Steve Egner
Contributor
Many thanks to Pacific Paradise Divers of Oahu. They enticed me with their web special, offering a Nitrox certification with the booking of five dive trips. What a great setting for a dive class! All my materials were sent early, so I completed the book before my arrival in Oahu. My reviews were conducted on the dive boat and on the sunny deck of "The Shack" (local watering hole). All my materials and the Nitrox for the dives were included.
It was great to be able to add another certification while enjoying so many great dives.
We had incredible clarity for the Corsair, and followed that with an astonishing trip to the Sea Caves. Just beyond the cathedral-like entry to the cave, a pair of Monk Seals cavorted in, out, and around the cave, oblivious to our presence. The cave opened to the surface, so the Monk Seal show was accompanied by the thunderous pounding of the surf against the cave walls. At the end of their show, we exited through the cathedral, finishing as a drift dive along the wall.
From the stern of the Sea Tiger, I was completely mesmerized by a pair of Eagle Ray, suspended in the current, holding not 20 feet in front of us.
A night dive visit to the China Wall and a nearby reef were truly a meditative experience. The mood was relaxed as Captain Joe motored us out into the sunset, only four of us on the boat, plenty of room to stretch. A twilight tour of the wall, a warm surface interval as the final glow of the sun disappeared, and an amazing array of life on the reef as our lights sliced through the abyss. Motoring back to the harbor, totally blissed out from the dive, Captain Joe cranks up "Stairway to Heaven". It just doesn't get any cooler than that.
Special thanks again to Chris and Pearl, owners of Pacific Paradise Divers, www.pacificparadisdivers.com . Your divemasters, Mike and Josh, were professional in every regard. Thanks also for bringing along Scuba Drew, whose excellent filmwork and DVD of our final dive will help me to win more converts to our sport.
Aloha,
Steve
It was great to be able to add another certification while enjoying so many great dives.
We had incredible clarity for the Corsair, and followed that with an astonishing trip to the Sea Caves. Just beyond the cathedral-like entry to the cave, a pair of Monk Seals cavorted in, out, and around the cave, oblivious to our presence. The cave opened to the surface, so the Monk Seal show was accompanied by the thunderous pounding of the surf against the cave walls. At the end of their show, we exited through the cathedral, finishing as a drift dive along the wall.
From the stern of the Sea Tiger, I was completely mesmerized by a pair of Eagle Ray, suspended in the current, holding not 20 feet in front of us.
A night dive visit to the China Wall and a nearby reef were truly a meditative experience. The mood was relaxed as Captain Joe motored us out into the sunset, only four of us on the boat, plenty of room to stretch. A twilight tour of the wall, a warm surface interval as the final glow of the sun disappeared, and an amazing array of life on the reef as our lights sliced through the abyss. Motoring back to the harbor, totally blissed out from the dive, Captain Joe cranks up "Stairway to Heaven". It just doesn't get any cooler than that.
Special thanks again to Chris and Pearl, owners of Pacific Paradise Divers, www.pacificparadisdivers.com . Your divemasters, Mike and Josh, were professional in every regard. Thanks also for bringing along Scuba Drew, whose excellent filmwork and DVD of our final dive will help me to win more converts to our sport.
Aloha,
Steve
