Shore entry to the manta dive at the Sheraton

[nippurmagnum]

I am making a return dive trip to Kona in August, and I will be staying at a condo a few blocks away from the Sheraton. I am wondering if anyone has done the manta night dive at the Sheraton as a shore dive. I did a boat dive at the old airport last year, and it was wonderful, but super crowded and the operator cut the dive short at 45 minutes, despite the 30 foot depth and perfect conditions. So this time around I am wondering if a shore dive at the Sheraton might allow me to spend more time with the mantas. Any thoughts? Ease of entry/exit? Advice on dealing with the live boats? Any other suggestions? Thanks!

 

[spoolin01]

I've tried a couple of times, it's not that far of a swim from the Keauhou Bay entry. The trick is timing it so you get out there in time for the show, and that there is a show. The first time, we were late, all the boats had gone, and we had only one brief drive-by. The second time no mantas showed.

If you show up on the surface before or during the arrival of the boats, for sure bring something to make yourself readily visible.

 

[rgilkes]

@nippurmagnum please update if you are successful or not when you go. I'm staying at the Sheraton around Labor Day.

 

[tphelps]

I am wondering if anyone has done the manta night dive at the Sheraton as a shore dive. I did a boat dive at the old airport last year, and it was wonderful, but super crowded and the operator cut the dive short at 45 minutes, despite the 30 foot depth and perfect conditions. So this time around I am wondering if a shore dive at the Sheraton might allow me to spend more time with the mantas. Any thoughts? Ease of entry/exit? Advice on dealing with the live boats? Any other suggestions? Thanks!

Aloha @nippurmagnum, I would advise against a shore entry for this dive. While you may have had great conditions on your last charter, that is not the norm. I live on Hawai'i Island and have done the manta dive many times. About half the times I have done it, we have had swell which is not forgiving to the shoreline at Garden Eel Cove.

But that being said, I know folks that have dove this from shore, the results of which I can separate into two outcomes:
1) there was perfect conditions and no issues
2) either conditions weren't the best at the start, or worsened during the dive, making for a very difficult and stressful exit

Personally I have not dove the manta dive from shore. To me the safety, convenience of diving from a boat, snacks, hot beverages and meeting new people, is worth the money for this dive. If you feel comfortable with the abilities of yourself and your dive buddy, I wish you best of luck and a safe dive. My advice, scout out an entry/exit with backups well before the dive when there is still light out. Descend closer to the rocks, away from the floating thingys with sharp spinny thingys. Of course we all know, and abide by, the rule of diving with at least 2 lights. I want to emphasize that for the exit, if you don't have a working light and are trying to get out, you're kinda screwed.

My last tip from diving from shore, I would pre-write on a slate or water proof paper "Not with your group, we dove from shore." I guarantee a guide (probably one of my friends haha) will come up to you, frantically wondering who you are, if you are one of their divers, or perhaps divers form another boat that got left behind.

One of your objections was having the dive cut short the first time. If you decide to go from boat, talk to the charter ahead of time, let them know your experience level and ask if you can be the first group in/last group out on the manta dive. It's a reasonable request and should give you another 10 minutes or so.

Have fun and dive safely!

 

[nippurmagnum]

Aloha @nippurmagnum, I would advise against a shore entry for this dive. While you may have had great conditions on your last charter, that is not the norm. I live on Hawai'i Island and have done the manta dive many times. About half the times I have done it, we have had swell which is not forgiving to the shoreline at Garden Eel Cove.

But that being said, I know folks that have dove this from shore, the results of which I can separate into two outcomes:
1) there was perfect conditions and no issues
2) either conditions weren't the best at the start, or worsened during the dive, making for a very difficult and stressful exit

Personally I have not dove the manta dive from shore. To me the safety, convenience of diving from a boat, snacks, hot beverages and meeting new people, is worth the money for this dive. If you feel comfortable with the abilities of yourself and your dive buddy, I wish you best of luck and a safe dive. My advice, scout out an entry/exit with backups well before the dive when there is still light out. Descend closer to the rocks, away from the floating thingys with sharp spinny thingys. Of course we all know, and abide by, the rule of diving with at least 2 lights. I want to emphasize that for the exit, if you don't have a working light and are trying to get out, you're kinda screwed.

My last tip from diving from shore, I would pre-write on a slate or water proof paper "Not with your group, we dove from shore." I guarantee a guide (probably one of my friends haha) will come up to you, frantically wondering who you are, if you are one of their divers, or perhaps divers form another boat that got left behind.

One of your objections was having the dive cut short the first time. If you decide to go from boat, talk to the charter ahead of time, let them know your experience level and ask if you can be the first group in/last group out on the manta dive. It's a reasonable request and should give you another 10 minutes or so.

Have fun and dive safely!

 

[nippurmagnum]

TPhelps, I appreciate your advice. My thought was indeed to try to do the Sheraton manta site from shore on snorkel, first, to make sure that we could get in and out without the heavy gear, and to only try it on scuba if we were comfortable with that (and if conditions were good). And we would have an abundance of lights. I also like the suggestion of a slate with a "not with your group" message.

But for me, $125 for a single tank is a very hefty price for the convenience of diving from a boat a stone's throw away from shore -- if a shore entry can be done safely. (Even allowing that there is value for the camaraderie, hot chocolate, snacks, etc.). So to me, the question is, can it be done safely if the conditions are good? I'd be grateful for any additional thoughts from people who have done the manta dive from shore. Did you find yourself wishing you had done it from a boat?

 

[nippurmagnum]

I've tried a couple of times, it's not that far of a swim from the Keauhou Bay entry. The trick is timing it so you get out there in time for the show, and that there is a show. The first time, we were late, all the boats had gone, and we had only one brief drive-by. The second time no mantas showed.

If you show up on the surface before or during the arrival of the boats, for sure bring something to make yourself readily visible.

Thanks for your feed back. In terms of making yourself visible to others, did you use a surface float? I thought of doing that but it would seem like a bad idea given that, if all goes well, there will be mantas whizzing around me.

Also, in terms of figuring out whether there will be dive boats arriving on a given date, is there any way to try to anticipate that?

 

[fmerkel]

We watched a couple divers go in from a site on shore. It was not an easy entry but seemed doable. No mantas that night it appeared and we didn't watch them get out. Easy conditions that night. Not sure how it would have been if it got rough.

 

[tphelps]

So to me, the question is, can it be done safely if the conditions are good? I'd be grateful for any additional thoughts from people who have done the manta dive from shore. Did you find yourself wishing you had done it from a boat?

I totally understand the reasoning of wanting to do it from shore. I would be very frustrated if I paid $125 for a charter and we went to Honokohau Harbor (a site I frequently do from shore)!

To answer your question, yes it can absolutely be done from shore. Your judgement sounds very cautious so I think you guys will be just fine.

Do not use a surface float at Garden Eel Cove (which sounds totally counter intuitive). The mantas can run into the line and harm themselves. Also it could pose an entanglement hazard for the heavy boat traffic above. Best advice, is to stay aware of your depth and what's happening above you.

 

[cuddlefish]

With recent manta sitings being low at Garden Eel Cove lately, there have been many nights with 20 or more boats at the Sheraton. That's a lot of boat traffic. Be safe and have fun.