2016 - Page 5 of 14 - Island Divers Hawaii

Aloha Friday Dives

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

Today was a fun day out on the water. The seafox was full with a group of excited and energetic divers. The first dive site we went to today was LCU. An upside down landing craft unit that has made itself home to lots of marine life. Today a beautiful spotted eagle ray came and cruised along side the wreck for a good majority of the dive. Really awesome getting to swim along side those graceful creatures. The visibility was absolutely amazing today with over 100 feet of visibility. Crystal clear blue waters and warm bright sunny skies. After a 35 minute dive at 90 feet at LCU we headed over to Anglers Reef for our second dive.

Anglers also had amazing visibility today. When we first jumped in the water we were greeted by a big green sea turtle! We were able to find quite a few moray eels including a massive yellow margin moray! We also saw a large group of porcupine fish and few other schools of small reef fish. And of course the famous blue dragon nudibranch. We did a 45 minute dive at 45 feet for our second dive at Anglers. Overall it was an excellent day of diving with a fun crowd. Hope to see everyone out on the boat again soon. Special congratulations to Jared and Aaron for completing their Nirtox courses today!

Crew: Captain Joe, Instructor Sarah, Instructor Larry, Instructor Amy, Crew Kayla

SURROUNDED BY A THOUSAND EELS !! 6 july

July 7, 2016/in Dive Reports/by Larry Hogan

and resting on the ocean floor is the wreck of the Corsair airplane. this plane, way back in 1946, took off from Hickam AFB, quickly developed engine problems, and was safely landed in the ocean off Oahu’s southern shore. that talented pilot came back years later and dove down to 107 feet where his plane rests. this dive site is a magnet for airplane pilots and Corsair fans from all over the world, and it’s a 10 minute boat ride from our shop, so we meet lots of them! it is a small site, and best dove on nitrox to extend your no deco time, giving you a chance to really examine the plane and site. i have seen so many different small and large critters there over the years, and that cast of characters is always changing. often there are morays and slipper lobsters in the engine or cockpit. or an octopus in the wing, or a crab in the tail. schools of fish are around and inside the fuselage. also frog fish, crocodile snake eels, sharks, and hawaii sting rays! But one of the constant treats is the thousands of garden eels swaying in the sand all around the wreck. a must do dive site for adventurous divers! thanks to all for safe diving! larry, mary, joe, grace

corsair 107 ft 150 viz 25 min

fantasy reef 50 ft 150 viz 50 min

Post 4th of July Dive

July 5, 2016/in Uncategorized/by Jeremy Sanders-Lewis

With the 4th of July celebrations at an end the diving continues and we were all ready to get into the water. Heading out for the morning we were still fighting high winds and heavy currents but were not deterred and charged to one of our best sites, the LCU (Landing Craft Utility) vehicle. At a max depth of 95ft and with visibility reaching 100+ we could easily see the wreck from the surface.

Once at the bottom we ducked under the wreck for a quick peek inside and then headed out for swim around the outlying area. Here is where we got a nice encounter with a small White Tip reef shark who was hiding under a formation of cinder blocks. After the reef shark we started making are way back towards the wreck and came up on a nice sized Eagle Ray flying off the LCU’s starboard side. The ray allowed us to to approach and give the divers a chance to take a few pictures and videos.

White Tip Reef Shark

Divers along side the LCU

Eagle Ray starboard side of LCU

Diver catching a photo.

After leaving the LCU we headed back into the bay for a more relaxing dive at a great site called Anglers Reef. Anglers Reef has a max depth of 45ft and today’s dive gave us visibility up towards 70+ ft. It is a nice long single reef shelf that is easy to navigate. The current today was on the moderate/strong side so we began our dive heading up current. Not so soon after we were treated with our fist encounter with a large Yellow Margin Eel who was out and about and on the hunt. He was the first but not the last as we continued to see more Yellow Margins along with Stout, Zebra and Whitemouth Morays.

Zebra Moray

Whitemouth Moray at Anglers Reef

Stout Moray

Yellow Margin Moray

Yellow Margin Moray out on the hunt.

“I have my eye on you!”

Red, White, Blue and 2 Monk Seals! 7/4 AM dive

July 5, 2016/in Dive Reports/by Mary Christensen

Divers really know how to celebrate holidays and we do it in such an amazing fashion. The group was ready to go a bit early so we motored out to our first site. We did kind of a mini drift drive on Baby Barge. Starting at the shark cave was a great choice. We sadly didn’t see sharks there but boy oh boy did we see turtles. They were in the cave, they were out free swimming all around us, they were at the barge. It was breathtaking for all of us and we could really see them in the 100+ foot of visibility. We explored the wreck for awhile then drifted on. Lots of moray eels and loads of reef fish!

hawaiian green see turtle

2 turtles with baby barge in back ground

yellow margin moray eels

Having some fun in the sun on this beautiful day we made our way to spitting caves. Spitting Caves is one of our favorite dive sites because you just never know what you are going to see there. The visibility wasn’t as great as on the first dive but we still got to see so much. When we dropped in there was a huge school of moorish idol’s that surrounded us. This is always magical to see them in every direction. It was a slow current so we got to explore a lot. That’s when it happened. TWO MONK SEALS!! Dive instructor Sarah spotted them first and called the group back. They were to two cutest seals and so playful with each other. One was pretty interested in us, I suspect this one is the one that joins our dives occasionally. The divers all kept there distance, we have great respect knowing as cute as they are, they are still wild animals. Everyone with cameras was in dive heaven! We also got to enjoy 2 snake eels that were completely out of hiding. The reef fish were surrounding us all the way on the dive and yes….More turtles! What an amazing way to start this holiday! Back on the boat Jeff prepared hot towels for everyone to freshen up with as we all excitedly chatted about our sightings!

Hawaiian Monk Seals

Playing Seals

Nudi

snake eel

Dive Sites: Baby barge, max depth 85 feet, viz 100+ Drift/wreck

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

Awesome divers: Eugene, Jeff, Jillian, Daniel, Josh, JR, Sarah, Matt, Tim Corbin, Aaron, and Toy!

Amazing Dive Staff: Capt. Kendal, Dive Instructors Mary and Sarah, Crew Jeff!

Thank you Everyone and Happy 4th!

The Amazing Divers from the North

July 2, 2016/in Uncategorized/by Kevin Cloud

Here comes the 13 fearsome Canadian divers, who have traveled from thousands of miles just to try out diving for their first time with us. I consider it a challenge in a way but also a privilege to show these guys and girl how wonderful the underwater kingdom can be, and what better way than Koko Craters AND Turtle Canyon to be their destinations to find out. Of course their were some who really put their courage to the test, especially the ones who even questioned getting into the pool. However, I gotta give them credit for going beyond their limits and diving into something new so here’s a tip of my hat to those guys and girl who gave it their all.

2 Dive, 2 New Dive Masters!! AM 6/28

June 29, 2016/in Dive Reports, Diving Courses/by Mary Christensen

The upside down LCU sits in around 85-90 feet of water. When it was sunk it flipped over, laying on it’s wheel house on the sandy bottom of the sea. This affords us a very interesting daytime prospective of seeing the nocturnal fish that dwell there. We were met by a mild current but amazingly clear water. The eagle rays were circling as we decended to our site. As the group was down there was a huge green sea turtle doing a dive on the wreck also. He became more interested in the divers for awhile then made his way off the wreck. We also got to see a huge (300-400) schooling barracudas. That was quite a sight.

Barracuda

LCU with Divers

Spitting caves is one of our favorite dive sights and the conditions were perfect to see the sights. So many things to mention on this dive, eagle ray, sharks, so many turtles, eels, octopus, scorpion devil fish, The group was happy to move along slowly and explore all the small caves and wall on the way. We don’t often see the eagle rays there but a very mature adult one swam right by us today. All of our photographers had more subjects than they could ever hope for. This was also a fantastic setting for Audrey and Ben, they completed their PADI Dive Master Course!! Both put so much hard work into their training and we are all very proud of them!

So many turtles

more

eagle ray

As always on the boat we cleaned up all the gear and were refreshed with hot moist minty towels from the crew to freshen up with!

Dive Sites: LCU 85-90 feet, Viz 100+, Wreck dive

Spitting Caves: 50 foot max depth, 85 feet of Viz , Drift dive

Awesome Divers: Audrey, Ben, Courtnie, David, Andrea, Hanea, Carrisa, Sarah and of course the Amazing Sheila!

Amazing Dive Staff: Captain Joe, Dive Instructor Mary, Crew Marissa.

Three Beautiful Dives! 6/25

June 27, 2016/in Dive Reports, Diving Courses/by Mary Christensen

Sunny skies and calm waters greeted our fantastic dive group today. Descending down on the LCU we had 100+ of visibility. We saw the eagle rays lazily circling the wreck. The LCU lays upside down on the ocean floor and sits on it’s wheel house. This makes it pretty interesting for us to explore the underneath area of the wreck. Exiting the door on the side of the boat we went and looked around the Z blocks that surround a good portion of the wreck. Coming back we then made our way towards the back and up over the top. Such a nice relaxing dive and so much to see.

The YO 257, pictured above was our next stop. It has been one of our top wrecks to dive on for such a long time much changed when it used to be top side. This is an old Oiler and is in fantastic condition on the bottom of the sea. We had a little current but crystal clear water again. Schools of reef fish surrounded us as we dropped down the line. We also made our way to the San Padro which sits 70 feet away. On the far side of the San Padro we got to encounter 2 rather large white tip reef sharks asleep. Also should mention we had encounters with eels and turtles. Another great dive in the books!

Our Drift dive today was at Fantasy reef. Again we were lucky enough to have great visibility which was perfect so we could see the many many turtles that swam around us for a good part of the dive. We had a very special visit from a baby green sea turtle. He was about the size of a football and all the divers were super excited. Two more sharks on this beautiful reef for us to see and so very many eels. All and all this was a perfect Sunday to dive! A Big CONGRATULATIONS TO Jared on this PADI Advance Open Water Certification! Great Job.

LCU: 95 feet, 100+ viz, wreck dive

YO257: 95 feet, 100+ viz, wreck dive

Fantasy Reef: 55 feet, 100+ viz, drift dive

Thank you to all our Awesome Divers: Audrey, Ben, Dan, James, Jared, Julie, Liza and Ruben.

Amazing Dive Staff: Capt. Kendal, Instructor Mary and Crew Britney!

NAKED AND AFRAID!! 6/25

June 26, 2016/in Dive Reports/by Larry Hogan

is one of those survival TV shows, and it can be very entertaining, as it is quite fun watching people being afraid while they’re naked (and they’re not even dating)! Fortunately we don’t have to struggle to survive while diving on the Sea Fox, as it is a fantastic dive boat – big, fast, roomy, with a dry cabin, tasty snacks, drinks, hot towels, and functional head! and awesome captains and crew!! we had some marine biologists out with us today. they are in Honolulu for a coral reef symposium, and wanted to get some underwater time in before sitting in the Convention center! we headed out and moored up at Fantasy reef so we could show them a spectacular coral reef. and they loved it!! we saw turtles, sharks, mating octopus, more turtles, eels, loads of reef fish. after that we blew em away again on our 2nd dive, a drift, over at Spitting Cave, showing them marine life galore amidst the caves and canyons dotting the wall outside Hanauma bay. lots of big smiles on the boat after those dives! thanks to all for safe diving!

larry, vince, capn joe and kelsea

OFF THE DEEP END !! 6.21

June 23, 2016/in Dive Reports/by Larry Hogan

one of the many things we love in diving – a nice deep wreck! we have one we call Big Barge, as opposed to the famous turtle hangout, Baby Barge. Big Barge is, well, bigger! today there were several large ulua, or jacks inside the wreck. and when i say large, i mean LARGE! fun to seen, these fish are fast and sleek, moving like lightening! always a treat to see up close! we were doing a Deep Dive for advanced students Abby and Ted, and they did a great job navigating through the wreck, and passed their narcosis tests with flying colors (well, Abby did). 2nd dive was a super treat over on Spitting cave where we saw so much marine life we didn’t know where to look! turtles, sharks, octopus, frogfish, scorpion fish, eels, amidst the beautiful ocean-shaped volcanic topography of the site! thanks to all for safe diving! larry

big barge 90 ft 100 viz 35 min

spitting cave 50 ft 80 viz 50 min

Loving Summer Mornings on the Seafox

June 23, 2016/in Dive Reports/by Sarah Moore

Another awesome day out on the seafox this morning! The weather was beautiful, the water was warm, and we had a great group of divers ready to blow some bubbles. The first dive we headed out to today was the Corsair. This tiny little plane has made itself home to an abundance of sea life. There were lots of fish swimming around the wreck today making for an awesome and picturesque dive. There was giant moray eel hanging out in the cockpit today and an adorable tiny little leaf scorpion fish by the back of the plane. And of course I had my fun with chasing the garden eels surrounding the wreck. Overall a great dive, the corsair always looks beautiful especially when you have over 100 feet of visibility! For our second dive we headed over to fantasy reef to find some turtles. And we found them! With some fun swim throughs and an almost guarantee of seeing turtles fantasy reef is always an exciting dive. We spotted quite a few moray eels throughout the 50 minute dive. Today we were able to find a couple cool little nudibranches as well. Two great dives. Thanks everyone for coming out this morning and we hope to dive with you all again soon!

Crew: Captain Kendal, Instructor Sarah, Instructor Larry, Crew Brady