26 Jan 2024
Finally, I get to dive off the Kohala coast!
Dive boats up here leave about an hour earlier than Kona boats- this one had a meeting time of 0730, which meant I got to watch the sun rise over the harbor.
Dive #12 – Black Arches Cave
I wish they had cancelled today’s dive as well so I could just go back to Kona where conditions were better. Visibility on this first dive was only about 10′, sometimes less, and even though my computer told me the water temp was 77°F, it felt much colder. Probably one of the worst dives I’ve done.
Arc-eye hawkfish:
There is so much particulate in the water that I wasn’t able to get a good shot of it, but that fish on the right is a Scythe triggerfish, but a young one, and his dorsal fin is actually standing up:
Triggerfish have a bone in their dorsal fin, but most of the big ones I see have their dorsal fin retracted. This guy kept his fin up while he swam around.
Juvenile Humpnose bigeye bream:
Another fish I don’t remember seeing previously.
Because the vis was so bad, I didn’t bother trying for pictures unless the fish was really close and I was confident I could get a clean-ish shot.
Dive #13 – Ulua Caverns
Visibility was slightly better here (15-20′), but it felt just as cold. My 5mm + hooded vest combo is just not warm enough for repeated dives at 77°. It might finally be time to get a drysuit.
Blue dragon nudibranch / Pteraeolidia semperi:
Reef lizardfish:
A school of Yellowtail snappers:
Ringtail wrasse:
Agile chromis:
Gold-lace nudibranch / Halgerda terramtuentis:
An angry Whitemouth moray eel:
Oval chromis:
Another juvenile Humpnose bigeye bream:
On our way back to the harbor, one of the crew spotted a whale shark!!! The captain stopped the boat and let us get in to snorkel with it.
But I stayed on the boat.
Whale sharks have been on the top of my to-see list basically since I started diving, but today…
Today was rough.
The crew was friendly and helpful, and while most of the other divers knew each other and had dove together previously, they were chatty and inclusive- they just weren’t my people. Combined with the fact that I had just changed out of all my cold, wet clothes and was finally not borderline hypothermic, I just couldn’t bring myself to get back in the cold water. Not even a whale shark could shake me out of the funk I’ve been in all morning, and honestly, most of this trip.
Definitely not the magical experience I though seeing a whale shark would be.
Unfortunately, while I was home, I got the call that my blackwater dive for the evening had been cancelled. Part of me said to call it a day and let my gear have some extra time to dry:
There’s no AC where I’m staying, but tons of fans, and a fan blowing from each direction at gear hanging from the doorways has proved to be quite effective at getting my wetsuits and wet (swim) suits to dry.
However, when last night’s boat cancelled, there was a family that really wanted to still be able to get a blackwater dive in, so Ross (dive guide / photographer extraordinaire) and Sierra (fearless captain) offered to move the dive to tonight, though at a later time because the family also wanted to do the manta dive.
So I booked a spot on that boat- we wouldn’t be leaving until at least 830pm, which means I won’t be getting back until midnight and won’t give my gear much time to dry, but for one last blackwater dive? So worth it!
Dive #14 – Blackwater
I noticed as I was setting up my camera for this dive that one of the fiber optic cables that triggers my strobes was cracked. So that’s why I’ve been having lighting issues! Ross had switched to sync cords on his camera and offered to bring me one of his now unused fiber optic cables tomorrow, so I patched my broken cable as best I could with some electrical tape and hoped for the best.
A small Mauve stinger / Pelagia noctiloca:
Lizardfish?
Hormiphora sp.:
Comb jelly with a hitchhiker:
Mantis? shrimp:
Larvel flounder:
A few comb jellies:
Cunina sp.:
I think this is another type of narcomedusa (like the previous guy but with fewer arms):
Appendicularian/larvacean:
Usually there’s a worm-like critter inside, but this one seems to be empty:
Hormiphora sp.:
A larval cleaner shrimp, I think:
Hydromedusa, Rhopalonema ?velatum:
Sea butterfly, Cavolinia sp.:
Giant potato chip! … or a radiolarian of the Rhaphidozoum genus:
Hydromedusa:
Fish from the top:
Appendicularian/larvacean with its worm:
Jelly of the Merga genus:
Eurhamphea vexilligera:
Solmundella bitentaculata:
Snakefish:
Comb jelly:
Appendicularian:
Either a jelly caught by a net caster or a chain of salp caught by a jelly:
Venus girdle:
During one of my first blackwater briefings, I saw a picture of a larval lobster riding a jelly and thought it was the silliest thing ever. And tonight, I got to see it for myself and it was just a silly in person as I had hoped it would be!
Absolute highlight of the dive!
Unfortunately, when I got home and started breaking down my gear, I discovered the real reason I’ve been having issues with one of my strobes- the bulb had shattered. I’m not sure when it happened- it was working just fine on my last trip and it always rides in my carry-on backpack, so it either sustained a hit while on the boat or simply succumbed to old age (my strobes are close to 10 years old now).
Bummer.
So, now I get to research new strobes (technology has come a long way since I bought my strobes) or peruse eBay for a matching strobe to my remaining one.