We love catering to eclectic boatfuls of saltwater enthusiasts here at Island Divers. Last Saturday we hosted a healthy mix of introductory, certified, open water, and advanced open water students/divers. The wind was a bit stiff but that didn’t stop our adventurous bunch from having a blast under the waves.
Dive Sites: Koko Craters, max depth 36 ft., 100+ ft. visibility
Turtle Canyons: max depth 38 ft., 90+ ft. visibility
Dive Staff: Carl, Evans, Jeremy, Bill
It’s always a welcome treat to have a full boat of divers on our afternoon charters. The sun was shining, the breeze was cooling, and the seas were fair. Our destinations were Koko Craters and Angler’s reef; two dive sites that offer the perfect mix of stunning underwater topography and diverse marine life. Both dives were replete with Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles and a variety of moray eels – the 150 feet of underwater visibility didn’t hurt either.
Dive Sites: Koko Craters, max depth 36 ft., 150+ ft. visibility
Angler’s Reef: max depth 45 ft., 120+ ft. visibility
Dive Staff: Carl Santangelo
It was an absolutely wonderful morning scuba diving off the south east coast of Oahu today. We had a great group of divers as we headed out to the Corsair for the first dive. Dropping in the water we had no current and 100 ft of visibility. It was the perfect time to dive the site. We had fish all over the site with wrasses, tangs, and soldier fish hiding in the wreck and snapper and butterfly fish swimming about. There are also tons of garden eels all around the site. But soon it was time to head up and move on to the second site.
For the second dive we drifted Keanu Reef. It was more of a swim all around the reef site as again there was little current. We found reef fish all over the area but the big finds where the spotted eagle ray that cruised by and the three white tip reef sharks hiding out under a ledge. All in all it was a wonder morning with perfect viz and great dives.
Working at a dive shop allows you to meet all sorts of people from all backgrounds, cultures, and in this case…ages! First of all meet the Davis family from Colorado with their youngest Jackson aka “Jack” who is 11 yrs old and not afraid to scuba dive! I believe this boy has an incredible future in scuba diving awaiting him when he turns 12. GO JACK!
You also get a variety of diving levels onboard the Sea Fox. We had certifieds and also 2 students who were going to be joining the ranks of certified divers after completing their OW 3 and 4 dives! Big shoutout to Evans for helping me out today.
So after getting all introductions out of the way. Our Captain Chris made his way out into the beautiful Maunalua Bay where we would go to our first dive site Koko Craters. The water temperature was at 79 degrees. So comfortable for some to not even have to wear a wet suit. The max depth again was 36 feet or 12 meters down in case you were wondering. So with good visibility and not too much current “conserving our oxygen” was no problem. We saw turtles, eels, and lots of other marine life. SHARKS….not so much. After seeing that there were no sharks present which in case there never are at this site we made our way over to the next site which is a nice “fingered reef” system called Turtle Canyons. We had a max depth of 38 feet or so as we made our way in and out of the reefs spotting octopus, eels, sea urchins, star pillows, sea cucumbers, trumpet fish, and even an occasional puffer fish.
So in conclusion no snapped cages, no narcosis or almost running out of air, and no rescue attempts had to be made! It was an amazing day out on Oahu’s Pacific waters.
P.S. there was a shark spotted aboard the Sea Fox…but don’t worry our “tip shark” only ate “green things”!
Another beautiful day out on Maunalua Bay. Blue skies, a light wind, and fantastic water greeted our 4 divers as we departed the dock on the Sea Fox. Anita, Brandon, Ben, and Tim had the boat all to themselves and we decided to drop on our first deep site: the LCU.
As we descended down the lines we were met with a slight westerly current. Reaching the top of the ship (at 70 Ft) we observed a Green Hawaiian Sea Turtle resting peacefully and a Spotted Eagle Ray gliding effortlessly on the southern edge of the ship. After dropping down to the ocean floor (at 90 Ft) we began looking under the various Z blocks and tubes until we found a juvenile White tip Reef Shark. Very cool.
After an adequate surface interval it was time to drift Fantasy Reef. Dropping off the Sea Fox using a negative entry the 4 adventurers descended to 50 Ft and our first find: 2 pregnant White Tip Reef Sharks relaxing under an overhang. Next stop: a large Frog Fish and a few Great Barracuda hunting amongst the coral formations. Finally what dive around Fantasy Reef would be complete without running into our resident Turtles again.
A great day out in the bay with our divers who all dove responsibly, safely, and made my day just as enjoyable as theirs. Mahalo and ALOHA
Dave LEAD INSTRUCTOR
Joe CAPTAIN
Nat CREW
LCU 90 ft
Fantasy Reef 50 ft
Water Temp 78*
It was another sunny and fun-filled day on June the 3rd. We had a great group which consisted of certified divers, OW and AOW students, and also 1st timers (DSD’s)! With myself, Everett, and Carl as the instructors and Matt at the helm we set out for the bay. With the water temperature just right at 78 degrees we headed out to Koko Craters. Surface was a little choppy, but once we cleared that the visibility was incredible with hovering turtles, very gabby looking eels, big eyed pufferfish, and so much more right before our eyes. Our maximum depth was at 36 ft.
Once everyone exited the water we headed out to Turtle Canyons where again views with 50 ft. visibility got our attention and the sea life it had. With a maximum depth of 38 ft. trumpetfish, scorpion fish, star pillows, sea urchins, eels, and Hawaiian State fish were just a few of the many species we saw today.
Big shout out to Everett and Carl for helping me out with everyone. Congrats to OW and AOW students for advancing themselves in the great world of diving!
Like Father, like Son-in-law.
Mark did his refresher while Mickey tried diving for his very first time and did very well I might add.
June has arrived and so has the warmer waters that the island of Oahu is known for. Ready to take advantage of the beautiful conditions in Maunalua Bay was James B, James F, Katie, Nate, Paul, Shay, Travis, and Marilyn. And near perfect conditions there were: 78 degree waters, 80 ft plus visibility, and a slight current as we reached our first destination: LCU.
Since there was a current at LCU we decided to drift the wreck and continue on to the West towards Diamond Head. Great visibility as we descended down and observed a large group of Pacific Barracuda and a Spotted Eagle Ray directly of top of the ship. We continued East and saw the usual piles of Z blocks and Tubes… soon it was time to ascend.
Our next site was the YO257 and the San Pedro. One of my favorite dive sites as there are two ships in close proximity to each other so it is possible to do both wrecks. Turtles, a White Tip Shark, a large Trevali, and several Green Moray Eels were seen around the site.
Our final dive was at Fantasy Reef. A favorite of our divers as there is so much life there. Green Turtles, Frog fish, Octopus, Squid, Great Barracuda, and a female White Tip shark all made appearances and made the final dive one to remember.
A Fantastic beginning to June and hopes of great things to come all summer long. Thank you to our divers for a safe and fun day out on the Enzo. ALOHA!
DAVE Instructor
JEREMY Instructor
SHILOH Capt
BECKA Crew
LCU 90 ft, 90 ft Vis, 78*
YO257/San Pedro 100 ft, 80 ft vis
Fantasy Reef 55 ft, 90 ft vis
