Kona Aggressor II Captain's Logs

[Aggressor Adventures]

Kona Aggressor II Captain’s Report Dec 29, 2012 – Jan 5, 2013

Weather: Sunny, breezy out of the west. High 70’s
Water Temp: 74-76 F, Significant north swell
Log by Captain Todd

Happy Holidays! We had a group this week that decided the right way to bring in the New Year was at 60'! (Ha Ha); including Alexsey and Tatiana (who is completing her 400th dive this week) all the way from Moscow; Marco from Germany via Switzerland; Ted, a returning regular of the Aggressor Fleet including two previous dives on this boat, he is logging dive #600 with us this week; the ever gracious Greg and Patti; and of course “Da Boyz” David, James, Paul, Tony, Mark and Joe.

In deference to the large north swell that was looming, we decided to do things a little differently this week. We started out as usual, hitting Kalakos Arches for our first familiarization dive. "The Boys" saw a turtle and a blue trevally right off. Nice start to things. We moved over to Turtle Pinnacle next where a horned helmet cornered a collector urchin and made him a meal and then some Heller’s barracudas made an appearance. We dropped in for one dive at Garden Eel Cove and then we had to beat it out of there because the swell was getting big. Our Kona mooring was where we had our Manta show —unprecedented! A lone Manta showed up right on cue for a wonderful performance.

Monday, the next morning, early we headed south, only to be turned around due to heavy surf. Another night on the mooring for New Year’s was spent with 5 very friendly bottlenose dolphins that were herding needlefish around the swim platform. Our snorkeling guests provided a safe haven for the hapless prey. That is of course until the dolphins came right up to our snorkelers and plucked the little devils away! Never seen that before!

Tuesday I decided to stay local and take advantage of some sheltered areas off the grid that I've always wondered about anyway. Turned out to be very worthwhile sites!

Wednesday we did "live dives" all day at various sites. Started with the Naked Lady Wreck, where we saw a white tip shark, and then the Predator. Our afternoon we did two live dives at some sheltered local "day boat" sites where the great viz and interesting topography delighted our divers; everyone loved it. We've got some great new local sites now to add to our collection!

Thursday we ventured south and laid up in Kalekekua Bay with all the other weary water sports boats., but we found some great conditions despite the large swell. Taking a chance we set up at Mantaville for the evening and we weren't disappointed! One very energetic animal put on a heck of a show for everyone. They all felt "fulfilled!" We spent the night right there.

Next morning we took advantage of calm conditions and spent the entire day around the Red Hill area and showed these people the best we have to offer — lava tubes and all. On top of outstanding diving, despite adverse conditions all week, we were blessed by numerous whale sightings and lots of spinner dolphins — Everyone was ready for another week!!

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[Aggressor Adventures]

Kona Aggressor II Captain’s Report Jan 5 – 12, 2013

Weather: Lots of sunshine, calm seas all week
Water: Holding in the mid 70's
Recommendation: 5-7 mil
Log Entry by Capt Todd

Well it's ladies week aboard KA II. Nine women; Jane, Kaitlyn, Roxanne, Mary, Pam, Jenny, Suzanne, Sandra and Koko. All strangers to each other (briefly), all brought together by a common bond...DIVING! Along with a few fellas - Scott, Paul and Buddy, everyone hit it off straight away, all very good divers and all extremely excited about everything they saw. What a splendid group!

Fine conditions and a decent Manta count the previous night took us north towards Garden Eel Cove Sunday. Calm seas and sunshine made for spectacular diving at Kalokos Arches and Turtle Pinnacle that morning. We saw a Long Fin Anthias, a Dwarf Moray, Strawberry and Gold Laced Nudi's, among other things. Afternoon it was Pipedreams where the viz was great down around "the pipe" (saw a White Mouth Moray and Dolphins down there) Garden Eel Cove was resplendent with schools of Goatfish, a Viper Moray, Pebble Collector Urchins and of course Manta Rays!

Amphitheater was our target destination Monday and revealed a juvenile Short nosed Wrasse, Sandra saw a "Shy File", and since we did two dives here, both of the really cool lava tubes were investigated. After lunch, divers happened upon another Viper Moray (very scary looking) and resident Speckled Scorpionfish at Lion's Den. We wrapped the day up at Au Au Crater, and a Leaf & Titan Scorpionfish were there to greet us. The night dive wowed everyone as a Sleepy Sponge Crab, a Spanish Dancer and an Undulated Moray scurried about.

Tuesday: Thompson's Reef, and a White Tip Reef Shark opened the day. Did a ‘live dive’ at another previously unexplored site with excellent results, "lots of fish life!" exclaimed Mary. Afternoon at Manuka Bay, where we tied off to a different stern mooring -just for fun- and were exposed to a lesser explored area, nice! Suzanne got a nice shot of a Henshaw Snake Eel, we haven't seen him in a long time. On the night dive we all watched a VERY large Octopus as he methodically and without hesitation, explored every nook and cranny within reach of his incredibly long tentacles, nothing was safe this night! And Jane spotted not one, but TWO Dragon Morays, the Holy Grail of Eels here in Hawaii. Good eye there Jane.

Northbound, that was us, right on schedule on Wednesday. Stopped at Catacombs where the guests discovered why this site is a crew favorite! Koko couldn't stop carrying on about the place. Did another ‘live dive’ followed by a drop in at Neverland. The Pyramid Butterflies were in attendance, as were the Tinkers. The Hive was alive with a Turtle, a Starry Octopus and a Partridge Tongue crawling around (don't see that very often).

The guests awoke in "Paradise"-- Pinnacle that is Thursday morning, and the place was teeming with life. A Turtle, a Mustached Conger, and an Eagle Ray just to name a few. Another live dive followed at the City of Refuge, and an afternoon dive at Meadows. Finished at the Keahou Sheraton (AKA Mantaville) where we were surprised by THREE Mantas! No one was complaining about that!

Friday we did a ‘live dive’ in front of Kona's token billionaire Paul Allen's place right there in the bay. Didn't see any underwater surveillance cameras, nor a submarine base, but we did see a White Tip Reef Shark!

We had great weather, a great group and great diving. Whale songs were heard throughout the dives all week, not to mention numerous sightings (a little perk of diving here this time of year), Where did the week go?

Congratulations to Scott and Koko for completing dives 800 and 100 respectively, with us. Miss Jane is now an Advanced Open Water Diver, thanks to our skilled and charming instructor Martin. And Scott, Suzanne and Pam completed every dive this week to become "Iron Divers", a prestigious little group of hearty souls recognized by those of us in the dive industry.

 

[Aggressor Adventures]

Kona Aggressor II Captain Log January 12 – 19, 2013
Weather: Sunny Clear skies with night rain
Air: 70’s
Water Temperature: 73-75 F
Recommended wetsuit: 5mm-7mm

This week we had the whale whispers with over twenty sightings. We had our guests and crew in awe as the Humpbacks put on a show that none will forget! We had Rick and Laura from San Diego, Randy from Texas, Simon from Canada, and Lynn from Washington.

Sunday:
Kalokos was the spot for our first two dives as we headed north. While pulling in we had a Humpback escort us to our dive site. We saw spotted boxfish, fried egg nudibranch, horned helmet that captured a collector urchin, and a Whitley's boxfish. Garden Eel Cove was to be our resting spot for the remainder of the day. It was Mantas on all dives. There were some added bonuses with humpbacks and spinner dolphins putting on a show in the water off the Kona Aggressor. Then underwater water male long fin anthias, freckled snake eel, milkfish, Hawaiian knife fish, white patch razor wrasse, and a turtle.

Monday:
Pipe Dreams was the location for our first dive. What our divers remembered the most on this dive was an undulated moray, divid flatworm, fried egg nudibranch, playing with a friendly octopus, and of course a manta. Aquarium was the location of dives two and three. The talk on the dive deck was of an eagle ray, dragon wrasse, leaf scorpionfish, turtle, fine scale triggerfish, and a puffer fish. With all that it was hard to forget the four Mantas swimming on the surface around the boat with a Humpback breaching next to the boat as if to say ‘Hi’. Turtle Pinnacle was the location for dive four and spotted was a giant moray, puffer fish, and long fin anthias. Kona Mooring was our resting spot for Monday night. On the night dive an undulated moray on the hunt underneath the boat was the first thing seen. Puffer fish, horned helmet out on the hunt catching a collector urchin, parrot fish in its cocoon asleep for the night, and leaf scorpionfish were just some of what was discovered.

Tuesday:
Driftwood was the location of our first two dives and the talk on the dive deck afterwards was of a turtle, day octopus, fuscia flatworm, fried egg nudibranch, slipper lobster, dragon and peacock razor wrasses, and white tip reef sharks.
Rob's Reef was our third dive site of the day. Our guest spent most of the dive with three dragon wrasse, peacock razor wrasse, and a puffer fish. The Hive was to be our moorage for Tuesday night. On dives four and five our guest saw turtles, vyper moray, undulated moray, lobster (both red reef and tufted), octopus, conger eel, red lionfish, and a decoy scorpionfish.

Wednesday:
Paradise Pinnacle was the spot for dives one and two. On the dive deck our guests were talking about long nose hawkfish, red striped pipefish, peacock razor wrasse, vyper moray, yellow margin moray, and a dwarf moray afterwards. On the final dives of the day at Au Au Crater our guest saw long armed lobster, turtles, tear drop butterfly fish, titan scorpionfish, puffer fish, and spotted snake eel.

Thursday:
Dome was the spot for dives one and two. Our guest remembered most from the dives peacock razor wrasse, dragon wrasse, spotted boxfish, flame angel, and a turtle. Meadows was our next dive site and some of the highlights of dives three and four were ‘shooting the lava tube’ (Rick and Randy). For others it was undulated morays, white-mouthed morays, Whitley’s boxfish, puffer fish, and some white tip reef sharks!! Pelagic Magic was the night dive for Thursday. Our quests were in awe of the strange creatures that come up from the depths as they hung onto ropes as they witnessed the largest migration on the planet. It was Venus girdles, pelagic comb jellies and other various jellies and pelagic shrimp, along with a visit on the surface by some pelagic squid.

Friday:
Shark Fin Rock was the location for our last two dives. It was spiny cowfish, crowned Toby’s, ghost shrimp, and a large school of Heller's barracuda that our guest remembered most. Of course, who could forget all the Humpback Whales singing underwater and spouting as they swam by that day!!!!

This was a week that will be remembered by our guests and crew alike for its high Manta counts and it's many Humpback sightings.

A big Mahalo!!!
Captain Karl

 

[Aggressor Adventures]

Kona Aggressor II Captain’s Report Jan 26 – Feb 2, 2013

Weather: Hazy most days, intermittent sunshine
Water: Still in the mid 70's
Air: Same (It's January!)
Log Entry by Capt' Todd

Whale Ho!! Yeeup, they're still here. I guess you could call this the "High Humpback Holiday Season"! Word has it that there are over 12,000 of the gargantuan snowbirds currently basking in these balmy Hawaiian waters, and we're seeing a good number of them here off the Kona coast right now. In fact, it's actually harder not to see them! At any rate, the group this week came loaded for bear! (camera equipment wise), and it was put to good use.

The Mantas are showing well once again, so north we went for day one. We had a special request from "Dallas", a returning diver to re-visit "Suck Em Up", a site near Aquarium, so we began there for the morning dives. Garden Eel Cove was calm and comfortable for the re-acclimating group. Saw a school of Milkfish in addition to the regular fare of Spinner Dolphins and Manta Rays.

Monday we lingered in the area and dove Pipedreams first thing where a daytime sighting of a Manta was reported and Bruce got some nice footage down by the "pipe". Kalokos Arches showed us some Flatworms (Fuscia and Divided) and the local Dragon Wrasses. Turtle Pinnacle was a little surgey, but we managed to spot a Yellow Margin Moray there. Jeremy was diggin the night dive at our mooring. He discovered a Frogfish and several Mantis Shrimp embedded in the silty bottom. Neat stuff right in our own backyard!

Tuesday we ventured south to Amphitheater and came upon two Frogfish that occupied most of the dive. We then did a "live dive" at another previously unexplored location. Had a school of Spinners as well as a mother Humpback and her calf come charging right by! Lion's Den and Rob's were the afternoon entertainment and we saw a big turtle napping in a hole near the really big cave at Rob's.

Wednesday started out at Neverland with Tinkers and a Hammerhead! (We never get enough of those bad boys.) DM John then led everyone through the "Maze" without getting lost. Motored on up to Stoney Mesas where diver John liked it so much he wanted us to leave him there, ha! Manuka Bay for the evening where we saw a small, but ferocious Conger Eel on the prowl and a REALLY big Lobster on the night dive.

Thursday a few hardy souls went for a dawn dive before we untied at Manuka and then a short move over to Catacombs. Land of Oz was our site for the late morning. John managed to get some nice shots of the ever-elusive Peacock Razor Wrasse (photo). It was then The Hive for the evening/night dives.

Next morning we finished up the week at Au Au Crater and Paradise Pinnacle before the long ride home.

Notable achievements this week included:
Alan pulling off his 200th dive, Michale perfected her "motion under the ocean" with a Peak Performance Buoyancy course. Maureen joined the elite group known as "Nitrox Divers".

John provided the pics for this weeks log (thanks bud) Billy, Brandon and Jeremy made sure us DM's did every dive this week by completing every dive this week, "Iron Divers you three shall be!" And the rest? Ingo, Heidi, Dallas, Marva and Bruce, well they just plain ol' had a great time!

 

[Aggressor Adventures]

Kona Aggressor II Captain’s Report February 2 – 9, 2013
Weather: Sunny hazy days, air in the mid 70's
Water: Still holding at a brisk 76 degrees
Log Entry by Capt' Todd

Na Zorowie! Our polish friends are back! Ralph and his merry band of divers: Roman, Ewa, Angelika, Tomasz and newcomers Jan, Norbert, Sophia and Mariusz have all descended upon us from the Chicago area. They left quite an impression from the last time they were here; all good divers and they know how to enjoy themselves! Our additional guests: Andy and Shirley from Singapore, and Suzanne from the bay area are in quite an exciting time with this bunch.

These guys want to see Mantas, so mantas we shall see! Off to the north we venture, diving in at Aquarium to see two turtles and a White Mouth Moray in 100' viz to start the trip. Pipedreams came up for dive two where we spotted a Coral Blenny, Spotted Boxfish, Orange Mouth Lizardfish, and a thick school of Raccoon Butterfly fish were there to greet us. Set up early at Garden Eel Cove to watch the Super Bowl and then took Suzanne for a dive after her 9er's lost. The Goatfish and a couple of Flowery Flounders cheered her up! The night dive revealed one shy Manta Ray, but "Frank" the friendly resident Undulated Eel kept everyone preoccupied with his affectionate reef side manner. (photo)

An early start Monday put us at Meadows in time for dive one. A Dwarf Moray, Porcupinefish and a couple of Bottlenose Dolphins accented the dive. Ralph, leader of the polish brigade and veteran KAII diver was especially impressed with "Ridges", a new site since he was here last. Found the Hive to our liking for the afternoon/night dives. A Leaf Scorpionfish, some Lionfish and a Pencil Moray highlighted that spot.

Tuesday we set our course for Manuka Bay, with stops at Neverland and Tubestrea Tunnel, where Roman was lured out into deep water by a large mysterious object -and he came back with some great footage of a large Scalloped Hammerhead Shark! Stern tied to our east mooring at Manuka Bay, which put us near the really neat swim-thru that everyone enjoyed. The place kicked out a Turtle, a Jeweled Anemone, Scrawled Filefish and a Finescale Triggerfish.

A dawn dive was the call Wednesday for some early risers. A Sleepy Sponge Crab was seen with a Fried Egg Nudi riding sidesaddle on him and a lot of Eels looking around for that last little bite to eat before the dawn. We ventured next to Catacombs, where I led everyone in and out of the many caves and grottos there. A ‘live dive’ was next, followed by the Maze and Rob's Reef for the evening where cave hounds Roman, Ralph, Jan and Mariousz explore every dark space.

Thursday we did an early morning exploration of Au Au Crater and a go around at Paradise Pinnacle. A long afternoon run, interrupted by an encounter with the mysterious Schooling Hammerheads that we see every so often, (they numbered about twenty this time!) Amphitheater (voted best dive site by the group) was in perfect form with superb visibility and a nil surge. Driftwood was the same, however the resident White Tip Sharks were a no show. Saw the most boats ever at Mantaville for the evening Manta Show, but that was fine, the more light the better! Four (a good number for this place) showed up and hung around.

Friday morning the Naked Lady got everyone worked up (with it's sleeping White Tip) and Andy got his shark shots for the week. And finally, a ‘live dive’ right off of Kona resident Paul Allen's place to wrap the week.

 

[Aggressor Adventures]

Kona Aggressor II Captain’s Report Feb 16 – 23, 2013

Weather: Balmy, partly sunny skies, 70ish
Water: Still holding at 76 degrees
Seas: Calm and glassy most days, blowing down around south point.
Log Entry by: Capt' Todd

Nine guests this week, their origins a smattering of locations throughout North America. Sara and Kathleen are from the right side of the continent (New York and Maryland respectively) Patti and Dave from the Bay Area, Christine and Chip from Park City Utah (who lives in Park City? -must be nice) Lisa from North Carolina, our token canuck Chris from B.C, and finally, world traveler Del, currently residing in Thailand and who celebrated his 41st! (Birthday, not dive) with us this week.

We saw those "octopi in love" again at Kalokos Arches Monday, (might have to start charging extra) and a few eels. We saw turtles (2) at Turtle Pinnacle, followed by a new site called "Old Airport" (it's near the -you guessed it- old airport). Haven't heard anything from Garden Eel Cove lately, so we headed south this time for our Sunday serving of Manta Mayhem. The Keahou Sheraton had a very lively animal that outdid himself for everyone; we spent the night there.

Monday we had a head start on our journey south (got to sleep in, sort of) and started out at Meadows. Sara was promptly at the "Critter Board" after the dive, posting a Lizardfish and Saddleback Butterfly sighting. We saw a whale on our way to a live dive at Capt. Cook Monument, in Kalekekua Bay. Always nice and calm in there, and very scenic too! John led the divers there through some beautiful shallow coral gardens and got a nice Turtle shot (photo) Ran into those mysterious schooling Hammerheads on the way down to Lion's Den. New recruit Jarod did a nice job of guiding for his first time (he and I did our IDC together in Spain and they really take guiding seriously there, we were trained well). Night dive at Au Au Crater, everyone saw another Turtle. Del celebrated his birthday with a nice bottle of wine, some birthday cake and some good conversation out on the sundeck well into the night.

Tuesday we dropped in at Neverland. Chip, Christine, Lisa and Chris all did their "deep dive" specialty course on the dramatic drop-off there courtesy of Instructor James. Did a GREAT drift dive at a new spot right off Milolii, everyone was jazzed and DM John said it was one of the better random locations we've tried, with it's abundance of caves and arches. Putting that one in the GPS! Perfect conditions at Land of Oz set the scene for some nice Dragon and Juvenile Peacock Razor Wrasse sightings. Performed a difficult 3-point tie up at Tubestrea Tunnel so we could do a very rare night dive there. It was worth the effort! Yellow Hairy Hermits Crabs and numerous eels were the reward.

Wednesday we started at The Maze. It was beautiful down there, the morning light really showed off the startling features of this place. Next was a drift dive that I got to participate in for a change. Gave my first mate James a shot at maneuvering the boat solo and he's a natural. The dive was spectacular, so neat not having to navigate. Just randomly explored the dramatic walls and pinnacles, and when we surfaced, there was the boat! Good job James. After lunch it was another live dive at Pakalolo Point, James led and took them in another direction this time, just as neat as going the other way! Calm conditions made The Hive the right choice for the evening. Everyone got to spend lots of time in "Critter Cavern" and take in all the crawly activity. Saw the biggest Leaf Scorpionfish ever!

Thursday we ventured to Paradise Pinnacle in the morning where we saw a great big Titan Scorpionfish that was giving us the "stink eye" (he was a bit "miffed", he thinks he's invisible-an ambush predator y’know) and there we all were, staring right at him, blowing his cover. Another live dive near City of Refuge followed by lava tubes at Amphitheater. Afternoon dive back at Keahou Sheraton. (An encore manta dive was unanimous) The night dive was pleasant, with minimal surge and one Manta showing up.

Friday we started with a drift dive through some "day use" sites north of town, winding up with a submarine encounter at the Predator Wreck.

Thanks to everyone this week, all good divers and everyone became good friends, (they even combined efforts and cooked the crew dinner on the last night!) Iron Diver "atta person"'s to Patti, hubby Dave and Kathleen.

"Thanks to Del for the log photos this week".

 

[Aggressor Adventures]

Kona Aggressor Captain’s Report Feb 23 – March 2, 2013

Weather: Cloudy some days, sunny others. High 70's
Water: Mid 70's (still-brrr!) 5 mil please.
Seas: Flat, light chop in the afternoons.
Log Entry by: Capt' Todd

Shutter bug week! Mike and Mike from the Jim Church Video outfit are aboard offering instruction and lectures for our group, them being: Pierette from Connecticut, Catriona, a subject of Her Majesty the Queen of England, Dean from Texas, and Yannick, a military man from the province of Quebec. A small group, but that will work to everyone's advantage this week- intimate instruction! I've agreed with "the Mikes" to keep the dive sites limited to the locations and duration of their choosing, in order to maximize the effectiveness of their program.

We started Monday at Aquarium. Lots of sunshine and good viz started our "shooting safari" off nicely. An Octopus and a White Tip Reef Shark raised the bar way up right off the bat. Pipedreams' pipe section made for nice background and feisty Sergeant Majors guarding their eggs got their pictures taken. Garden Eel Cove's Spinner Dolphins must have caught wind of the photo op because they were mugging for Mike's camera. Big turnout for the night dive as "several" Manta Rays showed up for the performance.

Monday we stayed local and started off at Turtle Pinnacle and yes, we saw a Turtle, complete with adorning Yellow Tangs and Surgeonfish munching on his encrusted shell (photo). The Naked Lady provided subject matter with its resident Yellow Margin Moray Eel, White Tip Reef Shark and recently discovered Bi-Colored Anthias. We voyaged south at lunch to Amphitheater and The Dome. Saw many Lobsters on the night dive and Cat did an awesome job contorting into the small crevices to capture them on film.

Tuesday started with a ‘live dive’ at another new spot off of City of Refuge. A Spotted Eagle Ray made it special. Paradise Pinnacle was next, where Mike and the other lensmen enjoyed the vertical backdrop on the pinnacle so much, we stayed for 2 dives. The Hive "provided the best night dive in the last thirty" says Mike, and the other night dives were all in the Caribbean! At least THREE Conger Eels and an Undulated Moray caught nabbing a hapless Pufferfish (photo) were among the "many" highlights that night.

Wednesday morning a Turtle greeted everyone amid magnificent clarity at Au Au Crater. The rising sun's rays, as they cast into the crater, were almost biblical in their grandeur. Mackerel Skad flitted about like tiny angels; it truly was a religious experience! Lion's Den was at its best. No surge, bright sunshine and gin-clear water allowed those of us topside to monitor the divers every move. A ‘live dive’ at Captain Cook Monument gave Yannick the opportunity to get a shot of the biggest Dragon Wrasse he'd ever seen. We went up to Mantaville next because this group wanted to re-live the Manta encounter ONE MORE TIME!

Thursday morning we tried two new sites! First, Mano Point situated just south of Keahou Bay, where we had spent the night. Plenty of arches and caves here ensured a return visit next time. Next it was Chimney's, just down south a spell. Rich coral gardens framed by a sheer 40' wall at the shoreline awaited us. Sure enough, there was a chimney-like lava tube rising vertically through the cliff to a spectacular skylight... another keeper site! Red Hill area for the afternoon with ives at Driftwood and Meadows. Then off into the sunset for a "Pelagic Magic" evening. THAT was a good idea because we really got a rise out of our two well-traveled photographers Mike and Mike. Turns out they've never done a pelagic night dive before, and the exotic critters were many this night, including a Pelagic Seahorse, making this an especially unique trip for them. Hooray!

Friday only Cat, Yannick and Dean were up for the dives, as the others had early flights. They missed a couple good ones at Old Airport and the "sub encounter" at the Predator Wreck, oh well! Congrats to Cat and Yannick...one hundred dives as of this week! Oh and thanks Mike H. for the log pics this week (you got REAL lucky on that eel shot!) ...

 

[Aggressor Adventures]

Kona Aggressor Captain Report March 2 – 9, 2013

Weather: Sunny
Water: 74-76 f
Air: 70's

This week we had Julie, Erich and Van from Canada, Alan from Hong Kong, Richard and Sherri from Nevada, along with Don and JoAnne from Pittsburg, PA. This week was one of diverse marine mammals. Our group got to see Humpbacks, Pilot Whales, False Killer Whales, and Dolphins "Oh My" !!!

Sunday:
Kalakos Arches was the location for our first two dives of the week. What was remembered most was a Tiger Moray, Divided Flatworm, Whitley’s Boxfish, Pencil Wrasse, Disappearing Wrasse, Potter’s Angelfish, Horned Helmet eating a Collector Urchin, Ridgeback Lobster, and for some it was seeing a Hammerhead on the surface - or for Julie it was the chance to snorkel with a Manta and then later with Dolphins.

Garden Eel Cove was to be the location for the following three dives of the day and our premier site for the world famous ‘Manta Dive’. It was Dolphins, Milkfish, Flowery Flounders, Undulated Morays, and of course Mantas.

Monday:
Pipe Dreams was the location of our first dive and the talk on the dive deck was of Ewa Fanged Blenny, Fantail Triggerfish, Spotted Blenny, Gosline Fang Blenny, Long Armed Lobster, 7-11 Crab, and the Humpbacks that were singing through out the dive. Hoovers was dive two for the day and besides more Humpbacks singing, it was dark phase Long nose Butterfly Fish and Red Striped Pipefish that captured everyone’s attention. After the dives, it was out for ride in the Aggressor to look for a report of Pilot Whales. We not only found them, but also some False Killer Whales - nice.

Aquarium was to be the spot for dive number three of the day. Besides being Don’s 900th dive there was Yellowtail Coris, Dragon Wrasse, and a couple of Humpbacks passing off in the distance. Turtle Pinnacle was the fourth dive of the day and it was an Eagle Ray, Giant Moray, and Spinner Dolphins our guest remembered most.
Pelagic Magic was the night dive and everyone who went on the dive had a great time witnessing the largest migration on earth.

Tuesday:
Meadows was the first dive and what the guest remembered most was Spotted Coral Blenny, Whitley’s Boxfish, and a Dragon Wrasse. Driftwood was next and the guest were talking about the lava tubes and cave where they spotted a White Tip reef Shark and a White Margin Moray.

Lions Den was the third dive of the day and here it was Turtle, Octopus, Red Lionfish, and an Eagle Ray that stood out. The Hive was the location of the final dives of the day. The talk afterwards was of a Conger Eel, Teardrop Butterflyfish, Red Lionfish, Octopus, Barred Moray, Turtle, and a Spanish Dancer.

Wednesday:
Au Au Crater was the first dive today and they saw a Spanish Dancer and a Turtle.
Paradise Pinnacle was the location for dive two of the day and the talk on the dive deck was of White Tip Reef Sharks, Long Nose Hawkfish, Peacock and Dragon Wrasse, and a Flowery Flounder. Rob's Reef was the spot for the final dives and besides a lot of Eels and Shrimp our guests just loved the lava cave.

Thursday:
The Dome was the spot for the first two dives and what was remembered most was Turtle, Giant Moray, and a Devil Scorpion Fish. Amphitheater was our next dive site and the talk afterwards was of Frog Fish, Octopus, Sphinx and Scrambled Egg Nudibranch, Long Armed Lobster, and an Orange Rim Flatworm. Mantaville was the last two dives of the day and besides Eels and a Puffer it was Mantas that had everyone’s interest.

Friday:
We finished the week with the last two dives being at Old Airports. The most memorable part was of the Humpbacks singing to our guest until one could feel the sound resonating in one’s chest.

To our guest this week a big Mahalo from the crew!!

Mahalo,
Captain Karl

 

[Aggressor Adventures]

Kona Aggressor Captain’s Report March 9 – 16, 2013

Weather: Partly cloudy and windy
Air: 70's
Water: 74-76F
Recommended wetsuit: 5mm-7mm

This week we welcomed aboard Charlie from Washington, Rod from Arizona (welcome back), Matt and Lissette from Chicago, Kay from MT, Bobby from Kona, Frank from CA, Paul from Texas, Alain from France and Jon from Canada. This happy go lucky group was here to have a good time no matter what happens and fun they had.

Sunday: Turtle Pinnacle was the first dive sight and it seemed as we were off to a good start seeing Yellow Margin Moray, Ghost Shrimp, Longfin Anthias, Red Striped Pipefish, Leaf Scorpionfish, and a Turtle being cleaned while Humpbacks sang in the distance. Kona Mooring was to be the final dive spot for the day due to some rough conditions and here our guests saw Undulated Morays, Giant Moray and large schools of baitfish right off the stern of the boat.

Monday: Meadows was to be the location for our first two dives of the day. Our divers came back talking of a Zebra Moray, Spanish Dancer, Sphinx Nudibranch, Black Phase Butterflyfish, and a Rock Mover Wrasse. Hammerheads was our following site and the talk on the dive deck was of an 8 lined Wrasse, Leaf Scorpionfish, 4 spot Butterflyfish, and a Green Turtle. Paradise Pinnacle was the next dive spot with Red Striped Pipefish, Longnose Hawkfish, Peacock Razor Wrasse, Garden Eels and a Turtle. Manuka Bay was our final stop for the day with Hermit Crab, Shortnose Wrasse, Bi-colored Anthias, Horned Helmet vs. Collector Urchin, Peacock Razor Wrasse, Hawaiian Garden Eels and a Snowflake Eel.

Tuesday: The group of guests liked Manuka so much we decided to stay for the first dive of the day. They saw Dragon and Rock Mover Wrasse, Spanish Dancer Egg Mass and another Snowflake Eel. Neverland was the location of our second dive. The talk on the dive deck was of a Giant Moray, Yellow Margin Moray, White Mouth Moray, Pyramid Butterflyfish and a Pufferfish. Au Au Crater was our final resting point for the day. Our guest saw a Conger Eel, Undulated Moray, Tiger Snake Moray, Slipper Lobster, Rainbow Swimmer Crab, Ghost Shrimp and Wire Coral Gobies.

Wednesday: Once again the guests liked Au Au Crater so much we decided to stay for the first dive and Kay (her first) and Jon were particularly glad as they got to see a Hammerhead ‘up close and personal’. The rest were glad for the Turtle that spent the dive with them. Lions Den was the next stop. The talk on the dive deck afterwards was Lei Triggers, Vanishing Wrasses, Arc Eyed Hawkfish and Guard Crabs. Amphitheater was the location of our third dive and the favorite with a Frogfish, Dragon Wrasse, Spotted Boxfish, Octopus, Zebra Moray, Sphinx Nudibranch, Fuschia Flatworm and a Turtle. Manta Ville was our final dive spot of the day and we had three mantas that put on a good show for us.

Thursday: Kalakos Arches was the location of our first two dives. The guests remembered the underwater topography the most with its many arches and mention of a Flame Wrasse sighting. Turtle Pinnacle was our next dive spot with Yellow Margin Moray, Titan Scorpionfish and a Longfin Anthias being what was remembered most. Garden Eel Cove was to be the location for our final dives. What our guide commented on was ‘NO Garden Eels’ - a first for all our crew, but a crazy amount of Mantas on the remaining dives, as they seem to be blanketing the whole dive site.

Friday: Old Airports was our final dive site. The things that stood out was the Skipjack Tuna running the slope, Octopus, Strawberry Nudibranch (Jon's favorite-Mahalo), Red Striped Pipefish, Turtle with Remoras, and one lonely Eagle Ray.

A big Mahalo to our group last week - we had fun!!!

Captain Karl

 

[Aggressor Adventures]

Kona Aggressor Captain’ Report March 16 – 23, 2013

Weather: Mostly Sunny
Air Temp: 70’s
Water Temp: 74-76 F
Recommended wetsuits: 5mm-7mm

This week’s group was one of antics and one-liners from movies. We had Maria and Wes from Texas, Lionel from Alberta in Canada, Morgan from Seattle, Joe from New York, Mary from IL, Echo from GA/China, along with Janis and Kristy from Texas.

Sunday:
Meadows was the spot for the first two dives of the week. Afterwards our guests were talking about a zebra moray, flame angelfish, and a white mouth moray.
Lions Den was the next stop and our divers saw psychedelic wrasse harem, turtle, and a red lionfish. Au Au Crater was to be the location of our final dives of the day. The talk on the deck afterwards was of an orange mouth lizardfish, long-handed lobster, peacock razor wrasse, titan scorpionfish, turtle, and teardrop butterfly fish.

Monday:
Neverland was the location of our first dive and the talk after was of a bandit angelfish, Hawaiian spotted toby, and a Hawaiian spicy cucumber. Hive was the location of dive number two. The guests remembered a leaf scorpionfish, dragon wrasse, and a reef lizardfish. Rob's Reef was the last spot of the day. Spotted here were a large green lobster, sculptured slipper lobster, humpback and marbled shrimp, giant moray, rainbow swimmer crabs, octopus, dragon wrasse, peacock razor wrasse, and a convex crab.

Tuesday:
Paradise Pinnacle was the location of the first two dives of the day. The highlights were turtle, white tip reef shark, red-stripped pipefish, and a long nose hawkfish.
Amphitheater was the next stop with a large frogfish, eagle ray, and a few Potter's angelfish being the highlights. Manta Ville was the last stop for the day and it was large schools of raccoon butterfly fish and chevron butterfly fish, oval butterfly fish, and two red spot nudibranchs that were the highlight of the dusk dive. The night was left to two mantas that performed for our divers.

Wednesday:
Kalakos Arches was the site for the first two dives. The highlights were an octopus, frogfish, and ‘Chucky’ the chunky turtle!!! Garden Eel Cove was the last stop for the day. The talk after the dives were of a white margin nudibranch, long fin anthias, Hawaiian knife fish, and a day octopus. On the night dive we had mantas and three bottlenose dolphins for our guests.

Thursday:
Aquarium was our first site and here we spotted pennant butterfly fish, millet seed butterfly fish, dragon wrasses, turtles, spotted boxfish, magnificent snake eel, and pufferfish. Turtle Pinnacle was our next spot and our quest actually saw a bunch of eels. Next up was Pelagic Magic and again it was a hit with our guests who came back saying it was a dive they won't soon forget.

Friday:
Naked Lady was the first dive of the day. With the favorite being the chirping domino damselfish found on the dive. Predator was our final dive site and here our guests enjoyed doing a dive with the Atlantis submarine cruising by, and they also saw large schools of Mu's.

A big ‘Mahalo’ from your Kona crew. You guys were a non-stop riot!!!
Captain Karl