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OK, I'm home, as of 7am :yawn: this morning and I had an AWESOME time! I already miss Hawaii... :116:
Here goes with the dive report (and various other reports):
After spending the first day and a half sightseeing (Pearl Harbor, Pali Lookout, Aloha Stadium swap meet, etc.), we started diving on Thursday at Airplane Canyon and a site called Starz (spelled that way on the boat's dive manifesto). Airplane Canyon was to 95 feet for 27 minutes (minimium temperature: 80 degrees -- the same for all 8 dives) and we saw all kinds of Moorish Idols in groups and individually, and a couple of kinds of Morays (a regular greenish one and a spotted Moray). The aircraft thrives in marine life and, while decomposing, is still in fairly good shape. Starz is a lava tube swim-through that we reached at 52 feet for 30 minutes. I got to stroke an ocotpus (very silky smooth), which was really neat, but then the current picked up and threw us around pretty good, which made it hard to maintain control for shooting.
Friday night, we did a couple of night dives at the Sea Tiger. The first dive was to 104 feet for 23 minutes (we cut it a little short when one of our other divers became disoriented trying out a new mask). After deciding to stay put and dive it again, we stayed down for 28 minutes. I inadvertently dropped down to 102 feet (following another diver that I thought was Lisa :shakehead ), then popped back up to 85 feet when I finally figured out it wasn't her and eventually caught up to her...
This is where we saw the Lion's Paw Sea Cucumber (Lisa looked him up), and a Cushion Starfish that she let me touch. There were also lobsters, crab, eels and shrimp of all kinds and sizes, plus a few nudibranchs.
Saturday morning was the roughest day of diving I've had in some time. On our first dive, we went down to the Corsair (103 feet, 22 minutes), an old WWII fighter jet that was built by Vought Corporation, a company my dad was working for when I was born (15 years after WWII, of course...LOL). The current and surge were brutal to say the least. I fought my way down, but on the tag line going back up, I felt like I was hyperventilating and using up more air than I really was. I finally got calmed down enough to get back to the boat after the safety stop, but that was a rather scary experience. That's also the first time I've posted three consecutive (and inadvertent) 100-foot dives within such a quick (15-hour) turnaround. The second dive was to Koko Crater (37 feet, 35 minutes), with several turtles and schools of Moorish Idols around. The current was still pretty strong, but not near as violent as it had been at Corsair.
Finally, on Monday, I had two dream dives. On the first, we went down to the San Pedro (87 feet, 22 minutes), an old refrigeration ship, for relaxing encounters with trumpetfish, butterflyfish, more morays and a glimpse of the YO-257 in the distance. The second dive was to Turtle Canyon (where Lisa and Roger were married) and a dive I got to do in some of Roger's vintage gear, mostly the double-hosed regulator and Voit mask. It was an amazing experience. The breathing is somewhat different, but it has more control of your buoyancy, since there is no low-pressure inflator hose to hook on to. It felt a little strange to not have bubbles coming up into your face, but rather trailing behind you. It was a fantastic experience and one I hope to repeat again someday.
I cannot thank Lisa (justleesa) and Roger (Turtleguy) enough for making this THE most enjoyable and memorable dive trip I've ever had! I already felt close to them before I got there -- now, I feel closer than ever to two of the nicest friends anyone could ever hope to have.
Oahu Scuba Diving
Here goes with the dive report (and various other reports):
After spending the first day and a half sightseeing (Pearl Harbor, Pali Lookout, Aloha Stadium swap meet, etc.), we started diving on Thursday at Airplane Canyon and a site called Starz (spelled that way on the boat's dive manifesto). Airplane Canyon was to 95 feet for 27 minutes (minimium temperature: 80 degrees -- the same for all 8 dives) and we saw all kinds of Moorish Idols in groups and individually, and a couple of kinds of Morays (a regular greenish one and a spotted Moray). The aircraft thrives in marine life and, while decomposing, is still in fairly good shape. Starz is a lava tube swim-through that we reached at 52 feet for 30 minutes. I got to stroke an ocotpus (very silky smooth), which was really neat, but then the current picked up and threw us around pretty good, which made it hard to maintain control for shooting.
Friday night, we did a couple of night dives at the Sea Tiger. The first dive was to 104 feet for 23 minutes (we cut it a little short when one of our other divers became disoriented trying out a new mask). After deciding to stay put and dive it again, we stayed down for 28 minutes. I inadvertently dropped down to 102 feet (following another diver that I thought was Lisa :shakehead ), then popped back up to 85 feet when I finally figured out it wasn't her and eventually caught up to her...
This is where we saw the Lion's Paw Sea Cucumber (Lisa looked him up), and a Cushion Starfish that she let me touch. There were also lobsters, crab, eels and shrimp of all kinds and sizes, plus a few nudibranchs.
Saturday morning was the roughest day of diving I've had in some time. On our first dive, we went down to the Corsair (103 feet, 22 minutes), an old WWII fighter jet that was built by Vought Corporation, a company my dad was working for when I was born (15 years after WWII, of course...LOL). The current and surge were brutal to say the least. I fought my way down, but on the tag line going back up, I felt like I was hyperventilating and using up more air than I really was. I finally got calmed down enough to get back to the boat after the safety stop, but that was a rather scary experience. That's also the first time I've posted three consecutive (and inadvertent) 100-foot dives within such a quick (15-hour) turnaround. The second dive was to Koko Crater (37 feet, 35 minutes), with several turtles and schools of Moorish Idols around. The current was still pretty strong, but not near as violent as it had been at Corsair.
Finally, on Monday, I had two dream dives. On the first, we went down to the San Pedro (87 feet, 22 minutes), an old refrigeration ship, for relaxing encounters with trumpetfish, butterflyfish, more morays and a glimpse of the YO-257 in the distance. The second dive was to Turtle Canyon (where Lisa and Roger were married) and a dive I got to do in some of Roger's vintage gear, mostly the double-hosed regulator and Voit mask. It was an amazing experience. The breathing is somewhat different, but it has more control of your buoyancy, since there is no low-pressure inflator hose to hook on to. It felt a little strange to not have bubbles coming up into your face, but rather trailing behind you. It was a fantastic experience and one I hope to repeat again someday.
I cannot thank Lisa (justleesa) and Roger (Turtleguy) enough for making this THE most enjoyable and memorable dive trip I've ever had! I already felt close to them before I got there -- now, I feel closer than ever to two of the nicest friends anyone could ever hope to have.
Oahu Scuba Diving
