Maxine Markert

Memorable Three Tanker 5/25

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On this very eventful morning we made it out to the Corsair, enjoying slack current and a large variety of fish. After a 20 minute dive we surfaced and enjoyed our hour long journey to the YO- 257, jumping in and then directly down to the San Pedro, I was fortunate enough to see a white tip reef shark, Leila, Andy and Damien  my advanced open water students, all enjoyed swimming through the wreck and after 30 minutes of being circled by the submarine we ended our dive. The last dive site we hoped in on was called Rock pile we decided to drift along the a series of random objects left on the bottom of the ocean again another 30 minute dive, there was also a mixture of large coral heads, and larger schools of fish. Fortunately we had an extremely laid back group today. A huge welcome back and thanks to Bob I can’t wait for your stand up act you were making me crack up today thank you for making me laugh and smile most of the day! And a Farewell to Mark Allen and Crystal Manning you too were excellent company all week last week and today, you two were people I looked forward to diving with every day, thank you for making my job easy. Everyone out was an absolute pleasure to be around we had an extremely incredible day  with a great group of divers. Thank you for all coming out today with a lot of patience, I await the day you all come back!

Seeing the Corsair in a new light

Seeing the Corsair in a new light

sleepy turtle

sleepy turtle

Yo-257

Yo-257

Submarine

Submarine

Rock Pile

Rock Pile

Lauren Smith

Wreck Diving Attractions in Oahu

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Oahu, HawaiiAs the third largest of Hawaii’s islands, Oahu covers over 600 square miles, with over 110 miles of pristine white sandy beaches. The island is a scuba diving heaven with its crystal-clear waters ranging from 72 to 79 degrees.

In such exceptional conditions it can be hard to pick a dive site, especially if you’re vacationing here for a limited amount of time. With so many awesome underwater attractions, we would like to make some suggestions of underwater attractions that divers of all levels can enjoy. With our daily two-tank boat charters, we will not only take you to the best dive sites around, but also provide you with an overview of the area and the marine life you are likely to see when adventuring underwater.

Wreck Diving

Wreck diving is another world of scuba diving to explore, and in Oahu there are over 10 accessible wrecks that can be visited inside and out. Home to all types of sea life, wrecks are a paradise for those of you who want some great underwater photographic shots. Our team provides courses in how to correctly execute a wreck dive, teaching you all the skills and techniques you need.

The Corsair

The 1946 Corsair airplane wreck in Maunalua Bay lays 115 feet down in clear water that allows you to actually see it from the surface. With a family of octopi living in the wings, and a group of eels in the cockpit, you won’t be alone as you explore the ins and outs of this famous underwater wreck.

The Mahi

WWII Navy minesweeper measuring 185 feet long, the Mahi was voted by Rodale’s Scuba Diving Magazine’s reader survey as the fourth-best wreck dive in the U.S. It’s home to families of Eagle Rays and many more creatures, making it the perfect location for a day of underwater adventure.

For more information on scuba diving in Oahu with our expert dive instructors, contact us today and find out how exhilarating it truly is to explore the worlds underwater.

Lauren Smith

6 Underwater Cameras for Scuba Diving in Honolulu, Hawaii

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Nikon_D7100_aSo you’ve been planning a trip to Honolulu – an unforgettable adventure. Whether you’re a beginner, an intermediate, or a seasoned diver, you owe it to yourself to document the experience! So make sure to bring the right equipment to photograph your underwater exploration: if not for memory’s sake, then at least to make your friends and family members at home sea-green with envy.

Selecting the Right Camera

There are a lot of cameras out there, and choosing the right one for underwater shooting can be a bit daunting. We have a few favorites, from compact to mirrorless, to some really great dSLRs that will help you get that underwater shot just the way you want it. Here are the basic categories to choose from:

Compact Underwater Cameras

Because of their small size, compact cameras create very little drag underwater. This means you can shoot macro, wide-angle, and video all in one dive. They are generally the least expensive of the three types, and one of the reasons is because they have smaller sensors, which also means less range and more noise when shooting. They also have lower-quality optics, fewer selections for good quality lenses, lower battery life, slow RAW write speeds, and less control over your depth of field. With that in mind, there are definitely some good models out there, along with good-quality UW housing. Look for one that provides full manual mode, the ability to take wet and fisheye lenses, low shutter lag, longer battery life, manual white balance, and the ability to fire strobes via sync cord so you don’t have to use pop-up flash or find a fiber optic solution. You will also need a solid auto focus capacity and an easy-to-adjust aperture and shutter speed UW. Try either the Sony RX-100 or Canon S120.

Mirrorless Underwater Cameras

These cameras are a more high-end alternative to compact versions. They provide a smaller size, a larger sensor to give a greater dynamic range, less noise when using high ISOs, and an excellent depth of field. With small lenses, HD video with autofocus, and a larger zoom range for telephoto, we recommend the Olympus E-PL2 or the Panasonic GX1.

dSLR Underwater Cameras

The digital single-lens reflex camera combines the optics and other aspects of a single lens reflex camera with a powerful digital imaging sensor. This brings excellent image quality with larger pixel sizes and less grain. dSLRs also deliver faster shutter speeds, less noise, greater depth of field, the ability to be fitted with many high quality lenses, depth of field, and manual controls. They also tend to hold on to their value throughout the years. Nikon D7100 gives the best image quality, ergonomics, and high ISO performance. The Canon 6D is another excellent choice.

Document Your Dive with Us

For more information on underwater photography, as well as everything you want to know about diving with Island Divers, drop us a line today!

Matt Zimmerman

Vacation Scuba Diving Packages For Everyone

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Vacation Scuba Diving Packages For EveryoneWe are passionate about giving you the best diving experience possible, whether you are a beginner or an expert. It’s our job, and our pleasure – we love introducing people to the wonders of our local underwater paradise where they can feel the unbridled joy of swimming with tropical fish, exploring colorful reefs, and discovering some of the best deep sea wrecks around.

Awakening Your Inner Child Through Undersea Exploration

Vacationing in Oahu is one of the best ways to get in touch with nature and awaken your inner child to the wonders of the undersea world. With free transport to and from Honolulu and Waikiki, we give you the chance to explore a variety of amazing dive sites, with daily two-tank charters or a private boat that will take you to the locale of your choice.

With countless species of fish, Oahu and its neighboring islands offer an amazing underwater world to explore. With a wide variety of vacation scuba diving packages, we offer exciting options for everyone, whether you are traveling with your significant other, a group of friends, your family, or business colleagues.

Properly Prepared, Properly Planned

No matter if you are diving within the safety of a shallow reef or the deeper waters of a fascinating wreck, our expert instructors will make sure you are ready and properly prepared to enjoy every moment. Helping you plan your dive according to your experience level, as well as present weather conditions, we make sure that you will have the ultimate outdoor adventure.

Classes for All Levels and the Safest, Best-Quality Equipment

With our 5-Star PADI Instructor Development Center status, we operate in conjunction with Hawaii Scuba University and are considered to have the most active training facility in the state. If you’ve never scuba dived before, we will provide you with introductory classes beginning in the safety of a swimming pool and then venturing forth into nearby shallow reefs. If you have some experience, you can increase your diving abilities with other courses, including advanced lessons to take you all the way to a master scuba diver.

Renting or purchasing your equipment is a cinch with us, as we carry the best brands in the marketplace today. We can also help you keep your existing dive equipment up-to-date, making sure your gear is in top shape, along with keeping your scuba tanks filled.

Creating the Perfect Vacation

Our mission at Island Divers Hawaii is to make your vacation all you hope it could be, and more. We love to see how our passion for diving becomes infectious, especially when it comes to vacationers like you who have never had the experience before. And of course, because we know the area like the back of our hands, introducing you to the wonders of diving in Oahu and its environs is one of our greatest thrills.

Diving Made Easy

Whether you’re in Hawaii celebrating an event, having a family vacation, or just getting away from it all, we can help design the perfect scuba diving package for your vacation. Drop us a line!

Matt Zimmerman

Island Divers Cozumel trip report with some of the best pictures and video clips from Palancar Reef

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Cozumel was great!  I’ve been saying that a lot this week having just returned from the trip. If you want to hear from us about future trips, use this sign up button

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Arguably one of the best parts of being a dive shop owner is planning and going on dive trips around the planet.  Cozumel dive trips are some of the easiest to get to for a lot of former customers and guests.  I tend to forget from trip to trip how much I really enjoying doing these trips.  As Island Divers grows I trying to get a little more help with some of this planning, which has been working!  We already have a Big Island trip to Kona for the manta rays dives in May and a trip to Bonaire in early November planned.  You can view the trip flyers for these at Island Divers Dive Travel. For 2015 we have Palau in the works and Fiji at the Voli Voli resort later in the year, sometime July to Oct.  Details to be worked out by the end of this April.  Okay, enough about the future, let’s see hear about Cozumel.

This first video clip is on short one of what the canyons at the edge of Palancar Reef usually look like.  This reef runs miles along the west coast of Cozumel, and dive one of each day is usually done somewhere along this giant drop off.

Click on picture below to take you to the Island Divers Hawaii Facebook album with all the trip pictures.

Blue tipped anemone

Here is a great little 10 second video clip of a rarely seen sand crab

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