2016 - Page 2 of 14 - Island Divers Hawaii

Wonderful Thursday Morning Dives

October 20, 2016/in Dive Reports/by Sarah Moore

Today was a gorgeous day out on the boat. It may have been a little bumpy on the surface but it was absolutely beautiful underneath. The first dive site we went to this morning was LCU. As we were first making our way down the mooring line to bottom at 90 feet we were greeted by 6 spotted eagles! 6 of them! They circled around the wreck throughout our entire 30 minute dive. We also found a white tip reef shark underneath the LCU today. A couple eels around the wreck and giant school of barracuda. The visibility was 100+ feet, crystal clear blue waters. The second dive site we went to today was Fantasy Reef. We saw at least 10 different turtles at fantasy today. Don’t you just love those guys! So relaxed, the turtles are always just napping away. We also found an octopus at fantasy today. Quite a few more moray eels and three different types of nudibranches. The blue dragon nudibranch, the imperial nudibranch, and the pustulose nudibranch. All beautiful little creatures. After a nice 50 minute drift along our 50 foot reef we headed back up to the boat and made our way back to the dock. An awesome day of diving with some awesome new dive buddies. Special congratulations to Adrian for completing his Nitrox certification today! Hope to see you all on the boat again soon! Aloha!

Crew: Captain Kendal, Instructor Sarah, Crew Brady

Diving and a Booby!! 8/10 AM dives

October 8, 2016/in Dive Reports, Diving Courses/by Mary Christensen

Diving on Saturday morning is the perfect start to a weekend. We had light trade winds and our seas were calm. Greeted at New Barge with 150+ feet of visibility. Ed was doing his PADI Wreck Spec on this dive so he was laying line inside the wreck on this dive. The rest of us made our way around the “Z” Block pile outside the wreck, so many fish!! Devin was doing his PADI Enriched Air Spec so we got to spend some extra time on the wreck. We made our way to the wreck as a group and explored inside and out. When we came back up there was a very curious Booby watching all of us. Guess he liked our group there today!

Growth on Wreck

Crown of Thorns

Pyriamid Butterfly fish, millet butterfly below.

picture taken from the sand at the wreck!! SO CLEAR!!

Our quest on the second dive was to see turtles!! Check…..Fantasy Reef is like Turtle Land! We also got to see Octopus, Sharks, Scorpion Fish, and a million reef fish. Oh wait did I mention the 20 Turtles. Talk about excited divers when we came back up. The water was clear and warm and the reef life was abundant. We really lucked out on having such a nice drift dive. Everyone got to talk lots of pictures… Best way to start a weekend.

Devil Scorpion Fish

blue dragon Nudibranch

Dive Sites: New Barge, Max depth 90 feet, Viz 150+ feet, Wreck Dive

Fantasy Reef, Max depth 55 feet, viz 75+, Drift Dive

Awesome Divers: Anki, Bill, Brittany, Chuck, Devin, Ed and Zachary!

Congratulations Ed on Wreck Specialty and Devin on Nitrox Specialty!

Amazing Dive Staff: Captain Daniel, Dive Instructors Mary and Matt, and Super Crew Kelsey!

Monday’s are Magical at LCU! 10/3 AM dive

October 3, 2016/in Dive Reports/by Mary Christensen

Turtle heading under LCU.

Starting the week out right with an AM dive. Our fantastic group of divers defended on the LCU to be met by 5 schooling eagle rays. They stayed with us during the entire dive just to make sure we were doing it right. About half of the divers were enjoying nitrox so got to have even longer dives than normal. We explored the wreck, under the wreck , then out in the “Z” blocks. It was pretty awesome at one point when we were taking pictures of the eagle rays and they were being followed by a huge group of barracuda!! They have been at the LCU for a couple months now and it’s always exciting to see them, there is about 700 of them I would guess.

3 of the 5 Eagle Rays!

ALL 5 of them!!

Fantasy Reef is always such a sweet dive. We took our time and got to see many turtles as usual. I have to say that we are super lucky that we have a site that affords us to see anywhere from 5 to 20 turtles on one dive! We also got to see our share of eels this day. The reef fish to numerous to count. We got enveloped in a school of moorish idols. It’s always so relaxing just to glide along on the currents and everyone had a super time.

Big Male Hono on top of the Reef

Yellow Margin Moray Eel

Amazing divers in a School of Moorish Idols

Super Fun Group of Divers Today!!!

Awesome Divers: Jason, Roxy, Jonathan, Richard, Leslie, Shane, Lachlan, and Tim!

Amazing Dive Staff: Capt. Sean, Dive Instructor Mary, and Boat Crew Tim!

Thank you for all coming out with us!

Dolphins at Koko Craters!!!

October 1, 2016/in Dive Reports/by Sarah Moore

Today was an incredible day out on the water. It was absolutely gorgeous out, the sun was shinning and water was warm. We had awesome 100 foot visibility at our shallow sites this afternoon. For our first dive we headed out in the bay to Koko craters. On the way over there we were followed by a pod of spinner dolphins! After watching them from the boat we were anxious to get in the water. As soon as we got down to the bottom of the mooring line and started making our way over to the crater there they were! 15 spinner dolphins, right there before our very eyes. We could hear them talking to each other. They swam right beside us, swimming up to us and up to the surface for the first 10 minutes of the dive! It was surreal. One of the best dives I have had to date. We saw over 6 different turtles swimming around the dive site and tons of reef fish. An incredible dive at koko craters. For our second dive we headed over to turtle canyons. We had another beautiful dive at turtle canyons. Great visibility, the water was so blue. We saw more turtles, a couple eels, porcupine fish, cute little tobys, bird wrasse, all sorts of great fish. After a relaxing 50 minute cruise around the reef we headed back up to the boat and back into the marina. Great day out on the boat with some great dive buddies. Congratulations to Kelli for trying out diving for the first time! Great job, you are a natural. Congrats to Ann and Cass for completing their open water course today! You guys rocked it! Hope to see everyone out on the boat again soon.

Crew: Instructor Sarah, Instructor Forrest, Captain Matt

Amazing Visibility and Frog Fish at Spitting Caves

September 28, 2016/in Dive Reports/by Sarah Moore

Today was a gorgeous day out on the boat. The sun was shinning bright and the water was crystal clear blue. We had an awesome group of divers out on the boat with us. The first dive site we went to was the famous Corsair. Visibility was 100+ feet today and the corsair looked beautiful. Bertha, the giant yellow margin moray, was hanging out underneath the right wing. There was a leaf scorpion fish on the tail of the plane and school of reef fish surrounding the wreck. And of course the garden eels were in the sand just swaying in the current. A beautiful, relaxing dive. The second dive we did today was spitting caves. Today was a perfect day at spitting. The current was just strong enough to keep us moving along without having to kick but not too strong that we were flying by all the awesome stuff there was to see. We found a white tip reef shark inside one of the caves. A couple turtles in the cave and swimming around. Two octopus, one of which was walking around the reef when we found him! And three frog fish! Two of the frog fish were sitting right next to each other, they must have been buddies. Always awesome to see two of them together. It was an incredible dive at spitting caves with perfect conditions and a fun group of divers. Overall an awesome day. Thanks to all our dive buddies for coming out and hope to see everyone out on the boat again soon.

Crew: Captain Neal, Instructor Sarah, Instructor Everett, Crew Hayley

Spotted Eagle Rays At LCU

September 21, 2016/in Dive Reports/by Sarah Moore

Today was a great day out on the boat with a great group of divers. We had an excited crowd of some familiar faces and some new dive buddies on the boat. The first dive site we went to was LCU. As soon as we dropped down we were greeted by two spotted eagle rays! They stayed around the wreck for our entire 30 minute dive. They were even joined by their friend, a third spotted eagle ray, about halfway through the dive. Tons of fish around the wreck today and awesome visibility. It really was beautiful under there today. The second dive site we went to was fantasy reef. We did a nice long 50 minute dive around fantasy reef today with again almost 100 foot visibility! We found quite a few moray eels, an octopus, and so many turtles! We probably saw at least 15 different turtles. Awesome conditions underneath today. And even though it may have been a little bumpy on the boat the sun was still shinning and it was still beautiful out! Thanks everyone for diving with us and hope to see you all again soon.

Crew: Captain Neal, Instructor Sarah, Crew Hayley

Three Tankers Rock!!! 9/18

September 18, 2016/in Dive Reports, Diving Courses/by Mary Christensen

Everyone on the dive boat this morning was super stoked about the historic Corsair being the first wreck today. It had been requested by over half the boat. There was a pretty kicking current this morning but our divers made their way down the line to the wreck. They were rewarded with crystal clear water and a super nice dive around the wreck. Divers Gene, Heather, Ron, Riana and Omar were doing their PADI Enriched Air course so they got to spend some extra time down there. It’s amazing that the wreck has been there over 65 years and still is in pretty good condition. This is one of the most popular dive sites in Hawaii being the only natural wreck on Oahu. At 107 feet deep Chloe, Riana and Omar also did the deep part of their PADI Advanced Open Water course. Great job all of you!

box crab

divers on corsair

front of corsair

kind of looks like James is piloting

over view of corsair

Baby barge was our next stop and maybe we should have called it the Turtle Barge today! We counted at least 10 of them there. On the wreck, under the wreck, in the wreck, on the side of the wreck, doing swim bys, it was amazing! We also got to see a friendly little free swimming white tip and a few eels hanging around. We stayed right at the wreck and explored today. Pretty sure everyone was pleased with all the turtles as I could hear the squeals of excitement coming from their regs! We were rewarded with great visibility again which is always a treat!

Capt Neal and Malia prepared a nice lunch of sandwiches for the group when they got back up. Divers are always hungry!!

Local Yellow Margin Moray that lives at wreck

Hono on the wreck

Free Swimming white tip

There are 4 turtles in this picture!! Having a meeting I guess.

Winds picked up a little so we went a little closer in to Angler’s Reef for our last dive. The reef fish were abundant and the divers were happy exploring all the little hiding places up and down the reef. This is one of those dives you want to go real slow on so you can see everything and yes….Great Vis again!

Dive Sites: Corsair, max depth 107 feet, 100+ viz, Wreck

Baby Barge, max depth 85 feet, 100+ viz, wreck

Angler’s Reef, max depth 50 feet, 100+ viz, reef

Awesome Divers: Barbara, Chloe, Gene, Haley, Brian, Heather, Ron, James, Riana and Omar!!

Amazing Crew: Capt Neal, Dive Instructors Mary and Alex, boat crew Malia.

Sundays With Island Divers are the Best!

September 11, 2016/in Dive Reports/by Sarah Moore

Another awesome three tanker out of Hawaii Kai today! We had a great group of divers and some great conditions to dive in. First dive site we decided to hit was the famous Baby Barge. Known for its sea life surrounding the broken down wreck. There were quite a few turtles swimming about the wreck this morning. We also saw tons of moray eels, all different types. The yellow margin, whitemouth, undulated, stout. So many eels. And the mother of all eels was spotted at the end of the dive inside the wreck. She swam around relocating inside the wreck a couple times and we got a real good look at just how big she was! We guessed almost 2 feet in diameter at the head and at least 5 feet long. This had to have been one of the biggest eels I have ever seen. Wouldn’t want to piss her off! And of course the blue dragon nudibranches were hanging out on the wreck as well. Lots of good stuff to see during our relaxing 40 minute dive. For our second dive we decided to hit the wall while the tide was right for some awesome visibility. We had a great long drift along the wall today filled with lots of great stuff. We found octopus, turtles, more eels, scorpion fish, a frog fish, and sharks! Four sharks! Three different caves were occupied by sharks today and one cave had two. Beautiful dive at spitting today. Then it was time for some lunch and some rest before heading back out to Kahala barge for the final dive of the day. Kahala barge has some really cool spots to swim through the wreck. Lots of reef fish swimming around in and on top of the wreck. Congratulations to Peter for completing his wreck specialty today! Passed his penetration with flying colors! Overall an awesome day of diving with some awesome dive buddies. Hope to see everyone out on the boat again soon!

Shark! Shark! Shark! Shark! 9/10 am

September 10, 2016/in Dive Reports, Diving Courses/by Mary Christensen

If you wanted to see sharks, like our divers did today, they were out in force. LCU is always a good place for us to find sharks and today it was fantastic. Two good sized white tips under the wreck and then we were met outside by four large eagle rays!! It was a super day on LCU, with 100+ visibility. We had fun exploring the “Z” blocks surrounding the wreck also. Kevin and Izzy had extra time on the wreck while doing their PADI Enriched Air course. What a perfect day to have extra bottom time. It was epic for a beautiful Saturday dive!

Eagle Rays

free swimming shark in Z Blocks

White Tip under LCU

We drifted along our spitting caves dive site. This is a beautiful wall dive with abundant life on it. There are several small caves where our white tips like to sleep. Usually we get to see one or two on the dive site, today was quite different. Every small cave we shined a light in had a shark!! It was amazing as we went along. Everyone was super excited to see them. We also got to see Devil Scorpion fish and also our very elusive frog fish. The frog fish is a light yellowish green color and looks exactly like the coral on this site. He was nestled all in but the keen eye of the dive instructor found it. We had a nice long dive on the lazy current of the day. This was the best start to a weekend. Back on the boat Kelsey made us all hot towels to freshen up with and Capt Joe had fresh pineapple for the excited divers to snack on.

White Mouth Moray

Frog Fish

Devil Scorpion Fish

Dive Sites: LCU max depth 90 feet, Viz 100+, Wreck dive

Spitting Caves, max depth 50 feet, viz 90 feet, Drift dive

Awesome Divers: Ben, Dave, Eric L., Eric O., Jordan, Juhyun, Kevin, Izzy, Drista, Okahuin, Peter, Sergej, Zaur, Alek and Tim!

Amazing Dive Staff: Capt Joe, Dive Instructors Mary, Sarah and Ashley, boat crew Kelsey!

Terrific Dive Day

September 8, 2016/in Dive Reports/by Sarah Moore

It was another beautiful day out on the water this morning! The sun was shinning and the water was crystal clear out in Maunalua Bay. We had a great group of divers ready to splash on the Seafox this morning. The first dive site we headed out to was Baby Barge. A broken down wreck with tons of sea life around it. Today was the day of turtles. From the moment we entered the water we were surrounded by turtles and they stuck with us throughout almost the whole dive. We were also able to find a few moray eels around and inside the wreck. The great big yellow margin moray and a white mouth moray. We did a nice relaxing 40 minute dive on Baby Barge, max depth of 80 feet, and then headed back up to the boat for some surface interval sun. The second dive site we went to today was Fantasy Reef. Once again from the moment we hit the water we were surrounded by turtles throughout the whole dive. It was turtle mania today. We found a couple more moray eels including the undulated moray. Nudibranchs are tiny little sea slugs and if you look close enough you can see them all over the reef, especially the blue dragon nudibranch. We did another great 45 minute dive at 50 feet on fantasy before heading back to the surface and back in to dry land. Another great day of diving with another great group of divers! Happy Birthday Ken! I hope some day I am celebrating my 70th birthday on a dive boat as well! Hope to see you all again soon!

Crew: Captain Joe, Instructor Sarah, Crew Brady
Water Temperature 80 degrees Fahrenheit, visibility 100+ feet