Daniel Bond

More Diving Adventures in Maunalua Bay!

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Beautiful water, nice breezes, and a very eager crew of certs, DSD’s, and students made for a very nice day out in the bay. Captian Shiloh, Instructors Carl, Evans, and myself got everyone ready and briefed. We started out on “Back Crater” of “Koko Craters”. Our max depth there was 36 ft with a mild current, but visibility there was great! We saw quite a few things such as turtles, scorpion fish, trumpetfish, and even a fallen statue of a guard. All in all it was a great dive.

Next we headed off to our next dive site which was “Turtle Canyons” which also had good visibility and similiar conditions like the first. Reaching a max depth of around 36 ft. we were able to explore up and down a group of fingered reefs and saw eels, nudibranchs, pufferfish, and many other different types of marine life. We had good groups which allowed all of us to have plenty of time underwater which again made for an amazing afternoon.

 

 

 

Mark Savel

Lake Maunalua Bay

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It was one of those spectacular days out on waters of the southeast side of Oahu. We had a nice group of divers today was we headed for the LCU for the first dive. There was a little rain but crystal clear, blue water as we tied up to the site. There was no current and a good 100+ ft viz. We had fish all over the wreck with schools of barracuda, snapper, and goatfish and even found a small white tip reef shark hiding under a cement block.  Coming up from the dive we had no wind and completely calm water as we sat through our surface interval.

For the second dive we tied up at Fantasy Reef.  With little current and great viz we took out time cruising the reef looking for wonderful life. There were turtles all around the reef resting on the bottom. We found a few eels about and a nice sized devil scorpionfish hiding on the reef. It was a wonderful day to be on the water.

Mary Christensen

Fantastic Mother’s Day Dives! 5/14

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The day started out with some beautiful blue skies here on Maunalua Bay.  We had a full boat, lots of students and some down right happy divers.  Baby Barge was our first site of the day.  We had some current today but all of our divers were up for the challenge.  We were visited by turtles, eels and octopus at this site.  Our photographers on the boat were pretty happy with all wild life at the boat of the sea.

While we were on the first dive the seas picked up a little.  Made the choice to do drift dives in a little shallower this time at Fantasy Reef.  Boy was it a turtle show there!  Also had a free swimming shark on the reef and Octopus!  It was so nice to just lazily drift along and take in all the sights.  The reef, as always was crowded with reef fish of all types and even some great barracuda!!  It was a fantastic peaceful dive.

Our final dive was at Angler’s Reef.  The current died down some so we were able to move up and down the reef at will.  We got to see ton’s more eels, porcupine puffer fish, octopus and tons of reef fish.  It was pretty amazing out there on the water today and everyone was super happy!!  What a nice day we had!

Congratulations to all the New Advanced Open Water Divers! Ken, Samantha, Preston, Stephanie, and Sean!

Awesome Divers:   Florent, James, Jared, Ken, Steve, Russ, Jose, Kelly, Arvin, Caroline, Samantha, Preston, Stephanie, Sean and Glenn!

Amazing Dive Staff:  Capt. Shiloh, Dive Instructors Mary, Dave and Jeremiah, Fantastic Crew Becca

Dive Sites:

Baby Barge, Wreck, 85′, Viz 100′

Fantasy Reef, Drift, 55′, viz 75′

Angler’s Reef, Drift, 50′, Viz 100+

Thank you to all our new friends for coming out with us today!!

Mark Savel

A Day of Nitrox Diving

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Today was a wonderful day on the waters of south Oahu with a great group of divers. We had most of the boat diving enriched air nitrox with a few of the guys finishing up there EAN class.  We had planned to tie up for the first dive but as we got to the barges we had a ripping current and opted for a barge drift. It is such a wonderful dive being able to drift past Baby Barge, New Barge, and the LCU in one dive. There were turtles all around the Baby Barge and fish life throughout the dive. We even saw two massive ulua on New Barge.

For the second dive we drifted Fantasy Reef. The current had gotten weaker but we still moved well along the reef site. There were more turtles around and eels hiding in the reef everywhere. We had a few barracuda and schools of butterflyfish and snapper all over the reef.

David Sanchez

Awesome Sunday 3 Tank… How We Do It! 5/7

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A FANTASTIC DAY broke out on Sunday for the Island Divers Hawaii Sunday 3 Tanker that was full to capacity! Joining us for a day full of adventures was Donald, Jerry, Kevin, Hanza, Veronique, James, Jennifer, Justin, Kevin, William, Paul, Phillip, Rebecca, and Steve. With the boat locked and loaded we set out to Maunalua Bay to find our first drop site… Corsair!

Corsair, our famous WW2 plane that sunk in 1946 after ditching in 106 ft of water. One of our favorite wrecks. Dropping down the lines our divers were treated to near perfect conditions: 100 ft visibility, No currents, and plenty of activity. Our resident Eel Big Bertha was hanging out, Garden Eels in the distance, and plenty of fish. Pretty cool…

After an hour surface interval we tied up to our next wrecks: Sitting at 95 ft the YO257 and the San Pedro… a two wrecks for one dive site! Also you have to be on the lookout for the Atlantis Submarine that cruises through the neighborhood! Again great conditions as we navigated to the San Pedro and back over to the YO257. Trevali fish hunting in and around the wrecks, 7 Spotted Eagle Rays in formation, and a new visitor to the area… large Grey Triggerfish.

Another surface interval and a quick lunch and soon dropping 50 ft onto our last dive of the day… a drift of Fantasy Reef. Currents were up a bit so we scooted pretty quickly along the coral formations and swim throughs. Lots of Turtles, Eels, and reef fish wizzing bye. A great end to a fantastic day out in the Bay.

Mahalo to all our divers for a safe and fun day out in the pristine Oahu waters… till we dive again… ALOHA!

DAVE Instructor

MARY Instructor

SHILOH Captain

BECKA Crew

Corsair  106 ft

YO257/ San Pedro 95 ft

Fantasy Reef 50 ft

Water Temp 77*

David Sanchez

Picture Perfect Weather Back In Maunalua Bay 5/3/17

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The great weather we are used to returned on Wednesday as our boat the Enzo left the dock with a small group of 4 divers. Joining us today were Jonathan, Joshua, Lara, and Timur who were treated to a private charter to dive where they wanted. After a quick vote the site was chosen… Corsair!

The Corsair is the only true wreck in our bay and is also the deepest at 106 ft. Still sitting upright where it came to rest in 1946 its a home to many fish, a few Octopus, and a solitary large Green Moray known affectionately as Big Bertha. As we dropped down the line we were met with a small current, and visibility was about 75 ft. The usual cast of characters were about: including a few puffers, the abundant fish, and Bertha under the wing.

After a surface interval it was off to our next dive: a drift of Fantasy Reef.

A favorite drift site, Fantasy Reef has large coral formations, many Green Hawaiian Turtles, and a few White tip sharks. The sites depth maxes out at around 50 ft. Perfect for drift dives that can go up to 40 minutes. We caught a small current, and visibility was down a bit due to the recent bad weather, but still a great dive with plenty of Turtles and a pregnant female White Tip Shark. An awesome day of diving.

Thank you to all our divers for a safe and fun day out on and under the water… ALOHA!

DAVE Instructor

SHILOH Captain

Corsair 106 ft, 25 Min,

Fantasy Reef 50 ft, 40 Min

Water temp 77*

David Sanchez

Sunday Wet Funday 3 Tanker!

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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

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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

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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

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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