Matt Zimmerman

Diving at the end of the Road – at the base of the Kaena Point Trailhead

/in /by

August 19th Club Beach dive

So this past weekend the Oahu Scuba Diving club headed out to Makaha Beach for a BBQ and a couple of dive from the beach to Makaha Caverns, what made this dive special is that the club had the South Seas II moored near the caverns, so divers were able to take a surface interval on the boat and change tanks out there.  Pretty cool event that is free to club members.  If you haven’t joined, you probably should.  Here are a few pics.  Scroll down if you want to read about the Kaena Point shore dive that broke out at this event.

Joining the club

If you are looking for information on joining the club, we do cool events all year long, and you get everyday discounts on boat charters.  It is a great deal.  Here the link to find out more.

Exploration Dive

So I’ve been in the diving industry on Oahu for many years, but I have never jumped in the water off the beach at the end of the road which is the trailhead for Keana Point.  For those of you that don’t know, that is were the road ends and the trail to Ka’ena Point starts.  Turns out there is a reasonable beach entry there if the sure is small.  It is a little bit of a scramble, and I slipped on my butt once, but not to bad over all.  You’ll know you are at the right place when you see the No Parking, Emergency Turnaround signs

 

beach entry at Kaena Point

The entry

road near Kaena Point

Looking back down the road. See the legal parking?

Emergency Turn around signs at Kaena Point

Close when you see these signs

The Kaena Point Dive

So getting in not a big deal, sandy area in waist deep water good for putting on fins.  Then basically you follow the channel that you start in out to sea.  I’m used google maps to see that I went about 1500ft out before turn around.  The coolest part of the dive was at the turn around, and I’m posting that video here.  You can also see that with more air/time there is quite a bit more to explore.  The average depth was probably only 25ft, so make sure you are weighted.  Overall I wouldn’t rate this one of the best shore dives on Oahu, but it did take me 18 years to get here, and it was neat.  Next time, scooter and a rebreather.  Here is the screenshot I took off Google that gave me distance:

dive map of Kaena Point shore dive

The Kaena Point Dive Video

So you can see from the dive map that I turned around when I hit a small wall, about 8′ high, that held a ton of fish.  Got a nice little video clip that I will share.

 

freediver ascending from a dive to the Mahi
freediver ascending from a dive to the Mahi
freediver ascending from a dive to the Mahi
freedivers at the surface in Waianae
freedivers at the surface in Waianae
freediver line diving at the mahi wreck
freediver line diving at the mahi wreck
free diver with green sea turtle at makaha caverns
free diver with green sea turtle at makaha caverns
freedivers on the South Seas II inaugural freediving charter
freedivers on the South Seas II inaugural freediving charter
Freediver with monofin
Freediver with monofin
dive boat south seas to on a freediving charter
dive boat south seas to on a freediving charter

Freediving Charters

/in /by

Freediving Charters

Many of you probably know that freediving is a rapidly growing sport, and freediving on Oahu is no exception.  On August 11th, with the support of members of the Oahu Freedivers Facebook group, we organized our first freediving charter through sister company Oahu Dolphin Divers which operates the South Seas II on the Waianae coast.  The trip was a success, and everyone local said they would be back.  We will be able to improve the event with more down lines for line diving, and better surface rigs.  Assuming continued support from the freediving community, these charters will become regular events, monthly for now and more if demand increases.  The next event is Saturday Sept 15th at 1pm departing from Waianae Small boat harbor.  The price is only $40 and participants bring their own personal freediving equipment.  Here is the link if you would like to book the next charter https://fareharbor.com/embeds/book/oahuscubadiving/items/102198/calendar/?flow=5615

Future Plans

One request that we received was charters at more modest depths.  As we continue to train new freedivers, this is likely to be in the works.  In the mean time, we have an introduction to freediving event scheduled for Sept 23rd, 2018.  Book that here.

Freedive Training

Currently, we have the option to enroll in a PADI FreeDiver course.  This course takes place on Friday evenings with an academic and pool session, and is followed by an open water session the next day under the supervision of a PADI Freediving Instructor.  This is the best way to get into the sport and learn about the modest equipment requirements for this sport.  Call 808 397 5370 to learn more and enroll in this course.

Trip Report August 11th 2018

The images below are from the inaugural freediving charter.  We first went to the Mahi wreck, were the surface current was a bit of a challenge.  However, about halfway through being there a manta ray came by on the surface.  There was also an eagle ray cruising the wreck, which was visible after you had dove done about 20ft.  We have orginally planned to stay at the wreck for all 3 hours of diving, but after a couple of hours we decided that it would be fun to explore the swim throughs at Makaha Caverns.  Lot of turtles, a white tip, and plenty of freediving under and through the shallow arches and caverns.