Kaneohe Bay (HI)

[Aggie Diver]

Anyone ever dived it? I'm going to visit my sister in December and she lives on the bay.

Said it's good snorkeling, hasn't dove it though.

Anyone?

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[chepar]

Personally, I've never done any dives there. I don't think it really ranks up there as far as a "must do" site - but I did meet a couple on a dive once who were stationed in Okinawa and were in Hawaii on vacation. They had done some dives in Kaneohe Bay a few days before and said it "wasn't bad". What the criteria for comparison was I don't know, so take it with a grain of salt.

Your options in December for shore diving (if that's what you want to do) are pretty slim. If you're staying in the Kaneohe/Kailua area, I don't think you would be really wasting your time to at least see what's out there (unless you're here for a short amount of time and time is at a premium). Minimum for a two tank boat dive is $50, so renting a couple tanks at about $6 each is a significant savings. Of course, if your time here is limited, you might want to take that into consideration, in case the bay doesn't have much out there.

 

[Aggie Diver]

Thanks chepar

I'm actually going to be there for pretty close to a month. It'll be my third trip down there.

There's some sites I've done before that will get hit again (Hanauma, the research pier although the current can be strong, Blow Hole, Electric Beach).

I'm just trying to come up with some new sites (are all the wrecks off south shore like YO-257 too far to swim out to?). My sister lives right on the water on Kaneohe Bay, so I figured it'd at least be worth checking out, it's a giant stride off her back porch

Any other shore diving recommendations are greatly appreciated.

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[blawler1]

Check out shorediving.com, they have several sites listed for Oahu. It even includes maps, pictures and ratings of each site.

 

[chepar]

Aggie Diver once bubbled...
There's some sites I've done before that will get hit again (Hanauma, the research pier although the current can be strong, Blow Hole, Electric Beach).

I'm just trying to come up with some new sites (are all the wrecks off south shore like YO-257 too far to swim out to?). My sister lives right on the water on Kaneohe Bay, so I figured it'd at least be worth checking out, it's a giant stride off her back porch

Hanauma is always a good bet. I've heard that you can also do Saturday night snorkeling out there - but I've never done it. If you've done Electric Beach, you know it's nothing great. I don't do any shore diving except the North Shore in summer. I've heard of people shore diving off Makaha Beach - but that is some surface swim. If you'll be here for a month, I also think the bay is worth checking out.

And yes, all the wrecks are too far out to swim to - not to mention there being too much boat traffic to make it safe.

 

[Down_Down]

Kaneohe Bay is where I live.

It is a hammerhead shark breeding ground, and a pretty good dive site, though not specifically saught after as one of the best on the island by any means, .... But, I have also been stationed in Okinawa, and if anyone is comparing diving conditions to what they experienced in Okinawa, it may not be too fair of a comparison, as Okinawa is a very very very nice location to dive.

 

[Dive Monkey]

Aggie Diver,
I am an Aggie too. I am going to be in Oahu for a while in December maybe we can dive together sometime while I am down there.

Later,
Dive Monkey

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

I lived in Kaneohe for several years & never heard of a lot of good diving there. The shore diving on the North shore will be bad this time of year as well due to surf & swell.

I suggest calling Ocean Concepts for dive trips. The have a shop in Kaneohe at the Marine Base.
Hoo-Yah

 

[Aggie Diver]

What about around Coconut Island or whatever it's called out there, off to the west from the Kaneohe Marine Base?

We were thinking about renting a pontoon boat from the base and taking it over there to do some diving.

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[archman]

Kaneohe Bay is one of the posterchilds for reef damage from manmade runoff. It was prettier WAY back when... but then the Dictyosphaeria cavernosa started taking over the place and most of the diversity went kapoots. Water clarity suffered too. Nowadays it's pretty far down the list for great Hawaiian dives. Efforts to curb the eutrophication are coming into play, but it'll be a long time (if ever) before the reef looks anything like its old self.

Dang, these aggie divers spread like the plague. The best way to identify one is to look for an exposure suit that eerily resembles overalls. They probably ARE overalls. ha ha.