Big Island Divers: Manta/Black Water Dive

[Cacia]

the sharks were way too interested for my taste when we did a blue water dive ...

funny, *that feeling* when you are the only things out there!

I like to see sharks on a reef with lots of slow fishies in the area, in case they decide they want to snack.

 

[MeiLing]

funny, *that feeling* when you are the only things out there!

I like to see sharks on a reef with lots of slow fishies in the area, in case they decide they want to snack.

I like the comfort of thinking that I might possibly be able to hide somewhere or at least get some leverage as I'm trying to fight something off!

Feeling like a baitfish on the end of a hook is just not my thing!

 

[friscuba]

What I heard is that they basically "troll" with your body....

and thats why I haven't done it.

I'm not afraid of sharks in natural conditions, but getting dragged through the surface of a pitch black ocean sounds like asking for trouble...I think I'l let Wildcard do it a few more times.

(....although I enjoyed the video

I know other DM and up level divers who won't do it, and it isn't necessarily the sharks that are the worry... I'd take my chances in a group of people with a shark or two around, they're likely to check you out and move along, big billfish is another story. Slice and dice!

Odds are against anything happening, and I'd like to try it sometime, not sure about leading it on a regular basis though.

 

[bcyber]

You all are way to paranoid! Live a little, Cathy

 

[scubadrewvideo]

I say we all stand a greater chance of getting killed while driving to the dive site than we do diving!

 

[Damselfish]

funny, *that feeling* when you are the only things out there!

I like to see sharks on a reef with lots of slow fishies in the area, in case they decide they want to snack.

not a feeling - that was the time my husband whacked a shark twice on the nose with his camera rig before it went away. When the shark pics are out of focus because it's too close...
Don't recall if this pic was coming in for the first or second pass. I can't find the real blurry pic. (No, he never stops taking pictures.)

 

[Cacia]

lol

yea, I've thumped with the dome port once

I prefer to shoot sharks with a 12 mm WA that makes them look further away.

 

[coachrenz]

Just make sure that you have the Black Water Dive scheduled early in your trip. I made the mistake of scheduling it late and ended up missing out on the opportunity.

Guess I have to come back another time.

Tim

 

[gkndivebum]

I know other DM and up level divers who won't do it, and it isn't necessarily the sharks that are the worry... [...]

Most operators do it "tethered", leaving you to feel a bit like bait Some will allow
sufficiently experienced divers to do it "untethered", following a lighted sea anchor
as you drift with the sometimes considerable current.

This is not a deep dive; I've not exceeded 50 FSW.

The biggest issue for a DM is to keep track of the divers (guests); being tethered
helps keep that in check. The biggest concern for untethered operation is to ensure
that you drift at the same rate as the boat :11: I much prefer being a guest than
having to keep track of anybody but my (photographer wife) buddy and the boat...
Doing this on a regular basis as a professional would be tiring (for me, at least).
Being a boat captain can also be a challenge when you have untethered divers.

It can be a very cool dive. It can also be a bit like watching paint dry. I do
it a couple of times a year.

 

[cuddlefish]

I've done it twice. Very, very interesting dive. A dive op would be crazy (in my opinion) to do it untethered. Even with an experience prerequisite for the dive...some divers just don't have the awareness to be let loose in 5,000 feet of water, 3 miles offshore in the blackness. One mesmerized gaze at a pelagic jelly on a breezy night and you are alone.