Freediving at Electric Beach, Oahu
Jul
14
2011

Free diving at Electric Beach, Oahu from thescubageek on Vimeo. A day of free diving in around the thermal exhaust vents at Electric Beach, Oahu. Fish and turtles love to congregate in the warm water pumping from the pipes. Strong swimmers can free dive into the exhaust stream and rocket hundreds of feet out to sea. Weeeeeeee!

Autumn in the AM
Mar
19
2010

Dive No.: 1999 Dive Site: Hawaii Loa, Oahu, Hawaii Max Depth: 45ft/13m Total Time: 36 mins Air: 200bar – 120 bar Mix: EANx36 Tank: 80cu Weight: 8lbs Visibility: 40ft/12m Water: 73F/23C Exposure: rash guard, 5mm full wet suit (busted zipper), 3mm shorty, 3mm skull cap Comments: Autumn had just arrived in Oahu after a long series of flights from Haiti. I had been roped into working the morning charter. Nothing like a 5am start time to say “aloha!” Conditions were choppy as a fierce tradewinde pressed down on Koko Marina. The air was Hawaiian cold (65F/18C) and the water wasn’t much warmer (73F/23C). We dropped anchor and explored the crater rims of Hawaii Loa. There was a nice diversity of » read more «

Birthday Turtles
Mar
19
2010

Dive No.: 1997 Dive Site: Koko Craters, Oahu, Hawaii Max Depth: 35ft/11m Total Time: 38 mins Air: 200bar – 130 bar Mix: EANx36 Tank: 80cu Weight: 8lbs Visibility: 80ft/24m Water: 73F/23C Exposure: rash guard, 5mm full wet suit (busted zipper), 3mm shorty, 3mm skull cap Comments: Took a group of college-aged girls out on a turtle-finding expedition around Koko Craters in celebration of one girl’s 21st birthday. The turtles didn’t disappoint, as over half a dozen of the beautiful Hawaiian reptiles glided past us towards the wrasse cleaning stations. Several other turtles were sighted snuggled under the crater rim. Dive No.: 1997 Dive Site: Koko Craters, Oahu, Hawaii Max Depth: 35ft/11m Total Time: 43 mins Air: 200bar – 120 bar » read more «

Tsunami!
Mar
1
2010

Thankfully, the ‘massive’ tsunami that was supposed to slam the Hawaiian Islands following the 8.8 earthquake in Chile never materialized. It was quite a scare getting roused out of bed by blaring alarms and scrambling to find a bus to my friend’s house on a hill overlooking Honolulu. Once there, however, it turned out to be a pristine Hawaiian day with no problems. We cracked beers on the roof top, watched the mass exodus of hundreds of boats from Honolulu harbors into the open ocean, and then watched them all return when the big wave never came. Ahh, barbecue, booze, and friends… that’s what natural disasters are all about!