Oahu Beginner Shore Dive Recommendations

[HarveyO]

:14: Having gotten certified during this last Winter, I've confined my diving to the South Side / Boat Dives. With Spring arriving I'm getting anxious to begin shore diving. I realize I need to learn a couple of things about getting in and out of the surf.

What recommendations might you make re: locations on Oahu that would be relatively easy to enter and exit the water, that could be used as intro / training dives?

 

[chepar]

With Spring arriving I'm getting anxious to begin shore diving. I realize I need to learn a couple of things about getting in and out of the surf.

What recommendations might you make re: locations on Oahu that would be relatively easy to enter and exit the water, that could be used as intro / training dives?

The easiest shore dive that I know of is Three Tables - and that's why it's my favorite one. However, the other common North Shore dives - Firehouse, Shark's Cove, Haleiwa Trench - those are all pretty easy too. The surf may not be regularly flat enough yet to guarantee diveable conditions - by May it should be pretty flat on a consistent basis.

Electric Beach is also pretty easy, but for reasons having to do with the security (or lack thereof) in the parking lot, I haven't done much diving there in a couple years.

 

[HarveyO]

Thanks for the reply. After all I've read about E Beach on this board, I don't think I'll dive it before I can drive there in an armored car with a big dog in it.

 

[HarveyO]

I notice a number of dive classes entering off the side of the road going into Waimanalo just after the Ocean Research Pier. Has anyone experience with this location?

 

[ch0ppersrule]

nothing to see there. i did my tired diver tow there and we only stayed down long enough to make it a dive. Not too deep either. watch out for the human feces floating around. it was there when we went (2 yrs. ago) and people have said they have seen the feces there also (within the last 5 months). I like E. beach myself and we have never had any problems. When it is full of divers, I have never heard of anyone's car getting broke into. Now if you go and your car is one of the few in the lot there "might" be problems. We are hoping there is someplace decent to dive this weekend. Haven't been in the water since January. How are the tanks working out for ya?

Melissa

 

[chepar]

watch out for the human feces floating around. it was there when we went (2 yrs. ago) and people have said they have seen the feces there also (within the last 5 months).

EEEEEEEEWWWWW!!!!!!!

I haven't heard about that before - what's up with that? Are there no public restroom facilities around?

 

[www.scubamazing.com]

I love, LOVE! Shark's Cove.
3 tables is pretty great too. and it's probably a little easier to get down to the ocean.

 

[VBlueV]

electric-beach (aka kahe-point) is an excellent dive.

* it's a shallow dive to 30 ft (40 ft if you try) so your bottom time can be over an hour.
* tons of fish (including the scrawled-filefish [one of my favs right now]) plus large schools of snapper, soldiers, and porcupine fish.
* numerous giant turtles (some really old ones 5-feet long)
* multiple pods of dolphins. just a few weeks ago, we saw 3 pods (approx 24+) while we were underwater... and of course during the surface-interval they were all doing their sea-world show, jumpin' up out of the water performing spinners, etc.
* and if you kick a bit (heading 300° from the 2nd set of pots) you can go see the white-tip reef sharks in the "the shark-cave". one morning we saw 2 of them circling around us (a 6 and 5-footer), needless to say, we melded with and became one with the reef =\
*just dive it on saturdays or sundays when there's an OW class going on. some of the outfits actually post a "sentry" ("diver-joe-volunteer") by the cars to baby-sit, while their divers are in the water.

 

[HarveyO]

Thank you all for these geat tips. I can't wait to dive E Beach. Melissa I haven't used the tanks yet, but I think real soon. For now I'm sticking with boat dives until flatter water and less sewerage.

 

[Hawaii Scuba Divers]

We do dives at E Beach and would be glad for you to join us..