David Sanchez

Hey! Hey! its the MONK-ees!

/in /by

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0359.

What a BEE-utiful December day on Oahu… sunny skies, calm waters, and a great group of divers on the Hound!… what more can you ask for? Alex, Andrew. Bryan, Caroline, Courtney, Craig, Helen, Jim, Leslie, Peter, Scott, and Steve set out for a Saturday of breathing under the Pacific Ocean. Since the water was kind to us we set out to the East side of the Island, just past Hanauma Bay and South of Sandys Beach, to a site known as Skimmons Reef. A nice easy entry into the water and down 50 ft to the reef. Reef fish of all kinds scattered around the site; Yellow tail Goatfish, Trumpets, Moorish Idols, and Butterfly fish cruised the coral, and what site would be complete without a siting of…

Eel_0394

our friend the Yellow Margin Moray Eeel!

Next it was on to Baboons Nose, a site just outside of Hanauma Bay… in and out of the lava walls and around the bend… where the current began to pick up. Just as the group was about to turn around 2 MONK SEALS dove down on the group!…

Monks2

EPIC! Rare to see 1 Monk Seal… but 2? AWESOME! and as they went out of site another creature decided to buzz the group…

turtle fly bye2

A friendly Green Sea Turtle buzzed bye…

and finally last but not least…

octopus

an Octopus darted out from the coral and showed off its color changing abilities… a fantastic showing by our underwater friends!

Thank you to all our divers for a safe and fun day on the Hound… and a Happy New Year to all!

Skimmons Reef 50 Ft/ 40 Min/ 74*

Baboons Nose 55 Ft/ 45 Min/ 74*

Dave- Lead

Sophie- Capt

David Sanchez

Rainbows and Puffers! Dec 23

/in /by

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0346.

You know what they say…”If you don’t like the weather here in Hawaii stick around for an hour…” It worked to perfection today. The morning was a blustery, rainy, overcast day that turned into an awesome day of diving for Paula, Fred, Dylan, Akhiani, Pariya, Homed, Ronson, Duke, Kyle, Lilly, Carrisa, Brian, Justin, and Haolu (OW3/4). Once on the Hound we were off to Koko Crater to do some skill work and find some awesome sea life. The turtles were very active today, swimming about and darting under the ledges of the crater…

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0188.

A puffer also made an appearance and swam amongst the Pennant Butterfly Fish…

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0307.

Next it was on to Anglers Reef. Once down the lines many Eels were spotted peeking out of the coral…

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0302.

and Pariya made a friend of a Puffer who decided to swim along side of her…

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0306.

and as we came up the lines an awesome rainbow met the divers as they boarded the Hound and headed back to the shop…

DCIM100GOPROG0010340.

Congrats to our newest certified diver Haolu, and thank you to all our divers for a safe and fun Tuesday of diving… MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Koko Crater 35ft/ 40ft vis/ 75*/ 35 min

Anglers Reef 43ft/ 60ft vis/ 75*/ 35 min

Dave-Lead

Mark-Support

Shiela- Capt

David Sanchez

Hump Day Happenings! Dec 17

/in /by

one

A great Wednesday met our divers as the sun peeked through clouds and the winds died down a bit. Our band of happy divers included Amber and Allison (OW 1/2) Conor (OW 3/4) David, Katie, Kevin, Nathaniel, and Nola (Cert) all ready and excited about getting in the water. We moored up at Koko Crater to practice our skills and see what creatures we could find under the ledge.  Of course TURTLES!

turtle

A few slept happily under the overhanging coral and as usual one snuggled up to the anchor. At big Buddha a friendly Puffer looked out from a small cave…

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0216.

All our divers returned to the Hound safely and then on to Anglers Reef. Dropping down the lines an abundance of fish life sped past like busy street traffic… Squirrel fish, Long nose butterfly, Trumpet fish, and of course Eels…

eel

An excellent day of diving… thank you to all our divers for a safe and fun day out on the Hound… Keep Diving!

Koko Crater 34ft/ Vis 40 ft/ Temp 75/ time 25 min

Anglers Reef 43 ft/ Vis 60 ft/ Temp 75/ Time 30 Min

Dave- Lead

Bradley -Support

Capt -Sophie

Crew – Dan

IMG_20141215_162556612_HDR

Where my bubbles at?!

/in /by

Monday morning was a great day for diving on the Sea Hound. Our boat today was full of certified divers and snorkels. Weather was sunny and windy with a boat full of excited divers. Our first dive site was Koko Crater, where we moored under the little Buddha. Below we had a nice visibility for our snorkels with schools of the Humuhumu-Eleele Trigger fish and Pennant Butterfly fish. Below the divers spotted green sea turtles and spotted moray eels. After showing our divers the stone Buddhas guarding the dive site we surfaced for hot tea and cookies. For the next dive site was stopped at Turtle Canyons. As soon we hit the water a White spotted Eagle Ray cruised right below our fins. Below we had a bit of thermocline, the bottom of the reef looked like a scary movie when the fog starts rolling in creating an eerie atmosphere. Into the fog we went, looking for eels and scorpion fish. Down below we spotted a few snowflake eels and yellowtail coris, we also came across a small green sea turtles who decided to stroll by for a closer look. Closer to the top of the reed we come across Lau-Ipala yellow tang and cleaner wrasse in a feeding frenzy!

 

W: Bradley (instructor) Sophie (captain) CONDITIONS: Windy/Sunny, High 70’s , 76*F water, visibility 40+ft DIVE PROFILES: Koko Crater: 38ft max depth, 38min dive time Turtle Canyons: 36ft max depth, 45min dive time MARINE LIFE: spotted eagle ray, spotted moray eel, green sea turtle, pennet fish yellow tang, moorish idol.

David Sanchez

Turtles Baby! Dec 15

/in /by

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0218.

Overcast skies, rough seas, and a crew of devoted divers met at the Sea Hound to experience Maunalua Bay… Matt finishing his AOW, James, Albert, Joe, Shelby, Saleem, Brad, and Serena looked forward to a great day under the sea. First stop… Baby Barge. I knew it was going to be a turtle day when a turtle met me at the mooring ball and wanted to visit…

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0194.

All divers descended on the barge and were greeted by turtles all over the wreck…

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0201.

and 2 white tips in the cave under the ship. A lot of life hanging out at the Baby! After returning to the Hound and a short surface interval, we moored up at Anglers Reef. Dropping down the lines we were met by a multitude of reef fish… Moorish Idols, Trumpets, Pennant Butter flys, Reef Triggers, and Puffers swam around the reef…

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0216.

A great day of scuba and enjoying the life in the Bay. Thank you to all our divers for a safe and fun day of diving!

Baby Barge 70 Ft/74* temp

Anglers Reef 45 FT/ 75* temp

Dave-Lead

Sophie-Capt

David Sanchez

LCU/Fantasy Saturday! Dec 13

/in /by

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0191.

A blustery Saturday morning as our divers ( Keith, JD, Matthew, Pam, Drew, Richard, Joe, Jason, Dave, Ray, Nicholas, Sharron, and Mark) jumped on the Sea Hound for parts unknown. LCU was requested and we made our way out to the wreck. After a briefing our divers made their way down the line and we greeted by 5 White tips resting under the ship. Just outside the perimeter flew a pair of Spotted Eagle rays, and a Moray Eel made a rare swim bye. As usual the LCU didn’t disappoint.

After a short surface interval we decided to drift Fantasy Reef, a favorite spot of Larry’s, who guided the group to a awesome tour of the site. First up was an Octopus…

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0168.

Larry Smokin’ Hot!

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0169.

Pam and the Octo!

also making appearances were a Slipper Lobster, Turtles snoozing under the ledges, and a Sponge crab chillin’…

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0179.

Sponge Crab

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0188.

Turtle House

What a Fantastic day of diving! So much life to see and enjoy! Thank you to all our divers for a safe and fun day of diving, and thank you to Larry for the expert guide job he always does!

LCU 90ft/ 76*

Fantasy Reef 50ft/ 76*

Dave- Lead

Larry- Support

Kellan- Capt

Kelsey- Crew

David Sanchez

Rainbow Wednesday!

/in /by

one

Oh Hawaii! The day started out as a rainy, overcast, dark Wednesday for our divers Taran, Molly, and Mitchell (students) Jeremy and Amber (DSDs) Kari, Ryan, Austin, and Tyler (Certified) as we moored up to Koko Crater for some schoolin’ and divin’. Our students all descended onto the floor of Koko Crater where they aced their skills! It was then on to a quick tour of the surrounding crater where there were turtles napping all around the ridge…

turtle

and of course Snow Flake Eels…

eel

Once all our divers were once again aboard it was on to the next site… Anglers Reef. Skills were accomplished with the greatest of ease by our students and we set off to discover what creatures were out and about… reef fish of all kinds swam under the ledges (Moorish Idols, Trumpet fish, Puffer fish, Butterfly fish) and of course old grumpy…

Moray_eel

the beloved Morey Eel…

As we headed back into the bay the sun finally made an appearance, and a perfect rainbow appeared… a great ending to a great day of diving! Thanks to all our divers for a fun and safe day of diving!

Koko Crater 35 ft/ Temp 77*

Anglers Reef 43 ft/ Temp 76*

Dave – Lead

Manolo – Support

 

Larry Hogan

OKARCHEE RETURNS !! 8 december

/in , /by

we love return customers, and some of our favorites are Okarchee and Paul, great divers and hilarious characters.  when they are on the boat, everyone is sure to be laughing! they are here for Wreck Week, bringing along mark and michelle, matt and david, both working on their AOW.  Another great friend and diver, mike t (aka squid head), and big joe were also out for getting wet and wrecked!  jamie and henry just happened to show up without realizing it was the debut of double wreck week!  Captain Sophie drove us out to the Corsair and we tied up and hopped in. a great dive, good viz and mild current!  lots of fish too!!  Marketing genius Lauren was also along, making sure i didn’t screw up the first day of Wreck week?  🙂  actually she was diving and doing a promo video with sherry, jenn, and pat.  always great to see them!!  2nd jump was the Kahala Barge, and the current picked up, making it a tough job to moor the boat up.  fortunately Mark made some great throws to me with the line. getting inside the wreck protected us from the current, and we enjoyed a cool swim thru the picturesque interior of the barge.  no big animals today, but we had a blast diving !!  thanks to all for safe diving,  larry, captain sophie, liz

Corsair  107 feet   100 viz    35 minutes on nitrox

Kahala Barge  90 feet   70 viz   36 minutes

75 degrees

DSC01548 DSC01545 DSC01527

Manolo Cabasal

Not so rusty after all…12/08/2014

/in , , /by

Today on the Sea Hound we joined by a couple of divers who wanted shake off some rust. Finally able to escape their daily routine and get salty, the surface conditions were typical postcard Hawaii: 78 degrees, variable winds, no waves, and not a single cloud in the sky. The  dive sites on the agenda: Koko Crater & Angler’s Reef.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA  OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

*Koko Craters*
39ft – 47min
77 degrees

Entering the water at slack high tide, the visibility was limited to 40 feet with a mild but increasing current. The less than average visibility didn’t keep the from seeing epic creatures! Every turtle in the neighbor came out to play (I personally lost count at 8 DIFFERENT turtles). The turtles weren’t the only ones to come out. Many different schools of fish also came out: Hawaiian Sergeants, yellowfin surgeonfish, damselfish, and triggerfish.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

*Angler’s*Reef*
45ft – 45min
77 degrees

At the second dive site, the current had picked up steadily and the visibility stayed the same. This time the neighborhood was dominated by the eels. Everything from giant green morays the width of your leg to the juvenile undulated eel the width of your index finger poked their heads out and even free swam along the bottom. Large schools of moorish idols and trumpet fish accompanied them on the bottom.

20141208_160246

A special thanks goes out to the crew of the Sea Hound: Capt. Sophie and Liz.

Manolo Cabasal

Night Dive Ninjas 12-02-2014

/in , , /by

oahu_sailing_sunset

It was another picturesque sunset in Hawaii Kai aboard the Sea Fox. On this evening’s night dive we were joined by 4 divers and 10 snorkelers, all hailing from different parts of North America. With light variable winds and a moderate swell, the boat was regular rocking dance party. The dive sites for the night’s agenda: Fantasy Reef & Turtle Canyons.

*Fantasy Reef*
52ft – 30min (drift)
77 degrees F

With the sun fading into the horizon, the divers entered the water paratrooper style one right after another. Descending quickly into the abyss, they were quickly pushed along by a strong Diamond Head current. It didn’t take long for a menagerie nocturnal aquatic creatures to come out. Porcupine fish, spiney starfish, a massive 7-11 crab, and giant moray eels made their appearances as the group drifted by.

*Turtle Canyons*
36ft – 43min
75 degrees F

For this dive, a unique request came from the divers: A black out dive. After cracking a few glow sicks the, the night dive ninjas entered the water under the light of an uninhibited half-moon. Orientating themselves to the reef, the lights went off and never came back on. Surrounded by glittery bio-luminescence, the divers flailed and frolicked with glee. It’s really easy to keep track of divers when you look back behind you and see 5 trails of  glitter and glow sticks lighting up the darkness. Aside from the glittering night dive ninjas, harlequin shrimp were spotted on a large coral before the dive went dark.

A special thanks goes out to the crew of the Sea Fox: Capt. Joe, Capt. Kellan, Max, Ash, & Hollis.