hellers and greats at sharks cove!

[VBlueV]

today i headed straight out from sharks cove heading 270°..
when i got to 62fsw.. [after sticking my watch in the sand ]

i was easing up to crest over a rock ledge.. when..
i saw a big school of hellers barracudas! :11:
'quickly pulled my sleeves over my watches..
turned on my camera.. and made sure to turn OFF the flash!

now.. i've seen great barracudas all over the island..
large 6 footers at lanai lookout..
4 footers near the beach at makaha just yesterday..
and 2 foot juvi's in knee deep water within sharks cove..
[yes, right where all the waders and snorkelers hang out]..

but.. this is the first time i've seen hellers away from the waikiki shipwrecks..
when they're usually hovering well above the wrecks at a good distance..

today.. i was face to face with 'em..
when i ran into this school of large barracuda
[*hoovers says they're normally only 2 feet long.. but these were a good bit larger]..
i was just about at my turn pressure..
so i snapped a bunch of photos and was hoping they'd move off so i could make a quick get-away..
but noooo.. they decided to move their super swarm right between me and the shoreline..
hmmm.. they were only hovering five to ten feet above the rock bottom..
i waited for a few minutes and shot a couple more pictures..
at 60fsw, a mile off shore, and with a school of barracuda in front of me..
my sac rate was runnin' a tad high.. my air was going fast!
so i decided to swim directly under the school..
[reminded me of "red-rover" back in grade school]..
WHEW!.. 'guess they feed at night

here are the other photos of the hellers barracudas..
[the pics of the great barracuda i shot at lanai lookout]
http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z312/VBlueV/07-09-02 sharkscove/?action=view&current=2cab9137.pbw

 

[onfloat]

NIce shoots, I'll bet they were attracted by your "spot light" from miles away.

 

[VBlueV]

thanks tom..
yeah, i ran a quick check to cover all the other shiny stuff..
[tho' it's tough to hide a chromed first stage and stainless D-rings and clips]

here's a bigger higher resolution slide-show..
http://vbluev.sharpcast.com/slideshow/28775_123587683946101?swidth=1280&sheight=1024&startSlideNum=1

 

[justleesa]

Wow...I've never seen them school here.....interesting...

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

I'd venture to say that it's an anual phenomenon, here's a shot from three Augusts ago.

This was taken outside of Three Tables (Car Wash).

 

[scubadrewvideo]

After hearing about your dive VblueV, it makes me wonder if what I do is brave or stupid. I saw the school recently at 3 tables and I swam right up to them. I have swam into a school on 3 occasions...I guess having a camera to hide behind makes me feel a little invincable. That attitude may just come back to bite me...no pun intended!

Small school at 3 tables. Poor vis but as you can see, they want nothing to do with me!


Nice shots thanks for sharing!
Drew

 

[VBlueV]

After hearing about your dive VBlueV, it makes me wonder if what I do is brave or stupid.
I saw the school recently at 3 tables and swam right up to them..
Drew

well.. not so brave.. and not necessarily stupid..
to paraphrase *hoovers again: the hellers feed by night, then school and hover during the day.
also, most attacks are in murky water at dangling jewelry and other shiny objects..
that look like the flashing scales of silvery fish.. [mistaken identity]

when i saw 'em yesterDAY.. the viz outside sharks cove was incredible! [over 60ft]
and.. a mis-ID wasn't really an issue..
so.. while my first post had a bit of hyperbole.. i still afforded the hellers their due respect..

awesome vid drew!

I'd venture to say it's an annual phenomenon .. a shot from three Augusts ago..

and nize contrast in your photo halemano..
hopefully i'm here at the end of next summer to verify your annual theory
for now.. i might have to venture over to firehouse..
do YOU think those were only 2 feet long?

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

Like Drew, I chassed them around a bit, also to get the sun behind me. Never gave it a second thought.

do YOU think those were only 2 feet long?

I'd say most were over 2'.

 

[ScubaSeanMaui]

A few weeks back I saw a school hanging out in front of the Buble Cave at 5 Graves... I approached them pretty easily and they just moved off slowly...

 

[VBlueV]

wow sean!.. you captured the "broad blue stripe" along with those 2 yellow ones..

i guess i need to take an underwater photography class..
to get all the tricks and techniques y'all use..
[getting the sun behind you, capturing the true colors of fish,
how to focus a digital camera, and how to approach predators with razor sharp teeth ]