Hawaii - Diving

This photo was taken off the north tip of Moloka'i. It was a rotten day on the surface (cold, windy, moderate swells and darkly cloudy.) But the water was great ... warm, clear, deep and we were looking for sharks. In this photo, we had turned our back on the island and were swimming straight out into deep blue water. It's a little disorienting because the water is the same color in every direction (except up, where you can see your bubbles reach the surface 70 feet above.) We kept careful track of our depth using our ears as a primary depth gauge and the real depth gauge in our instrument pack as a more accurate back-up reference.

Still on the Moloka'i dive we began to notice sharks around us but at a distance ... just at the limits of our visibility: Gray Reef Sharks; White-tipped Reef Sharks; and Galapagos Sharks. Then we looked down to the bottom, about 20 feet below us at this point, and saw this magnificent hammerhead, an eight footer, which circled below us for a bit.

Still on the Moloka'i dive we began to notice sharks around us but at a distance ... just at the limits of our visibility: Gray Reef Sharks; White-tipped Reef Sharks; and Galapagos Sharks. Then we looked down to the bottom, about 20 feet below us at this point, and saw this magnificent hammerhead, an eight footer, which circled below us for a bit.

Still on the Moloka'i dive we began to notice sharks around us but at a distance ... just at the limits of our visibility: Gray Reef Sharks; White-tipped Reef Sharks; and Galapagos Sharks. Then we looked down to the bottom, about 20 feet below us at this point, and saw this magnificent hammerhead, an eight footer, which circled below us for a bit. And then it began to show some curiosity in us. An eight foot hammerhead's curiosity is not something I would normally welcome but this one left us alone. It was a neat dive, and for us, probably a once in a lifetime experience.

Turtles: Are curious. Well most marine life bigger than us is curious too, but this big guy practically ran us over in his curiosity.

Turtles: These guys normally hold their breath for about 5 minutes between trips to the surface to breath. So one trick is to find one on the bottom and wait ti out. Which we did here. This strategy doesn't always work, because some turtles can hold their breath for more than an hour ... more time than we typically have air in our tanks at this depth.

Turtles: In this photo, this monster looks bigger than a submarine. He was about 5 feet long and from the tips of his feet about 6 feet across.

On two of our dives, we dove the wreck of the Carthaginian. It's an old two-masted sailing vessel lying in 100 feet of water south of the town of Lahaina. The top of the wheelhouse is at 80 feet. And the top of the mast is about 30 feet. Diving is said to occur in the "silent" world. Ain't true. Bubbles from our SCUBA regulator are loud in our ears ... but surprisingly when I am between breaths, I cannot hear the bubles from fellow divers. If I want to attract the attention of another diver, i could try yelling into my regulator. Doesn't work. The only thing that seems to work is tapping the butt of a dive knife on my SCUBA tank. The clang is enough to attract attention. What you can hear in these waters is very loud whale song. It is easily heard, loud, clear, and seemingly ever changing.

On two of our dives, we dove the wreck of the Carthaginian. It's an old two-masted sailing vessel lying in 100 feet of water south of the town of Lahaina. The top of the wheelhouse is at 80 feet. And the top of the mast is about 30 feet. It's a fun dive because the wreck has become a habitat for lots of neat fish.

On two of our dives, we dove the wreck of the Carthaginian. It's an old two-masted sailing vessel lying in 100 feet of water south of the town of Lahaina. The top of the wheelhouse is at 80 feet. And the top of the mast is about 30 feet. I am sitting on the sandy bottom looking back to the top of the first mast ... a distance of about 100 - 150 feet.

On two of our dives, we dove the wreck of the Carthaginian. It's an old two-masted sailing vessel lying in 100 feet of water south of the town of Lahaina. The top of the wheelhouse is at 80 feet. And the top of the mast is about 30 feet. It turns out that this same wreck is on the viewing program of a tourist submarine that operates here. It's probably called Atlantis, but I'm guessing, and it brings about 30 people to our depth to see the wreck, the fish, and on today's excursion a bunch of divers. One of them swims up to the bubble window and writes on his dive slate, "Next time, try SCUBA!" and shows it to the folks inside – who look horrified at the prospect. Their loss. The slate has the logo of our dive outfit, Lahaina Divers. No way to avoid advertising ... even 100 feet below the surface of the Pacific.

Snorkeling: This picture and many others here werre taken while snorkeling. There's lots to see even without SCUBA and much of the best stuff is withing snorkel range of the surface.

Snorkeling: This picture and many others here werre taken while snorkeling. There's lots to see even without SCUBA and much of the best stuff is withing snorkel range of the surface. There are lots of urchins at this depth and shallower. Their sharp spines will stab clear into a foot or hand so be alert. Most are all black, but many were in this neat stripped configuration.

Diving: The water above us filters out sunlight starting with yellows, and reds and greens ... saving blues for last. . But the flash from the camera reveals this fish's true colors. Without the flash, it would have looked a dull gray like the others you can see.

Snorkeling: Because we are very close to the surface, most of these Angel Fish retain their true colors.

Snorkeling: Again close to the surface. There are as many designs for fish as anyone might want.

Snorkeling: I'm not sure what kind of fish this guy is, but we have two photos of him (her.)

Snorkeling: I'm not sure what kind of fish this guy is, but we have two photos of him (her.)

Snorkeling: I'm not sure what kind of fish this guy is, either. But until we got the photos off the camera and into the computer, i would have sworn he was the same brand as the previous two.

Snorkeling: Yet another fish. They're all over the place!

Snorkeling: Yet another fish. They're all over the place!

Diving: We spent two dives in the wreckage of a pier in about 30 feet of water, sometimes less. Built by the Corp of Engineers with ocean sand and salt water to mix the concrete. Not a good idea ... didn't last ... the pier collapsed. But it's a wonderful habitat for fish including sharks, an easy swim from shore.

Diving: I love these little guys. They are about 3 - 5 inches long but easy to spot in shallow water because of theri bright colors.

Diving: Here's a better view of my little friend.