David Sanchez

Monday Funday! Nov 10

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WHAT A GREAT DAY FOR DIVING! Perfect conditions, Awesome divers (Paul,Whitney, Brandon, Howard, Kristi, Alicia, Stuart, Pat, Carl, Jeff, Eric, Zack, Cody, Marnie, Myself, Kendal and Chris) and a great first dive site… Corsair! We were met with a slight current, 80ft visibility,  and a few interesting creatures…

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Garden Eels, Various Reef Fish, an Octopus, and as we made our way up the descent line… a Spotted Eagle Ray! This dive did not disappoint!

After a short surface interval it was on to Sea Cave… As soon as we entered the water we were met by a Turtle making its way towards the cave, as 3 White Tip Sharks were lazily cruising the entrance and the back wall of the cave…

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next it was onto the wall where Eels, Reef fish of all shapes and sizes, and turtles went about their business… all in all an AWESOME DAY! Thank you to all the divers who exhibited great skill and care for the reef today!

Corsair 109 ft

Sea Cave 50 ft

Dave Sanchez- Lead

Marnie Cadden -Support

Kendal Vercoe -Captain

Chris- Crew

Manolo Cabasal

Double Rainbow All the Way…11+8+2014

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This morning on the Sea Fox we had a handful of divers setting up their gear in a persistent drizzle. Energetic and chipper, they were unfazed by the inclement weather. They were rewarded for their joyous attitude, because as soon as the Sea Fox left the harbor the sky cleared up and revealed a magnificent double rainbow. It was so intense.  A double rainbow all the way across the sky to the first dive site of the day, No-name barge.

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*No-name Barge*
84ft – 33min

With spirits lifted high by the sight of the double rainbow, the divers entered the water and free-descended down to the bottom. Surface conditions were calm with variable winds and the visibility was an impeccable 100ft. With a mild current the divers explored the newly rediscovered dive site, courtesy of Capt. Joe, and spotted a large collection of newly formed coral heads and numerous kinds of juvenile fish. Juvenile yellow tangs, butterflyfish, and surgeonfish hugged the z-blocks and a crab was spotted in the barge.

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*Fantasy Reef*
56ft – 40min

Double rainbows don’t last forever, but the call of the ocean does. With the current beginning to pick up steam, the divers set up to drift Fantasy Reef after they enjoyed some hot chocolate and cookies courtesy of the crew. Jumping in on the far west side of fantasy, the divers descended through a school of fusiliers. Zig zagging across the reef, the divers came across a host of local aquatic celebrities: a couple of giant green moray eels, a snowflake moray, an octopus, nudibranch, scorpion fish, crown of thorns starfish and a couple of hawaiian green sea turtles.

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Angelica and Gerald, it was a pleasure diving with you. We look forward to diving with you again in the future.

A special thanks to the crew for making everything possible: Captain Joe and the Lovely Kelsea.

 

Turtles puffers and eels oh my!

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Started a beautiful breezy Friday afternoon prepared  for a day of teaching and diving. Our up and coming open water students Carrie and Jason were practicing compass skills while the rest of our certified divers were suiting up. Our afternoon dive sites were planned for Angeler’s Reef and Koko Craters. Our first dive of the day had amazing visibility with a slight current. After working on a few skills our student and certified divers began our search for the creatures hiding between the rocks. Several eels poking their heads around and a few swimming freely between the cracks of the ledge. Puffer fish were all around this afternoon, swimming in schools of 5 and 6! Our second dive of the afternoon was met at the bottom of the mooring line by a HUGE green sea turtle. Our shelled friend effortlessly hovered in place while we kicked our way down into the Crater. After finishing up our last bit of skills the dive group hung out with a few sargent majors, trumpet fish and the happy Buddha statues standing guard. Our day ended in smiles and cheers for our new certified divers all the way back into harbor! _ DCIM100GOPRO CREW: Bradley (instructor) Jessica (instructor) Neil (captain) CONDITIONS: light rain/clouds, 84*F, 81*F water, visibility 80+ft DIVE PROFILES: Anglers Reef: 46ft max depth, 35min dive time Koko Crater: 40ft max depth, 36min dive time MARINE LIFE: spotted moray eel, green sea turtle, scorpionfish, puffer fish

David Sanchez

White Tip Wednesday! Nov 5

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AM showers didn’t dampen the spirits of our adventure seeking crew. Along with Larry and I today were Lucia, Maria, Jorge, Claudia, Maria, Jose, Luisa, Edgar, and Mark. We decided to start our day at Baby Barge where we were met with a bit of a surface chop and a small current. Using the descent lines we dropped down on the wreck and began our tour. Visibility was fair (60Ft) and many reef fish were scattered around the site. As we entered the cave under the Barge a few turtles swam out and surprised our guests. A very calm and relaxing dive…

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Next on our list… Fantasy Reef which lived up to its name today… good visibility (80 Ft) and a fair current were in the works, and the site was alive with abundant sea life… Turtles, Moorish Idols, Hawaiian Sergeants, Goatfish, Triggerfish, Octopus, and then…

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a Spotted Eagle was seen eating on the bottom. About a minute later…

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a White Tip came cruising under a coral shelf…

A great dive was had by all… thank you to all our divers for a safe and fun day!

Dave

Larry

Capt Joe

Crew Max

Baby Barge 80 FT

Fantasy Reef 55 Ft

 

Manolo Cabasal

Diving into Darkness…11^4^2014

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Tonight on the Sea Fox a handful of intrepid divers went out on a couple of epic night dives. The dives on the night’s agenda were New Barge and a drift on Angler’s Reef.

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*New Barge*
89FT – 35MIN

With an outgoing tide and a small swell, the surface conditions and bottom current were mild mannered compared to typical night dive conditions. Upon descending on the wreck, the divers began peaking their heads in and swimming through the numerous openings in the barge. Inside and around the wreck the divers spotted giant moray eels, pin cushion starfish, and a white tip reef shark.

*Angler’s Reef*
41FT – 42MIN

After a 45 minute surface interval, the divers re-entered the water and drifted the current along Angler’s Reef. Drifting at a relaxed pace, the divers glided across a night octopus, several giant conchs, more pin cushion starfish, a school of pennant monarch, numerous crabs, and a HUGE slipper lobster.

Congratulations to Sarah, Cassie, and Jeff for completing your first ever NIGHT DIVES! It was a pleasure diving with you, and thank you for choosing Island Divers Hawaii.

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Special thanks to the crew that made it all possible: Captain Joe, ‘Lil Chris, Carlos, & Marnie

 

Manolo Cabasal

Wow…it looks amazing down there… 11/3/2014

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Another beautiful day on the Sea Fox in Hawaii Kai. Bright and sunny with light trade winds, the surface conditions were impeccable for the boat load of refresher and student divers.

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*Koko Crater*
36 FT – 33 min

“Wow, it look amazing down there!” Exclaimed the Captain. Sure enough, it did. You could see straight to the bottom from the surface and out at least 100ft. With a mild Koko head current, the divers jumped in eager to explore. The pool like visibility made it possible to see pretty much every thing Koko Craters has to offer. Green sea turtles, snowflake eels, sergeant major fish, and puffer fish.

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*Angler’s Reef*
44 FT – 35 min

“Geeze, it still looks amazing down there…this is awesome.” the Captain went off as he positioned the boat over the mooring ball. The same story as earlier. You could see straight down too the bottom, and out for at least 100 ft. The current this time, was even more mild, with made it easier for the divers to get up close and personal with the aquatic life. More eels, a torch stealing octopus, sponge crabs, and a massive school of pennant monarchs all came out to play.

Congratulations to Driss for completing his Open Water Certification. It was a pleasure teaching you, and good luck on all your future diving endeavors.

A big THANK YOU to the crew: Capt. Kendal, ‘Lil Chris, & Dave.

Matt Negaard

Fluid Plans – 11/1/2014

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On the Sea Fox this morning, we had another great group of Divers out for some adventure. With the Trade Winds keeping us cool, we found a strong current at LCU so we decided to drift the barges. We had great visibility and were swept along nicely for our 30 minutes on the bottom. After retrieval and some snacks, we headed to Turtle Canyons for a nice, long second dive. Good visibility and light current made it an awesome time with multiple octopus sightings, various eels, abundant reef fish, even some nudibranchs were seen along the lush reefs we cruised over. It was a pleasure having you all out with us today, mahalo for choosing Island Divers to support your diving habit.

Swept along..

Swept along..

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Reefy..

Reefy..

Dive Sites: The Barges, 91 ft., 31 minutes, vis. 100′
Turtle Canyons, 41 ft., 50 minutes, vis. 60′
Weather: Mostly Sunny, 85 F, Trade Winds, 3-4′ swell
Staff: Joe(Capt.), Liv(Crew), Matt and Maxine(Instructors)

David Sanchez

Foxy Halloween! Oct 31

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Happy Halloween on the Sea Fox! A rugged band of explorers shoved off in search of ghosts and ghouls in the shallow waters of Maunaloa Bay! Leading the charge was Amy who was completing dives 3/4 for her Open Water Certification. Jeff, Tracey, Joshua, Christian, Franzi, Conny, Mads, and Donald were all up for the challenges ahead. We set course for Little Buddha at Kokos… good conditions prevailed as the Certified divers were escorted by Carlos and I put Amy through her skill set, which she cruised through with flying colors. During the dive many turtles were seen gliding like ghosts through the clear water

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meanwhile the reef fish were all very active as if they were getting ready for the evenings festivities!

On to anglers reef to find many sinister looking eels lurking about and swimming out in the open looking for tricks and treats…

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A great day of Halloween fun for all… and CONGRATULATIONS to Amy for joining the PADI Open Water Diver Family!

Lead- Dave Sanchez

Dive Master- Carlos

Captain- Joe

Crew- Maxine

Koko Crater- 36 ft

Anglers Reef- 43 ft

 

David Sanchez

DISCOvery Wednesday! Oct 29

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Pali

What a great day out in the Bay today! It started with Mike and Pali coming to the shop at 9am sharp to begin Pali’s Discovery Scuba Experience! After an EXCITING video and quick test it was off to the Research Pier next to Sea Life Park. Wouldn’t you know it… they were filming a scene for Hawaii 5-0! Undaunted we snuck by the film crew and entered the water unseen… where Pali was totally at ease in the water and aced the skills section! Way To Go Pali!

Next it was off to board the Fox where we were met by perfect conditions as we moored up at Little Buddha… Great visibility, no current, and lots to see! As a bonus we picked up Logan who joined us after doing the AM charter… Welcome aboard Logan!

Green-TurtleTurtles turtles everywhere!

Many turtles, puffer fish, Sergeant Majors, and reef fish of all sizes and colors greeted us and swan along side. So much to see… and as we were returning to Little Buddha…

Octopus2He doesn’t look amused!

A crazy BIG octopus charged out of a hole and sat down in the sand directly in front of us! AWESOME!

After a short surface interval it was on to Anglers Reef… once again great conditions and the four of us took a nice slow current up and down the ledge… many Eels, Squirrel fish, Trumpet fish, and a Helmet Conch were but a few creatures that amazed Pali as she looked like a natural in the water!

All too soon it was time to surface… and back to the dock. Way to go Mike, Pali, and Logan! Thank you for a fun and safe day of diving… Come see us again!

Lead Dave Sanchez

Capt Joe

Crew Dan

Little Buddha- Depth 36 ft

Anglers reef- Depth 45 ft

Water temp- 75*

 

Manolo Cabasal

Relax, Chill, and Dive…10~28~2014

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This afternoon on the Sea Fox we had an easy going group of students, certified, and first time divers. The surface conditions were superb. Light trades, and no swell. The dive sites on today’s agenda: Koko Craters & Angler’s Reef.

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*Koko Craters*
35ft – 39min

With a very manageable current and 80 ft. visibility it was hard to miss anything at Koko Craters. Turtles, puffer fish, and flounders…OH MY! Many eels were spotted as well as more and more turtles.

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*Angler’s Reef*
44ft – 42min.

Just when you think the conditions couldn’t get any better…they do. With an almost dead current and 90ft visibility, the divers were able to cruise at a snails pace and take a good peek at every crack and crevice. Grapefruit sized sponge crabs, giant moray eels, a pair of scorpion fish, and a huge school of pennant monarchs all came to play.

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Congratulations to Matt for completing his Open Water Diver course and Russell for completing his Discover Scuba Diving experience.

Shout out to the crew: Capt. Joe, Danny, & Dave.