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Aaron's is very good. Can't comment on how they run tours, but they're top notch for air fills and have good customer service. Kailua is small so you may as well check them out if you're staying there.

Oahu has plenty of nice reefs - just as good as Maui or Kona if you know where to look. However, because the island is older and has more of a "shelf" built up, the good areas tend to be far from shore and difficult to access. Some of the Waikiki/Ala Moana spots are a little drab; the tour...

That's the Fire Department rescue boat. They're often called in for missing person reports.

These guys seem to like shallow, murky water. According to several local fishermen, they're quite common in Pearl Harbor. Most of the ones I've seen have been on the North Shore in flat, boring areas with bad vis. Seen a few night diving in Haleiwa tranch, too (fun to play with them in the...

They can be seen year round - there's no real "season" for them. However, they appear to be far more abundant this year than they are normally. For reasons that nobody knows, sometimes an abnormally high number of larvae manage to survive and settle on the reef. I don't think harlequin...

Now is a great time to be diving if you want to see harlequin shrimp. They're going through a population bloom right now and it's been a long time since there have been this many around. It's no coincidence that there have been several posts in this forum in the last few months. Harlequin...

The largest dragon eels I've seen were also the most colorful... I suspect there's just a lot of variation in the species that has little to do with age/size. It's a shame to hear about somebody busting coral at the pipe. I'm a fish collector, and this sort of thing just makes me mad! Please...

The only sure way to tell would be to catch both eels and dissect them, which I'm sure nobody wants to do! I've seen pale and colorful dragons of all sizes, so it doesn't seem like it's an age thing.

Some people think that the males have more orange on the jaw than the females, but I don't think it's ever been verified. If this really is a pair, it'd definitely support that theory. Dragon eels aren't particularly rare - just very cryptic and requiring specific habitat. If you find one...

Just go to Honaunau - beautiful reef with super easy shore access. It'll be cheap, your wife can snorkel while you're diving, and she won't be grumpy at you for being stuck on a boat all day.

Neat. Will have to check it out someday! Were you able to use the Kailua boat ramp or did you take the long way around?

It's a pretty sketchy ramp. It's steep, narrow, slippery, and has a big crack in the middle of it. The guys I know who launch from it usually unhitch the trailer and lower it in with a 3rd wheel and a rope tied to the bumper. You can only launch from here on a very calm day, since it faces...

Aaron's does indeed want a VIP sticker that says "Nitrox". Because their nitrox is pre-mixed, it's probably not necessary from a safety standpoint. However, it's their shop so they can make whatever rules they want. That might piss you off slightly, but keep in mind that Aaron's offers the...

Nope, no charge, and they were quick about it and friendly. Have had some pretty goofy experiences with them, though. One time they tried to board a friend's boat in the middle of the channel just as you described, and didn't seem to notice that it would go drifting into the reef. Another...

If writing DLNR tickets really was a money-making venture, the state would hire more enforcement officers and do a better job of it. I like the Coast Guard. It used to be annoying when they showed up, but I've got a different attitude now after they helped get us towed back from Ewa Beach with...

Pole fishing isn't prohibited at Waimea, so there's nothing wrong with what you saw there. The fishermen are well within their rights to tell you off - they've been doing it since long before you were born and there's nothing more irritating than some haoles coming over with an attitude. This...

The Halimeda usually goes to around 300', slightly deeper in spots.

Definitely a titan scorpion - no other shallow water scorpion fish in Hawaii gets anywhere close to that size. They're definitely one of those fish that's more common than people think, since they're well camouflaged and tend to live in fairly bland areas that recreational divers don't visit...

Normally, the current runs from makapuu to diamond head on a rising tide, and the other way on a falling tide. The switch typically happens roughly an hour after slack tide in Honolulu harbor. But sometimes it's completely off schedule, so make sure to be prepared just in case.

I second Drew - you guys should call yourselves "Hawaii Above Water Explorers". The Moku Manu current really can be awful, but if you're diving inside the curve of the island where the caves are it's pretty sheltered and current isn't a big issue. It's only 40-60' deep on the inside so it's...