith

Today was a fun day for diving with a mixed bag of Divers! Discover Scuba Divers, Student and returned Certified costumers! After a morning of teaching we began to load the Sea Fox for a PM Charter with 2 shallow reef dives. Our first destination was Koko Crater, a local favorite and great place for anyone to make their first Open Water SPLASH! Once our PADI Instructors entered the water the crew began to help each diver safely enter one at a time. For some the giant stride seems a bit scary, others didn’t hesitate for a moment!

After we grouped up in our small 4 person tours we grabbed on to the line and made a slow and controlled descent. Once we reach our sandy bottom at 35 feet our new divers slowly got acclimated to the feeling of space! Once the jitters where out of the way we slowly started our adventure swimming through blue jelly! We first say hi to our friendly stone statue Buddhas and soon after meet by our local turtle friends! With a nice easy dive with great visibility we found our way back to the mooring line and slowing made our assent back to the surface.

At the surface our costumers all talked about the different fish they saw for the first time. Bird Wrasse and Lizard fish seem to be everyone favorite that day.

Our next dive adventure was another great swim through a local hot spot called Turtle Canyons. We began our descent back in our close knit dive groups to a max depth of 38 feet. Below we came across a few different types of Nudibranchs and eels! Looking for turtles and ray we swam easily through a light current. Visibility today was great and the water was refreshing!

Great job diving as a team today guys!

W: Bradley (instructor) Matt (support) Joe (captain)

CONDITIONS: Partly Cloudy, Mid 70′s , 75*F water, visibility 60+ft

DIVE PROFILES: Koko Crater: 35 ft max depth, dive time 38 minutes. Turtle Canyons: Max depth 38ft, dive time 39 minutes.

MARINE LIFE: Nudibranchs, Moray Eels, Green Sea Turtles, Bird Wrasse and Pennant Butterfly fish

DRIFTING PA’AVA TO KOKOS 14 jan

January 15, 2015/in Dive Reports/by Larry Hogan

such a fun drift, and one we don’t usually do for various reasons. but conditions were perfect, and my two students were up for the challenge of their first drift dive. simon and raefael both did a great job in every way, they are both certified now, and we had a blast! Pa’ava corner was packed with various reef fish, as usual, and as we followed the ledge we found octopus, a huge eel, and turtles along the way. We also dove turtle canyons, and saw tons of fish, but the highlights were the octopus, a frogfish, and a rock scorpion fish. lots of eels there too! but no eagle ray today, he must have finished his lunch already. thanks to simon and raffy for great focus, and attitude – you guys will enjoy diving for a long time! larry and joe.

Diving with old friends and making new ones!

January 15, 2015/in Dive Reports, Uncategorized/by Lauren Smith

Today was a beautiful day at Island Divers Hawaii! Customers who traveled from Germany, Puerto Rico and the Midwest where diving with us for a 2 tank advance dive. With winds coming from the South, the captain and crew talked over the dive sites and planned for 2 drift destinations on the east side of the island. Once the boat and divers had geared up we unleashed the Sea Fox and motored out and around Kaihuokapua‘a. Our 30 minutes boat ride was smooth and relaxed while we cruised passed Hanauma Bay, looking for the most ideal place for our first dive. Skimmin Ledge became the prime location, with a max depth of 80 feet and NE current it was a new experience for all of our customers. Soon the divers where suited up and 100% ready for negative entries. As the Capt. prepared the for the drop, we eagerly waited for the OK… Divers Ready!? DIVE DIVE DIVE!

Below the water divers started to buddy up and began shinning lights and taking photos of the marine life below. With a slight current we drifted easily passed ledges and through couple large swim through! Doctor fish, turtles and trumpet fish decided to come along for the ride.

After a 39 minute drift we were back on the surface drying off and warming up in the sun while we moved the boat to our next dive destination. After a friendly surface interval we prepared for our next drift in front of Hanauma Bay. Descending down at Palea Point we started drifting passed rubble and with small holes hiding scorpion fish and wrasse. At max depth of 62 ft we had a chance to visit a few small caves occupied by sleeping turtles! Towards the end of our second dive we drifting into the blue to begin our safety stop while listening to whales singing to each other, everyone was surprised and excited on how close these deep sea mammals sounded!

So happy to of had the chance to dive with an old friend from the Caribbean and new friends from all over the world!

Mahalo guys!

W: Bradley (instructor) Kendal (captain)

CONDITIONS: Partly Cloudy, Mid 70′s , 74*F water, visibility 60+ft

DIVE PROFILES: Skimmin Ledge: 69ft max depth, 39min dive time & Palea Point: 62ft max depth, 40min dive time

MARINE LIFE: Scorpion Fish, sleeping Sea Turtles, Nunu Trumpet fish and the WHALE SONG!