Oahu shore diving?

[Banyan]

I will be on Oahu on a work trip at the end of this month and am bringing along my scuba gear, hoping to get in at least one day of diving during the weekend of the 19th. I do mostly shore diving here on Guam and was hoping that there was something similar to what my LDS does - in which they provide a free beach dive guide and you just buy/rent gear and air. However, it seems that on Hawaii you have to pay the shops to do beach dives, and beach dives are nearly as expensive as boat dives. Is this right? Seems like there's very little incentive for visitors to do shore dives...

On the odd chance that there is a regular beach dive group out there, I'd be delighted to tag along. I'm a DM candidate with over 200 dives, about 90% of which are shore dives.

Oh, another question: I recently bought a 0.5mm skin to retain a bit of warmth since I started getting chilled on the long, slow dives here in 83 degree water. Am I going to die of hypothermia in Hawaii?

Many thanks.

 

[scottitheduck]

Hey Banyan.....

With the exception of the summer months, shore diving can be a bit tough on this island. Surf and wind are something we check on a semi-daily and almost hourly basis. That being said, shore diving can be done. With the exception of Electric Beach some sites are very tough to navigate from shore. It's best to link up with someone with some history of the dive sites.

If you have no luck there, we do offer daily boat dives. And YES. I think you will find 73 degrees a whole lot colder than 83. Bring a 3mm or a 5mm (or rent one).

Hope this helps.....

G

 

[scottitheduck]

oops... double post.

 

[Banyan]

Hey Banyan.....

With the exception of the summer months, shore diving can be a bit tough on this island. Surf and wind are something we check on a semi-daily and almost hourly basis. That being said, shore diving can be done. With the exception of Electric Beach some sites are very tough to navigate from shore. It's best to link up with someone with some history of the dive sites.

If you have no luck there, we do offer daily boat dives. And YES. I think you will find 73 degrees a whole lot colder than 83. Bring a 3mm or a 5mm (or rent one).

Hope this helps.....

G

Thanks for the info Gabe. The nice thing about considering yourself a shore diver is that in the worst case you have to suffer through being pampered on a boat. It's a tough life. I'll be sure to check you out if the shore diving doesn't work out.

 

[scottitheduck]

Roger that.....

Might want to pick up a copy of Carvalho's Shore Diving book:

Amazon.com: The O'ahu Snorkelers and Shore Divers Guide (9780824826468): Francisco B. de Carvalho: Books

G

 

[cwkline]

Aloha,
Did a dive today with Kirk (Banyan). We dove Kahe Point, with less than ideal conditions. Visibility was marginal, surf was building. We opted for a single dive.
Even with conditions as they were, we managed to see a good fair amount of critters.
Best part of the dive was the young Monk Seal on the beach when we exited. Made the day!
Must say that Kirk was a pleasure to dive with, and I hope he can make it back for more dives.
Here is link to the photos from today.
MobileMe Gallery

 

[scottitheduck]

Great Pictures of the Monk Seal..... Though I'm sure someone will chime in "You are too close!" Hard not to snap some photos though, they are just so photogenic. You guys seen this blog?

MonkSealMania.blogspot.com

G

 

[Banyan]

Ah finally back home with real access to to my SB account.

Many thanks to cwkline for taking me out. He thought it was a marginal dive, but I had a blast with urchin, nudibranch, and moray eel species that you don't see on Guam. Not to mention the whale song and monk seal as we were exiting. Looking forward to my next trip!