Marnie Cadden

Grumpy Turtle (Nov 22)

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Today was a great day to learn how to dive! We had nice calm seas for our trip on the Sea Fox. With us today, we had people from all over the world learning how to dive.

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We headed over to Koko Crater to finish up our skills to complete the certification process. Divers did fantastic, during both the dive skills and the navigation skills.

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We spotted this grumpy turtle hanging out at back crater right near the gnome statue.

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On our way back to the boat some more turtles joined up on our journey between craters. They were curious of the divers in their world.

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At our second site, Angler’s Reef, we encountered some really unique creatures along the ledge. These pencil urchins are all over the reef!

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This guy was popping out of the hole in the reef, another curious creature that we encountered!

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There was also a lot of micro things to see as well. We spotted these little nudibranch cruising along the reef edge, trailing along behind one another to conserve their energy.

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CREW: Marnie (instructor) Larry (instructor) Manolo (instructor) Joe (captain) Greg (crew)

CONDITIONS: 83*F air, Sunny, Slight Breeze, 80*F water

DIVE PROFILES: Koko Crater: 28 min dive time, 40ft max depth, visbility 100ft

Anglers Reef: 45ft max depth, 32 min dive time, visibility 80ft

MARINE LIFE: nudibranch, sea turtle, moray eel, Moorish idol, wrasse, urchins

 

 

David Sanchez

Soaring with Eagles! Nov 22

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A full boat of Happy Divers was on the schedule this morning…Abby, Adam, Bob, Chris L, Darienne, Jamie, Jennifer, Joe, Joseph, Matthew, Chris N, Miles, Nicholas, Patricia, Paul, Ricardo, and Sherrye.  A beautiful day met the folks aboard the Sea Fox as we left Maunaloa Harbor. Our destination… Kahala Barge! Briefed and ready to go, we moored up on the wreck and divers took their turns dropping in to the slightly choppy ocean. Using the lines we hit our destination when I spied just off the stern of the ship…

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A quick chase and a few pics later the Spotted Eagle Ray flew off into the distance… back at Kahala Barge our divers enjoyed the swim throughs, spotted a Snow Flake Eel, and observed many of the reef fish that make Kahala their home. Soon it was time to surface and after a brief interval out of the water a drift of Anglers Reef was in order…

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Good visibility, a slight current, and an abundance of reef life was enjoyed by all… Triggers, Trumpets, Goatfish, Moray Eels, Butterflys… all out and about doing their Saturday thing. A great dive was had by all…

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Many thanks to all our divers for being safe and respecting the under sea habitat!

Kahala Barge 85ft/ 80ft vis/ 77*

Anglers Reef 43ft 50ft vis/ 78*

Dave Sanchez-Lead

Manolo Cabasal-Support

Joe-Captain

Greg-Crew

Marnie Cadden

Kahala Currents (Nov19)

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It was a busy morning on the Fox and the divers were excited to jump in the water! We decided that with a group of our size, that the best option would be to explore one of our bigger wrecks, Kahala Barge.

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This is such a great wreck to explore. The mid-section of the barge in broken in, and you have the chance to penetrate a few of the rooms. Its nice open spaces allow a few divers to roam within its walls.

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We encountered some strong surface conditions upon our exit of the barge, and made our way back to the boat for a nice surface interval.

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We decided the second site would be in a bit shallower, so that we could avoid the surface tension. We made our way to Angler’s, and divers had the freedom to roam the reef with ease.

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We came across many different schools of fish and life along the ledge of this site. Visibility was fantastic and we spotted a school of pufferfish swimming nearby!

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Thanks everyone for coming out this morning!

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CREW: Marnie (instructor) Manolo (instructor) Joe (captain)

CONDITIONS: 78*F, Sunny, 79*F water

DIVE PROFILES: Kahala Barge: 89ft max depth, 28min dive time, visibility 90ft

Angler’s Reef: 46ft max depth, 34min dive time, 80ft visibility

MARINE LIFE OBSERVED: pufferfish, green sea turtle, moray eel, scorpionfish

Larry Hogan

WALK DON’T RUN !! 18 november

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Well, there is no walking or running while scuba diving, although, over the years, i have seen some unique styles of underwater movement!  what i mean here is – if you want a longer dive time, then slow down and relax underwater!  we had a beautiful day today, great viz, sunny skies, with a bit of current. on our boats we have a great line set up – a surface line, a weighted down line, and a horizontal running line, which is connected right to the dive site.  some divers forget about using the lines, and swim into the current, which is really uses up lots of the divers air.  so remember to relax and use the lines!  you’ll be glad you did ! today we had mark, frank and tomomi from Tokyo, marliz the trauma nurse, and local brad. manolo was working with DMCs, and carlos had a private.  Baby Barge was our first dive, and we had a great time, seeing huge turtles and eels, as we explored the wreck and the ledge it rests on.  2nd jump was Spitting Cave, always a crowd pleaser!  more turtles, octopus, 3 frogfish, spectacular walls and caves, and perfect viz and current.  thanks to all for safe diving.  larry, manolo, joe, ashley, max, carlos.

baby barge  80 feet  120 viz  35 minutes

spitting cave  50 ft   120 viz  50 minutes

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David Sanchez

Puffer Monday! Nov 17

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A beautiful Monday to start our DSD Session with Beverly and Mike at the new pool… they both did great on their skill set and we set off to meet the Fox and start our ocean dives. We were met by Matt, Joe, Lindsey, Jaclyn, and Chapin who was beginning her Open Water Certification with her OW dives 1 and 2…

Off to Koko Craters! A slight current, Fair visibility (60 ft) and no surge were on the schedule. The divers all were up to the task, and after Chapin aced her skills, off we went to observe the life at Little and Big Buddha. Sleeping turtles, Reef fish, and a very active Moray eel were all out and about the site…

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Next on to Anglers Reef where a very inquisitive and friendly puffer fish kept getting in the way of Chapins skill session. The puffer would get right up in our face, swam between us as we tried to do Chapins Alternate Breathing skill, followed all the divers as we went about our tour,  and even decided to swim through my legs as I stopped to show the divers some fish… a very nutty Puffer!

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But a fantastic day was had by all, thank you to all our divers for a safe and fun Monday!

Koko Craters  Depth 35ft/ Vis 60ft/ Water temp 77*

Anglers Reef  Depth 43ft/ Vis 65ft/ Water temp 76*

Dave Sanchez Lead

Carlos Del Angel Support

Capt Kendal

Crew Greg

 

Lauren Smith

6 Pack Divers!

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Beautiful Friday afternoon with an Open Water class of 6! Our Open Water students traveled all the way from Los Angeles and British Columbia. Our afternoon dive sites were planned for our favorite sandy patches at Koko Crater and Turtle Cove. The seas were calm with a bit of current below. At our first dive we circled up for a bit of skills in a quite sand patch, while Larry lead our certified divers on an underwater exploration. Our second dive was even better once we descended on Turtle Cove. Below at 36ft we all saw a huge Spotted Eagle Ray cruising along with a tiny Eagle Ray at it’s side. After a bit more skills our 6 pack of divers spotted two very big green sea turtles, we were all in smiles! Dive conditions and visibility today was awesome,  everyone is looking forward to our dives tomorrow and certifications towards our 6 new PADI Open Water Divers!

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_  CREW: Bradley (instructor) Larry (instructor) Joe (captain) CONDITIONS: Sunny, 77*F, 80*F water, visibility 80+ft DIVE PROFILES: Turtles Cove: 38ft max depth, 36min dive time Koko Crater: 40ft max depth, 36min dive time MARINE LIFE: spotted moray eel, green sea turtle, Spotted eagle ray, butterfly fish and nunu trumpetfish!

 

Matt Negaard

Looking for Bowser-15 November

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What a great day of South Oahu diving! We set out from Kewalo Basin aboard the Sea Hound with a great group of divers. Ocean conditions kept us from our first choice, Pinnacles, so we started at an old favorite the Sea Tiger. At the wreck, visibility was great and there was no significant current making it a pleasant way to start the day. A snoozing Green Sea Turtle greeted us on the deck, and we saw Undulated and Green Morays, a couple of Spotted Eagle Rays, plus a bunch of Pennant Butterflyfish. Sooo nice!

Hope with clean gloves.

Hope with clean gloves.

Greetings!

Greetings!

For the second jump, we headed to something different, Mario Land. This is a shallow site, with some really great reef structure and pipes to explore. Large schools of reef fish cruising around here, and lots of good hiding places for reef critters. We saw some more Eels and a couple large Crabs too. Inside the pipes, there is lots of life, but Bowser was a no show.

Mario's pipes.

Mario’s pipes.

Reefy.

Reefy.

After pulling in for an extended surface interval with sandwiches and soda, we headed back out for our third dive. Very light current and decent vis made for a great third drop. We got to explore both the YO-257 and the San Pedro wrecks on a single dive. Blue Stripe Snappers, more Sleeping Turtles, and fun swim throughs were a great way to end the day. Thanks to Ben, Hope, Deb, Rick, Jason, Morgan, Erika, and Coty for being a safe and fun group.

Rick

Rick

Deb

Deb

Conditions: Sunny, Breezy, SW Swell
Dive Profiles: Sea Tiger – 108 ft, 26 min, 78 F, Vis 100 ft
Mario Land – 39 ft, 55 min, 79 F, Vis 60 ft
YO-257/San Pedro – 94 ft, 36 min, 78 F, Vis 80 ft
Staff: John (Captain), Matt (Instructor)

Mark Savel

Extraordinary Saturday 11/15

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This morning was one of the perfect days diving off the Sea Fox. We had some great conditions with a light wind, great viz, and light current as we headed out to the LCU for the first dive.  We dropped down on the wreck and right away found 6 white tip reef sharks hiding out underneath. They got a little annoyed with all the divers on the bottom and started swimming all around the wreck.  As we dove about the wreck we found a frogfish and a few eels about the area as well as large schools of goatfish swimming about.  We also had the great luck of a school of eagle rays come cruising by.

For the second dive we decided to head to Palea Point with the great weather and again had a wonderful dive.  We got in and headed along the reef. Right away the divers in the back of the group were lucky enough to spot a manta ray cruising inside the mouth of Hanauma Bay. Sadly most divers missed it but thank you Joan for the photo of it. Along the dive we came across a couple white tip reef sharks and a turtle hiding in a cave. There were also reef fish everywhere with schools of damselfish and butterflyfish swimming about.  It was a perfect way to spend a Saturday morning.IMG_6415 IMG_6422 IMG_6410 IMG_6438 IMG_6440

Manolo Cabasal

Double Mint Diving 11*14*2014

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This morning on the Sea Hound we were joined by an international cast of advanced divers. With variable trades and a nearly glass-like surface, the conditions were especially mint for diving. Today’s dive sites: The Corsair & The Sea Cave.

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*The Corsair*
105ft – 25min

One HUNDRED foot visibility and a mild current allowed the divers to free descent onto the plane. At the crystal clear bottom the divers hovered over the wreck and got a close encounter with Bertha, the MASSIVE green moray eel that resides in engine compartment of the Corsair. Aside from Big Bertha and the plane, the divers also encountered a school of fusiliers, an octopus, and a field or garden eels.

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*Sea Cave*
68ft – 44min

With the current picking up, the divers entered the shelter of the sea cave hopeful for a shark siting. Unfortunately, no sharks today, but they divers encountered many free swimming turtles inside the cave. Outside of the cave the divers encountered a massive school of moorish idols and an assortment of eels and starfish.

A special thanks to the crew of the Sea Hound: Capt. John, Anthony, and Sean (DMC)

Marnie Cadden

Skimming the Shallows (Nov13)

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Another great afternoon aboard the Sea Fox! We jumped in the shallow waters for a nice fun dive on this beautiful island.

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At Koko Crater, we came across the locals, like the green sea turtle and the pin cushion sea star, but we also came across some new visitiors to this reef.

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Schools of Moorish idols were covering this reef today, which is common, but not in such large groups. It was a great way for our first time divers to see them their very first time underwater!

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At our second site, Turtle Canyons, we came across yet more schools of fish, most of which we see quite often.

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What we were not expecting to see was a few of these spotted eagle rays cruising the shallows while they were feeding on this sunny afternoon.

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Another great day divers! Hope to see you again soon!

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CREW: Marnie (instructor) Larry (instructor) Joel (instructor) Max (crew) Joe (captain)

CONDTIONS: 82*F air, slightly cloudy, 70ft visibility, 81*F water

DIVE PROFILES: Koko Crater: 40ft max depth., dive time 36min

Turtle Canyons: 38ft max depth, 38min dive time

MARINE LIFE OBSERVED: sea turtle, Moorish idol, spotted eagle ray, pin suchion sea star, wrasse, moray eel