Last Dives of this Trip

Yesterday, Goofy and I spent all day diving. Two in the morning, two in the afternoon...set out as the sun was rising, and didn't get home until the sun was setting.

A nearly perfect day in my reckoning :)

We went out to Molokini with Gwen and John and Mike and Captain Dan. I suppose that there were others there, but whatever. Two boats went out in the morning, so I guess I know that there were others around...but we were diving and taking photos, so it gets to be a small circle of relevance pretty quickly.

Out at the crater, we saw a lot of fish and even a bunch of small reef sharks huddled together under a ledge. There were four of them in there, and they didn't much care for being found, but they tolerated our gawking and photo taking.





At one point, all the small fish on the reef dove for cover suddenly. This is a sure sign that a bigger, hungry fish is coming. I looked around and saw a couple of Trevalies hunting together. These guys can get pretty big, and although it doesn't show in the photo, this one is about 2 feet long or so. His buddy was a bit bigger...



When we were coming up from the second dive at Molokini, John noticed something wrong with one of the prop shafts on one of the motors on the boat. We ran back to Lahaina on one motor, so had a very leisurely trip home - nearly two hours to enjoy the sun and watch the dolphins that would come up from time to time to see what we were up to. Turned out it needed a new bearing, so Steve and Elliot got to spend the afternoon underwater repairing that stuff. :)

Meanwhile...we hopped on the other boat and headed out for more diving.

This time, we went to a place called Cliff House, just southeast of Honolua Bay. There are lots of lava fingers that flow out into the water and give little critters a nice place to live.

My best shot by far (and my favorite) is this one of a pair (there are two there if you look closely, you can see the other's nose :) of Dragon Moray Eels. They are pretty rare - around these parts and around the world. I'd never seen them before - duh, they are RARE - and they were pretty darn cool, I must say.



I guess you can buy one here (only $1200) for your aquarium if you want...but they'll eat everything else in the tank that they are able to get in their mouth (which opens kinda big, lol)...and really, they need to be free...(cue sappy music, with Marlo Thomas singing "free to be...you and me..." LOL. Now THAT'S an aged and obscure reference...rotflol).

For Tina, and others too, here's a great shot Goofy got of a little turtle hanging out in the sand. It was content to sit and let us all admire and photograph it...still amazes me how tolerant of us these wonderful beings are...



Now, I'll rant a bit about some of the divers on the second charter.

What is it about some people, that the minute they hit the water and descend, they become stoopid? I've heard it's common, but damn, I have never been hit in the head from ABOVE (hello, heard of "look out below" or hey, even just "give me some space"? It's a big damn ocean, you don't have to be right on my fins).

I finally got ticked enough to ditch them and go off a bit on my own (within visual of the group leaders, tho). Every time I waited my turn to get in for a pic (this is apparently not so common courtesy), some flailing hands and feet would descend into the frame to see what I was looking at...argh. I mellowed out about it though, it's diving, and people are different.

Right up until I got conked in the head by a tank from someone above me...I lost my mellow, and decided to head back to the boat...hoping to reclaim the calm of the sea by the time I got back.

Amazing thing, the sea...it's calming...only takes a few hundred feet, and the mellow is back in force :)

We are tying up our loose ends this morning...heading in to pack up our dive gear, picking up the stuff from the boys...generally lazing around in a slow move toward the inevitable time when we head back to Seattle and our other version of reality.

It's beginning to blur more and more...maui is home too, now...how lucky is that?

Aloha for now...

M&G

It's Hammer time!

Yesterday, Goofy and I went on over to Moloka'i for a special-ops dive. It's a little more difficult than most of what's offered by most over here..so by invite only based on skill level, and frankly, if they think you'd be fun to dive with :P

We were looking for Hammerhead Sharks...and anything else that may come on by. Magic was looking for the hammers though...everything else was gravy.

Had to be up and at the boat by 630. Then headed out to cross the dreaded channel between Maui and Moloka'i. It's one of the 5 toughest channels in the world (as far as crossing goes)...OH YAY!

Most of y'all know how I usually turn green on a surge/high waves kinda sea. On the trip over to visit the sharks, we got air in the boat more than once...

OH, YAY!

I made it over though, and it was awesome to be there. Still very pitchy and green face inspiring, but, darn it, it was worth it. Much too rough for a camera, so the pic above is something Magic found on the internet. I'm really hoping that Mike got a good one on the dive, but those sharks are damn quick and hard to photograph.

On the way over, we got the dive briefing for the site.

In previous visits to the dive sites, they've seen as many as 60 hammerheads in a shoal (group of hammerhead sharks are called a shoal - isn't it good to be entertained and educated? lol). They tend to be curious about us divers...and are very good at sending three sharks out in front of the group while one or two sneak up behind. They also like to follow a group when they are doing their safety stops and stair stepping on the dive. Apparently they think they've got us in a "bait ball" and are curious about just what we are doing...LOL.

Once they are seen, however, they become quite shy and take off in the other direction. Generally, they don't get too close (only within about 20 feet or so) before think the better of it and "run away". The sharks like to hang out over near Moloka'i because of the way the currents run through. They can kinda just "hang" and get the rush of the water through their gills. It's also a happy place for them to mate - Hammerheads give birth to live pups. It's pretty rare to witness that, but it's happened.

Once we made it through the channel, the water calmed a bit. Because of the currents that split around the island, this is an advanced drift dive, so we had to get up and off the boat as a group while the captain maneuvered the boat to get us where we wanted to drop in.

We got in gear and stood at the stern (waves washing over our fins) and awaited the "dive, dive, DIVE!" from the captain. As a group of not really seals, we jumped in the water and dropped down to 60 feet. Then we started our tour...in search of Hammerhead sharks.

Once we got in the water, we were amazed at how clear the viz was (even for here in Maui). We could see the terrain (different than other dives we've done), and quite a way out into the blue. As I was diving along, I looked to my right, and saw my first Hammerhead coming at me along the same plane in the water. It just appeared out of the blue in the distance, swimming along toward me. That was a bit unusual, as generally I am either above or below the things I am looking for, but not usually on the same line :)

Anyway...

The shark came along toward us, in no particular hurry, and not particularly close either. It got within about 20 feet before it decided to turn tail and run. Nice while it lasted though.

The terrain out there is a bit different than most of the places we've dived before. Rocky looking, without much else, except...TONS OF FISH. We saw a Leaf Scorpion Fish (hadn't seen that before either), and, oh, some old ordnance from military target practice.

There are bombs imbeded in the walls of the island above the water line too...not so good.

The underwater ordnance is covered in coral now, so they can't explode it without breaking all kinds of laws. So they let it sit there, underwater, just waiting for someone to do something stupid and blow themselves up. It's pretty unlikely though, since it'd take a hell of a line to anchor anything over there.

But still...

we saw more hammerheads on the second dive too...Hammerheads!

How cool is that?!

More later...Aloha from the second home of the Magic and Goofy traveling show!

M&G

April 2009...Wakatobi Indonesia...

...a once in a lifetime trip for Goofy and I...can you believe it? Neither can we (yet)...imagine....






we hope to be staying in one of the beach bungalows there on the left...

Master Scuba Diver Goofy, and the Big, Deep Blue!

This is a shot from the boat as we were heading around the back of Molokini. It was smooth as glass on top. Wow!

Today, Goofy and I went into the Deep Blue.

We dove the back wall of Molokini...it's a drift dive.

Which basically means that the boat drops you at one end of the outer rim of the crater, and you drift along at 80 feet or so, to the other end in the current.

The boat follows along, watching your bubbles as you go, and is there to pick you up when you surface. Hopefully, you don't get caught in the current and head out for Tahiti. :) LOL

The dives themselves were amazing.

One side is a vertical wall that goes up above the surface, and down as far as we could see.

To the other side...nothing but ocean. The deep, blue, open ocean. It gets to about 300' depth right there, and out a bit 20,000'.

You do not want to drop your camera. :)

Along with the usual suspects, we saw some big fish between us and the deep blue sea. A big Trevally (aka Ulua), and a decent sized White Tipped Reef Shark (I'd say about 8' or so), along with a really big lobster were all on the back wall for us to see.

IT WAS AWESOME!

And the whales....OMG!

You could hear the whale song so clearly...too cool!

On the second dive, they sounded so close, I swear, they were just outside the viz...taunting us with their nearness. Telling us secrets that we had to listen hard to hear.

On the way back to Lahaina Town, we saw so many whales. There was even a newborn (a few hours old), accompanied by it's Mom, an escort whale (as is the usual configuration) and a bunch of dolphins, as it tried out it's "wings".

It did some tail slaps on Mom, and then discovered it's flippers. Then it tried some diving and surfacing. We were so lucky to be there to watch as it started it's time on the planet.

I didn't know that dolphins will often accompany newborns to help protect them from predators as they figure out how to move about. Very cool how they cooperate. I'm sure that there is a lesson to be learned there :)

Goofy and I finished up our specialty certifications with this dive.

So...drum roll here...Goofy has achieved Master Scuba Diver.

The highest non-professional certification. Goofy rocks!

Magic has a couple of more dives to complete, and then will follow Goofy to the Master certification too. We are shooting for completing this before we leave for home, but we need the weather to cooperate. It's been really surge-y and high surf, but Magic is determined.

Tomorrow night...a night dive on the Carthaginian, and somewhere else. WooHoo! Hopefully, we'll be able to take some photos to share with y'all on those.

Hope your days are as awesome as ours have been!

Aloha!

M&G

Nearly there...

Goofy and I are taking a Rescue Diver course.

It's a third major certification on our way to Master Scuba Diver (which we should finish up in the next month or so).

Rescue Diver is a good course for any diver to take. It's all about being able to take care of yourself and others before you (or they) get into trouble. Kind of a good way to look at a lot of things in life really.

It also teaches us how to help people that have managed to get into trouble in spite of their best intentions.

We have learned to calm folks that are just over-stressed and need some reassurance and maybe a helping hand. But if things go really wrong, we have learned and practiced how to bring them up from the bottom and start rescue breaths on the way in to shore. We can even get them out of the water and start CPR while waiting for help to arrive. Mostly, though, we expect that we'll be able to spot trouble and do things to make it go away before it escalates into a full blown "situation".

We have finished with the practice sessions in the pool, have done all the reading, reviews and passed the final written exam.

Just one more thing remains...and it's happening in Puget Sound this weekend...brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

The best we can hope for is 54 degrees in that murky grey water of our home. It'll likely be closer to 44 degrees this time of year, though.

The practical part of the certification will have us rescuing and being rescued by our classmates in different scenarios to test our new skills. We'll deal with "tired" divers, "panicked" divers, "unresponsive" divers (both on the surface and at the bottom). We'll tow each other in, and haul each other out of the water onto the beach.

We'll have someone on the beach letting people know that we are just practicing our rescue skills..we don't really need help or paramedics (hopefully :).

We'll be cold, and we'll have fun, and we'll all learn more about ourselves and our friends. I can't wait!

It's said that if you can complete Rescue Diver in Puget Sound, you can rescue anyone anywhere. I don't know about that, but I do know that once it's done, and I'm all finished and certified, I'm going to go somewhere WARM to celebrate! LOL

Think sunshine this weekend!

M&G

A Little Warmth and Sunshine For a Rainy Day...

Happy Friday Bloggers!

So...by now, many of you have figured out that Goofy and I made a quick trip to Maui the beginning of December. I had a short job there that didn't interfere too much with diving, so Goofy came along too. You only live once, right? :)

By popular demand, here are some pics of the trip. I'm trying out a slideshow format, so let me know what you think. The pics are unedited, and I'll post more with additional commentary a little later in the week (or so :). I'll turn on comments for this new little slideshow format - take a minute to give some feedback so I know y'all are out there...

These pics are Lahaina, Lana'i and Molokini in Maui County Hawaii...77 degree bottom temps at (85 feet even), and 82 degrees on the surface...not bad for a few days in December 2007. I especially like the fish faces this trip. They seemed to look right at me as I was taking the photo...haha! And, more turtles, and clouds of amazing fish out at Lana'i...lots of the fish clouds are pics that Goofy took...right out there in the middle of it all - there's a photo of her taking some of those pics if you look closely.

I'll later post the series of photos of Goofy checking to see if the strobe on her camera was firing (G was all for deleting the series, but I saved it...bwahahaha). I may make some prints of the series...perhaps in 16"X20" format...hrmmm...lol.

Enjoy!

M&G

Under The Sea

Aloha!

Sadly, Goofy and I have pretty much finished up our diving for this trip...gotta get the gear dry enough to pack!

It's going to be hard to go from lovely 85 degree days, with 80 degree water temps, to cold and rainy Seattle, but it's home, and hey, we miss it (really...ok, not the cold, but we like the rain :)

We have gotten a ton of diving in this trip, and really feel like our dive skills have improved greatly too! It's been just a great trip all around...can't say it enough!

It's also going to be harder leaving this time, as we'll be saying adios (for now) to our Maui friends too. We've gotten to know a bunch of folks here well, and will miss them when we are home like we miss everyone in Seattle (and Santa Cruz, and Austin, and Beaufort....and...well, you get the idea!! :) when we are here in Maui.

On our last dives, we had some amazing time with turtles (my favorite!)...one turtle in particular was very content to just sit on the sand and watch me, while I sat on the sand and watched him. We musta stayed like that for about 20 minutes...looking at each other, not saying anything, just chillin' in the sand.

It was Awesome!

At the time I was communing with the turtle, almost everyone else was turned the other way looking at the sharks (about 20 feet away under some fallen pier)...not me, though, I've seen sharks....it's turtles all the way!

Here are a few pics...




Just hangin...at the Wharf...




Still chillin'...in the sand...




I'm good...you? Feels a bit nappish, though! :)

We have lots of pics to go through...and several that are worth printing, so should be seen on a wall around the house soon!

We'll be flying home on Thursday...hope you all have a fantastic Thanksgiving, and take a little time this year to remember the things that are most important to you.

Love y'all!

M&G

Here fishy, fishy, fishy...and turtles, and...woohoo, look at that!

Aloha from Maui!

I thought that I'd post a few pics of the cool fish and other creatures we've seen in our various dives. Remember, you can click on any of the pictures to see a bigger version if you'd like.


Here's a green sea turtle flying by out at Jodo Reef



This is the elusive (and crazy fast swimming) Juvenile Peacock Razorfish.



Goofy got this shot of John and a Green Sea Turtle out at Jodo Reef



Goofy also got a pic of this Lizard fish out at Jodo



This little octopus was totally into checking out an old bottle we found nearby



A Peacock Flounder scurrying along the sand



An Undulated Moray trying to get back in a his hiding spot




Here is a very small hermit crab hanging out in a shell...John is holding the shell, so you can see how small it really is. Click on the image to see it a bit bigger...he's in there.



I like the look on the face of this Bluefin Trevally (aka Bluefin Jack)...you lookin' at me? LOL



And last, but not least...a Frogfish. It mostly looks like a lump of stuff, but it's a fish. These fish are masters of camouflage. Their fins are more like "hands" and the move around more by walking than by swimming. They mostly hang out and lure their prey to them...check it out! Way cool!



So there you go...just a small sampling of some of the stuff we've seen (and managed to get a picture of) under water this trip.

We have a ton more too...maybe we'll get some prints made this time :)

Hope you all are happy and well! Aloha!

M&G

PS: I turned on comments for this post...let us know what you think!

A Collection of Photos from the Deep

For those loyal readers that demanded more pictures, here's a collection of photos from the last couple of dive trips. All are in the Maui County area. Please let us know what you think by posting comments.

This is a Fourspot Butterflyfish. We saw this off of our favorite beach in south Maui: Ulua. Snorkeling here is great, & diving is awesome!


The famous Wedgetail or Reef Triggerfish. You say you don't recognize it? Well, you probably know it better as the world famous (drumroll, please) HUMUHUMU NUKUNUKU A PUA A. There ya go, Seiko!

Here is a Stripebelly Puffer - unpuffed :) Not much in the way of bottom scenery...but the fish looks good!

A group of Whitebar Surgeonfish...not a very imaginative name, but it fits the situation. These tend to swim around in little schools and are really interested in checking for food in the coral of the reef.


This is a Paletail Unicornfish...notice the "horn" on its head? These are actually pretty colorful in person. They have a "day glo" blue stripe along the top and bottom, and the glowing dots on the tail.

We've seen many of these brightly colored Yellow Trumpetfish around the islands..this one was about 18 inches long. They are pretty mellow and glide along unconcerned with us.


Unfortunately, this doesn't do the Yellowheaded Moray Eel we saw on our night dive any justice at all. I didn't have my camera, so this is a photo I found on the net to give you an idea. These eels are pretty agressive (they'll eat the other fish if they get close enough - even if they are bigger than the eel's mouth), and generally are nocturnal. The one we saw had a vibrant yellow head, was about 3 feet long, - and was none too pleased to see us either time we went by. Let us know that we'd be eel food if we got too close...lol.

So...there are some of the creatures we've seen on our first dive trips. Hope you enjoy seeing them as much as we've enjoyed the diving and exploring!

Aloha!

Home Again, Home Again...Jiggety Jig!

A lovely sunset taken from the balcony of our room at the Ka'anapali Beach Club. It's a nice way to remember how restful and beautiful this place was. Lucky for us to have spent our days and evenings basking here.

After a rather long flight, we are all home safe and sound again!

Yesterday, after some frenzied last minute shopping - involving a fast backtrack to Kihei - in which all participants (all of us, crazy people) actually purchased MORE luggage (unbelieveably) we managed to get to the airport, and through security. We put lots of suitcases inside of others to meet the maximum checked/carried on limits...but we did it!

Click on the picture to get a bigger view...

It's interesting to note that our somewhat late arrival to the airport actually seemed to make getting through to the gate quite a bit faster and easier. In the second to last store, as I was waiting by the door to get out of there, I mentioned to another customer that we were on our way to the airport. When I told him our flight was leaving in less than two and a half hours, he seemed very concerned.

"You are going to be late" says he.

"Aw, we have plenty of time" says me, "the airport is only about 10 minutes from here."

"It's already almost two hours until your flight leaves" he continues "and you are still shopping."

"I know"..."it'll work out ok, though...no worries."

- This before I knew that Goofy was having the store manager call the Kihei store for a stock check (which they had, do not fret). So...off to Kihei we go, on "our way" to the airport (as long as you drive to the airport by going backwards :)

Click on the picture to get a bigger view...there's something wrong with this route, dontcha think? LOL

Still...no worries...we are on island time, after all. (Problem, now is...having a hard time getting back to mainland time :P)

Still, he was quite concerned...I guess that the airscouts handbook is read by some people :P

"AirScouts": my label for those lovely folks that know (and follow) "all the rules" at the airport, and are more than happy (fervent, even) to help you understand how you've gone wrong and are in violations most foul. :)

Seems like all of the "right thinking" people that arrived at the airport two plus hours prior to departure - for a domestic flight, as per the AirScouts' handbook - just got the hell out of our way so that we could breeze through without all the fuss and muss of waiting in long lines.

I suppose it's not a good idea to rely on that as a strategy for avoiding long lines..but it's tempting ;)

Goofy is already busy planning the next foray into the lovely azure waters off of the coast of the Hawaiian islands. I cannot figure out where the energy comes from...I am still beat from the flight...

...speaking of which...

By most accounts it was a lovely trip. We'd thought about upgrading, but when they wouldn't take our lowball offer, we passed :P

Goofy and I ended up with a three seat row to ourselves.

A very nice arrangement other than the fact that the person across the aisle from me had a great need for some personal hygiene. I felt bad for said person, but frankly, I ended up flying with my blanket over my head so I could breathe.

When sis moved back to her own two seat row, Goofy says to me "...hey move over I need more room."

I say quietly back "but...there's an odor issue across the aisle"

to which Goofy says..."so what, move!".

(for the record) Goofy claims to have misunderstood my quietly whispered plea...a realization that was come to after about 5.25 hours of flight.

I'm a bit dubious, but like I said, once I had the blanket over my head, I was a-ok :) so no worries.

Magic in the Second Cathedral

So...here's a pic Goofy took of me in the water off of Lana'i.

Apparently, it was one of the few times I turned around to see where Goofy was, so there were limited photo ops on that dive. LOL

You can see (kinda) that I'm in a cave, with the opening behind and above me - the color change from dark to the amazing blue reflected on the reef to the lighter tone of the open water is the cue there.

Also, I gotta say my hair looks fantastic (haha). I wonder how I got it to mimic the shape of the reef?

Goofy insisted on breathing while taking this pic (first rule of diving - don't hold your breath...EVER), so there are some exhaust bubbles that obscure things a bit. I like the pic A LOT though...I'm underwater...woohoo!

Loved this dive, and hope to be going out there again the next time we have a trip over to Maui.

By the way...love the wetsuit. It's only a 3mm (from Harvey's) but the darn thing is sooooo comfortable :)

Lahaina Divers

Here are a few pics from Lahaina Harbor, the Dive group we went with, etc.

Lahaina Divers (http://www.lahainadivers.com/index.html) are an excellent group - professional, knowledgeable and FUN! We spent all our dive trips aboard the "Dauntless" with Captain Dan, Diver Dan (also a captain), Mike, John, Tim (also an EMT), and a couple of other folks in the crew. We liked them so much, we drove to Lahaina to take a diving trip to Molokini (which is actually much closer to Kihei - by about 45 mins).

We would highly recommend them to any of y'all for diving (or learning to dive).

The pics are Captain Dan (also an Anthropolgy Prof in the UC system), Dan our favorite Dive Master, the guys at the dock, and a few pics of the Harbor.

Lana'i

Friday (7/6/07)

Today, we went diving at Lana'i. A totally different experience than either of the four dives we'd had before. First off...the swell is pretty big off the boat (which makes getting back on the boat a lot more difficult, and also provides quite a bit of help in turning many a diver from a healthy pink to somewhat green. It's amazing how many fish come around to the boat after a few seasick divers are back on board ;)

Our first stop was the Second Cathedral. It's called that because, well, it's second down the coast.

Basically, these caves and tubes were formed when lava went into the sea. In some cases, huge amounts of air were trapped, and over time, the cathedrals were formed. There is even an albino black coral that hangs like a chandelier from the roof - white as snow 'cause it's never been exposed to the sunlight.

Anyway...lots to see there...as well as some fun diving through caves. I was surprised at how easily I was able to get through these dives...not any problems at all following the DM into the black caves. They open up pretty quickly, though, so I'm sure that helped a lot. And the views when you could look up through the lava and see the surface were spectacular (we were about 60' down, but the deep turquoise blue of the ocean was clear as could be that day).

Goofy got a small diving injury in one of the caves when coral scraped ungloved hand. You should ask Goofy what she was doing to get said injury :)

The pic is from inside the cathedral looking up and out.

The second dive was to an site known as Shark Fin - presumably because the lava formation there looked like a shark fin :D

Lots of stuff to see there as well, but not as dramatic as the cathedral. Beautiful reef, coral, eels (a big one looked like it was going to chase Goofy - so the pic taken was a bit blurred from fast motion in the opposite direction), star fish (boo, these eat the coral), and lots of fish again. The pic is of a Banded Urchin - it's about 8" in diameter.

The viz was amazing...at least 125' here too...and the sea was a bit more calm in the little bay we moored in, no 10' swells, so no seasick divers this time :)

On the ride back to Lahaina, we saw a huge pod of Spinner Dolphins - the Captain figured there were at least 1000 of them around and beneath us. They gave a really jubilant show of jumping, spinning and flipping before they tired of us and moved on.

All in all, a GREAT day of Diving!