On day three, my son had a great time planned for the both of us. I had to be ready to go by 6:00 A.M. [like that is a problem for me.. I am up at 4:30 - 5:00 every morning anyway]. He came in to the condo and we loaded up the diving gear.. A quick brekkie and David, Denise and I were on the road to Maalea. When we arrived at the harbour, David told me we were going for a dive at Molokai .. For those who do not know, Molokai is an extinct volcano which last erupted 230,000 years ago. [I have often wondered just how they can tell that.] The rumour I had heard that it was spectacular... albeit crowded at times.
When we arrived there was the usual checking and release of indemnification forms to be filled out. They wanted to see our certification [so that is why David told me to take my card], and see if we wanted gear. We brought our regs, fins, masks, and levacore wet suits.... so all we needed was a tank. Once the necessary information was exchanged, we drove to the quay and suited up. We carried our other gear an went to slip 74 to the boat. More questions.. "How much diving have you done?" When I told them between 9,000 and 10,000 dives, they seemed to look at me a little askance,. However, I reaffirmed that the numbers were indeed correct and so we boarded. [attachment 199326 2011-05-15-triggerfish-Makena.jpg]
The trip out was about an hour, and for the most part was uneventful. If I had any complaint it was the rules and regulations that the dive master insisted on explaining to us. To be fair, I do appreciate the necessity... but it still rankled!!
: We we sorted into groups according to experience and got to introduce ourselves and where were from, etc, etc, etc. We arrived on site, and got geared up... tanks on, weights on, a repeat of the rules : and into the water we went. When all five of us in the group were on the safely line with the master, we descended. [attachment 199330 2011-05-15-Moorish-idol-Makena.jpg]
The clarity!! The life!! The sheer joy of being in the ocean again made me feel like a kid!!!. I reveled in the exhilaration of it all. I had not seen that abundance of life, with the variety since my sojourn in Mexico in Cozumel. We hit about 75 feet and could still see the boat above. The sun danced on us and the fish and we felt like we were in a living painting. I spent the first few minutes just looking and admiring. After a time, I settled down and started to take a few photos. Well, a few turned out to be over a hundred.: Many, of course, we substandard... but some turned out pretty well. A sampling is here.. Some triggerfish, goatfish, Moorish idol, Tangs, etc.
[attachment 199334 2011-05-18-11-David-Denise-Molokini.jpg] Plus of course, the happy couple
and I could not let one of me escape this narrative.:[attachment 199335 2011-05-18-Micheal-Molokini.jpg]
when we had reached the dive masters predetermined tank pressure of 800 lbs, we had to begin our ascent. I will say this for them, they know the area pretty well..... so much so that the ascent brought us pretty much right up to the safety line streaming from the stern of the boat. Once all the divers were up, and we had our names called out [just to insure that we did indeed board the boat and were not still diving], the anchor was raised and we headed for the SECOND dive spot. This was to be the highlight of the trip.... a manta ray cleaning station. This is a spot where the mantas come and assemble to cleaned of parasites and detritus by cleaner wrasse fish. I could hardly wait to get there... the kid in me was still awed by the experience. We arrived about an hour or so later on the site.[attachment 199332 2011-05-18-butterfly-fish-Molokini.jpg]
Once again, the rules were explained to us but with one proviso...... this was to be a live boat dive.... and they had to ask who had done one.. It seemed strange but of the whole group there, I was the only one with that experience. And so, once again, we prepared to enter the water. When the group was assembled on the fan tail, we jumped in.... all with the anticipation of seeing a large manta. The dive this time was not to be very deep... only 40 feet or thereabouts. Again, the amount of life was amazing; and again, I was enthralled. This dive lasted about 45-50 minutes.[attachment 199331 2011-05-18-squirrelfish-Molokini.jpg]
At the 800 pound mark on our gauges, we had to ascend, unfortunately without seeing a manta. We all climbed into the boat, along with the other groups. We all had not been on the boat for 2 minutes when the captain reported a manta in the water. And indeed, there it was, maybe 10 feet down and right under us. Ah well, such are the fortunes of diving Such a beautiful day... and while we motored back to the harbour, we all exclaimed that it was one of the best dives ever.More later
Calm seas
Micheal
When we arrived there was the usual checking and release of indemnification forms to be filled out. They wanted to see our certification [so that is why David told me to take my card], and see if we wanted gear. We brought our regs, fins, masks, and levacore wet suits.... so all we needed was a tank. Once the necessary information was exchanged, we drove to the quay and suited up. We carried our other gear an went to slip 74 to the boat. More questions.. "How much diving have you done?" When I told them between 9,000 and 10,000 dives, they seemed to look at me a little askance,. However, I reaffirmed that the numbers were indeed correct and so we boarded. [attachment 199326 2011-05-15-triggerfish-Makena.jpg]
The trip out was about an hour, and for the most part was uneventful. If I had any complaint it was the rules and regulations that the dive master insisted on explaining to us. To be fair, I do appreciate the necessity... but it still rankled!!
: We we sorted into groups according to experience and got to introduce ourselves and where were from, etc, etc, etc. We arrived on site, and got geared up... tanks on, weights on, a repeat of the rules : and into the water we went. When all five of us in the group were on the safely line with the master, we descended. [attachment 199330 2011-05-15-Moorish-idol-Makena.jpg]The clarity!! The life!! The sheer joy of being in the ocean again made me feel like a kid!!!. I reveled in the exhilaration of it all. I had not seen that abundance of life, with the variety since my sojourn in Mexico in Cozumel. We hit about 75 feet and could still see the boat above. The sun danced on us and the fish and we felt like we were in a living painting. I spent the first few minutes just looking and admiring. After a time, I settled down and started to take a few photos. Well, a few turned out to be over a hundred.
: Many, of course, we substandard... but some turned out pretty well. A sampling is here.. Some triggerfish, goatfish, Moorish idol, Tangs, etc.[attachment 199334 2011-05-18-11-David-Denise-Molokini.jpg] Plus of course, the happy couple
and I could not let one of me escape this narrative.
:[attachment 199335 2011-05-18-Micheal-Molokini.jpg]when we had reached the dive masters predetermined tank pressure of 800 lbs, we had to begin our ascent. I will say this for them, they know the area pretty well..... so much so that the ascent brought us pretty much right up to the safety line streaming from the stern of the boat. Once all the divers were up, and we had our names called out [just to insure that we did indeed board the boat and were not still diving], the anchor was raised and we headed for the SECOND dive spot. This was to be the highlight of the trip.... a manta ray cleaning station. This is a spot where the mantas come and assemble to cleaned of parasites and detritus by cleaner wrasse fish. I could hardly wait to get there... the kid in me was still awed by the experience. We arrived about an hour or so later on the site.[attachment 199332 2011-05-18-butterfly-fish-Molokini.jpg]
Once again, the rules were explained to us but with one proviso...... this was to be a live boat dive.... and they had to ask who had done one.. It seemed strange but of the whole group there, I was the only one with that experience. And so, once again, we prepared to enter the water. When the group was assembled on the fan tail, we jumped in.... all with the anticipation of seeing a large manta. The dive this time was not to be very deep... only 40 feet or thereabouts. Again, the amount of life was amazing; and again, I was enthralled. This dive lasted about 45-50 minutes.[attachment 199331 2011-05-18-squirrelfish-Molokini.jpg]
At the 800 pound mark on our gauges, we had to ascend, unfortunately without seeing a manta. We all climbed into the boat, along with the other groups. We all had not been on the boat for 2 minutes when the captain reported a manta in the water. And indeed, there it was, maybe 10 feet down and right under us. Ah well, such are the fortunes of diving Such a beautiful day... and while we motored back to the harbour, we all exclaimed that it was one of the best dives ever.More later
Calm seas
Micheal
