JWard
Registered
In May, 2011 my wife and I met a diving buddy in Hawaii for a diving vacation. First on our agenda was to call Gabe at Kaimana Divers (808-772-1795) to set us up with some great diving. We lined up the 10-dive package with him and got our gear ready.
On 05/16/11 we met Gabe at the dive boat in the downtown Honolulu area. The dive boat was a catamaran style and is very stable in the water. Gabe brought our tanks and weights and even had a wetsuit for my wife.
The wreck we dove was the Sea Tiger, and our maximum depth was around 100. Its a very short ride out from the harbor like 10 minutes. The wreck is fantastic! There is lots of sea life ranging from huge, resident turtles to tiny nudibranchs. We swam through a few passageways including the pilot house.
Our second dive was on the Kewalo Pipe and Horseshoe reef. Gabe knows his way around these sites like a New York Cabbie knows the streets of Manhattan. He found whatever critters we told him we were interested in. I think our favorite was the octopus he convinced to come out and pose for some pictures.
The second day we met Gabe up the leeward coast in the Waiane Small Boat Harbor to dive from the dive boat The Beach. The captain and crew were amazing friendly, helpful, knowledgeable, funny, and they brought sandwiches for everyone!
The dive site was the wreck of the Mahi and again a pretty short ride out (max depth of about 88 feet). Gabe told us that this was his favorite wreck and we quickly saw why. Its a fantastic wreck with lots of life. My personal highlight was getting two spotted eagle rays on video!
After the wreck dive we hit Makaha Canyons, a nearby reef. There were arches, swim-throughs, caverns, crevices, and cracks here. What a fun site! The highlight for me was the 5-foot white tip reef shark we found.
The third day we were back downtown to dive the Sea Tiger again. This time Drew was our guide and he did a fantastic job! Drew and Gabe both exhibit amazing diving skills and know their sites, the ecology, and history well.
After the Sea Tiger we toured the Horseshoe Reef again, but this time covering different ground. Drew pointed out two very small Hawaiian Lion Fish hiding in coral. Fantastic!
On day four we dove from the south side of the island to see the Corsair. This is one of my favorite dives ever. I dove the Corsair with Gabe in 2008 and have been dreaming of coming back. The dive was even better than my dreams!
Gabe arranged a small boat to take his group of 5 divers to the Corsair we had the entire dive site to ourselves! The site is relatively deep at 106 feet, so our time was short. Having just us on the dive site gave us ample time to get pictures and videos. This is a magical site!
After the Corsair we went to nearby Keano Reef, also known as Schmiddys Reef. This is a deeper reef at around 70 feet, and had lots of eels and octopuses.
On our last day we left from the downtown area again with Drew and went to a double wreck site, the YO-257 and San Pedro. The wrecks lie just 50 yards apart so we were able to dive both in the same dive. Our maximum depth was 93 with lots of superstructure at shallower depths so we could really extend our dive time.
After the wrecks we dove Turtle Canyon, which is very appropriately named. There were turtles everywhere, from small to very large. A few boats full of snorkelers had tied up on the shallow end of the reef so they too cold see the turtles that came up for a breath. The snorkelers were not in our way though.
After our last of the 10 dive package we knew we werent done! We booked another day with Gabe.
We had one final, glorious dive with the Sea tiger where Gabe found a huge frog fish hanging upside down. We took lots of pictures and shot some video of this fantastic fish.
Gabe knew we had been to Horseshoe a few times already, so he asked the captain if we could check out nautilus Reef instead. Im so glad we did! There were four octopuses on that dive, plus two small white tip sharks (among lots of other awesome critters).
Gabe and Drew are fantastic divers, great leaders, tons of fun to be around, and the epitome of professionals. We cant wait to get back to Oahu and dive with these guys again!
Gabe Scotti
(808) 772 1795
Kaimana Divers: SCUBA Diving in Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, Waikiki
On 05/16/11 we met Gabe at the dive boat in the downtown Honolulu area. The dive boat was a catamaran style and is very stable in the water. Gabe brought our tanks and weights and even had a wetsuit for my wife.
The wreck we dove was the Sea Tiger, and our maximum depth was around 100. Its a very short ride out from the harbor like 10 minutes. The wreck is fantastic! There is lots of sea life ranging from huge, resident turtles to tiny nudibranchs. We swam through a few passageways including the pilot house.
Our second dive was on the Kewalo Pipe and Horseshoe reef. Gabe knows his way around these sites like a New York Cabbie knows the streets of Manhattan. He found whatever critters we told him we were interested in. I think our favorite was the octopus he convinced to come out and pose for some pictures.
The second day we met Gabe up the leeward coast in the Waiane Small Boat Harbor to dive from the dive boat The Beach. The captain and crew were amazing friendly, helpful, knowledgeable, funny, and they brought sandwiches for everyone!
The dive site was the wreck of the Mahi and again a pretty short ride out (max depth of about 88 feet). Gabe told us that this was his favorite wreck and we quickly saw why. Its a fantastic wreck with lots of life. My personal highlight was getting two spotted eagle rays on video!
After the wreck dive we hit Makaha Canyons, a nearby reef. There were arches, swim-throughs, caverns, crevices, and cracks here. What a fun site! The highlight for me was the 5-foot white tip reef shark we found.
The third day we were back downtown to dive the Sea Tiger again. This time Drew was our guide and he did a fantastic job! Drew and Gabe both exhibit amazing diving skills and know their sites, the ecology, and history well.
After the Sea Tiger we toured the Horseshoe Reef again, but this time covering different ground. Drew pointed out two very small Hawaiian Lion Fish hiding in coral. Fantastic!
On day four we dove from the south side of the island to see the Corsair. This is one of my favorite dives ever. I dove the Corsair with Gabe in 2008 and have been dreaming of coming back. The dive was even better than my dreams!
Gabe arranged a small boat to take his group of 5 divers to the Corsair we had the entire dive site to ourselves! The site is relatively deep at 106 feet, so our time was short. Having just us on the dive site gave us ample time to get pictures and videos. This is a magical site!
After the Corsair we went to nearby Keano Reef, also known as Schmiddys Reef. This is a deeper reef at around 70 feet, and had lots of eels and octopuses.
On our last day we left from the downtown area again with Drew and went to a double wreck site, the YO-257 and San Pedro. The wrecks lie just 50 yards apart so we were able to dive both in the same dive. Our maximum depth was 93 with lots of superstructure at shallower depths so we could really extend our dive time.
After the wrecks we dove Turtle Canyon, which is very appropriately named. There were turtles everywhere, from small to very large. A few boats full of snorkelers had tied up on the shallow end of the reef so they too cold see the turtles that came up for a breath. The snorkelers were not in our way though.
After our last of the 10 dive package we knew we werent done! We booked another day with Gabe.
We had one final, glorious dive with the Sea tiger where Gabe found a huge frog fish hanging upside down. We took lots of pictures and shot some video of this fantastic fish.
Gabe knew we had been to Horseshoe a few times already, so he asked the captain if we could check out nautilus Reef instead. Im so glad we did! There were four octopuses on that dive, plus two small white tip sharks (among lots of other awesome critters).
Gabe and Drew are fantastic divers, great leaders, tons of fun to be around, and the epitome of professionals. We cant wait to get back to Oahu and dive with these guys again!
Gabe Scotti
(808) 772 1795
Kaimana Divers: SCUBA Diving in Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, Waikiki
