Super Bowl Dives.. Channel Bump

[VBlueV]

sunrise Sunday.. so's we could get back before kick-off..

Hickam Marina at dawn..

me, DaveB (bcyber), DaveR (BadHatHarry), and Lonnie went out on the Emmy-Lou.
first dive was at another new site we found dubbed "Tic-Tac-Toe" for three on-shore fixes that were all in a row.
cool topography and variety of wildlife including this Titan Scorpionfish DaveB found out in the open..
'til i accidentally scared it deep under a ledge.. my bad

then i found this White Mouth Moray half-way out of its hole..


the next site wasn't new.. but new to us.. "Channel Bump".. just outside the Hickam outer buoys.
WOW! is all i could say.. beautiful site.. great 100+ viz.. like swimming in an aquarium!

btw.. how many divers does it take to get a good picture of a sea-slug

and, here's a Plate-Coral..

and a video of the "Turtle Club" (coral mound with at least a dozen giant turtles)..


Mahalo for viewing..
J.J.

click for full slideshow..

 

[scubadrewvideo]

Nice Jay!

 

[ScubaAndDreams]

Nice! We enjoyed a deep ledge on the west side, didn't make it back in time for kick off though. That temp-crown on that molar healed fast.

 

[VBlueV]

lol.. our max depth was barely 50fsw.. not 220fsw like all y'alls..
dentist said i shouldn't do any deeeeeep dives 'til after.

 

[deeper thoughts]

Very nice

 

[ThatsSomeBadHatHarry]

Cool photos and vids JJ.
I have a few photos from that day. I want to do some more exploring over there.

Whitemouth.

Some imperials.

one of many turtles...

Sea monsters exist.

 

[Blazinator]

I looked at all 20 of your videos JJ - real cool. I've been prepping for a business trip to Oahu in mid may, and bought Francis Carvahlo's (sp?) book on shore dives on Oahu and have been curious what I might really see, so your posts are great.

I am really looking forward to seeing my first nudibranch (also white tips, various Morays, and a whole lotta other critters for that matter!).

I am installing a mobile of color-changing reef fish at the new Shriners Hospital in Honolulu, and its gonna take two whole weeks to install , so I hope to hit some sites like these.

 

[VBlueV]

Dave.. great macro on the Imperial tails!

Blaze.. the Shore Diving book is really good.. we use it a lot.. accurate, detailed maps.
This website has good color photos/aerials of the sites too..
Scuba Shore Diving Site Listing for: Oahu, Hawaiian Islands

PM us when you get to town.. maybe we could join you on a shore dive.

 

[lonniehammack]

Okay, finally got around to working on my pictures. Here are a few. I think we should call the first dive site -- Port Royal Reef -- very close if not same site. Rest of pics at http://hammack.sugarsync.com/albums/thumb/104673_70196

Ballieu's Scorpionfish (hard to photograph because they stay deep in the coral)

Tiger Cowries

Spotted Eagle Ray

Undulated Moray & Pipefish

http://hammack.sugarsync.com/photos/hammack/104673_70227/47533369520_n_0_1272x691.jpg

Yellowmargin Moray crammed in a small hole

http://hammack.sugarsync.com/slideshow/104673_70196?swidth=1280&sheight=800&startSlideNum=1

 

[VBlueV]

nice Tiger Cowrie composition Lonnie!
'like how your photo shows the different designs/patterns from shell to shell.

good shot of the Eagle Ray too! you must've descended back to the sea-floor from our safety-stop to get that one.

..I think we should call the first dive site -- Port Royal Reef -- very close if not same site..

yeah.. me and bcyber actually drove over the "Port Royal Reef" on Presidents' Day.. our "Turtle Mountain" was 0.17 miles west of the grounding site.. very close. but, they were kind enough to leave a dozen orange/yellow buoys marking the forensic outline where the ship was last week. we took a look.. but didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.. 'course we hadn't seen how it was before.. so, no reference for comparison.

we were going to dive Port Royal Reef.. but it was just too shallow.
so, here's some photos back at Turtle Mountain and then again Channel Bump where we ended up..

rare to get a decent flying face-on shot of a Giant Turtle..

Green Lion.. 'like when you can capture the lightning-strike in its eye..

speaking of eyes.. got both eyes of a Tako in this shot..

a cool blue fish amongst some red coral.. (maybe someone could help ID?)

sound collision! still tons-o-turtles on Turtle Mountain!

mahalo!