Turtle Canyon, Oahu, HI
Fourth Hawaii Dive - First Boat Dive
We wanted to try a boat dive, and Rebecca felt her ears would be able to make it, so we booked one with Island Divers, who had been recommended by Dolphin Scuba here in Sacramento. We called them up, intending to go to the shop, but they were on Hickum Air Force base and it would have been a hassle to get there. So we booked it over the phone.
They picked us up from the hotel, which was nice, and took us out to the marina. They are in the process of opening a shop next to the dock, but were still painting it so it wasn't ready. But they loaded all our gear onto the boat (the Nori Z, captained by Captain Joe), and we found that we would be diving with Bill and Cameron, a father and son who were finishing up their basic open water dives for certification, and Baret and Yvette, a young couple from the Monterey area here in California. The dive master for the two students would be Ken, and ours would be Kris, a girl young enough to be my daughter (probably) and already a dive master. Sigh.
I mentioned I was an air hog, and would probably run out of air first, and Ken, the other dive master, told me they call us ASD's. (Air Sucking Dogs.) :-) Sigh.
Somewhere in here Rebecca and I were having a discussion on age, probably prompted by the lack of it in our dive master, but at one point Rebecca asked me how old I was. Kris got a really funny look on her face, the "what kind of question is that for someone to ask her husband?" look. We've seen it before, we've been mistaken for a couple while diving a few times. Kris said "So... how do you guys know each other?" and Rebecca filled her in on our standing, and that our spouses and kids were out running around. I had to mention that here cuz it always cracks me up. I suppose I should also point out that I had made the same assumption about Baret and Yvette, however I was later proven correct in that. :-)
Anyway, Captain Joe finally showed up (he works off "Aloha Time" :-) and we took off out to the first of our sites, called Turtle Canyon. It only took a few minutes to get there. I think it's about where the "a" in "East Side" is in the island graphic above. (Which is also a link to Island Divers.) (Which is where I got the graphic. :-) We tied off to a line that was anchored there, got a briefing from both dive masters, and hit the water. We were to get in at the back of the boat, and pull ourselves around to the front on a rope tied there. We did, and had gotten in first so Rebecca could start her descent before everyone else in case her ears acted up. Good thing, cuz I was on the surface hyperventelating just a bit, partly cuz of the cold and partly cuz I don't know why, I do that sometimes. Maybe if I got in shape... naaa.
Eventually we all got down, and swam around the area. No turtles, but lots of fish. Lots of coral and sand, too. Kris was watching us (probably cuz I had a little trouble getting down), but we were ok. Then Baret lost his camera, and was apparently searching for it on the bottom. Cameras float, because the housings are full of air, but he didn't realize that. Kris went and got him, took him up so she could explain all this, then they came back down and continued the dive.
Eventually I did start running low on air, so Kris led Rebecca and me back to the line to the boat. We started up, and she went off after Baret and Yvette. We got up and started switching our gear to the other tanks for the second dive, and Kris came up alone. She couldn't find the other divers! She was half angry and half terrified. Then one of the other dive boats in the area called and said they had picked them up. Kris was relieved and a little miffed. :-) When they got back to our boat, she gave them a nice lecture on staying with their group. :-)
It all turned out well, the other boat had even picked up Baret's camera. We took off for our second location.
The picture of where I think we were is from Google Earth
Kris posted her own
report on the dive,
though it seems to be missing right now.|
The next dive in the Hawaii series: Koko Craters Email me! Back to Scuba Main Page Back to Home Page |