That’s right, we saw em today on a beautiful afternoon in Waikiki….

Too bad they were 1/2 mile away! You could certainly make out the pair of spouts though, so keep your fingers crossed and maybe we’ll see em underwater like we did last year!

It’s been an amazing week or so of diving. Starting with Eli coming out from Oregon (Go DUCKS!) to finish up his Open Water course last Friday. Eli dived again on Sunday with his sister Megan and Kaimana ninjas Jay and Anna.

We had another Oregon connection with Brooke and Vicki (Portland natives) diving with Sean’s friend Jane on Saturday. These guys were diving for the first time and were stoked to see all the turtles!

Into the week saw Kan and Susan, both Cali kids diving to the Seatiger wreck. Last night we headed out for a night dive with Kelli and Bruce, Brian, Larry and Jamie… Big thanks to the Moemac for getting the night dive together!

And finally, on a picture perfect Oahu day I had the joy of taking Anna out with her Dad Tom and brother Judd. These guys got a great set of dives with turtles, octopus and some topside views of our Humpback Whales….. now onto the photos!

Happy Holidays…..

Gabe @ KD
(808) 772 1795

Getting down to crunch time, huh?

I thought I would try something new this year. Instead of coming up with a bunch of different offers I thought it would be cool for people to have a clickable, printable voucher to give the gift of diving.

It’s easy…

1) Click the coupon below and download it
2) Print it, email it, convert it to moorse code or mimiograph it (doesn’t matter to me)
3) You the giver sorts out payment with me and your diver contacts me when they would like to redeem their gift!

The certificate can be used anytime until December 31, 2008. Have fun and stuff some stockings…. Let’s get diving!

Aloha,

Gabe @ KD

At least that’s the way it felt tonight. I think it’s time for a new wetsuit, because mine is a bit, how-you-say, funked up.

No worries though, two almost hour long dives tonight with the first a twilight drift dive down Spitting Caves. So many critters tonight: Slipper Lobsters, Spinys, Shrimp, Eel, Crab, White Tip Reef Shark, tons of turtles. You name it….. we saw it.

Big thanks to everyone who made it out. Mike and Joscyln, Jamie and Hollie AKA 007, Brian and Michelle (play nice you two) and my good buddy Nav.

With a little confusion we explored Koko Craters for our second splash. Lots of cool critters here too. A mini jeweled anemonae crab, several colorful shrimp and finally a small octopus. Take a peek at the photos below and I hope to see you out enjoying some Hawaii scuba diving soon….

G @ KD

This one has to go down in history as one of the best dive weekends on record.

Saturday found a small crew (Mike, Matt, Nav and Jamie) joining me for a trip out to the Seatiger. 3 spotted eagle rays and a lengthy trip through the bowells of the vessel couldn’t prepare us for what was next. A baby Octopus…. great photo Jamie!

Finally while cruising on our surface interval, Matt spotted some Pacific Spinner Dolphins. With a little patience, came this:

That is Mike in the video there….. how stoked does he look? The pod must have been about a dozen and they were moving as slow as I have ever seen them. Great to get a few minutes of video in before they sped off towards Diamond Head.

We had such an amazing time. New wreck exploration, octopus, eagle rays and the great show put on by the dolphins. I coulndn’t think of a better group to get such awesome dives. Thanks so much for coming out today guys! ALOHA….

G

As soon as we boarded the Hapa I had a feeling we would have a good day. Light winds, no surf and a good mood on the boat…. just what you need when diving on Sunday!

Michelle’s brother Brian joined me today too with long time FOKDers Anna, Nav and Lisa. Nice diving too with a first stop at the Mahi Shipwreck. I counted 6 spotted eagle rays today…. how about you guys?

After a nice long 1:30 surface interval (complete with 100+ foot vis and everyone snorkeling for Tiger Sharks) we hopped back in at Black Rock. Great dive here too with multiple octopus, lots of reef fish and even an elusive pipefish.

Check the photos here folks and a big ALOHA to everyone who dived today!

Gabe @ Kaimana Divers
(808) 772 1795

Today, Kat, Mike, Kevin, Kenny, Jen and Donald all came out for their first taste of Oahu Scuba Diving. What an adventure we had. Big thanks to Puff, Jay-Dogg and Shoga for helping out.

I can’t believe it. These guys were so lucky! It took me heaps of dives to see a shark and these guys get one 10 minutes into their first dive. Not to mention all the turtles! Hawaii scuba diving really does rock…. so glad you could make it for our dives. Now enjoy a few photos of the fun.

Since I last posted, I have been on a tear when it comes to diving….

It all started last week when High School friend Lacie came into town. She had finished up most of her PADI Open Water course and only had one more day of diving before becoming a certified scuba diver. What better place than here in Oahu, right Lacie?

We had some nice shallows on Thursday and this kid rocked. All skills done, check…. time to find some turtles.

Great diving with Lacie, but the fun wasn’t over yet. We decided to get started on some work for her Advanced Open Water course and headed out Friday morning with fellow SoCalers Mike and Jamie. These boys were looking to dive like crazy while in town so we headed out to the YO-257 wreck and wreck of the San Pedro.

These wrecks were crawlin with life…. check it out!

Above you see a Slipper Lobster on the screw of the San Pedro, a Whitmouth Moray, Orange Cup Coral, Viper Moray with Cleaner Shrimp, Mix Master Mike and Jamie AKA Richard. We had so much fun, we went back the next day!

In the afternoon, I took Ben out for an intro dive with newly minted club divers Nicole and Beau. Richard joined us too. For Ben’s first dive, he sure looks happy down there. No worries right bro!

Ben was all grins after his dive and couldn’t wait to get back in the water. I think we will be seeing him get certified pretty soon… how about that turtle?!?

Finally, Sunday the Friends of Kaimana Divers Dive Club, FOKDers, headed up to the Westside for some action on the Hapa. Great sites again and a fun crew. We dived with Laura, Mark, Hollie, Anna, Jamie, Keane, Matt and Nav. You guys rule… here are some photos of pretty girls scuba diving.

I was stoked when it all came together and didn’t want to talk about it too much for fear that it might not happen.

Tuesday afternoon we headed out to Ko Olina and boarded the Hakuna Matata for a private charter. Michelle, Matt and I met with Captain Jack and Roger to plan our activities. Along with us was Pat and his father.

If the term “live-aboard” doesn’t ring a bell, well then folks you just haven’t dived. I was lucky enough to go on a live-aboard back in 2001 when I was just finishing my Open Water Course in Thailand.

The concept is simple:

1) Dive
2) Eat
3) Dive
4) Sleep
5) Cruise
6) Hang Out
7) Eat
Take a Nap
9) Dive
10) Dive

Get it? Well let me tell you that the crew has prepped this boat beautifully. The Salon is fully air-conditioned, has a full flatscreen tv, DVD and great soundsystem. The beds are roomy and comfy, the shower hot and the space topside ample.

Captain Jack is great too. Binging his knowledge of long range fishing trips to Oahu, he found that not a single company was offering live-aboard service. His trips will be a minimum of 2 days and if you book a trip you can expect a MAXIMUM of 4 divers.

What made our night dive so special? Well, Roger led us to a secret spot as far west as I have ever been on Oahu. The caverns and caves looked amazing due to the two massive lights mounted on the underside of the Hakuna Matata! Turtles, eel, two octopus, slipper lobster and loads of fun were had. Check out the photos below…

Topside:

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention…. Along with underwater lights to illuminate night dives, a chef is aboard at all times preparing snacks and meals. While you munch on good grinds, the onboard compressor is busy pumping your tanks!

Here are a few snaps I took while chasing around tako:

To learn more about Oahu’s premire live-aboard service, please visit:

Hakuna Matata Charters

or contact them at (808) 681 088, or (808) 286 2181.

Aloha and may your next dive be your best!

Gabe @ Kaimana Divers

After a slow October, things are back cracking with the Kaimana Crew!

Mike got to catch a few great dives in Hawaii Kai last Friday with a shark and heaps of turtles on the wreck of the Baby Barge. Next up we hit Fantasy Reef… another shark here too, man what a day! Here he is with his new buddy @ Baby Barge….

Big fun on Sunday too with the newly formed FOKDers invading the Westside. For more dive club details (and how you can become a member) scroll to the post near the bottom of the page!

Friends of Kaimana Divers (FOKD) was designed for days like Sunday. Awesome vis, super relaxed pace and the boat all to ourselves. Sophie, Anna, Ski, Scott, Nav and I were geared up and armed with Nitrox to head out to Black Rock. Great site with lots of marine life. I saw what I though might have been the back end of the Tiger Shark that has been hanging out around Black Rock, but found the Turtle a bit slower subject to take photos of!

Finally, we got an hour long dive in at Makaha Caverns and Sophie found an amazing Octopus! Plenty of cool caverns and swimthroughs here with visibility topping out at 100 plus feet.

Another busy weekend coming up this week too. Saturday we’ll be checking out a Waikiki Wreck (YO-257, San Pedro or Seatiger) and Sunday the crew loads up for another great Westside charter…..

Call or email today if you would like to get involved. The diving has been amazing and I heard my first whale last weekend too!

Aloha and safe diving,

Gabe @ Kaimana Divers
gabescotti@gmail.com
(808) 772 1795

Aloha Everyone,

With West Coast/East Coast Mike in town this week it seems that a huge variety of Hawaii marine life has managed to show up. Yesterday we dived the Seatiger Wreck and Mike got to see two turtles, a nice little nudibranch and a spotted eagle ray. Not bad right?

Then we head over to Kewalo Pipe and he watched my eyes get HUGE…. There it was in the sand, a flying gunard! These babies are super rare (only my second one). Killer to watch too as their pectoral fins fan out and look like massive wings while they crawl across the bottom. Go figure, I left my camera at home…. GRRRR!

Next up, Rick, Tyler, Paulie, Brett and Lucky Mike were out this morning for our trip out to the YO-257. Everyone was smiling and calling me a liar today, but the YO is really my favorite wreck on the island, honestly!

Here is a good shot of the crew gearing up….

No sooner had we dropped down and found our dive buddies did we see not one, two or even three, but FOUR sharks in the hold of the San Pedro (click below to see video)

Paulie, that one was twice your size! Great dive even though vis was down. I managed to find a small octopus for the crew and a few lazy turtles kept us company as our heart-rates evened out! WOW, what a dive…..

Next up we headed over to Turtle Canyons. While Sue snorkeled around topside, Paulie was busy finding a frogfish. Rick and Tyler decided to pose for pictures while Brett and Mikes showed us that Big men can scuba dive!

Here are a few more snaps from the day…..

Big Mahalos to you all for coming out today…. I’m stoked to be able to show you some of my favorite spots and really stoked that you guys had a great time!

ALOHA,

Gabe @ Kaimana Divers