Kona Aggressor II Captain's Logs

[Aggressor Adventures]

[FONT=&amp]Kona Aggressor II Captain’s Report July 7 – 14, 2012[/FONT]

[FONT=&amp]Weather; Sunny![/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]Water Temp: Pushin 80*![/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]Divewear Recommendation: 3-5 mil. (Teenage girls this week were diving w/skins only)[/FONT]
[FONT=&amp]Log Entry by Capt. Todd[/FONT]

[FONT=&amp] Well the south swell of last week has diminished to barely a ripple, leaving the possibilities endless for some interesting diving this week. On board we have Amy, her kids Kaitlyn and Brandon, and his soon to be fiancé Bridget - that's right, he asked her to marry him! Right here on our boat, wasn't a dry eye in the house - all from San Antonio, Texas, and veteran KA II divers. From across the state, there's Claude and Sheila (Dallas!), Ken, his life-long buddy Jack and his wife Debbie - from the Atlanta area, Oleta and Bob from Shy town and finally Kevin from Canada eh?[/FONT]
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[FONT=&amp] Since the Mantas have been going completely ballistic lately, it was agreed by all that we would head there straight away to start the week. So our northern dive sites were on the menu for Sunday. First stop Sharkfin Rock, didn't hit it last week because of the swell, but this week we found lovely calm conditions for a great first dive. Couple of Lionfish and a Flame Angel to start the show. Kalokos Arches next, then onto Garden Eel Cove. Manta sightings were slow in the afternoon, but didn't disappoint for the night dive. Once again, Manta-monium! 28 to be exact...[/FONT]

[FONT=&amp] Monday's southbound run started at Driftwood, little surgey but good viz, and sunshine to bring out the colors on the shallower portions of the reef. Did Hammerheads next, then down to Paradise Pinnacle for one before hunkering down at Rob's for the night.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&amp] Tuesday started with Neverland where Hammerheads (2)! made the scene, that and some "Black Phase" Long Nosed Butterflys to make this one of the more exciting dives so far. The Maze revealed a Leaf Scorpionfish, and a Golden Goby among other things. An 8 mile run south at lunch to World Famous Manuka Bay saw no Dolphins, but the Red Frogfish was lurking nearby (he actually changed color, he's now got "magenta highlights" says critterman Karl) Amy and Ken were the only two hearty souls to brave the darkness on the night dive, and what they saw... left them speechless! (I guess we'll never know).[/FONT]

[FONT=&amp] Wednesday morning, we hung around hoping the dolphins would return, allowing the guests a nice early morning "dip with Flipper", but they were nowhere to be found. Apparently they were on an "extended voyage". So we picked up and putted around the corner to Catacombs, and guess what? A group of big Bottlenose cruised through - saved the day! Everyone got their Aggressor dolphin encounter after all. Diver Amy raved about Tubestrea Tunnel, a site we have GPS numbers for, but have never dove, at least since I've been here. I took that as inspiration to check it out. Cliff went down and inspected the mooring there to see if it was do-able, and yes, it surely was! So there ya go, another divesite to add to our repertoire. The Hive was a-buzz as we cruised by, so we stopped to investigate. We caught the Yellow Frogfish on the move, very exciting. He was in transit from one ambush spot to another (about 5 feet). And we watched a large Conger Eel instantly and completely devour an unlucky reef fish during the night dive.[/FONT]

[FONT=&amp] We awoke Thursday to beautiful sunshine and dropped in at Au Au Crater. Didn't see anything large, but lots of neat Nudibranchs and a Long Handed Spiney Lobster. Lion's Den was at it's best, with no surge, enabling us to roam way up into the shallow crevasses. Everyone took pictures of a haggard old Titan Scorpionfish (I'm sure it made his day). Afternoon at Amphitheater and the Dome. Finished with a beautiful sunset dinner cruise offshore for another successful Pelagic Magic dive. The critters from the deep never seem to disappoint. [/FONT]

[FONT=&amp] Friday, a trip to Aquarium where John got to lead on his favorite site, and got to show off the skylight at Suck Em' Ups. Finished up at Turtle Pinnacle for another fine week of underwater exploration. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&amp]Kudos to Sheila this week, she completed dive # 700 with us (logging that many dives alone, is a feat!) And a big smile for Brandon and Bridget, nothing but happiness for you two!
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[Aggressor Adventures]

Kona Aggressor Captain’s Report July 14 – 21, 2012
Air temp: High 70's
Water temp: Holding at 78
Apparel recommendations: Minimal (3 mil to rashguard)
Log Entry by: Todd

Looking like another classic Kona summer week ahead. Balmy, breezy and beautiful! On board this week it's John and Michelle and their good looking brood Kaitlyn, Shannon and Brandon from Cody Wyoming trying out their first liveaboard. John and Teresa, from So. Cal (my home). Joe and Kelly, environmentalists from NY, and Bryon from Tennessee!

Due to the large numbers of Mantas in recent weeks, it was unanimous that we head north to start the week. Aquariums was our first stop, with the appearance of a very friendly juvenile turtle. A good omen for the week! Next was Kalokos Arches where So Cal John was focused on the goatfish suspended in the arches, which made for some interesting shots. Garden Eel Cove for the afternoon/evening, and “yes”, the Mantas were in abundance.

Left early (4:30 early!) Monday morning and delivered our group to Driftwood by the 7:45 dive bell. The Schneider kids (young adults - sorry) witnessed the circle of life as a Triton's trumpet subdued a crown of thorns; they thought it was "neat". Two snaps and we were next door at the Dome for the second dive. Afternoon's downhill run to Lion's Den was sunny and calm, made for a nice "lunch on the veranda" kind of day. Keone led the dive at Lion's Den where a large white tip reef shark was napping directly under the dive deck. Didn't have to go far for excitement there! We stayed at Au Au Crater for the rest of the day.

Tuesday, we headed further south and we stopped again at Tubestrea Tunnel, our latest new site. The viz was so-so, so we motored on for our next site. Manuka Bay was calm and peaceful. I got to take Joe and Kelly over to the "impact zone", where large surf occasionally breaks (not today though). I showed them the interesting "sculptured reef" caused by excessive erosion. Kelly spied another white tip! The first one I've seen here. We found the ever-color changing resident frogfish, this time he was a tan-orange hue, but he didn't fool us! The dolphins eluded us again, but no worries, onward, maybe we'll see some up the line.

An "aMAZEing" find on Wednesday! While diving at the Maze, diver Joe got a rare daytime shot of a Dragon Moray! (see photo) The "Holy Grail" of Eels, says Critter Karl. The Hive was "alive" as usual with sea life buzzing about.

Thursday we spent an early dive in the big cave at Rob's - nice to mix it up a bit-. Joe and Kelly discovered a new yellow frogfish there. I'm sure he's been there all along, we just never saw him! Michelle and Co. enjoyed the canyons at Paradise Pinnacle. Bryan was wanting a lava-tube experience, so we gave him one (two actually) at Amphitheater. And a shot at Mantaville (the Sheraton) proved successful, as Brandon had to use all his martial arts training to fend off marauding devilfish!

Friday, it was Turtle Pinnacle where Wyoming John got a shot of a horned helmet having a nice breakfast of crème de la collector urchin. The Predator dive in front of the submarine passengers was a hit as usual, where Kaitlyn got to display some of her acting ability - at 70 feet! "Atta boys to John and Brandon, who advanced to Advanced Open Water with us, and "atta girl" to Kelly, our sole "Iron Diver" this week...

 

[Aggressor Adventures]

Kona Aggressor II Captain’s Report July 21 – 28, 2012


Water temperature: 77-79F
Recommended wetsuit: 3mm - 5mm
Weather: Sunny skies with sparse showers and calm seas

Sunday. While diving Aquarium our guests enjoyed riding the light surge through “suck ‘em up” while saddleback butterfly fish swam by. This was the spot for the first two dives. The talk on the dive deck afterwards was about the sightings of octopus, jeweled anemone hermit crab, divided flatworm, yellow margin moray eel and a fried egg nudibranch. Garden Eel Cove was to be our resting spot for the night as our divers were not only treated to mantas - and an on all three dives (both afternoon and the night dive), but dolphins on dive three and four and an eagle ray as a added bonus on dive three.

Monday. Meadows was our first dive site with sightings of fuchsia flatworm, both white-mouthed and yellow margin morays, and black phase long nose butterfly fish. Next we were off to Driftwood where our guests this week enjoyed shooting the lave tube and exploring the caves for cowries. Au Au Crater was the place for final dives. Our divers enjoyed a visit from a green turtle that had a raspberry nudibranch clinging to one of its flippers. Spanish dancer, conger eel, dwarf moray, spiny and long-handed lobster, Fellows nudibranch, and red lionfish were just a few treasures found during this underwater adventure.

Tuesday. Neverland was our first dive spot of the day and great way to start it with a visit by a white tip reef shark after exiting the crater. The gold laced and strawberry nudibranchs seemed to keep our divers looking for more!! Tubestrea Tunnel was the second stop of the day. With its tunnel and archways, there was plenty of exploring as lobster hid in all the cracks and crevices. Manuka Bay was to be the spot for our last three dives. This is where our divers were to see “Paul Jr”, our resident frogfish named after a previous guest who spotted him so many months ago (Mahalo - Paul). Highlights for Manuka were ornate octopus, a Spanish dancer with a hitchhiking imperial shrimp, gum drop nudibranch, 7- 11 crabs, and a surprise visit from a Hammerhead Shark!!

Wednesday. Land of Oz was the first dive of the day and while “following the yellow brick road” our divers watched peacock razor wrasses doing a dance above the sand. They also got to enjoy the many juvenile fish and a barred moray. Neverland was the second dive and schools of pyramid butterfly fish teaming along the slope and a guest visit from one turtle was the talk on the deck afterwards. Da Hive was to be our last stop for Wednesday and the spot for the remaining dives. A highlight was to see a sleepy conger eel being cleaned by a white-stripped cleaner shrimp in his den. In the cave there was plenty to be found with an assortment of sculptured, red reef, tufted, and spiny lobster. On the night dive we also got to see a sleepy sponge crab along with a crab snacking on a Spanish dancer, frogfish, turtle, and a conger eel eating a yellow tang. This last was truly a “National Geographic moment”.

Thursday. Paradise Pinnacle was the spot for dive one and our guests enjoyed viewing our resident, but shy, long nose hawkfish hiding in the small black coral. The two turtles playing leapfrog gave our divers much amusement as they took turns going to the surface. For some it was just finding an elusive red striped pipefish or just getting a manicure from some white striped cleaner shrimp that made their dive special. Next up was Lyons Den where our divers played with a spunky octopus for almost the whole dive - and lived it over and over again thanks to Don's video. The Dome was our site for dive three had we blue dragon and white margin nudibranchs to be found in the dome. A Hawaiian spotted Puffer fish and spiny lobster had the attention of our guest for this dive!! Amphitheater was the spot for dive four and we had a yellow margin moray and red striped pipefish sharing the same little hole in the reef. But, for most of the guests it was all about exploring the lava tubes and even taking time to stop and watch another blue dragon nudibranch make his way across a boulder. Manta Ville was the spot of our final night dive!! Our guest enjoyed the intimacy of the old manta dive site and who could blame them for wanting to see the mantas just one more time. We even were visited by a small pod of bottlenose dolphins that were enjoying hunting off the side of the Kona Aggressor.

Friday and off we went to Turtle Pinnacle and what a fun way to end our trip. We saw a red striped pipefish with eggs on its belly, a titan scorpionfish, day octopus hunting amongst the rocks, and a horned helmet eating a collector urchin!!

Captain Karl

 

[Aggressor Adventures]

Kona Aggressor Captains Report July 28 – August 4, 2012

Water temperature: 78 - 80 F
Recommended wetsuit: 3mm - 5mm

Our guest this week is a group from Montreal Canada that included group leader Mario, Eric, Steeve, Sebastien, Philip, Julie, Joanie, and Ariane. These gals and guys couldn't wait to get into some warm water and dive!!! They followed the Eat, Sleep, and Dive motto and had Philip, Steeve, and Joanie all making Iron diver this week!!

Sunday -
Kalokos Arches: This was to be the site for our first two dives of the week. It started out with spotted eagle ray, dragon wrasse, divided flatworm, yellow margin morays, horned helmet, and trumpet fish (Ariane ‘s favorite) The group love swimming through the arches a underwater canyons while finding one critter after another!!!

Garden Eel Cove: This was to be dive spot for the remainder of the day and it was going to be hard to beat the rest of the week with spinner dolphins buzzing by our divers a couple of times on one of our dives and a manta showing up for all three. The guest also enjoyed the first leaf scorpion fish, domino damsels, peacock razor wrasse, black and white sided razor wrasse, Hawaiian knife fish and one rare long fin anthias was spotted down deep!

Monday -
Meadows: This was the spot of our first two dives and it started out with a sleepy white tip reef shark under a ledge, rock mover wrasses, stripe belly puffer and a white mouth moray to be what our guest noticed most. After exploring the lava tube and long finger reef at Meadows our guests were intrigued as six lizardfish laid down in a row in the sand near the mooring!

Rob’s Reef: Was our resting spot for the day and it was straight to the cave where regal slipper lobster and red reef lobster darted about the cave. Our resident porcupine puffer was spotted about half way into the cave. Out in the sand and rubble a flagtail tilefish had our guests’ attention as it hovered over his den before making his retreat. Later on a red stripe pipefish with eggs on its belly was a nice find. The night dive was full of sleepy sponge crabs, conger eel, yellow margin moray, and a Spanish dancer nudibranch!

Tuesday -
Paradise Pinnacle: While diving Paradise Pinnacle our divers saw ghost shrimp, white stripe cleaner shrimp performing a manicure, long nose hawkfish, garden eels, dwarf moray, gold green goby, and a Spanish dancer egg mass. They also loved watching a hermit crab.
Au Au Crater: long handed lobster, Triton’s trumpet, titan scorpion fish, red lionfish, scrambled egg nudibranch, and on the night dive our guests came back talking about sightings of lots of lobsters; sculptured slipper, regal slipper, spiny lobster, and long handed lobster, as well as red reef lobster. A Spanish dancer out for a night stroll was what made the dive for them, but for Ariane it was the puffer she saw.

Wednesday -
Hammerheads: Was the spot of our first two dives of the day. The first dives main draw was a Spanish dancer out in mid day and dancing for our divers for quite some time .The highlights for the second dive was to be devil and titan scorpion fish and many large eels.

The Dome: Had plenty to see with 7-11 crabs, puffer fish, yellow margin moray being cleaned by cleaner shrimp, slipper lobster and regal slipper lobster, large viper moray, and blue spotted cornetfish were just of a few things that our guest remarked about from their dive.

Thursday –
Driftwood: Was the spot for our morning dives and a green turtle, blue fin trevally jack, stout moray, white mouth moray, yellow margin moray, and one white tip reef shark would be what our quests remembered the most from their dives.

Amphitheater: This was to be the spot for dive three of the day and devil scorpion fish, puffer fish, and spotted blue box fish was the things that had our divers talking.

Manta Ville: This was the fourth dive of the day and the name was fitting with two manta sightings during the dive, and a white tip reef shark as a bonus.

Pelagic Magic: This was the spot for our Thursday night dive and divers could not believe their eyes at the wild creatures that came up from the deep on the largest migration on the planet. They saw Venus girdles and pelagic tunicates, squid, and pelagic wing combed jellies were just a few that were described.

Friday –
Shark Fin Rock was the site of our final dives of the week. The highlights were an octopus, giant moray, and school of oceanic triggerfish, Heller’s barracuda, and a peacock grouper hunting with a moray eel.

All in all it was a fine week of fun with our French Canadians.
Au Revoir Mes Amis!!!
Captain Karl

 

[Aggressor Adventures]

Kona Aggressor Captain’s Report Aug 4 – 11, 2012

Weather: Warm and sunny
Air: 80s
Water: 81* F!
Recommendation: Rash guard & up.
Log entry by: Capt. Todd

Nine this week, our guests ranging from Chris and Wendy - from my home, So Cal! Dana my good friend from Portland, OR. Dan, the Aussie from California, Elaine and Brian from the East Coast, Kevin, the submarine captain from Livermore, Ca. Murray, hailing from Idaho and cute little Kumiko, a dedicated diver all the way from Tokyo. I am just back from a week of R&R on Maui, I am anxious to show the gang some Kona Blue and get back in there myself.

Mantas have been observed both north and south of late, so we decided to try north first and an encore experience south later in the week, which means it was Kalokos Arches for Sunday's "get wet and get set" dive. I led and saw nothing but comfortable divers right off... going to be an easy week! Garden Eel Cove was calm and pretty good viz for the afternoon dives. Octopus! Eagle Rays!, Dolphins! Manta Rays! Everybody showed up for the party. Even the creepy Bristle Worms showed up (spawning!). An especially curious Bottlenose investigated James (See photo).

Monday we spent the day around the Red Hill area, diving Meadows, Driftwood and the Dome, respectively.

Tuesday we lit out early and did a live dive south of Kalekekua Bay at a place we call The Cure. Paradise Pinnacle tickled everyone's fancy where the long nosed hawk fish stayed around for pictures and a couple of octopus were caught 'coupling' - or getting ready to. The Hive was 'alive' as usual and the big conger eel nudged John when he got too close (never seen him move so fast! - John that is). James led the night dive where EIGHT Spanish Dancers sold out 'The Cave'.

Wednesday we ventured further south to Tubestrea Tunnel, but 'current' forced us to divert to a spot I have had my eye on for a drift dive, where the guests got to explore previously unexplored territory! Neverland was right up the coast so we hit it for the 10:30 dive. Au Au Crater for the afternoon/evening where a yellow tang met its fate in the jaws of an undulating moray.

Thursday – Dropped in Lion's Den first thing, then right next door to Rob's Reef where John showed everyone the really neat inshore swim-through; taking advantage of calm conditions. It was Amphitheater after lunch and everyone did the lava tube. Mantaville revealed two surface swimming Manta Rays. Everyone voted for a 'Pelagic' evening, so off we went! We combined a sunset dinner cruise with a plunge into a primordial soup that conjured up images of our humble beginnings.

On Friday Turtle Pinnacle produced Turtles!! Shark Fin Rock was our exit strategy for the week.

Thanks to everyone for being with us this week. Special mention to Chris and Wendy who celebrated their 20th Wedding Anniversary with us as well as their 20th dive certification anniversary! (They got certified on their Honeymoon, how cool is that!) A big “High Five” to dive buddies Kevin and Dan and Miss Elaine who pulled off all 27 dives this week and became our Iron Divers. Oh and special thanks to Chris for the attached photos

 

[Aggressor Adventures]

Kona Aggressor II Captains Log August 11- 18, 2012

Water temperature: 77 -80F
3mm- 5mm wetsuit
Weather: Sunny skies with occasional showers in the late afternoon and calm seas through out the week!!!

Saturday-
Our guests this week come from all over. Monica and Michael from New York, Kiyoko, Chris, and Carlo all the way from Montreal Canada, Angela from Florida, Michelle from Kauai, and Lori from Colorado. I could tell this was to be a fun week as these guys were fun from the being, with plenty of joking and childish antics these guys were sharing pictures and stories right away.

Sunday-
Kalokos Arches: was to be the spot for our guest first two dives .The highlights were dived flatworms, yellow margin moray, devil scorpionfish, horned helmet vs. collector urchin (the urchin won), and white mouth moray. On the second dive porcupine puffer, Whitley’s boxfish mating (male and female), spotted boxfish (male), dragon wrasse, yellow margin being cleaned by white striped cleaner shrimp, and a day octopus hunting with many bar goatfish. Garden Eel Cove: Upon arrival we were greeted by a large pod of spinner dolphins! On the first dives garden eels, white and black spot razor wrasse, white mouth moray; giant moray was the talk on the dive deck. Then on the night dive big fin squid; lots of lobsters (sculptured, regal, and spiny) and flame back shrimp were what our guests remembered most.

Monday-
Meadows: This was the spot for our first two dives and while exploring the lava tube and archways our guests saw banded lobster, gold laced nudibranch, dwarf moray, giant moray, octopus, super male bird wrasse, pufferfish, and an eagle ray were just some of the things mentioned. Rob's Reef: On the first dive while swimming along the slope our guests were greeted by a large Hammerhead Shark!! They went on to see giant porcupine pufferfish in the cave with regal slipper lobster, red reef lobster, flat rock crabs, and a flag tail tilefish out in the sand was the talk on the dive deck afterwards. On the night dive it was “eels galore” with a vyper, giant, yellow margin, white mouth, and a conger eel out and about. There was plenty of lobster too!! Red reef, sculptured, bulls eye, regal, mole, tufted, and banded lobster were all there.

Tuesday-
Paradise Pinnacle: This was to be the spot for our guests’ first two dives. Turtles, eagle ray, zebra moray, octopus, crowned toby, lionfish, white mouth moray, red stripe pipefish, dwarf moray, and a scarlet lady cleaner shrimp performing a manicure was what was remembered most from the dives. Au Au Crater: This was to be the resting place for the Kona Aggressor 2 for the remainder of the day. The highlights of our dives were Scott Johnson and Tom Smith nudibranchs, white margin & strawberry nudibranchs, teardrop butterfly fish, and a milkfish being chased by a Hammerhead Shark!!

Wednesday-
Lyon's Den: This was the spot for our first two dives and viper moray, red and green lionfish, fuchsia flatworm, ghost shrimp, gold laced nudibranchs, white stripe nudibranchs, plump sea cucumber, and an eagle ray was all the talk on the dive deck.
Dome: This was the spot for the rest of Thursday’s diving. The creatures that visited our divers were peacock razor wrasse dancing over the sand, Triton's trumpet vs. a crown of thorns, turtle, eagle ray, trembling nudibranchs and a blue dragon nudibranchs, big green lobster, and a late night visit from a lone manta ray.

Thursday-
Driftwood: The first dive was to be held at Driftwood and a whitetip reef shark, pufferfish, and turtle had our divers talking on the dive deck. Amphitheater: The lava tubes and arch with blue dragon nudibranchs is how our second dive started out, but the highlight for most was a playful octopus. On the third dive a manta stole the show.
Mantaville: This was the spot for the fourth and final dive and it was mantas on both dives with a frogfish and leaf scorpionfish that had our divers excited afterwards on dive four.

Friday-
Shark Fin Rock: This was the last dive site of the week. It was a rare sighting of wahoo running the drop off that made this dive stand out along with the very seasonal finescale triggerfish .Our guests also saw turtles and puffer fish in the shallows teaming with tangs, butterfly fish, and triggers.

For our guest this week - au revoir, safe travels, and be well.
The crew and I will miss you all!!
Captain Karl
Mahalo

 

[Aggressor Adventures]

Kona Aggressor II Captain’s Report August 18 – 25, 2012

Weather: Mostly sunny
Water Temp: 78 -80 F
Air Temp: Low 80's
Apparel recommendation: Rash guard up to whatever you're comfortable with.
Log entry by Capt. Todd

Well how about that! It's John M. and his merry band of aquanauts this week! Some of them--like his sons Jeff and Scott, Cathy and Allen, Peter and Jill--have been with us before, I remember them, because they bring "Wedding Crashers" the movie, everywhere they dive, and watch it EVERY night (needless to say, they don't even turn up the volume, they just fill in the dialogue themselves!) The rest of the group--Peter's son Paul, the dog lovers George and Jane, Surfer Bob, and Doc John--are trying on the KA II for the very first time. All are good friends and have been diving together for years (I think they might have all met on a liveaboard).

These guys being Manta enthusiasts, along with the fact that the Mantas are on the rebound after a brief hiatus, it was pretty easy to figure out that we were gonna go see Mantas straight away! So Sunday morning we started at Sharkfin Rock and Kalokos Arches where finescale triggerfish sightings and Paul losing his "Go Pro" dominated the dive deck conversation afterward. (No one's turned in the camera yet ) On a lighter note, Garden Eel Cove was "alive" with activity. TWO Long Armed Sand Octopus (I’ve never even seen one before) were busy, busy, busy scurrying about on the sand and even tried to make off with divemaster James' camera when he left it rolling. An afternoon showing of the Mantas got a "best daytime performance by a Manta" nomination from DM John. Even the goatfish appeared to be a little livlier this day. The nighttime experience was fulfilling to say the least. "Like fishing w/ dynamite!" said John M.

Monday we hit the Red Hill area starting with Driftwood. I lead the dive and lost track of everyone. Turns out they had their own agenda and headed south of the site and discovered some interesting new terrain - nice going gang! Hammrheads was next, where a new frogfish was discovered. Au Au Crater was the scene for the afternoon and evening. We had a turtle sleeping right near the stern mooring line and saw some cool stuff in the black sand, including but not limited to: a clear finned lizardfish and a peacock razor wrasse.

Tuesday we started at Neverland. Tinker’s butterfly fish were there and an eagle ray did a fly by. The Maze was next followed by Manuka Bay. The dolphins were incognito, but a rare find was spotted during the night dive! Those of us who stayed aboard noticed what looked like some sort of weird "Jelly" floating nearby. Instead, it turned out to be a tiny juvenile threadfin jack or African pompano, as it's more commonly known. John M. and our crewmember Shawn jumped in and examined it up close. It was about the size of a quarter with 18" long tendrils coming off it! We couldn't get any good shots of it so I've included a pic I took off the Internet to give you an idea of how amazing this creature is. I've been here almost two years now and I still am blown away at what this place serves up!

Wednesday we stayed close by for the morning dives to see if the dolphins might make an early morning appearance. We dove Stoney Mesas - where we saw a hammerhead! - and Catacombs before heading north to try a new spot called Okoe Bay. It’s on the GPS, but no one has dived it in along time, at least since I've been here. An interesting site, it was abandoned after the great tsunami of last year washed the only house that was there out into the bay. Some debris is still there, but it has returned to its original beauty. Oh, and the spinner dolphins showed up here and everyone cheered. And so it was that we got a KA II Dolphin encounter of the finest kind after all In the evening we tried something else new. We set up for the night dive at our new favorite place Tubestrea Tunnel. LOTS of big hairy hermit crabs were lurking in the tunnel and passageways (see photo).

Thursday we remained in the southern region. Again this is something else new for this late in the week. We started out at Thompson's Reef. Yep, this is another new site that hadn't been explored yet, so everyone got to be trailblazers on this one. It was well received and everyone voted that we add it to our permanent itinerary. There were lots of neat arches and a white tipped reef shark made an appearance. JM and his sons liked Land of Oz. They wanted to see some sandy terrain on this trip and that's what they got here, even seeing four kinds of razor wrasse. We ended the day at The Hive, where we traded a couple of cold beers with the local fishermen that were there for some fresh catch.

Friday we cruised up to Lion's Den for the morning dive and then finished our diving up at Paradise Pinnacle where we were lucky enough to have a family of large bottlenose dolphin come hang out with us! NICE way to finish the week...

Thanks John, for choosing to bring your crew out with us. You and your sons set some kind of record I think with all of your 90-100 minute dives. I think y’all have some kind of fish species in your lineage. And Surfer Bob! Well it was "all about Bob" this week. Congrats on getting your 'Open Water" certification with us. We hope you bring your offspring out next time and we'll do them too!

 

[Aggressor Adventures]

Kona Aggressor Captain’s Report August 25 – September 1, 2012

Air Temp: 80's
Water Temp: 80F
Weather: Sunny mornings/partly cloudy afternoons, slight breeze out of the west by mid-day.
Recommendation: Still calling for rashguard up to 5 mm wetsuits
Log Entry by: Todd

Introducing our guests for this week: We had Scott and Holly from Tucson, Michelle and Mark from Atlanta, Karen from So. Cal, Altilio from Argentina, and Neil and Craig also from the "Golden State".

We started the week with a trip north to take advantage of the strong Manta numbers we've had recently. We dropped into Kalokos Arches with a little current from the north, but were able to hide down in the winding canyons this place is popular for. We watched some rock mover wrasses do their thing and James found a cooperative octopus for some nice footage. We next moved to Turtle Pinnacles where we were able to escape the current and we saw an eagle ray glide by. Garden Eel Cove was as good as it gets with two Mantas spotted in the afternoon and at least 15 for the night dive.

Monday we started out nearby and tried a new site, for this crew anyway, called Pipedreams. It's right off the Sealab on Keahole Point. Everyone liked it! It had lots of neat little nooks and crannies in close to shore and a nice drop off leaving us looking out at a swirling current that attracts lots of pelagics. In fact we even saw some milkfish! We stayed near town for dive number 2 at Sharkfin Rock and "Whoa Nelly"! We saw THREE Eagle Rays, TWO Mantas and TWO Turtles! (I'd call that a full house!) In the afternoon we dove at Meadows, and very little surge made for lots of time spent in The Dome for the night dive.

Tuesday we started out with a drift dive near Kiilae Bay (south of Kalekekua) then on to Lion's Den. The guests especially liked this spot, where they saw a blue dragon nudibranch, an octopus, a frogfish (a new one!) and a harlequin shrimp (the first I've ever seen). We wrapped the day up at Au Au Crater for the afternoon/evening.

Wednesday we headed further south. We wanted the guests to get cozy with the hairy hermit crabs of Tubestrea Tunnel (oh yeah, they were there). On the way to Okoe Bay we spied a school of small yellow fin tuna, which we stopped to check out (always ready to divert a little to look at some pelagics). The Bay was new and exciting for everyone including the crew. We found a great lava tube along the interesting shoreline there. We cruised up to Neverland next and then spent the evening at the Hive. A new white frogfish was discovered there, and the nighttime residents of the cave were out for the evening dive.

Thursday we began the day at Paradise Pinnacle where we had beautiful viz. The morning sunlight was casting dramatic shadows on the canyon walls. The long nosed hawkfish cooperated with the lensmen and a peacock razor wrasse also held steady for the camera. At Rob's Reef, John found a rare Crenshaw eel peeking out of the sand. We motored the Kona Aggressor II north at lunch to Amphitheater where John took everyone for the grand tour and managed to wriggle through both lava tubes there - quite the workout! We finished the daytime diving at Driftwood where the resident white tip reef shark was home as well as another! We then headed out into the deep afterward for a little “Pelagic Magic", and everyone crossed one off their bucket list!

Friday morning we headed up to Aquariums, followed by a drift dive at some local dayboat sites to round out the trip. Some of the guests were lucky enough to witness the start of the big canoe race here Saturday morning before they departed.

 

[Aggressor Adventures]

Kona Aggressor II Captain’s Report September 15 – 22, 2012

Weather: Sunny mornings - partly cloudy afternoons.
Air temp: High 70's
Water temp: 80ish!
Recommendation: Rash guard up to 5 mm
Log Entry by: Capt Todd

After two weeks of routine maintenance, we are up and running! This week, 8 guests and it's "couple's" week! Phil and Josette from Savannah, GA, local residents Dave and Tina (return guests from way back, they were on the original KA I), Keith and Lena from Portland OR, and from the other side of the planet, Dennis and Sally of Midrand South Africa who've been diving together since the sixties, and they've been EVERYWHERE; including NINE times to Sulawesi!

Sunday morning Kalokos and Aquariums started things out. A day octopus, a Whitley's boxfish (female) and a zebra moray were among the critters encountered. We tried a new site for the afternoon dive. Just north of Garden Eel Cove I dropped the divers at a place we're calling "Aerials"- so named because I spotted it from the air as I flew out of Kona the week before! Turned out to be an interesting site with dramatic topography and critters that I don't believe had seen divers before. The 4:30 dive produced at least six mantas and a Hawaiian knife fish, oh and a leaf scorpionfish! The night dive was another spectacular Manta encounter, the divers all in a trance afterwards.

Monday we stayed close by and did Pipedreams, then on to Turtle Pinnacle for the late morning. A run next at lunch down to the Redhill area. Amphitheater was the venue for a Triton's trumpet/crown of thorns face off. The "Dome" brought happiness to everyone, with its array of crawly denizens making for quite the photo op.

Tuesday Lion's Den opened the dive deck with not a single dissatisfied diver. This place is a definite favorite, where the resident titan scorpionfish generally makes his appearance as "the greeter". Au Au Crater was where we stopped for a late morning dive. Karl took them all for the grand tour since we were only staying for one dive. Set up at The Hive for the afternoon. The frogfish was there (he's getting bigger!) as were the "cave dwellers".

Wednesday it was off to the Milolii area. We stopped first at Thompson's Reef, an old site, but new for this crew. Everyone liked it so much we decided to stay for two dives. We spotted a white tip shark and a viper moray (the first Dennis has ever seen, and he's seen EVERYTHING - glad we could accommodate him!). Next door we stopped at Land of Oz where the cameras caught some of the resident peacock razor wrasses in the sand channels before they darted for cover. We then hunkered down at Tubestrea Tunnel for the evening. The giant hairy hermit crabs were about.

Thursday, up ventured to Neverland then Paradise Pinnacle. We saw some red stripe pipefish there, along with the long nosed hawkfish, and Karl got a manicure from some resident cleaner shrimp. After lunch, it was Driftwood and then Mantaville for the evening. A lone manta showed up and he was accompanied by some very aggressive feeding blue trevally. Watched them make a meal of several small reef fish, very entertaining!

Friday morning we wrapped up the trip with two dives at Sharkfin Rock with one dive to the south and the other to the north.

Congrats to our lone “Iron Diver” this week- Kohala Dave, nice work! And happy 200th dive to Lena!

 

[Aggressor Adventures]

Weather this week - Sunny skies with occasional marine layer
Air Temp. 80-85 F
Water Temperature 81 F
Recommended Wetsuit 3mm - 5mm

We have a fun, diverse group of twelve this week including Armida, all the way from South America (Peru), Marta from Washington, Steve and Sandi, Tom and Christine from Arizona, Hitoshi and Miyako, all the way from Japan, David and Lynn, Kelly and Cesar from Atlanta, Georgia. This group was from very different places, but the one thing they all had in common brought them all together by the first day - Diving!!! They were all up on the sun deck the first day telling dive stories like old friends.

Sunday:
Kalokos Arches was the spot for the first two dives. Spotted boxfish, dragon wrasse, fuchsia and divided flatworms, snowflake moray eel and a curious worm fish had our divers attention after the dives. Garden Eel Cove was to be the resting spot for Sunday. It was mantas right off the bat, following our divers around for the first dive. In between, our guests got in and snorkeled with a local pod of spinner dolphins. Then back in the water to see long armed octopus, titan scorpionfish, white-sided and black-sided razor wrasse, Hawaiian knife fish, and one lone long fin anthia. If that was not enough, the group got it good with a big showing of mantas and a big fin squid to boot!!!!

Monday:
Meadows was the spot of the first two dives. The highlights our guests remembered most were the lava tubes filled with reticulated and tiger cowries, and the battle between a crown of thorns and a Triton's trumpet where the crown of thorns caused the Triton's trumpet to run scared!! Lyon's Den was the dive site for dive three. It didn't disappoint with two beautiful red lionfish making a guest appearance, also scrambled egg and strawberry nudibranchs, and a Spanish dancer egg mass, ornate butterfly fish, four spot butterfly fish, and a snowflake eel and giant moray. Au Au Crater was the spot for our final dives of the day. The highlights were red striped pipefish, long handed and spiny lobster, teardrop butterfly fish, and on the night dive it was loaded with conger eels, lobster and one very sleepy turtle.

Tuesday:
Maze was to be the spot for our first dive of the day. The highlight as a Whitley’s boxfish and a large school of pale tail unicorn fish that hung out under the boat along with a visit from some bottlenose dolphins. Land of Oz was our site for the second dive and it was full of Potter’s angelfish, one flame angelfish, an ewa fang blenny that didn't seem to be bothered with bubble blowing visitors, peacock razor wrasse, and a white mouth moray. Manuka Bay was to be our final resting place for the remainder of our dives. Our guest enjoyed the underwater terrain as if it was their childhood playground. They found zebra morays, vyper morays, and devil scorpionfish. They played with an octopus on these two dives, and we had two Sargasso frogfish, which our Instructor released into the wild after close inspection from our guests.

Wednesday:
Neverland was the first dive spot of the day and it was filled with every type of butterfly fish you could ask for on a dive. We had teardrop, ornate, pyramid, four spot, lined, chevron, raccoon, and oval and as if that was not enough, a turtle visited our guest while inside the crater. Paradise Pinnacle was the location for dives two and three and the top attraction were a long nose hawkfish in some black coral, red striped pipefish, white striped cleaner shrimp, and a dwarf moray. Rob's Reef was the last stop for Wednesday. The things our divers remembered most about the dive were sightings of marbled shrimp, ghost shrimp, coral banded shrimp, Spanish dancer, vyper moray, tiger moray and stout moray, red striped pipe fish, and some decoy scorpionfish.

Thursday:
Dome was the location where the first two dives were held .The word on the dive deck afterwards was they saw dragon wrasse, peacock razor wrasse, Heller’s barracuda, and one very bright yellow frogfish!!!
Amphitheater was the spot for dives three and four and there was talk of nudibranchs, puffer fish, red striped pipe fish, but it was all out done by a guest visit of spinner dolphins who played with our divers for most of the dive (most unusual for Spinners). Pelagic Magic was the night dive and had the group all fired up to see the largest migration on earth. They were amazed at all the alien-like creatures that come up from the depths!!!!

Friday:
Turtle Pinnacle was the location for the last two dives of the week and it was “Eels Galore” with our guests seeing giant, yellow margin, and white mouth eels. There was a spotted male boxfish, giant puffer, a death match between a horned helmet and a collector urchin and a visit from a lonely baby eagle ray...

A big “Mahalo” to our group this week for coming out and being such good sports with all the Ironman stuff!!! The crew will miss all the cheery faces!!!!

That all from your Captain!!
Mahalo
Capt. Karl