Mary Christensen

Double Drift 5/31

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It was a blustery day out with a bit of rain but our seasoned divers came out to splash in the Pacific.  Ended up doing a double drift, sometimes Mother Nature has her own idea of what we can do.  We all jumped in at LCU and explored the boat a little then on our way.  Trying to make the next barge but the current pulled us a bit to the south.  This was fun for us to explore areas we seldom get to see.  It’s always fun to see places we never get to see.  Vienna even got to try out Nitrox for the very first time on her dives today with our Dive Nitrox Special.

Our next drift was shallower on one of our favorites, Fantasy reef.  Pretty sure we found out were “All” the turtles hang out on current filled days.  Pretty sure we saw at least 20 of them.  Sterling, did her very first drift dive and was amazing on it.  We all had a super time and again got to see stuff we don’t get to see often.  The current pulled us about three quarters of a mile which made the end of the dive pretty amazing.  Lots of eels, turtles and uncountable number of reef fish.  Even found loads of Helmet’s.  This was a pretty special dive and we had a great time doing it.   Brooke had our famous hot towels on the way in to freshen up with, always our divers favorite!  It was great having Arman, Mike, Chris, Vienna and Sterling back on the boat with us.  They are all repeat friends of Island Divers!  We always love having familiar faces with us.

 

Amazing Divers:  Arman, Ashley, Ben, Britney, Chelsea, Chris, Sterling, Alexandra, Mike, Courtnie, and Vienna.

Fantastic Staff:   Capt. Joe, Dive Instructor Mary and Boat Crew Brooke!

Kevin Cloud

How to Navigate the Pacific

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What is Neutral Buoyancy? Neutral buoyancy is a condition in which a physical body’s average density is equal to the density of the fluid in which it is immersed. Two eager students of mine had to experiment and understand how to master this skill(which in this case, everyone should know how to do), and I could not be happier on the outcome of their success, they did an outstanding job on their Peak Performance Buoyancy class, especially the Underwater Navigation course as well. So as always I would like to tip my hat to Kai and Harry Pittman on their success, really great job. I also want to thank Thomas,Stephan,Vienna,Paul, and Karen for coming out and diving with us, hope you guys had a great time.

Now, moving on to our dive sites, we first went to the always popular Koko Craters which is just crowded with the alluring Sea Turtles(Honu),the maximum depth is 37-40ft with a visibility of about 50ft. Our second was the easy going Anglers Reef with a moderate current, its depth was 43ft and endless visibility.

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Kevin Cloud

Spirit of Adventure

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Of all the inspirational sites I have seen, I would have to tip my hat to Marina Storelli for sticking with her short journey to become Open Water Diver, at first she was very concerned and anxious about doing certain skills, but what drove her wasn’t only the instructor guidance, no I would say it’s the inspiring feeling everyone faces to make their own adventures happen. So without a further ado I welcome Marina to the diving community and hope her future dives will always have that spirit of adventure. I would also want to give a congratulations shout out to Michael and Tracey becoming newlyweds, and hey what better way to spend it in Hawaii. The dives we did were amazing (as always), blue clear water KOKO Craters with a depth of 37ft, visibility 50 feet, and the exotic Turtle Canyon with a depth of 42ft, and with endless visibility.

 

 

 

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Larry Hogan

BEST DIVE IN 52 YEARS OF DIVING !!! 26 april

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that is what John said to me after out second dive of the day!  At the age of 70, he has been an avid diver since his high school days, so he knows what he is talking about!    And that dive was a site we call SPITTING CAVE, so named after a cave at the surface that spits out water after being hit by the right wave.  And he has an undeniable point, as this dive site has so much to offer!  marine life runs the spectrum from large to small, humpback whales (nov – march) to blue dragon nudibranchs.  as well as sharks, seals, turtles, octopus, shoals of reef fish, eagle rays, frog fish. . .  ok, you get the picture.  Oh, and don’t forget the spectacular volcanic topography – canyons, caves, soft lava rock, shaped by centuries of strong currents.  i have been around the world diving, and it is one of my favorite dives also!  thanks to all for safe diving, larry, courtnie, and captain matt

Koko craters    38 ft    43 min   120 viz

Spitting cave     50 ft   47 min   150 viz

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Diving in the vast Pacific
Kevin Cloud

Splish Splash Afternoon Fox

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What a great day for your first time diving in the vast Pacific, so I want to take this time to applaud Jackie on her first time going under the blue and thank you choosing us to help you get there. And hey, lets not forget Justin and Edward on successfully completing their first open water dives 1/2, only 2 more then you’ll be one of the many people who enjoy the big o blue.

Today’s dive sites were Koko Craters: its depth was 37 feet, visibility was 50-60 feet with no current.Turtle Canyon: it’s depth is 40 feet,visibility was 40-50 feet with a slight current, however there was a huge gathering of Achilles Tangs, rather a enjoyable and random sight to see.

 

Kevin Cloud

April 6th Afternoon Dive

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Kevin Cloud

Today’s Afternoon Dive March 23

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Today couldn’t have gone any better or smoother than with the students and certs I was with today, first dive site was the always enticing Koko Crater’s filled with many Honu ( Hawaiian Green Sea turtle) and the beautiful White Mouth Eel. I just want to give congrats to Scott, Samantha, and Dimitry for finishing their FIRST Open Water dives in the Pacific, also a  thanks to Yoenia and Matthieu for diving with us today and sharing the same experience with me.

Koko Crater’s depth: 38 feet

Turtle Canyon: 41 feet

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Chelsea McLaughlin

Afternoon at Fantasy! Mar 22

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imageThis weather this afternoon was perfect! The winds were light, the sea was flat, and the current was minimal so we got to do something a little different and headed off to Fantasy Reef for our first dive. We had an amazing dive and saw so many turtles and eels, ventured through swim-throughs, and even played with an octopus! Our second dive site was Turtle Canyon, where Jeffrey and Lily finished up their Open Water course. There were so many eels and some really bright sea stars for our final dive of the day.

Fantasy Reef: max depth 53ft
Turtle Canyon: max depth 38 ft

Amazing divers: Jeffrey, Lily, Sydney, Jerry, Cherie, Paige, Greg, Nathan, Juan and Ryan

Awesome staff: Capt Kendal, Instructors Chelsea and Larry 🙂

Chelsea McLaughlin

An Outstanding Afternoon!

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imageFor our afternoon charter, we went to Angler’s Reef (max depth 43ft) and Hawaii Loa (max depth 42ft). It was a perfect day for diving! The sea was calm and current and wind were minimal. We saw some eels and an octopus at Angler’s. At Hawaii Loa, we found a pair or nudibranchs, a hawksbill turtle, a Hawaiian green sea turtle, and a white tip reef shark! Finally, four humpbacks cruised along near the boat on our way back into the harbor, making for an outstanding afternoon on the water!

 

Chelsea McLaughlin

Diving in Oahu with new PADI Certified Dive Buddies!!

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It was a little cloudy on the surface, but crystal clear underwater! Stella and Steve completed their Advanced Open Water certifications, while Ting Ting, Stanford, and Eric finished their Open Water certifications. Our first stop was Koko Craters, where we saw many turtles, eels, and a nudibranch! There wasn’t much current and visibility was great, so we had a great dive. Dive #2 was at Angler’s Reef. There wasn’t any current and there was amazing visibility! We saw schools of fish, many eels and a few nudibranch as well! All in all, an amazing day of diving with some great students!