25 Mantas on Kona Night Dive, May 22nd

[friscuba]

It's a bit blurry, but here's a few minutes from the 19th of last month. The mantas have been going bigtime the last few weeks. It's slightly down right now... just 8 a couple of nights ago the last time we went.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

In the Maui News there is a monthly column submitted by the Maui Ocean Center; Ka Mo'olelo Moana (the Ocean Story). Sunday's column was titled Manta is Graceful and Mysterious Sea Dweller.

I did not bring this up to make fun of the headline syntax, and I could not find it at Maui News | Maui News so if you want to read all of it you have to find a hard copy. Perhaps the Maui Ocean Center has an email version.

Late in the column (2nd to last paragraph) is this statement:

In Hawaii, they are a tourist attraction, drawing admirers to the coast of Kona, where they gather to feed at night in front of the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel.

This statement seems a little off to me; is garden eel cove off the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel? If not, is there night manta activity in front of the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel? What was the name of the original hotel with the spotlights?

 

[Scubagolf]

Mantas have been viewed by hotel guests at Mauna Kea for many years. The Mauna Kea is about 30 miles up the coast from the night dive sites which are much closer to Kailua-Kona.

 

[redrover]

It's a bit blurry, but here's a few minutes from the 19th of last month. The mantas have been going bigtime the last few weeks. It's slightly down right now... just 8 a couple of nights ago the last time we went.

Yep Steve, that’s the one. Of all the Manta footage I’ve watched…ok so quality is not so great, but dang! That is what showed what it feels like best for me. How those giant fish swarm around each other in slow motion…head on collisions turn into magnificent, seemingly brilliant choreography. Love the getting wing whumped evidence.

 

[MeiLing]

I don't know about the Mauna Kea, but the old hotel where the mantas were the hot attraction was the now defunct, Kona Surf hotel on Keahou Bay. It was closed for a while, with the lights turned off. It is now the Sheraton Keahou and the lights are back on. I here tell, that the mantas are back.

If it is calm, it is a very easy dive from the shore.

 

[friscuba]

The Sheraton is quite often good for 1-3 mantas, the big show is generally up off the Kona airport. Operators here discovered the airport site is generally better almost a year before the old Kona Surf shut down.

 

[MeiLing]

The Sheraton is quite often good for 1-3 mantas, the big show is generally up off the Kona airport. Operators here discovered the airport site is generally better almost a year before the old Kona Surf shut down.

Kona Surf used to rock for mantas! Way more than 2-3. Years ago, my husband dove there when it was hot and there were lots around him over 2 tiny dive lights.

When I went later there were lots too. I can't remember how many. It was quite a while ago and I would have to check my log book to see what time of year it was.

If I did it again, I think I would do both just to get the experience of both. Keahou Bay was shallow and we could have stayed there forever!

 

[friscuba]

I worked the Kona Surf site it's last year of being "the" manta site. One of the biggest nights they ever had was 8 mantas, it was good for 5-6 quite often though. After mantas were found up by the airport in '99, it was only a matter of a short time before they were finding 12/15/18/"more than you could count" on many nights.

After the lights went out at the Kona Surf, they basically had few reliable manta sightings 'til about 5 months after the lights went back on at the Sheraton. It's be a steady 1-3 mantas and I think they've topped out at 6 since then from what I've heard. I only go there when they're not showing up at the airport, no real reason to, but I do check on the numbers down south on occasion.

 

[MeiLing]

My husbands first dive at the Kona Surf had 9 mantas back when the Kona Surf was still in operation.

What I like about going in from the shore was not having the whole cattle boat thing going on.

 

[stevethepirate]

It seems pretty hit or miss.
We went out with Jack's Dive Locker last October, but the plankton in the water was scarce and we only saw 2 juveniles. I'd never seen a manta before, so a 5' juvenile was still pretty cool.

Jack's was very well run, but those big cattle boats aren't really my style. We will probably do it again some time and hope for more mantas.

E

I went with Wanna Dive, because I'm not a fan of cattle boats either. GREAT op. We saw 12 rays I think, some of which were huge. I bought the DVD of it also, pretty cool.