Haleiwa Trench dive report 6-08-08

[NudiHuntrs]

Aloha, did a great dive today at the trench. We were the only divers there!
Water temp was 75-77F (depending on which computer you trust: Oceanic vs. Sherwood). Visibility was about 30 feet.

Highlights include a turtle cleaning station, with up to 15 turtles being pampered by hordes of fish. Found a rare nudibranch--not in any of the books we have. Saw a petite yellow frogfish posing on a ledge. Also observed Imperial nudibranchs displaying trailing behavior.

Turtle Spa

Frogfish

Rare nudibranch-- possibly Ardeadoris scottjohnsoni

Risbecia imperialis

All photos taken with S&S DX8000G w/ 2 YS-110 strobes.

Hope you enjoy the report and pix.

Mahalo,

NH

 

[justleesa]

niiiiiiiice! did you submit the pic John? Cute froggie, not to old yet, eh?

Sure do miss the picnic bench right there at the beach access....

 

[ScubaAndDreams]

nice pictures and report as always

 

[NudiHuntrs]

Justleesa,

Yes, I did submit the photo to John. He passed it on to Cory Pittman to review.
John said he would put a pic on his website after he gets back from vacation. Very exciting dive-- i guess we'll be diving the trench more often .

Glad that you enjoyed the pics.

 

[justleesa]

Cory is nice! John sent our picture of the blue ring octo (only one ring) to Cory too. Looking forward to seeing your pic on John's site

So far for me the Trench hasn't benn that thrilling....did you go to the left or right? Roger always takes us to the right...

 

[NudiHuntrs]

Justleesa,

We dove with the wall on our right, staying pretty shallow. I think our max depth was 56 feet. This was actually only my second ever dive at the trench! The surface swim coupled with the silty conditions have been a bit of a turn off in the past. Pretty easy to pass it by for the immaculate viz of Firehouse or Shark's Cove down the road.

I know I have just a fraction of the number of dives you have, but I was really blown away by the turtle cleaning station.. I have never seen so many turtles (up to 15 at one point) getting cleaned by so many little fish at one time. Some of the biggest turtles swam around with 10 or little fish "surfing" on their backs! Perhaps this is common on some of the south shore sites, but I don't dive down there enough to know. The cleaning station was in 20 feet of water, right before the wall drops down-- would've been amazing with a video camera (pics didn't do it justice).

Considering how crowded Shark's Cove was the other day--the trench is looking more and more attractive.

In your dives there, what would you say is "good" viz at the trench? Just curious if 30 foot viz is normal for the site.

Aloha,

NH

 

[scottitheduck]

30 foot vis is about the average I have seen. I dive it a handful of times each summer...... one of the only shore dives deep enough to do an Advanced Deep Dive. That turtle spot is pretty amazing, huh?

G

 

[NudiHuntrs]

Hi Gabe!

Yeah, the turtles were worth the price of admission. Non-divers don't know what they're missing!

BTW, I'll be calling you very soon to book some dives on the south shore. :fish:

Aloha,

NH

 

[scottitheduck]

OK, I'll make sure to take notes on where the good nudis are hiding!

G

 

[crab lover]

the Kangaroos were at Turtle Canyons...