David Sanchez

Sunday Wet Funday 3 Tanker!

/in /by

Weather or not… that was the question our hearty band of divers faced this morning as the weather gods did all they could to try to diminish their enthusiasm for the day ahead. Chris, Grant, Chris F, Gwyn, James, James S, Justin, Mark, Landyn, Sam, Michael, and Melissa all said “Lets Shove Off!” and we set off for a day of fun on our trusty ship the Enzo.

First stop: Baby Barge. All divers entered the water and dropped down to the lines enroute to  the Shark Cave. Greeted by a few Green Hawaiian Sea Turtles we turned back towards the wreck and entered the cave just under the wreck. More Turtles! A quick trip along a ledge and there was a large Green Moray Eel hunting for a meal. Soon it was time to head back up.

Next dive was a drift of the Barges since the current was up and headed towards Koko Head. Dropping Back down on Baby Barge we rode the current East. Lots of cement Z blocks and tubes, a White Tip Shark hiding under a ledge, and a large school of Pacific Barracuda gliding along the 70 ft mark.

After a break for lunch it was on to our last dive of the day… Fantasy Reef.  Dropping down to 45 ft we were greeted by Turtles, Eels, and a Giant Triton peeking out of its shell.

Despite the poor weather the water was calm, the visibility was good, and the mood was upbeat for all our divers who did a fantastic job being safe and having fun today. Thank you for a fantastic day and hope to see you all again soon. ALOHA!

Dave and Mary INSTRUCTORS

Matt CAPTAIN

Becka CREW

Baby Barge 70 ft, 30 minutes

Drift Barges 70 ft 30 minutes

Fantasy Reef 45 ft. 40 minutes

Water Temp 77*

Carl Santangelo

Thursday Afternoon Reef Dives

/in /by

Another beautiful Hawaiian afternoon in Maunalua Bay with Open Water students and certified divers aboard the Enzo; final preparations were made and dock lines were cast off. The winds were light, the sun was shining, and the swell was down, creating fantastic diving conditions. In addition to learning valuable new underwater skills, our divers were treated to an enchanting assortment of turtles, moray eels, colorful reef fishes, and corals on our afternoon trip.

 

Dive Sites: Koko Craters, max depth 36 ft., 80 ft. visibility, 45 min. bottom time reef dive

Turtle Canyons: max depth 40 ft., 90 ft. visibility, reef dive, 40 min. bottom time

Dive Staff: Carl Santangelo, Captain Joe Curcio

Sarah Moore

Aloha Friday Dives

/in /by

Today was an absolutely gorgeous morning out on the water. Totally flat seas and crystal clear water. Always nice on the boat to have a break from the wind out here. We had an awesome group of divers with us today. We headed out to the LCU for our first dive. There was a white tip reef shark underneath the LCU today and three spotted eagle rays cruising around it. We were also able to spot an octopus hiding on top of the wreck.  The giant school of barracuda that has been hanging around was there again today. We had an awesome dive in some awesome conditions. Second dive site we went to today was Fantasy Reef. Visibility was a little lower than at the LCU but that didn’t stop us from seeing tons of turtles! We probably saw at least 10 different turtles. We found another little octopus and a couple moray eels. We also had an inquisitive and large barracuda come check us out during our safety stop. Overall two amazing dives. Thanks to everyone for coming out and diving with us. Hope to see everyone back out there again soon. A very special congratulations to Mike for finishing his Advanced Open Water certification today! Way to go Mike!

Crew: Captain Joe, Instructor Sarah, Instructor Dave

Conditions: water temp 77 F, visibility 60-100

Carl Santangelo

Friday Reef Dives

/in /by

After several rainy overcast days we finally caught a break in the weather and were treated to a healthy dose of light winds and Vitamin D. Preparations were made aboard the Enzo and we set out into Maunalua Bay to see what aquatic delights awaited us. We tied up to our first dive site, Koko Craters, at about 1:30 pm and made the plunge shortly thereafter. A delightful assortment of turtles, fish, and even a white tip reef shark greeted our divers during the 45 minutes we spent in the 78-degree water.  After a short surface interval filled with the obligatory intake of sweet and salty snacks we found ourselves at our second dive site of the day, Angler’s Reef; a 45 ft. ledge filled with a tantalizing assortment of tropical reef fishes, corals, and invertebrates. Our divers were also treated to a 10-minute game of hide and seek, courtesy of a young, inquisitive octopus. It was an excellent afternoon of diving.

 

Dive Sites: Koko Craters, max depth 36 ft., 80 ft. visibility, 45 min. bottom time reef dive

Angler’s Reef, max depth 48 ft., 90 ft. visibility, reef dive, 40 min. bottom time

Dive Staff: Carl Santangelo, Daniel Bond, David Pinilla, Captain Joe Curcio

 

Mary Christensen

Amazing 3 Tanker!! 4/23

/in /by

The sun was out all morning, the winds were light and the waves were down.  This was the makings for a perfect day of diving.  We headed to Kahala Barge as our first dive today.  This was super fun for some of our visiting tech divers, the got to make their way through the wreck.  Kahala is a great place to find some of our amazing reef sharks.  We found one there today!  This was pretty exciting for one of our divers who couldn’t wait to see sharks today.  Also at the wreck were several big moray eels.

Next stop was a pleasant surprise that we got to do a drift from the Wine Racks, to Pyramids, ending at the YO-257.  This was a pretty exciting dive today.  We dropped down and the submarine was there.  Everyone got to wave at all the people then we started our drift.  Eagle rays, tons of reef fish.  It was great going to sights we rarely get to go too and two of the three of these are them.

Last dive sight was Fantasy Reef.  Always a crowd pleaser.  So many turtles, eels, shark and our very favorite Red Frog Fish!! The drift started at the east marker and we moved a long pretty fast at first.  Seeing all the fish was fantastic and it was so clear today.  The swim throughs were alive with all the sea life.  It slowed down a little then and as we exited the chimney we got to see about 8 turtles all around.  After that was the red frog fish, then the shark.  What a fantastic end of our dive day.

Thank you to all our Awesome divers:  Steve, Keith, James, Andre, Sarah, Danica, Dennis, Stephen, Amanda, Rafal, Waldemar, Krzysztof and yes another Krzysztof!

Dive sites:

Kahala, Viz 80 ft, Wreck dive

Wine Rack, Pyramids, and YO257, 100 ft viz, Drift dive

Fantasy Reef, Viz 100, Drift

Amazing Staff:  Capt Joe, Dive Instructors Mary and Sarah, Boat Crew Becca!!

Mary Christensen

Double Drifting Monday!! 4/18 AM

/in , /by

It was a blustery start to the day today but the weather cleared quickly as the dive boat headed out to the sites.  We drifted off the LCU wreck today and headed west after that.  The barracuda were out like crazy today, hundreds of them. We explored parts of the ocean floor that we seldom get to see.  Never knowing what you will see out there is pretty exciting.  So many reef fish around on this dive and the cutest little free swimming octopus.  It’s always fun to do this drift when we get the chance.

Barracuda  Moray EelDay Octopus

Next we drifted Fantasy Reef.  The water was crystal clear today and the reef was full of turtles.  This was pretty exciting for most of our divers today.  Lots of people taking pictures and enjoying the sites.  We saw a couple of nudi’s and yet again another free swimming octopus. One of the favorite parts of the dive was finding the red frog fish, this is one of my personal favorites around.    They are not common and a little hard to find.   Towards the end of the dive we even got to see the big present white tip shark we have been seeing around.  She is so slow when she swims now that everyone had a chance to take good pictures.  Lot’s of eels on this dive also….was so much fun.

Imperial Nudi  Day Octopus Green Sea Turtle Blue Dragon Nudi Red Frog FishMoray Eel

Thanks to our awesome divers:  William, Pat, Amanda, Josh, Nico, Carly, Angelo and of course Pastor Tim.

Congratulations to Carly and Angelo on their New PADI Enriched Air Certifications!!

Amazing Dive Staff:  Capt. Joe, Dive Instructor Mary and Maddie as Crew!!

Dive Sites:  LCU Drift, 95 max depth, 100 ft Viz.

Fantasy Reef, 55 max depth, 100 ft Viz, Drift

Thank you Everyone!!!

Mary Christensen

Amazing Monday!! AM 4/10

/in /by

The sun was shining and the divers ready to take on the morning dives.  We started with a trip to the Corsair but the current was a bit strong.  As divers do we changed up our plan and headed to Baby Barge. On the way there the last of the whales gave us a lovely whale watch. What a good choice this was.  We were greeted on Baby Barge with so many turtles we couldn’t count them.  Yellow margin moray eels, to many reef fish to count, nudi’s and even an Octopus!  It was a great day there and a hot bed of activity.  After everyone boarded the boat and we were doing gear change overs there were DOPHINS!  It was a super pod and they stayed with us for over 45 minutes during our surface interval.  Not to mention…..the Whales came back!

Our next dive site was Keanu Reef.  When we jumped in and were making our decent…..DOLPHINS…they surrounded us and started the dive that way.  It was breath taking.  On the drift we did at Keanu we got to see a huge octopus in its hole.  When we looked in we could see all her eggs there, can’t wait for all the new baby octopi around the reefs.  Lots feels also on this site.  It was a pretty amazing day on the ocean for all that were there.  We had a very happy Dive Day!

 

Awesome Divers:  Andy, Rebecca, Seena, Kyrylo, John, William and Tim!

Amazing Staff:  Dive instructors Mary and David, Capt. Joe and Maddie the boat crew!

Dive Sites:  Baby Barge 85 Feet, 100′ viz, Wreck Dive

Keanu Reef, 65 feet, 100 foot viz, Drift Drift

 

 

David Sanchez

Sunday 3 Tank Funday! Apr 9 17

/in /by

What a beauty of a Sunday it turned out to be as our Divers began their morning getting checked in to Island Divers Hawaii Kai shop. Andy, Brian, Chris, James, and Jonathan climbed aboard the Enzo in search of adventure in the blue waters of Maunalua Bay. After an in depth briefing and a short ride out we reached our first destination… LCU. The waters were calm and the visibility was around 75 ft as we descended down the lines to the wreck. Plenty of reef fish, an Octopus, and a large school of Pacific Barracuda make this site their home.

Next it was off to the West and the Mamala Bay area just outside of Waikiki. There sits the YO 257 and the San Pedro, 2 beautiful wreck sites. The currents were strong, so we decided to drift the area and head East towards the wreck site. We dropped down on a site known as Wine Racks where we observed a Sponge Crab and a Porcupine Fish. Riding the current East we soon saw the YO and the San Pedro off in the distance along with the Atlantis submarine which cruises through the area. We chose the San Pedro where we saw a Hawaiian Green Turtle and 2 large Pompano Fish. After a few more feet it was time to surface.

After a nice lunch interval it was on to our final site of the day… Fantasy Reef. An awesome reef site that sits at max 50 ft that boasts an abundance of life. Green Turtles, Moray Eels, White Tip Reef Sharks, and the Great Barracuda all live and thrive here. So much to see, so little time. After a 35 minute dive it was time to bid farewell to the blue water of Oahu.

Thank you to all our divers for a great Sunday of safe, fun, and eventful day of diving. Until we dive again… ALOHA!

Lead Instructor Dave

Support Mary

Captain Joe

LCU 90 ft,

San Pedro 95 ft

Fantasy Reef 50 ft