April 2016 - Page 2 of 2 - Island Divers Hawaii

A little Windy but Perfect under the Water 4/13

April 13, 2016/in Dive Reports/by Mary Christensen

There was nothing unlucky about today’s trip. We had clear skies but some wind out today. The upside down landing craft (LCU) was our dive location, max depth 95 feet, viz 150+! We had a little surface current but when we got about 20 feet down it was perfect. Under the wreck we had 2 good sized white tip reef sharks that joined the dive for a bit. Everyone was super excited about it. Outside the wreck we were looking around and low and behold we spotted the eagle rays. One of our favorites so graceful in the water. The hung out at the wreck for a bit with us too. Lots of things to look at today on an excellent dive on our wreck.

Spitting caves, max depth 50 feet, viz 150+! (looked like forever) Pretty sure all the turtles came out to see us today. Their was always one or two swimming along our around with the group. We got to experience Octopus, so many eels, Sharks and yes our favorite yellow frog fish was on his perch. We had a slight current but me mostly drifted really slowly. Gave everyone a chance to explore everything. It was a pretty amazing day out. After the dives we got to freshen up with hot minty towels, a customer favorite with our divers. It was a pretty magical day in the water!

Awesome divers: Clinton, Cynthia, Thea, Brad, Zach and Paul.

Outstanding DMC: Dave

Amazing Crew: Capt. Kendal, Dive instructor Mary, Boat Crew Karl

Dive Sites: LCU, max depth 95 feet, viz 150+, Wreck. Spitting Caves, max depth 50, viz 150+, Drift

Octopus and Scorpionfish Galore!

April 11, 2016/in Dive Reports, Diving Courses, Scuba Diving Certification/by Chelsea McLaughlin

We had a great variety of divers of all skill level on our afternoon charter today. Wendy, Jeffrie, and Miche were discovering the wonder of the underwater world; Melissa was starting her Advanced Open Water; Taylor, Abigail, and Nikolas were doing their Open Water courses; and Shannon, Russ, and Charles were getting back to diving after a brief hiatus. The wind was blowing in Maunaloa Bay and there was a slight chop on the surface.

It took us about ten minutes to reach our first stop: Koko Craters! Underwater, the visibility was spectacular and the current was minimal. We saw several turtles, a few scorpionfish, and even an octopus! There were plenty of damselfish darting around the Buddha statue and schools of surgeonfish swimming between the craters.

Our next site was Turtle Canyon. This was quite an exciting dive. We saw a turtle getting cleaned with a huge moray eel next to it right off the bat! As we continued along the reef, we saw many smaller eels darting in between the coral heads, lots of little tangs and damselfish, and even stumbled upon three large scorpionfish. On our way back to the boat we watched a small porcupine fish swim about and took a look at a helmet conch. One group even saw an octopus!

Everybody had a fantastic day underwater, even though it was a little windy and choppy on the surface. Nikolas is now a certified diver; Taylor and Abigail will be soon; Melissa will finish up her Advanced Open Water in the next few days; and Wendy, Jefferie, and Miche are on their way to becoming certified themselves!

Koko Craters and Turtle Canyon: max depth 40ft

Staff: Capt. Joe; Instructors Chelsea, Alex, and Jim; Deckhand Mikaela

You Ask….We Deliver!! Baby Barge, LCU and Frog Fish! 4/10 AM

April 11, 2016/in Dive Reports, Diving Courses/by Mary Christensen

The start of the day was a sunny, calm beautiful morning and a great day to dive. This morning we had a few requests that we made happen. Divers wanted Baby Barge, max depth 85 feet, viz 150+. It was amazing at baby barge we could see the site from the boat. It was crystal clear looking down! The dive was outstanding, lots of turtles, eels and reef fish. Some of us headed to the “shark cave” and took a look around there. Found some shark teeth and Sasha and Lena buried their keys from the vow they made on friend! Congratulations on your wedding!!! Now baby barge has a special meaning for them.

Our next stop was the requested LCU, max depth 90 feet, viz 80 ft. The upside down landing craft was such a good choice for our next dive. There was a good sized white tip reef shark under the wreck and she was quite active. Swimming all around and giving a pretty good show to the divers. We came out one of the doors on the south side of the wreck and swam into the Z blocks. Found a little octopus out there but he was having nothing to do with coming out. The last group coming up got to see the schooling eagle rays so everyone had a pretty awesome dive. Capt. Matt and Genna had a great lunch all set out for us at the end of this dive. Lots of laughing and comparing what each other saw at this time.

Our last dive was Spitting Caves, max depth 50 feet, viz 50 feet. Everyone was excited to go on the drift dive at Spitting Caves. One of the big requests came from Jane, she wanted to see frog fish. Always hard to guarantee that was see a particular thing underwater. So many turtles on this dive was super. We have been seeing the growth of a few young Hawaiian Green Sea “Honu” Turtles over the last few months and they were all their today. The fish were abundant as always and the dive groups having a great time. About 3/4 of the way through the dive we found the frog fish and yes, Jane was squealing like a school girl. There wasn’t just one…there was 2!! Lots of eels and reef fish also to spice up our dive. A huge congratulations to Lena, Daniel and Victoria for completing their PADI Advanced Open Water Certifications. You all were Excellent Students and made this instructor look good! Loved all the laughter and hugs on the boat today. You truly all left as friends today! On the way in Genna made all the divers hot towels to freshen up with always welcome and popular on the boat!!

Amazing Divers: Sasha and Lena (Newlyweds!), Daniel, Pavel, Jane, Victoria, James, Will, Anthony, Becky, Andrew, Colin, Justin, Megan and Vanessa. NEW Advanced divers Lena, Daniel and Victoria!

Dive Sites: Baby Barge, 85 ft 150 viz, wreck. LCU, 90 ft 80 viz, wreck. Spitting Caves, 50 ft 50ft viz, Drift.

Dive Crew: Capt. Matt, Dive instructors Mary and Chelsea, Boat Crew Genna!

Scuba Divers: Brien, Colin, Jane Leana, Sasha, Pavel, Daniel, Randy, Cheryl, Sherrill and Will

Kahala Barge, Fantasy Reef and Tons of FUN! 4/9 AM Fox

April 9, 2016/in Dive Reports/by Mary Christensen

Today started out with the sun shining and an amazing group of divers that couldn’t wait to dive. The water was calm and nothing but smiles on the boat. Kahala barge was our first drop site, and what a good choice that was. 100+ foot of viz and very little current. The excited divers dropped down and started their dives. Exploring the inside and outside of the wreck. We had one big female Hono that was very interested in our dives. She circled and followed, made sure to give each and every diver the once over. It was pretty special when the sea life interacts with us in that way. We leave them alone and they just want to know what we are doing. Brought smiles to all our faces and some pretty good photo ops for the divers!

During our time between the next dive we went over drift diving and talked about the possible things we could see on Fantasy Reef. The viz was about 60 feet but the reef was teaming with life. Pretty sure we saw about 15 turtles and the real highlight was the THREE…yes three baby sharks all cuddled up in a small over hang. Our white tip reef sharks are one of the few sharks that can sleep without movement to keep them breathing. Then we went to the second swim through and there was a much bigger, very active white tip there. It swam throughout the group then went through the swim through. She returned and the second group of divers got to see her too. Pretty exciting for all of us. The drift took us along at a pretty good clip and we got to see lots of sights. Boy I can’t wait to dive tomorrow with 6 of our divers that are returning! This was a totally fun group with lots of smiles and laughter.

Amazing Divers!! Brien, Colin, Jane Leana, Sasha, Pavel, Daniel, Randy, Cheryl, Sherrill and Will!

Dive Sites: Kahala Barge, max depth 95 feet, viz 100+, Wreck Dive. Fantasy Reef, max depth 55 feet, viz 60ft, Drift Dive.

Awesome Staff: Capt. Kendal, Dive Instructors Mary and Matt, Boat Crew Kelsey!

April 9th Afternoon Fox

April 9, 2016/in Dive Reports, Images/by Kevin Cloud

Another beautiful and easy going day has come and gone, but on this day many divers have come to Island Divers with the same goal. And that goal is to see firsthand the many wonders of the Pacific Ocean, some of these divers want to broaden their knowledge and skills, others are merely here for the enjoyment, but then we have the newcomers who have the honor of visiting these underwater ecosystems for their very first time, I am blessed to be the person to show them this amazing world. So I would like to thank Sarah, Jeremy, and Miche for trying out this course with us, in addition I want to congratulate Nkosi on his Advanced Open Water Diver certification. Great job guys, hope to be diving with you again soon.