2 Responses to “Hawaii”

1. snagel says:

   September 6, 2010 at 7:36 am

   Maui Diving -Trip Report – Aug 21- 28, 2010

   Original Post by Sus9nr on ScubaBoard

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   Well we just got back from our trip to Maui and we had a wonderful time. The weather was beautiful in the mid to upper 80′s everyday which was great considering it was 105 in Austin. We were staying in Kahana which was very nice but it is north of Lahaina so there were limited Dive operations that did boat diving.

   We decided to go with Lahaina divers even though some of the comments on this board said that they tended to be cattle boats. Although they tended to put more people on the boat, the boat was large enough to handle it. In fact the most we had was 18, the boat can handle 24, and it got a little tight when trying to gear up but they separated everyone into groups of 5 or 6 for the dive so it was not bad at all. It also made the trip out to Lanai and the Molokini Crater less brutal. The Staff was great Captain Dan was fun and entertaining. Rebecca the photographer was very helpful to try and identify things we saw.

   Now for the Dives the first dives we did were at Mala Wharf. This could probably be done as a shore dive but you need to what out for boat traffic. We saw a white tip reef shark and it is amazing what a hurricane can do to a structure. It is a very shallow dive deepest points is 35 ft. It is a decent check out dive but was not that exciting.

   The next day we were supposed to do the Back Wall at Molokini Crater and it got postponed until the following day because of engine trouble on the boat. I really enjoyed these dives. These are more advanced sites so if you are new to diving stick to the inside of the crater. The visibility was close to 200 ft. It was beautiful. Some of the people we were diving with ended up hanging out with spinner dolphins during their safety stop. Unfortunately we heard them but did not see them.

   The last day of diving we went to Lanai. We dove Cathedrals I and Knob Hill. The visibility was again 200 ft or more. The structures at the Cathedrals is beautiful and when we enter there was another white tip reef shark in there he just swam a circle around us an left. The diving was great!

   A couple of non-diving items. If you want to do a zip-line you will want to make your reservations before you go we wanted to try it but could not get a reservation once we arrived. Also you need to plan to see the volcano before you start diving because of the elevation. Same for any helicopter tours. We went to a great Luau called Feast at LeLe which is not the normal buffet and the food was wonderful, it is not necessarily for kids although there were a few there.

   It was a wonderful trip and I was very happy with the service I got from Lahaina Divers.

   Susan
2. admin says:

   December 13, 2009 at 5:28 am

   Trip Report: The Manta Ray Night Dive – Hawaii

   Original Post by WV Diver on ScubaToys (11/29/09)

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   The Manta Ray Night Dive just off shore of Hawaii really is one of those must do dives. It should be experienced and enjoyed by all divers. This is also a great experience if you prefer to snorkel or just haven’t gotten around to getting scuba certified. We went out with Big Island Divers out of Kona, Hawaii and I can recommend them highly.

   This was a two tank package that included a dive in and near the same area that the Manta Ray Night Dive takes place with plenty of surface interval prior to nightfall.

   This first dive was dubbed the Garden Eels Reef for obvious reasons. The eels are in less than 80’ of water and there are many. It’s a great place to see them shallowish water, if memory serves they were around 60’-70’ which is unusual for me. I usually see them at depths of 100’+. We also saw a nice sized Whitetip Reef Shark, a Lionfish, a Crown of Thorns, eels and of course the currently unofficial Hawaiian state fish the Humuhumunukunukuapua’a. It is pronounced: hoomoo – hoomoo – nookoo – nookoo – ah – poo – ah – ah, quite a mouthful. It means fish with a pig’s nose.

   Date = 27 Oct 09, Max depth = 78’, Vis = 100’+, Water temp = 79*F. Dive time = 57 Minutes

   The second dive of course was The Manta Ray Night Dive. It was amazing just to see so many divers at one time shining their lights up through the water column and watching the exhaust bubbles straining to reach the surface. But when the rays showed up it was breathtaking. There were about 10 there this night and they ranged in size from about 7’ to 12’ wingspans. We were told that for every foot of wingspan the animal would weigh approximately 100 lbs. But for their size they were some of most graceful and majestic animals I have ever witnessed. So much power and yet so fluid in their movements these animals would come within literally an inch of your head to collect the plankton swarming around you light.

   Each diver has a light of course and groups of buddy teams sit on the bottom around a set of fixed lights that lay on the bottom, in the sand, shining up toward the surface. This set of fixed lights, called the “Camp Fire,” along with each diver’s light shining toward the surface helps attract and concentrate the plankton, which in turn draws the rays into the area. Since this has been going on for so long the rays are conditioned to come to the lights knowing that there is an easy meal awaiting them.

   The mantas have distinct markings on their underside in the “chest” area. Their undersides are white and the markings are black and as unique as fingerprints. These marks are used to identify individual animals and of course they have all been given colorful names.

   There is also a resident Undulated Eel that likes to ham it up for the cameras. They call him Frank and he made a brief appearance on this night. He is known to wrap himself around divers and go in and out of their BCs.

   This was a fantastic dive and if you are a diver, well worth the Hawaii trip all by itself. The newer you are to scuba diving the more spectacular this dive should be for you.

   There is a lady there that does professional video and she travels around to all the different buddy teams and gets good video of the mantas circling above and around your head. Afterward you can buy her work in the parking lot for a reasonable fee. She broadcasts the nights work from a TV monitor mounted on top of her car when you get back to the dock. We picked up a copy.

   Date = 27 Oct 09, Max depth = 35’, Vis = 100’ across the camp fire, Water temp = 74*F. Dive time = 50 Minutes.