25 Jan 2024
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that my morning dive in Kohala was cancelled, so I booked yet another last-minute morning boat out of Kona.
Dive #10 – Kaloko Arches
We ventured north today, looking for a not-too-surgey site. The water is still pretty churned up, maybe even more so than yesterday, unfortunately.
Manybar goatfish:
A school of Hawaiian dascyllus:
Solo Hawaiian dascyllus:
Strawberry nudibranch / Phyllidiella pustulosa:
Raccoon butterflyfish:
Yellow Pacific trumpetfish!
Most of the trumpetfish I saw were the standard gray with spots on their tail variety, so even though this isn’t a stellar picture, I though he was pretty cool.
Very young Yellowtail coris:
Orangeband surgeonfish:
A slightly blurry, but adorable angle on this female Spotted boxfish:
Boxfish in profile:
A very small Fried egg nudi / Phyllidia varicosa going around a corner:
A not-so-intimidating little Whitemouth moray eel:
Finescale triggerfish:
Scythe triggerfish:
Dive #11 – Air Tanks
It’s a bit hard to see, but there are several other dive boats parked in this area. This mooring is just one over from yesterday’s first dive at Old Airport, which is just one over from Shark Fin Rock, which is probably where those boats are tied up.
Also, a rare view of Hualalai’s peak:
Visibility was definitely worse on this site, but my guide Carlos managed to spot this adorable baby frogfish!
He was only about the size of a quarter!
Lizardfish, perched on a coral:
GLOOMY NUDIBRANCH!!! (Tambja morosa)
This is a new-to-me nudi, and I spotted him all by myself!!!
My group to far ahead for me to show them, but the next group was coming up behind me, so I pointed it out to them so they could enjoy it too.
Another little Fried egg nudi / Phyllidia varicosa:
AND ANOTHER BABY FROGFISH!!!
Again, only about as big as a quarter, but look at his little fins and grumpy face! I love these guys so much!
I don’t have a lot of pictures from this dive- partway through, I noticed one of the fiber optic cables that triggers my strobes had come unplugged. Shouldn’t have been a big deal since I have 2, but all my pictures from that time were blue and unlit. Again, that should have been a major clue that something wasn’t quite right had I been reviewing my pictures…
I had a few hours before my blackwater dive, so I ran home to swap out camera batteries and change into a dry suit before heading back to the harbor.
We had just started loading gear onto the boat when the Captain decided conditions were deteriorating to a point where it wouldn’t be safe to navigate out to sea and called the dive.
Bummer.
Well, I’ve got one more shot at a blackwater dive tomorrow. Wish me luck!