Scuba Dream Time

I have just returned from a dream trip to Egypt. As a child, I was drawn to the subject of ancient Egypt. I even saved my allowance and gift money to purchase a book on King Tutankhamon. The trip was everything I had hoped for and more. Going to Cairo from the west coast of the United States makes for a long day of travel. Arriving in Cairo after more than 20 hours of flying (not including 2 layovers), was an exhilarating shock to the system. The first thing that smacks you is the traffic. At first, it seems like absolute chaos. Western sensibilities and adherents of the bubble wrap culture can be quickly overwhelmed by the volume, noise, and lack of any traffic rules. However, if you observe, you will notice it is more fluid and organic than it appears. The Cairo traffic movement model moves along much faster than traffic in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Seattle, and many other major American cities. Learning to cross the street takes courage and ability to closely follow a local until y...

Brownie and I had a day off together and decided to head down to Key West. We left Key Largo around 6:00 am for the long ride south. We watched the sunrise to our east, ocean side, as we counted down the mile markers. Along the way we were always a few miles behind the rain which produced some great rainbows through the drive. We even saw a highly endangered Key Deer cross the road. I've drive to Key West many time over the years but had never been lucky enough to spot one. As expected we arrived at Captain's Choice in Key West about an hour early. It was nice not to be rushed. Checked in, chilled, until the boat was ready for passengers. It felt very odd not to be lugging tanks on the boat. You almost want to jump in and help, but I must admit it feels pretty good not doing all that work. After all, we were there to enjoy a great morning of diving. Soon enough we headed out and about 35 minutes later arrived at the mooring site for the Vandenberg . It looked like a...

Last week, Brownie, Keith, and I started our TDI tech dive training with Chris. We are now done with all the classroom portions, including exams, and we have done 4 of our required 6 training dives. So far so good. But I must admit I was not to sold on the idea after our first two training dives and 2 additional training dives Brownie and I did on our own on a shallow reef. The equipment is heavy, bulky, and did I mention heavy. But yesterday things came around. We headed out to the Spiegel around 2:00 pm. Conditions could not have been more perfect. The water was flat, the visibility was 90+, and there was no current. In other words it was a perfect day to dive the Spiegel . We headed down to the well deck around 120ft and spent 20 minutes just leisurely exploring the area and then headed to 80 feet. We then performed some valve drills and continued exploring for another 20 minutes. We did the long swim through, stopped to see Snoopy and the over to the starboard side, th...

It feels so good to be back home. It feels like home. We are surrounded by friends. Our social calendar has been more full since arriving than the entire time we spent in Kauai. I feel like I belong on the island of misfit toys. All the misfit toys return, Jeff, Molly, Jessica, Damien, Ashley, Tad, as well as those that never left. And it has yet to rain. Included is a picture of sunset view from our home. On our first afternoon at home we saw dolphins in the bay as the sun was setting. Kauai had amazing scenery, but sunsets in Key Largo are stunning. The best part is the food. A gallon of milk costs $2.50 as opposed to $9.50 at Big Save on Kauai. Happy Hour draft beers are $1.00. All grocery stores have a delicatessen with fresh slices deli ham starting at $3.00/lb. A gallon of regular gas is $2.10 a gallon. At restaurants you can get a huge homemade burger for about $8.00 including "lettuce", tomatoes, and french fries. Two huge fish tacos made with fresh mah...

We are less than 1 week away from leaving Kauai and heading back to the Keys. I have to admit that I am a bit sad. I know the move is in our best interest financially and overall, but there are still things that I will miss. I find myself trying to really look and take in as much of the island's beauty. As if I could really retain a small portion of it. I know I can't but I still try. The island's majesty can not even be adequately captured by camera or video. No medium can do it's majesty true justice. I will miss the perfect temperature. I will not miss the rainy season or the daily rain. I will miss the lush green countryside and all the flora and fauna. I will not miss the screeching kids that live above us nor the banging of their little feet as the run continuously to and fro. I will miss the laid back atmosphere and casual pace. I will not miss being treated as a haole and outsider. I will miss the fruit trees in our yard, (mango, avocados banana, ...

We have had some incredible diving lately off Kauai's South Shore. The winds have been high but visibility and marine encounters have been outstanding. On the 19 th of February we had two incredible encounters. Our first dive was a drop at Turtle Bluffs for a drift dive. Just as everyone reached bottom we had a rather large stingray just swim by. Stingrays were very common off the Florida Keys, sometimes we would see upwards of 10 at one site. But off Kauai you rarely ever encounter stingrays. Luckily we had the chance encounter. Our second dive site was at the Caverns. There we were audience to a manta ray swimming over the caverns. Mantas are unusual off of Kauai, but this winter we have been treated to them on a fairly regular basis. We have seen them at Nukomoi, Stonehouse, and the Caverns. Yesterday we were diving at Stonehouse and saw three mantas. Initially we dropped down and a huge manta ta least 10 feet across swept down past us. About 30 minutes into the...

WOW, today was one of those days that i will forever remember. The morning started off checking in 10 certified divers at the shop. We slowly meandered to the dock to head out on a two tank dive. The day held the promise of great diving; ocean conditions were flat calm and there was no real wind to speak of. Water's surface was just like glass. On our way to our first dive site we encountered some bottle nose dolphins and humpback whales swimming very close to the boat. The dolphins were very playful. They were slapping their tails and really enjoying the wake created by the boat. They were so close I could even make out a cookie cutter shark injury on the belly of one of the dolphins. When you see dolphins and whales all in one shot, you can't help but smile. And if you can't smile at that you are certainly not wired correctly. Eventually we had to get back on course an head to one our local dive sites. So, we moored at icebox along Kauai's South Shore. By l...

We have had a another unexpected addition to the household. This past summer our dog, Niles, found a stray kitten, which we kept and named Haole. Now Haloe has brought home a fledgling baby bird. His initial intention was to torture and kill no doubt, but he raised such a ruckus, that Brownie went to the rescue. Now we have a bay bird we need to try and identify so we can provide the most appropriate diet for its overall well being. Please check out the pictures and let us know if you can identify the species. We want to make sure he grows up healthy enough to be released in to the wild. I'm personally waiting for Brownie to start giving the bird flying lessons. And hopefully this newest addition will not bring home a stray of its own.

We have had a bout with unusually bad weather on Kauai which has resulted in some poor ocean conditions. After two whole weeks out of the water we decided to take the boat out and survey water conditions ourselves. I was hoping for the best but was devestated by what I witnessed. We headed our from Kukui'ula Small Boat Harbor, which is absolutely brown. There is negative visibility in the harbor. Some attribute the poor conditions to the huge housing development near by that has come to a stand still. I don't know whose to blame but I can;t imagine most marine life can live with so much silt in the water. It's a tragedy. We decided to head east toward the Caverns. Stopped and the Caverns and jumped in. Viz was about 20 feet which is poor and that was the best we were to find. So we head further east towards Kipu. We were astonished to find green water and abundant debris in the water. Huge logs and grasses starting to form there own little islands abounded. We d...

On yesterday afternoon's boat dive we spotted our first humpback of the season off Kauai's south shore. It was such a welcomed sight. I can't wait to hear their songs while I dive. If you have never witnessed humpback whales, now is the time to come to Kauai. It's an awe inspiring sight. Underwater their songs are eerie and yet enthralling. Last year I was able to snorkel with a few humpback, this year I hope to see at least one while diving. My sincerest thanks go out to Bob for initially spotting the whale.

This past Friday, Shannon Brichele, aka Shanichel, came to dive the South Shore of Kauai all the way from UT. Despite being the youngest diver on the boat Shanichel was well prepared. She was the only diver with all her own gear. As we got to our dive site she did her giant stride without a moment of hesitation. She had a safe slow descent using the down line and then proceeded to explore the dive site known as Stonehouse with her dive buddy and dad, Mike. We saw some really colorful fish along the way including a really big Commerson's Frogfish, various butterfly and angelfish. She did equally well on her second dive of the day to a dive site known as the Caverns. Caverns is kauai signature South Shore dive. Even Jacques Cousteau visited and wrote about this site in the 1970s. There we saw a large numbers of the Green Hawaiian Sea Turtles that call the spot home. Shanichel, congratulations on your first ocean dives and remember to keep diving!!

We took a much needed reprieve from work and headed to the Big Island of Hawaii for some relaxation and fun diving. We love the fact that we can take very short flights and explore the other islands. This trip was a little longer that the one to neighbouring Oahu but sill about 1 hour of total flight time with a short stop in Honolulu airport. We scheduled two dive trips with Jack's Diving Locker on the Kona Coast. They came highly recommended and lived up to every expectation. Highly professional crew, comfortable and clean boats, and vast collective experience of the Kona coast and it's resident creatures. Our first trip was the much talked about night manta dive. We arrived to the dive site late in the afternoon and immediately spotted mantas and dolphins in the area. Everyone diver on board was very excited. And we were not going to be disappointed. For the first dive in the late afternoon we followed our guide, Bruce, around for the first half of the dive. We ins...

Yesterday we had an amazing day for our trip to Ni'ihau. Ocean conditions were perfect for the channel crossing. It was a smooth trip out to Ni'ihau and a unusually smooth ride back from Ni'ihau. Our first dive of the day was at Keyhole. The site gets its name from the shape of the rocks where divers get dropped off. The boat backs into the Keyhole area and drops off divers for a drift dive. Normally the currents are strong and the conditions surging causing the boat to have to make several drops. Yesterday's conditions were so calm that the boat was able to maintain is position long enough to allow all 14 divers to jump off in one pass. We hung on the surface for a minute enjoying the view and allowing divers to regroup. We then descended as one large group to about 40 - 50 feet and head out of the Keyhole cavern. Once we rounded the corner we were present with a very swift current. The current was causing our air bubbles to travel horizontally through the wa...

There another south swell again. It's another big one about 10-12 ft surge. As of yesterday all of our trips were canceled for safety reasons. The swell should subside by Sunday. Maybe by Monday we can get back to the business of diving. I worked a double before the swell hit and was able to do some incredible dives. Before the swell the visibility was pretty good. The best part of the day were the spinner dolphins. During our surface interval, they approached the boat like they do most times. You never tire of looking at the dolphins. They played in our wake and then moved on. By the time we arrived at our second dive site of the morning they came back to greet us. I was the first in the water when I heard one of the divers from the boat call out that we had dolphins off the stern. Luckily I had my video camera so I dropped down a few feet and headed to the. I was lucky to get a few seconds of footage.

People always ask me if as an instructor I go diving when I am not working, and the answes is YES. Any day is good for diving. Just because my job involves diving, an activity most only persue on their holidays or days off, doesn't mean I don't enjoy diving on my days off. It's great to go out there and just enjoy the day. My friend Clint joined me on my day of just diving for fun. We had two amazing drift dives. For our first dive we jumped off near Palomas Buoy and head towards Turtle Bluffs. We sighted four white tip reef sharks at the large sand bottom cave and two others under the ledge as we headed away from the cave. We left the cave and headed towards the Bluff's turtle cleaning station. There were a few turtles surrounded by colorful tropicals performing their cleaning duties with their usual zeal. The most impressive sight for me today was the feeding frenzy. A school of black trigger fish were the largest group of diners at a feast of sergeant major ...

Another great day of diving on the South Shore of Kauai. Out on Turtle Bluffs we saw 4 white tip reef sharks and a turtle cleaning station. You can always count on the site from some great encounters. I tried to find the resident frog fish but had no luck today. Maybe another day. At our next site, the frequently referenced "Sheraton Caverns", we had another awesome dive. plenty of turtles as is expected on the site. Today we even got to see an octopus. But for me the highlight was the free swimming zebra moray. Also known as Gymnomuraena zebra. I have included a short video of the free swimming moray. I hope that Kara, Tom, and Jack all had as much fun as I did.

We've just recently returned from a much needed and earned short holiday to Waikiki Beach on Oahu. We went to Oahu just to get out of Kauai and experiencing another of the Hawaiian islands. Oahu was a very pleasant surprise. It was so nice to drive on an real multi-lane highway again. What a pleasure to be able to pass the slow driver and to have more than a single way to get to any destination. The crowds of people on Waikiki were also nice. There were many more Japanese tourist on Oahu than we ever see on Kauai. It made for a unique cultural experience. Of course the highlight of the trip was the nightlife. It was so comforting to see all types of bars (Irish, strip, hotel, beach, chain, etc). And get this, at one local Irish bar they actually allow people to smoke. Oh, it's still illegal but they figure that if you wish to risk the fine, you can go ahead and smoke. Personally I don't smoke, never have, but it is so refreshing to see a bar that bucks the cur...

We finally had a day off together and my first day off in almost two weeks (13 straight days of work). It was great to go out there and enjoy the beautiful scenery Kauai has to offer. The other bonus was being able to take Niles out on a long walk with me. He wasn't to thrilled by the time we got to the Pihea Vista. It was a straight upward climb in the mud and he was already tired from the relatively easy part of the trail. I forget that the pup is getting old. He's a getting gray. I guess that what happens to a ten year old black dog. He really hated the part were I jogged back to the start ing point. I need to take easy on the old dog. I don't feel much like writing so I am just going to post some pictures of the beautiful vistas from the trail.

Ni'ihau diving around Lehua Rock was spectacular. Ocean conditions were blessed by the gods. It was flat calm on the surface, visibility was easily 100ft, and the creatures greeted us. Thanks to having another bubble watcher on board, Julie, I was able to do two drift dives. Julie is working on becoming an instructor through KCC. Julie did the first dive of the day at Keyhole. I did the second dive which was at Ledges. The dive was a wall dive which really added to the sensation that we were flying. Deep blue waters surrounded us and from is vast and deep blueness emerged a very large white tip shark to check us out. He did a few rounds as he checked us out. He got fairly close but not as close as another encounter we were soon to have. As we proceeded along the wall we witnessed a number of magnificent spotted eagle rays just coast by. They came single file and seem to be riding the water's thermocline as they searched for feeding grounds. As one passed and the ph...

Ni'ihau , the Forbidden Island Trips to Ni'ihau I have learned consist of a very early start to a very long day. The reward is a great day of diving and memories to last. As crew our day officially starts at 5:30 am. Our customers are expected to check in by 6:00 am. By 6:45 am we are pulling away from the dock loaded up for a full day of diving (3 tanks each), breakfast and lunch for customers and crew, plus fishing gear. The trip out took almost 2.5 hours. Its a long way across the channel. Everyone settled in nicely for the long ride. As we finished our channel cross ing Capt Andrew got a bite on one of the fishing lines he had set out. We had managed to hook a huge marlin, estimated at around 500 pounds. He was a beauty there is some brief footage of the catch in the video below. Being aware of overfishing in our oceans, Ryan cut the fish loose but managed to save Capt Andrew's prized lure. After all t he excitement we decided on the best spot for the first ...