Hanauma Bay at night

[Black_3000psi]

well we do a no cost shore dive every saturday night this past saturday we hit point panic, which turned into a great dive for most of the group who got to watch a monk seal cricle me and another diver while we were taking pictures of some squid. we try to do a night dive every saturday night. its bring your own gear and tanks or rent gear and air.(though we do rent gear and tanks) it s very well orginized and any certified divers are welcome to join us. to find out where the dive will be simply call the shop Aloha Scuba Divers 808-622-3483 we have also done some cool dives at electric beach.

 

[smellzlikefish]

Thanks Blue. That sucks. Do you know if we are allowed to exit at Hanauma after hours, like if I drifted around the corner from Lanai Lookout? Or will I get arrested and take a mugshot in full scuba gear if caught on property?

Kanon-other good night shore-dive spots in the winter include Portlock and Kewalo pipe. I imagine Lanai Lookout is cool at night, too, but haven't tried it yet.

 

[bluemagoo]

Ha! I guess it depends. If you make the beach alive, then punishment enough for blowing your dive plan is having to hump all the way back to your car which has since been ticketed by HPD, towed away, its locks punched and wheels listed on e-auction. OTOH, if you had the bad taste to drown and the tides have switched the Molokai Express in the right direction, you might get snagged in the spin cycle at Witch's Brew and draw frowns from: 1) the tourists for the stinking up the view; 2) the Bay admins for abnormally feeding the fishes; 3) the lifeguards/HFD/EMS/coroner's office for having to heave ashore and pack up your gray bloated water-logged carcass then scratch back up the Bay's hill with it; and 4) HPD for having to fill out all the paperwork. Oh, and let's not forget; 5) your survivors/estate for the ticket and towing charges.

Seriously, I haven't been off of either Portlock or Lanai Lookout at night but just from a couple of daytime experiences, unless you're really familiar with the dive and even then, I strongly recommend having somebody(s) as shore watch. Portlock/China Walls shouldn't be too bad in general but I'd forget about trying to make an exit at the original Koko Kai entry; might be better to come out further down to Koke'e Park, in the lee of a thing we called Finger Rock. But the LL exit can be tricky enough to find during the day with the whitewash and surge; it's just a chute or trough draining the rock shelf it's carved in. At night with no streetlights and virtually no visible fixed landmarks or depth perception, it's not something I'd care to try myself. IIRC, apparently a previous poster on this forum (ch0ppersrule ?) did LL going the other way (daytime) to land at Sandy's, which is something I never thought of trying. Besides the distance, switching currents, and coming through Sandy's shorebreak, I'm leery of crossing fishermen along the way. Bumbling into their typically heavy gear wouldn't be fun; not to mention pissing them off royally and possibly getting stoned. Also, lost fishing gear in that area can be a hazard; big tangles of heavy monofilament, wire leaders, weights, and wicked big hooks that'll do a job on your BC if not your tender hide. If you dive Halona Cove, you'll almost certainly come across some of that stuff; Bamboo Ridge is right around the corner. Packing EMT shears or other heavy snips is a must.

This is years old info; probably way different now. But we used to regularly snag lobsters at night up at Kaneana, directly across the street from Makua Cave in remotest Waianae. The diving spot most everyone does is landmarked by an awash finger shelf extending seaward. We dove a couple hundred yards left of that. IIRC, shallow, about 20-25ft. Sandy bottom with isolated outcrops of rock and coral. Good spot to see juvie pennant fishes. (In fact, I suspect this where John Hoover got his published pics of juvie pennants and tagged the location as Makua.) There were always rumors of a big tiger that cruised the area; i.e. lobsters = food. But we always figured on being more heads-up and swimming faster than our buddy -- "Gee dude, 'sucks to be you", that kind of thing.

 

[smellzlikefish]

Blue- I appreciate the safety concerns, but I've done the drift from LL to Hanauma and it is not too bad. You need to be really comfortable with the area (which I am) and have pretty good air consumption and large tanks, but it is a nice drift. I'm more concerned with the legality of the operation.

Portlock to Hanauma is a little more tricky. I've tried it the other way (Hanauma to Portlock) and have yet to get the currents right. The water moves in wacky ways in that area. That and the distance is a lot further. Even if the currents were with us the whole way, I planned on surfacing a half mile from our intended exit and swimming the rest.

I've heard of the LL to Sandy's drift as well and while it is on the planning books, I have yet to try it. Spent fishing line tends to lay down with the current, but it is something to watch for anyway. And as for live fishing lines, they aren't as invisible as the fishermen would like. I've come across them before, no biggie.

Due to the logistics and required skill levels of both of these drifts, I would not recommend either of these dives to anyone who hasn't done a plethora of dives in the area before. If you have done a lot of dives here, then you've probably thought about it anyway.

 

[ChimChim75]

Kewalo Pipe from the Jon Dominis shore entry? You had no trouble with boat traffic? Was the buoy easy enough to see at night or did you drop at dusk? I may want to give that a try.

 

[smellzlikefish]

I took a heading for the pipe from Point Panic at dusk and followed it out. It isn't really all that far of a swim, but as you alluded, watch for boat traffic.

 

[bluemagoo]

Sorry for the spiel. Sounds like you're on top of it. I OTOH no longer have the conditioning or the large hairy sack to even think about those kinds of dives.

I believe these are the rules&regs for access C&C on Hanauma

In my ignorant opinion, coming ashore in Hanauma offhours is a problem; most likely that of trespass. If you're nabbed with any marine life or minerals, even if it was actually picked up outside the Bay, it will likely become a state issue of MLCD enforcement and prima-facie evidence. Bailouts might be another matter, but I imagine that if you come ashore looking too good and no SAR was activated, you'll get charged as a formality until things get sorted out.

I will still counsel giving fishermen a wide berth; ulua polecasters can throw well over 100yds and if the wind's going offshore, they might float their lines out to the horizon. A few of those guys are animals. Fuel that with booze or unlicensed pharmaceuticals and things can get really ugly.... Not worth it in my book.

Roughly, the Express pulls to Sandy's on the falling (ref. Honolulu) tide, toward Portlock on the rising; strongest on the new and full moons. The pattern is actually complex but somewhat understandable in terms of water running downhill according to the tide differentials; e.g. K-Bay's tides are approximately ahead of Hanauma's which then makes sense of the swings along that coast.