David Sanchez

The Fab Four of Maunalua Bay! 6/16/2017

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Another beautiful day out on Maunalua Bay. Blue skies, a light wind, and fantastic water greeted our 4 divers as we departed the dock on the Sea Fox. Anita, Brandon, Ben, and Tim had the boat all to themselves and we decided to drop on our first deep site: the LCU.

As we descended down the lines we were met with a slight westerly current. Reaching the top of the ship (at 70 Ft) we observed a Green Hawaiian Sea Turtle resting peacefully and a Spotted Eagle Ray gliding effortlessly on the southern edge of the ship. After dropping down to the ocean floor (at 90 Ft) we began looking under the various Z blocks and tubes until we found a juvenile White tip Reef Shark. Very cool.

After an adequate surface interval it was time to drift Fantasy Reef. Dropping off the Sea Fox using a negative entry the 4 adventurers descended to 50 Ft and our first find: 2 pregnant White Tip Reef Sharks relaxing under an overhang. Next stop: a large Frog Fish and a few Great Barracuda hunting amongst  the coral  formations. Finally what dive around Fantasy Reef would be complete without running into our resident Turtles again.

A great day out in the bay with our divers who all dove responsibly, safely, and made my day just as enjoyable as theirs. Mahalo and ALOHA

Dave LEAD INSTRUCTOR

Joe CAPTAIN

Nat CREW

LCU 90 ft

Fantasy Reef 50 ft

Water Temp 78*

Daniel Bond

Certs, Students, and DSD’s….OH MY!

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It was another sunny and fun-filled day on June the 3rd. We had a great group which consisted of certified divers, OW and AOW students, and also 1st timers (DSD’s)! With myself, Everett, and Carl as the instructors and Matt at the helm we set out for the bay. With the water temperature just right at 78 degrees we headed out to Koko Craters. Surface was a little choppy, but once we cleared that the visibility was incredible with hovering turtles, very gabby looking eels, big eyed pufferfish, and so much more right before our eyes. Our maximum depth was at 36 ft.

Once everyone exited the water we headed out to Turtle Canyons where again views with 50 ft. visibility got our attention and the sea life it had. With a maximum depth of 38 ft. trumpetfish, scorpion fish, star pillows, sea urchins, eels, and Hawaiian State fish were just a few of the many species we saw today.

Big shout out to Everett and Carl for helping me out with everyone. Congrats to OW and AOW students for advancing themselves in the great world of diving!

Like Father, like Son-in-law.
Mark did his refresher while Mickey tried diving for his very first time and did very well I might add.

 

David Sanchez

Summer Returns to Maunalua Bay!

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June has arrived and so has the warmer waters that the island of Oahu is known for. Ready to take advantage of the beautiful conditions in Maunalua Bay was James B, James F, Katie, Nate, Paul, Shay, Travis, and Marilyn. And near perfect conditions there were: 78 degree waters, 80 ft plus visibility, and a slight current as we reached our first destination: LCU.

Since there was a current at LCU we decided to drift the wreck and continue on to the West towards Diamond Head. Great visibility as we descended down and observed a large group of Pacific Barracuda and a Spotted Eagle Ray directly of top of the ship. We continued East and saw the usual piles of Z blocks and Tubes… soon it was time to ascend.

Our next site was the YO257 and the San Pedro. One of my favorite dive sites as there are two ships in close proximity to each other so it is possible to do both wrecks. Turtles, a White Tip Shark, a large Trevali, and several Green Moray Eels were seen around the site.

Our final dive was at Fantasy Reef. A favorite of our divers as there is so much life there. Green Turtles, Frog fish, Octopus, Squid, Great Barracuda, and a female White Tip shark all made appearances and made the final dive one to remember.

A Fantastic beginning to June and hopes of great things to come all summer long. Thank you to our divers for a safe and fun day out on the Enzo. ALOHA!

DAVE Instructor

JEREMY Instructor

SHILOH Capt

BECKA Crew

LCU 90 ft, 90 ft Vis, 78*

YO257/San Pedro 100 ft, 80 ft vis

Fantasy Reef 55 ft, 90 ft vis

Evans Humphreys

Amazing afternoon dives!

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Earlier this month, we at Island Divers had the pleasure of diving with some of the most spirited guests yet! There was tons of chatter and happy vibes along the trip out to the dive site with lots of laughs and much excitement about the dives to come. With Captain Shiloh, the new captain on the block, helping keep us safe, our favorite dive sites were sure to be a great time. Our first stop was Koko Craters and what a day to be diving this site. There was close to 10 turtles circling the famous “Big Buddha” statue at the center of the dive site.

We also saw lots of cool eels including the intimidatingly large yellow margin moray and the delightfully small golden dwarf eel. On top of that I found the biggest shell to date weighing in at what must be over 2 pounds! Our next stop was Turtle Canyon where we had the pleasure of finding 3 different species of nudibranchs and an awesome eagle ray!

All and all this trip was a blast and I hope to see these divers again very soon!

Evans Humphreys

Beginner Divers Dream Day on the Barge!

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Wow. What an amazing day we had recently on the beginner divers boat lovingly called the Barge. With Captain Chris at the helm, I knew we were in great hands. The ocean was as calm as I’ve ever seen looking more like a big lake than the sometimes tumultuous sea and the visibility seemed infinite. With 10  first time divers on board, the day was shaping up to be perfect. Suddenly, as if the day was meant to be special, the divers on board were lucky enough to be graced by the presence of dolphins, which typically don’t make appearances this close in shore! I quickly gathered everyone to finish the dive briefing so that we could start making our way onto the dive site with the hopes of possibly seeing the dolphins underwater if their curiosity got the best of them. So with the help of Tim, the deckmaster, we quickly got our divers into the water, worked on the skills needed for a first time dive, and started our dive. Our first dive we would not be successful in finding the dolphins underwater, but turtles, beautiful nudibranchs, and eels made special appearances and the dolphins could be heard playfully whistling and squeaking in the background. Time comes for the second dive and the dolphins are still close by but as we descend no sign of them. Luckily the conditions are beautiful and we see around 6 turtles, 2 scorpionfish, two trembling nudibranch, eels galore, and a gorgeous horned helmet conch. But just as it was time to start making our way back to the boat the lucky divers with me started pointing into the distance and waving for my attention.

DOLPHINS!

 

We slowly turn and swim towards them to get a better look and spend a few minutes watching them. After the dive they followed the boat halfway home to the sounds of some pretty excited divers. Congratulations to all the first time divers on an awesome dive day!

Daniel Bond

Great Memorial Day Diving in Maunalua Bay!

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What better thing to do then go diving to celebrate Memorial Day! That’s what 3 students and 4 certified divers, and another instructor (Bill) thought as well. With Captain Shiloh at the helm we made our way out into the gorgeous Maunalua Bay. I had wondered how things were going to be since the “King Tides” making their way here on the south shores of Oahu, but was pleasantly surprised with good visibility 50 ft. and not too much current on our first dive site, Koko Craters! The water temperature at 78 degrees made it comfortable as well. There at the site we saw many things such as eels, sea cucumbers, Hawaiian State fish ( Humuhumunukunukuapua), pufferfish, and not to mention the main attraction, the great sea turtles! They were everywhere!

After there we decided on our next destination, Angler’s Reef with a maximum depth of about 45 feet and, we made our way and hooked up to the mooring line. The visibility here was also around 50 ft. Upon descending there were plenty of sea life to see all along the top of the mini wall. We saw other things such as little and big eels, star pillows, nudibranchs, trumpetfish, pufferfish, and many other different forms of life.

Upon concluding this dive we had two more join our ranks of certified divers! Big shout out and congratulations to Melinda and Brandon upon completing their Open Water!

Big shoutout to Bill for helping me out today.

Jeremy Sanders-Lewis

From Wreck to Reef, A great Tuesday Morning for Diving

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Tuesday morning proved to be another great morning in Maunalua Bay for diving. As we set out early at 8:30 our small group set sights on the first destination of Baby Barge. Sitting at an estimated 75ft of depth we were treated to good visibility of about 60 ft and little current which provided excellent conditions as our party made its drop down to the Barge. Waiting for us at the wreck was a collection of 6-8 adult Hawaiian Green Sea turtles who had decided make Baby Barge the spot for some rest and relaxation. These graceful giants were undisturbed with our presence and allowed the divers to observe them in their natural habitat as only diver can. Surrounding the wreck in several different locations is a rock shelf with small caves that house other marine life such as White Tip reef sharks and moray eels.

Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle at Baby Barge

Another Turtle resting behind a rock below Baby Barge

After we returned to the boat and completed our surface interval the group discussed their options of sites to dive next and quickly decided to shoot a little closer to shore for relaxing dive at the amazing Anglers Reef. Sitting at a max depth of 45ft Anglers Reef is a single shelf that runs for several hundred feet. Its five feet of depth change from top of the shelf to the bottom is home to a multitude of marine life and today it did not disappoint. After mooring up and making a quick decent down to the reef the group was again treated with wonderful encounters to a variety of eel’s, especially several very large Yellow Margin Morays. These intimidating looking creatures paid us no mind as we coasted by.  We also laid eyes on a couple Imperial Nudibranchs, some cleaner shrimp crowding tiny holes and a very well hidden Devil Scorpion fish. Not a bad morning at all.

A very big Yellow Margin Moray hiding under the self at Anglers Reef

A Devil Scorpion fish doing his best blend in.

A juvenile White Mouth watching his own reflection in the camera lens.

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.

 

 

 

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*