DukeAMO
Contributor
Drat, I had a typo in the thread title and can't fix it now. Waianae!
Kaimana Divers: This is a smaller operation than most I dive with. Gabe, the owner, was excellent at communicating with me before and during our trip, so props for that. We really liked the instructors who were our guides too (Kevin and Denise), and the captain on the Nacho. They were also nice enough to rinse our gear for us and bring it from Waikiki to Waianae for us. The boats were not that great. The six-pack Nacho was undergoing repairs, so it didn't have a sun shade on it, which made for a hot day with no shelter from the sun, and it had minor engine trouble on the way back, so it took longer for us to get back to the dock. I forget the name of the second boat. It was huge for the 4 customers and one instructor diving, but the captain showed up an hour late, so we all sat in the hot sun at the dock for an hour waiting for him.
Waikiki, May 8th:
I love the views from the Waikiki side of the island.
Advanced morning dive - Sand Tiger Wreck
Visibility: 100+ feet, Bottom temperature: 77 degrees, Air
Boat dive, no waves, current, or surge to speak of
Max depth 97 feet, multilevel, 33 minutes
The Sand Tiger is an artificial reef that was intentionally sunk. It has an interesting history, if you want to look it up. It's in about 120fsw, so we stayed up and around the decks. Two large sea turtles were sleeping near the stern where we dropped down. We saw a nudibranch, a sea cucumber, purple coral, schooling yellow and white striped fish, trumped/cornet fish, moorish idols, yellow and black and convict tang, and an active cleaning station with purple and gold cleaner wrasse.
Second morning dive - Nautilus Reef
Visibility: 50 feet, Bottom temperature: 77 degrees, Air
Boat dive, no waves, moderate surge
Max depth 42 feet, multilevel, 33 minutes
John and I really wanted to see sharks, so we went to a reef where a couple of white-tipped reef sharks like to hang out, and we did see two of them sleeping under ledges. Yay! We also saw a sea turtle, lots of urchins (mostly the large black ones), nice corals, spotted boxfish, parrot fish, trumpet fish, yellow and black tang, moorish idols, angelfish, a green moray eel and spotted moray eel, and invertebrates with very large shells (volleyball-sized and grayish - maybe someone can give me the name).
---------- Post added May 17th, 2014 at 01:44 PM ----------
Waianae, May 9th:
The views from Waianae are also gorgeous.
Advanced morning dive - Mahi Wreck
Visibility: 200 feet, Bottom temperature: 77 degrees, Air
Boat dive, small waves, pretty strong current near the surface, but not much on the wreck
Max depth 94 feet, multilevel, 33 minutes
This is an impressive wreck! It was a WWII minelayer purpose-sunk in about 95fsw. The bow section is at a 45 degree angle, the midsection has some dangling parts, and the stern section is level. It's known as a favorite hangout for spotted eagle rays, and it did not disappoint. We saw a couple of eagle rays just as we started our descent, and a flock of about six or seven of them a couple of times during the dive. We also saw a spotted moray eel, yellow and convict tang, colorful surgeonfish, angelfish, butterflyfish, moorish idols, pretty triggerfish, urchins, and a nice cleaning station with purple and yellow wrasse. There were large spotted boxfish too. This wreck is really teeming with life. It's my favorite wreck so far.
Second morning dive - Makaha airplane wreck / reef
Visibility: 100+ feet, Bottom temperature: 77 degrees, Air
Boat dive, tiny waves, moderate surge and current
Max depth 73 feet, multilevel, 35 minutes
One of our fellow divers really wanted to see the airplane wreck, so we chose this location. This site also has a healthy coral reef and some interesting Z pilings that sometimes harbor sharks (but not this day). The airplane was purpose-sunk, and it has largely disintegrated. We saw a pretty white-and-navy nudibranch. There were some very nice coral heads, with all of the common Hawaiian fish mentioned in my previous posts. We saw a nice big flounder swimming and then hiding in the sand. At the safety stop, we tried to get the hang of Kevin's trick of making bubble rings by pushing exhaust bubbles down and then snapping our fists apart.
Kaimana Divers: This is a smaller operation than most I dive with. Gabe, the owner, was excellent at communicating with me before and during our trip, so props for that. We really liked the instructors who were our guides too (Kevin and Denise), and the captain on the Nacho. They were also nice enough to rinse our gear for us and bring it from Waikiki to Waianae for us. The boats were not that great. The six-pack Nacho was undergoing repairs, so it didn't have a sun shade on it, which made for a hot day with no shelter from the sun, and it had minor engine trouble on the way back, so it took longer for us to get back to the dock. I forget the name of the second boat. It was huge for the 4 customers and one instructor diving, but the captain showed up an hour late, so we all sat in the hot sun at the dock for an hour waiting for him.
Waikiki, May 8th:
I love the views from the Waikiki side of the island.
Advanced morning dive - Sand Tiger Wreck
Visibility: 100+ feet, Bottom temperature: 77 degrees, Air
Boat dive, no waves, current, or surge to speak of
Max depth 97 feet, multilevel, 33 minutes
The Sand Tiger is an artificial reef that was intentionally sunk. It has an interesting history, if you want to look it up. It's in about 120fsw, so we stayed up and around the decks. Two large sea turtles were sleeping near the stern where we dropped down. We saw a nudibranch, a sea cucumber, purple coral, schooling yellow and white striped fish, trumped/cornet fish, moorish idols, yellow and black and convict tang, and an active cleaning station with purple and gold cleaner wrasse.
Second morning dive - Nautilus Reef
Visibility: 50 feet, Bottom temperature: 77 degrees, Air
Boat dive, no waves, moderate surge
Max depth 42 feet, multilevel, 33 minutes
John and I really wanted to see sharks, so we went to a reef where a couple of white-tipped reef sharks like to hang out, and we did see two of them sleeping under ledges. Yay! We also saw a sea turtle, lots of urchins (mostly the large black ones), nice corals, spotted boxfish, parrot fish, trumpet fish, yellow and black tang, moorish idols, angelfish, a green moray eel and spotted moray eel, and invertebrates with very large shells (volleyball-sized and grayish - maybe someone can give me the name).
---------- Post added May 17th, 2014 at 01:44 PM ----------
Waianae, May 9th:
The views from Waianae are also gorgeous.
Advanced morning dive - Mahi Wreck
Visibility: 200 feet, Bottom temperature: 77 degrees, Air
Boat dive, small waves, pretty strong current near the surface, but not much on the wreck
Max depth 94 feet, multilevel, 33 minutes
This is an impressive wreck! It was a WWII minelayer purpose-sunk in about 95fsw. The bow section is at a 45 degree angle, the midsection has some dangling parts, and the stern section is level. It's known as a favorite hangout for spotted eagle rays, and it did not disappoint. We saw a couple of eagle rays just as we started our descent, and a flock of about six or seven of them a couple of times during the dive. We also saw a spotted moray eel, yellow and convict tang, colorful surgeonfish, angelfish, butterflyfish, moorish idols, pretty triggerfish, urchins, and a nice cleaning station with purple and yellow wrasse. There were large spotted boxfish too. This wreck is really teeming with life. It's my favorite wreck so far.
Second morning dive - Makaha airplane wreck / reef
Visibility: 100+ feet, Bottom temperature: 77 degrees, Air
Boat dive, tiny waves, moderate surge and current
Max depth 73 feet, multilevel, 35 minutes
One of our fellow divers really wanted to see the airplane wreck, so we chose this location. This site also has a healthy coral reef and some interesting Z pilings that sometimes harbor sharks (but not this day). The airplane was purpose-sunk, and it has largely disintegrated. We saw a pretty white-and-navy nudibranch. There were some very nice coral heads, with all of the common Hawaiian fish mentioned in my previous posts. We saw a nice big flounder swimming and then hiding in the sand. At the safety stop, we tried to get the hang of Kevin's trick of making bubble rings by pushing exhaust bubbles down and then snapping our fists apart.
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