Scuba Diving Vacations

Yesterday evening we had some thunder rolling in from the south of where I live down above Kealakekua Bay. We didn't get a drop of rain. When I got to the boat today down at Honokohau Harbor, it was obvious it had rained. Bob and the customers said there had been quite a bit of rain last night, even up Haupna Beach way. The thunderstorms were beginning again up mauka at the end of our day today.

We've been running dives the last couple of days. One of the passengers is working on their Advanced Open Water class with Bob. AOW is an interesting class in that it is for certified divers and we can generally run it in the course of our regular dive schedule. It takes 5 dives, with deep and navigation dives being required and then 3 elective dives done to complete the Advanced certification. It basically is an exposure to different aspects of diving without a lot of extra expense or time, as long as you are committed to doing at least 5 dives.

Highlights of the last couple of days were a frogfish, 2 sharks, several nudibranchs, a great barracuda, garden eels, several large moray eels, a coral banded shrimp Bob said is by far the largest he'd ever seen (thick as his thumb), turtles, as well as lots of the other critters we see all the time.

The pic above is of an adult Hawaiian Domino Damsel (Dascyllus albisella). The juveniles are solid black with a white upside down teardrop on the side. These fish generally cluster around larger coral heads. They are interesting in that they chirp when divers get in their territory, sort of like a quick high pitched dove. You have to specifically listen for them, but it will be obvious if you are listening.

Later,

Steve