Kauai Diving
The week of July 6-13, 2008, my wife and I along with 16 other family members descended on the lovely island of Kauai. We planned on diving at least 5 days but only were able to dive 4 days of diving for a total of 9 dives. I also decided to dive with four different dive operations but only managed three of them. What follows is a brief description of each dive and the associated dive operation.
The diving on Kauai is somewhat underrated. I hope after you read this report, you may decide to try diving around this beautiful island paradise.
Monday, July 7 (Seasports Divers, Poipu)
Having arrived on the Island on Sunday afternoon, we chose to begin our diving adventures on Monday afternoon with my brother Ray, a newly minted OW diver. One spot that was on our wish to dive list was Sheraton Caverns. After a nice relaxing dive at Stone House, the Captain motored over to the caverns. While the vis suffered a little, only a measly 50’, we descended down to one of our favorite dive sites.
There were fewer turtles than on previous dives but the site still yielded some nice sea life and interesting viewing. This is a favorite dive for many of the local dive operations as it’s reasonable depths, lava tubes and usual vis of 100+ makes it a reliable and magnificent dive site.
Tuesday, July 8 (Kauai Aquatics Scuba/Mana Divers)
Koloa Landing
I had decided to introduce Scuba Diving to my Grand Nephew Wade who had recently turned 10. His own Grandfather, my brother had passed away before being able to do much for him. I also included Wade’s father in the Discover Scuba program as I strongly believe it is the perfect father, son experience. So, while my wife I went to dive the Forbidden Island of Niihau, Wade and his father Jason met up with Damion from KAS for their very first Discover Scuba dive at Koloa Landing. They were blow away by Damion’s skill and patience with them. He had them comfortable and secure while giving them an experience they will not soon forget. Thanks KAS and especially Damion for his help with two important members of my family.
Tuesday, July 8…(Seasports Divers, Poipu) Youtube Video
Niihau Island – Lehua Crater
Diving Niihau is some of the best wall and drift diving on the planet. Niihau also proved to be a challenge for those who buoyancy skills need more work. However, with the vis at 100’ plus, abundant fish, reef sharks, very healthy coral and a visit by a shy monk seal, it was truly an amazing place to spend three hours under the sea.
It is hard to describe just how beautiful this place is, both above and below. We started out mooring up at the Pinnacle site. Here we dived the walls and plateaus of this crater. We saw several small reef sharks, spotted eagle rays and dozens of brightly colored nudibranchs. A field of cushion stars and leather coral. The plateau is remarkably flat and the walls that drop sharply into the abyss.
For our second dive, we motored around to the West side of the crater for a nice surface interval and prepared for a dive in the Keyhole. This dive drop off is with out comparison for absolute beauty. The azure blue color of the sea contrasted by the sharp rise in rock with a sliver of light coming through the “keyhole” was like no other site. After exiting the keyhole and dropping to 80’ 90’ we felt the soft current push us North to the tip of the crater where our crew waited to pick us up. This drift had more of the most amazing walls and pinnacles I’ve ever experienced. Some on the boat were a little surprised at just how vertical these wall were. The bottom was so deep, it was never seen. Think abyss. Proper control and awareness of your buoyancy were required to keep from meeting Davey Jones!
Our last dive was off Lehu Ledge. We were treated to more cushion stars, a very shy lion fish, a shy monk seal, several more reef sharks, spotted eagle rays gracefully glided by and more small nudibranchs. Since this was a drift dive, each diver was supplied a SMB should you get swept from the lead dive master that sent his own SMB up on a reel.
All in all, diving Niihau and Lehua Crater was an amazing experience but not for the faint of heart. This dive should only be attempted by divers with confident control over their buoyancy and not prone to panic. That combined with a three hour each way channel crossing, this is an all day affair but one worth taking.
Wednesday, July 9th. (Kauai Aquatics Scuba/Mana Divers) Youtube Video
Fresh from their first Discover Scuba dives, my brother Ray, my wife Marian and I joined Jason and Wade for their second Discover Scuba dive, this time off a boat with Kauai Aquatics Scuba. At 8:00 am, we met Gina at KAS’s Port Allen shop to get the rental gear and other stuff ready. Gina is a very pleasant girl, happy to insure we had all we needed. We were then sent down to the dock to meet with the Dive Masters and Captain. After a short briefing, we motored out to the Camp 1 site. This site was a perfect place for Jason and Wade to experience OW diving with their very competent dive master shepherding their every move. Since this was a limited depth dive, we ended up with over an hour’s bottom time. The vis was down due to a little current and surge but 40-50 still is not too bad. Tons of fish and a neat little swim through.
We then headed off to the Hale O’ Honu East dive site. This is a great spot to watch huge green sea turtles glide gracefully by to and from the cleaning station. The vis here was up to 90+ feet and again, not real deep which afforded us with long bottom times. Absolutely beautiful.
I can’t say enough about Damion (scubaman7596) and Gina from Kauai Aquatics Scuba/Mana Divers. They really did treat me and my family with great respect, shared their skills with Jason and his son Wade, who recently told his mom, “I may have to skip football altogether and get fully certified to dive.”
Thursday, July 10th (Aquatics Adventures) Youtube Video
We decided to skip a night dive and head off to the Tunnels Reef. After having a wonderful time meeting Leah and Sean at their shop in Poipu, we arranged to dive one of Kauai’s famous sites. My brother Ray also wanted to join us as he had snorkeled the reef but now certified, he wanted to see the difference. After leaving our rented house in Poipu at 6:00am we met Dive Masters/guides Jordon and Mercedes at the entrance road to drop our gear and I headed off to find a very scarce parking spot.
For those not familiar with diving this site, you must schlep all your gear down to the beach, a daunting task for some. However, Jordon and Mercedes, both young and strong, grabbed most of the gear, tossed it into a two wheeled cart and made several trips to get the heavy stuff next to the shore. Very nice!
The start of this dive begins with a walk out in very shallow water for 75 or so yards before donning fins and begin the dive. My Omega Flip fins worked out great here! We began exploring the outer reef and then into the first of many of the lava tubes that give the site its name. Amazing views! Let me also say that Jordon took the lead followed closely by Marian and Ray. I hung back with Mercedes shadowing me as I videotaped the sights. Mercedes is an amazing diver. At maybe 90 lbs soaking wet, she would just stop mid-water in a sitting position and wait while I shot something interesting.
After 50 minutes of exploring the tunnels it was time for a return to 20’ for a leisurely safety stop. Once we arrived, Jordon whipped out a magnetic slate and began playing tic-tac-toe with everyone! After 5 minutes, we swam to the shallows and walked out, again the flip fins came in mighty handy!
After a surface interval back at the parking spot where we really got to know our hosts better, we again headed out this time to explore the inner reef. Again, an amazing site with caverns, tunnels and easy swim throughs. Vis was pretty good 40-50 feet except when following my brother Ray through a tunnel! Man, how can one guy make such a mess?
This was Marian and Ray’s favorite dive by far. (I liked it as well but Niihau is still my all time favorite Hawaiian dive.) It was so relaxing and beautiful and you had to work to get below 55 fsw. I would not hesitate to recommend Aquatic Adventures to lead this dive. It seems everyone on Leah and Sean’s staff are top notch and willing to make the extra effort to insure a great time. Thanks Leah! (aascubagirl)
The week of July 6-13, 2008, my wife and I along with 16 other family members descended on the lovely island of Kauai. We planned on diving at least 5 days but only were able to dive 4 days of diving for a total of 9 dives. I also decided to dive with four different dive operations but only managed three of them. What follows is a brief description of each dive and the associated dive operation.
The diving on Kauai is somewhat underrated. I hope after you read this report, you may decide to try diving around this beautiful island paradise.
Monday, July 7 (Seasports Divers, Poipu)
Having arrived on the Island on Sunday afternoon, we chose to begin our diving adventures on Monday afternoon with my brother Ray, a newly minted OW diver. One spot that was on our wish to dive list was Sheraton Caverns. After a nice relaxing dive at Stone House, the Captain motored over to the caverns. While the vis suffered a little, only a measly 50’, we descended down to one of our favorite dive sites.
There were fewer turtles than on previous dives but the site still yielded some nice sea life and interesting viewing. This is a favorite dive for many of the local dive operations as it’s reasonable depths, lava tubes and usual vis of 100+ makes it a reliable and magnificent dive site.
Tuesday, July 8 (Kauai Aquatics Scuba/Mana Divers)
Koloa Landing
I had decided to introduce Scuba Diving to my Grand Nephew Wade who had recently turned 10. His own Grandfather, my brother had passed away before being able to do much for him. I also included Wade’s father in the Discover Scuba program as I strongly believe it is the perfect father, son experience. So, while my wife I went to dive the Forbidden Island of Niihau, Wade and his father Jason met up with Damion from KAS for their very first Discover Scuba dive at Koloa Landing. They were blow away by Damion’s skill and patience with them. He had them comfortable and secure while giving them an experience they will not soon forget. Thanks KAS and especially Damion for his help with two important members of my family.
Tuesday, July 8…(Seasports Divers, Poipu) Youtube Video
Niihau Island – Lehua Crater
Diving Niihau is some of the best wall and drift diving on the planet. Niihau also proved to be a challenge for those who buoyancy skills need more work. However, with the vis at 100’ plus, abundant fish, reef sharks, very healthy coral and a visit by a shy monk seal, it was truly an amazing place to spend three hours under the sea.
It is hard to describe just how beautiful this place is, both above and below. We started out mooring up at the Pinnacle site. Here we dived the walls and plateaus of this crater. We saw several small reef sharks, spotted eagle rays and dozens of brightly colored nudibranchs. A field of cushion stars and leather coral. The plateau is remarkably flat and the walls that drop sharply into the abyss.
For our second dive, we motored around to the West side of the crater for a nice surface interval and prepared for a dive in the Keyhole. This dive drop off is with out comparison for absolute beauty. The azure blue color of the sea contrasted by the sharp rise in rock with a sliver of light coming through the “keyhole” was like no other site. After exiting the keyhole and dropping to 80’ 90’ we felt the soft current push us North to the tip of the crater where our crew waited to pick us up. This drift had more of the most amazing walls and pinnacles I’ve ever experienced. Some on the boat were a little surprised at just how vertical these wall were. The bottom was so deep, it was never seen. Think abyss. Proper control and awareness of your buoyancy were required to keep from meeting Davey Jones!
Our last dive was off Lehu Ledge. We were treated to more cushion stars, a very shy lion fish, a shy monk seal, several more reef sharks, spotted eagle rays gracefully glided by and more small nudibranchs. Since this was a drift dive, each diver was supplied a SMB should you get swept from the lead dive master that sent his own SMB up on a reel.
All in all, diving Niihau and Lehua Crater was an amazing experience but not for the faint of heart. This dive should only be attempted by divers with confident control over their buoyancy and not prone to panic. That combined with a three hour each way channel crossing, this is an all day affair but one worth taking.
Wednesday, July 9th. (Kauai Aquatics Scuba/Mana Divers) Youtube Video
Fresh from their first Discover Scuba dives, my brother Ray, my wife Marian and I joined Jason and Wade for their second Discover Scuba dive, this time off a boat with Kauai Aquatics Scuba. At 8:00 am, we met Gina at KAS’s Port Allen shop to get the rental gear and other stuff ready. Gina is a very pleasant girl, happy to insure we had all we needed. We were then sent down to the dock to meet with the Dive Masters and Captain. After a short briefing, we motored out to the Camp 1 site. This site was a perfect place for Jason and Wade to experience OW diving with their very competent dive master shepherding their every move. Since this was a limited depth dive, we ended up with over an hour’s bottom time. The vis was down due to a little current and surge but 40-50 still is not too bad. Tons of fish and a neat little swim through.
We then headed off to the Hale O’ Honu East dive site. This is a great spot to watch huge green sea turtles glide gracefully by to and from the cleaning station. The vis here was up to 90+ feet and again, not real deep which afforded us with long bottom times. Absolutely beautiful.
I can’t say enough about Damion (scubaman7596) and Gina from Kauai Aquatics Scuba/Mana Divers. They really did treat me and my family with great respect, shared their skills with Jason and his son Wade, who recently told his mom, “I may have to skip football altogether and get fully certified to dive.”
Thursday, July 10th (Aquatics Adventures) Youtube Video
We decided to skip a night dive and head off to the Tunnels Reef. After having a wonderful time meeting Leah and Sean at their shop in Poipu, we arranged to dive one of Kauai’s famous sites. My brother Ray also wanted to join us as he had snorkeled the reef but now certified, he wanted to see the difference. After leaving our rented house in Poipu at 6:00am we met Dive Masters/guides Jordon and Mercedes at the entrance road to drop our gear and I headed off to find a very scarce parking spot.
For those not familiar with diving this site, you must schlep all your gear down to the beach, a daunting task for some. However, Jordon and Mercedes, both young and strong, grabbed most of the gear, tossed it into a two wheeled cart and made several trips to get the heavy stuff next to the shore. Very nice!
The start of this dive begins with a walk out in very shallow water for 75 or so yards before donning fins and begin the dive. My Omega Flip fins worked out great here! We began exploring the outer reef and then into the first of many of the lava tubes that give the site its name. Amazing views! Let me also say that Jordon took the lead followed closely by Marian and Ray. I hung back with Mercedes shadowing me as I videotaped the sights. Mercedes is an amazing diver. At maybe 90 lbs soaking wet, she would just stop mid-water in a sitting position and wait while I shot something interesting.
After 50 minutes of exploring the tunnels it was time for a return to 20’ for a leisurely safety stop. Once we arrived, Jordon whipped out a magnetic slate and began playing tic-tac-toe with everyone! After 5 minutes, we swam to the shallows and walked out, again the flip fins came in mighty handy!
After a surface interval back at the parking spot where we really got to know our hosts better, we again headed out this time to explore the inner reef. Again, an amazing site with caverns, tunnels and easy swim throughs. Vis was pretty good 40-50 feet except when following my brother Ray through a tunnel! Man, how can one guy make such a mess?
This was Marian and Ray’s favorite dive by far. (I liked it as well but Niihau is still my all time favorite Hawaiian dive.) It was so relaxing and beautiful and you had to work to get below 55 fsw. I would not hesitate to recommend Aquatic Adventures to lead this dive. It seems everyone on Leah and Sean’s staff are top notch and willing to make the extra effort to insure a great time. Thanks Leah! (aascubagirl)
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