The Snerk Report
Volume 7
dive 177
Busy day, but Joe is going diving and has space for me. I am actually
on time even though it is Friday afternoon; that is when I realize "hey...
I need to bring air" I am stuck in the gridblock and wondering if Joe will
wait. I am weaseling around old ladies and thinking, "Those guys have
lots of octopus rigs and infinite air." I make a U turn and know that
lady luck is on my side when there is someone still at Dan's at 4:30, and
better yet, they actually unlock the door and let me in. There is nothing
like trying to rush to make things go wrong. The tank room is dark (real
dark), traffic has not gotten any lighter as I weave from one slow lane to
another. I think of Richard underwater and regain perspective. If they
have left, so be it. I turn off the clock on my dash, turn up the
soothing music, ignore the truck that has just had a nervous break down in
my lane and get there just as Joe and Thomas get back from their emergency
run of forgotten parts. Perfect dive buddies I'd say! The boat is loaded
and prepped, I simply step on board and we are off to the Kewalo pipe. Joe
finds the spot and we toss the anchor. I head over to check the anchor,
it needs untangling, but the uku patiently wait. One big guy and one
baby... guess who comes closer? They give me three distant passes and
start to drift off. I turn, and they follow me to a better location where
we do the same thing again. They stay out of range, but it is still light;
I leave. I will work on them later. I meet Joe and Thomas at the end of
the pipe. They seem to be cruising along fine. I head off to about 70'
and come across a really great octopus nest - hey, there is a really great
octopus in it! 5 minutes, 700 pounds and about 200 hickies later, I am
left holding an open empty bag, surrounded by uku (it is hard to tell how
many with all the ink), and a gun somewhere nearby. I manage to get the
gun and go for a medium size guy. It is a total gut shot and a dying
bleeding fish swims off into the depths. I try to convince myself that
whether I eat the fish or not probably does not matter to the fish, but I
feel wasteful and defeated as I head into shallower water. I play with a
beautiful and friendly nabeta in the sand and think about photography. I
head over to the inside islands and find Joe and Thomas cruising around.
Joe tells me of uku just around the corner... well he probably means those
three big guys that are following him. Forget photography, I drop into
the sand, but they are cagey and don't come close until I have Naomi
sprinkles and sand everywhere. I briefly wonder if I am being watched as
I usually put on this show only for fish. I laugh at the thought, the smile
of course fills my mask as the uku move in. I hit the big guy right behind
the head but above the spine. In hind sight I should have let go of my gun
and cleared my mask. The end result was that another seriously wounded fish did
not end up in my bag. I do not take great pleasure in hitting the fish,
the pleasure comes from putting the fish in the bag. It is like trolling, I
have never believed in lighter line and longer fights, I like my fish in
the boat. I am low on air, the sun is setting, time to head up. I
decompress and reflect on the events: the most fun I have had all
week, ruthless buffalo hunter, needless slaughter, no tako poke, I really
wanted tako poke, I wonder if those hickies all over my face still show?
I have eaten more fish than I have killed, does that mean I am ahead in
some odd moral game? Are uku somehow superior to say mosquitoes just
because they are smarter than I am? And what about mu? I obviously
need more deco time to properly consider these matters... hope to dive
tomorrow. I surface to find the others had a more successful dive. Joe
pulls anchor and we head home, the sunset colors and growing moon hog the
sky. It is hard to be too depressed when I feel like one of the luckiest
people on earth.
dive 178
Saturday, lets see... build a railing or go diving?? Joe, Richard and
Thomas are taking the TV guy (Calvin) out to make the "Joe Dituri Show" as
well as finish off the official training of Thomas as a rebreather diver.
I show up early and spend some time scrubbing the hulls... feel free to
read the line again: I show up early and spend some time scrubbing the
hulls. The others are all on time and we are soon off for a beautiful day
at sea. The topics of conversation flash between the existence of God,
mutual hero worship, and why it is definitely not Richards fault that he
cannot do a simple thing like make cornbread from a box mix for breakfast.
AKU BIRDS! There is of course the terrible heating of the gas oven, Rich
throws out concepts like radiant vs. convective heat in hopes baffling the
unwary and to explain why it makes perfect sense to ignore package
directions when using a gas stove. There is also the problem of expiration
dates, he of course thought it had only been in the cupboard a short while,
I guess Lisa has not been clearly labeling items with purchase dates as
she puts the groceries away. AKU BIRDS! I am stuck on a boat with blind ass
deep divers who wouldn't see a bird pile if they were knee deep in guano.
We tank up with gas and food (some one else pays), and head for the
ships. The talk becomes more high tech, with the occasional baby music
class comparisons, and I trying to get Rich to give me his soul (I almost
have it, but there needs to be some clearer and more definitive
guidelines... I am working on it). Calvin thinks we are all slightly
nuts... nothing new. We tie off and jump in. The water is clear with no
current. I see three kawa kawa circling around the sub as it passes by.
I would dearly love to shoot one, but they are just Tchaikovsky playing as
background music. I head directly into the kagami spot not going along the
ledge, but across the barren sand. There is an eel swimming along but he
stops, coils and if he could hiss at me, he would. How very snake like,
guess it comes with the shape. The junk pile turns up a tight ball of
taape, some lemon butterflies pretending to lay eggs on the bottom instead
of broadcast spawning (know anything about this, anyone?) and six really
cute and friendly papio. I hope they still like me as well when they are
older. I head along the ledge to the spirals, weke everywhere, but not
much else. I vaguely wonder what two fifths of 1300 pounds is, then try
to times it by three. O. K. time to head back to the ships. I am low on
bottom time and cruise to the pyramids about 15 feet off the bottom. The
tourist transport boat arrives along side the sub. As the boat gets
closer, and louder, I cannot help but get down between the pyramids. My
belly is touching the sand by the time I actually see the three boats on
the surface over my head. Well, I did swim off the bottom for some time,
and I was brave up until the last bit. I see no need to do it again for
awhile. (I am such a benthic, wall seeking field shrew, I swear.) I am
back at the ships just when my meter clicks over, perfect, hey, those
rules really work!
There is a wall of bubbles from bow to stern of the outside ship.
It looks as if she has either just sunk, or is about to lift off the
bottom. The bubbles belong to strangers... we couldn't ever muster a
bubble wall of any strength without some intensive training. I find my
bubble impaired group near the surface and I sneak in as if I had been
there all the time. Thomas comes up, a fully qualified rebreather guy...
he is happy (except the part about back to work in Seattle tomorrow). He
just recently took up diving because his wife thought he should be doing
some less dangerous sports (Who is more foolish? The ice climber who gave
it up for something safe like diving with the black box of death, or the
one who married him and wants him doing safe things now that he is a family
man? When this guy takes up needlework, it will be using special poison
needles that you can only get from Bolivia.)
We do a second dive (after surface time and snacks), at the kewalo
islands. I swim over to yesterdays tako hole to see if the snerk slayer is
back in his same house, there is a large eel in residence. I guess the
place just wasn't the same after he got broken into (probably a good
thing, it could be embarrassing to repeatedly get beat up by the same
octopus... "Here she comes again, could you excuse me for a moment while I
rip the regulator out of that woman's mouth? I'll be back in a flash,
watch for the ink bit... ") The pipe is alive with little guys, the
nabeta is still in the sand hole, but not nearly as trusting at mid day
compared with yesterday evening. I see nothing in the way of game and head
up empty. Calvin is chasing a blue tang around with his camera, most
pleased with the exotic footage. (I take it back, Calvin is now using
Richard's camera, there is the slight leak in Cal's housing.) We are all
happy divers as Cal pulls anchor and Captain Joe heads us home. There is
talk of getting teacher Joe on film during classes and arrangements are
made. Calvin will have to make a Jennifer show if he wants to go diving
again. He does have a pretty good scam going... of course viewers are
going to wonder when he just goes out with the same people and calls it a
whole new plot!
dive 179
Long windy week, I have not been diving and I am ready. Unfortunately,
waiting for the wind to drop has not proved helpful. Dick and Lyle are
planning to go and I invite myself along. We meet, given the weather, we
figure the hole is a good safe bet. Lyle's friend Paul is coming in empty
handed, Dave and two other skindivers are coming in empty handed. The
call of the wild seems to turn Dick's boat down toward ewa beach. We are
heading to the tiger shark spot. This makes me happy because we can pass
the four-masted training ship. It is the Nippon Maru, just full of upper
class young sailors in need of training. There is a beautiful rainbow
framing the ship with Diamond Head in the background. I try to ignore the
fact that the rainbow seems to end at the 100' hole. The shore is pretty
rainy and finding our marks is tricky. We toss the anchor and Lyle goes
down to set it. Dick and I are not far behind. I see Dick break a
rubber as he loads his gun. He drifts off doing repairs. The bottom is
strewn with large boulders, an obvious terminal moraine from the Pearl
Glacier, or certain evidence of Cataclysmic Flooding. There is also the
possibility that we are close to the dredge mountain and there will be
lobsters everywhere. The anchor is in the mist of a reef patch with
several hundred manini schooling up. There are also lots of tiny opelu
kala charging around doing evening antics. There is no sign of a ledge
anywhere. Dick arrives and as none of us know where we are, we split up and
venture off. I head west into oblivion. There are less and less patches
and soon it is a field of algae with an occasional coral head. I realize
that it will be real easy to get lost, especially after sunset. I head
back, retracing my finsweeps and am glad to see a familiar group of fish.
Like returning on a hike, as soon as you see something familiar you think
you are almost back to the car. Hmmm, I forgot about these bits... I
manage to eventually get to the anchor at about the same time as Lyle, he
is also empty handed. I figure that with such good anchor finding skill,
I might as well take off on another exploration and I head off toward
Diamond Head. The boulders seem to dwindle down as I head from rock to
rock. My path is the obvious one of connect the dots, yet when I turn to
go back there seem to be dots in several directions. Rather than picking
and choosing with odds of losing my way at every boulder, I figure to just
head in the direction that I think the boat is. I am cruising in a vast
algae field, there is an occasional pocillapora head and occasional large
brown humus hanging off the bottom. There are two big humus feeding on the
bottom... wait those are papio shapes! I stop and whistle and sure enough
they both come a running happy to see anything different. I shoot one and
while untangling the wrapped and twisted fish tied to a stick, the tiny
opelu kala all show up, no doubt in response to my antics. They soon
depart and I am once again alone in the middle of the Sahara, wondering
where the large flock of geese went to. My brain picks a direction and I
head out. I come across a large side boat window, fully intact and not
long down. Hmmm, must have been exciting when someone lost this. I debate
dragging it along as it would cost money to buy one, but then I would end
up having to build a whole boat to go around it. I turn it over and once
again am surrounded by opelu kala. These little guys are TV deprived and
show unbridled enthusiasm for absolutely anything! This time I am ready
and follow them back to familiar ground, I recognize the same bits from my
first venture and can retrace my original return path to the anchor. There
is no sign of anyone, and cold and dark, I head up. Dick passes beneath
me, empty handed, he debates asking me a question. I thought he was going
to ask something complicated like where have you been and what have you
seen. I was all prepared to answer with the number seven, but he thinks
better of it and continues to the anchor. I decompress watching the boat
above me pitch. The ocean is full of white caps and it looks to be a long
ride home. I surface to find Lyle empty handed, he did see an uku which he
missed... thinks he must need to change the slings. Dick surfaces, said
he got lost and surfaced and was on the surface for several minutes unable
to see the boat. He came across a bunch of bombs strewn on the bottom, I
guess that rules out the glacier theory. We bounce our way home,
frolicking right and left through the froth. I have managed to out spear
everyone and am pretty full of myself. Bright, bouncy and cheerful. I am
so lucky to go diving that even the refreshing unexpected cold shower back
at the dock does not dampen my spirits.
dive 180
My days in Hawaii are numbered, Nils and I are planning a dive. Dick
and Lyle are also going so we join them on Dick's boat and head for the
100' hole. Lyle is over with the anchor and the rest of us follow. The
water is clear, there is no current (very slight ewa) the opelu are hanging
on the Diamond Head side. I drift down slowly, Dick heads off Diamond
head. Lyle is posted on the ewa side. Nils heads to the anchor which is
directly shore ward. He is swimming with a frog kick. It looks pretty
silly. He is dragging the inside corners of his fins and using them to
control his speed exactly like I do it. We must look really silly
when I am in the lead cruising across the bottom. That's my bear cub! I
give Nils some Naomi sprinkles to keep him busy and head to the Diamond
Head side. The white weke are there in mass and I happen to see 4 or 5 of
them come down beside me and sleep. I marvel and the way they absolutely
do not move in the surge and can hold their position with just the tips of
their barbles. The group of sleepers is slowly growing as fish descend
from the school and fit them selves around the starting 5. I want to join
them but have trouble laying so still. I find that if you really lay on
the bottom, I mean with your ears in the sand, it is easier to stay still.
Ground effect of ocean swells. I get into the idea (you might have
gathered there is no sign of game) and press myself into the bottom and am
slowly surrounded by weke. I am rather pleased at how close they get and
am renaming myself "woman who sleeps with fish", I glance upward, side eye
as my ear is on the bottom...(interesting noises by the way)... and see a
tiny uku overhead. I glance back and see Lyle looking at me from distance,
the weke and I move on at about the same time. Lyle starts to head up. I
have not used any air and decide to head out to the ewa cable crossing.
NIls suddenly comes racing around the corner and hides behind a large rock,
with his gun ready. I can't figure out what he is doing, but he seems to
be involved in some fish behavior experiment. I leave him and move on.
There is no sign of fish anywhere and it is a lonely trip. On my return I
pass over the same big humu / eel hole that I always pass over. Wait a
minute, there are rocks blocking the entrance. Sure enough, I see the ever
changing eye of and octopus checking me out. Well, I have just enough
bottom time to prove that the last war with an octopus was just a fluke
loss. I remember Roger's adage "octopus are like women, they always do the
opposite of what they think you want them to do" I convince this one that
I really want her to stay in the hole and sure enough she comes right out.
I am handling her really well with one hand and I get my bag out and go to
put her in the bag. I am just full of how much of a master I am. The
whole thing, smooth, expert, simple. Well I forgot to pretend that I did
not want her to get in the bag and I am soon covered with octopus,
tentacles across my mask, in my regulator etc. She is perched on the back
of my neck. I have one finger firmly under her mantle as I head up with my
gun and bag in the other hand. I am thinking this will be a little
embarrassing when I join the others. Lyle heads into the boat never
figuring out why I am swimming with my hand over my head. Nils is just
coming up the line and Dick is approaching from ewa. I swim over to
Dick for help. He is now looking right into the sun and as I approach,
with tentacles all across my face, he answers question that he imagines I
might be asking. Like shaking his head no he got nothing, then pointing to
Nils coming up the line. I know the exact second that he actually sees
the problem as he bursts out laughing. He wants me to head to the anchor
line so he can help there, but I know him well enough to know that is the
safely margin he needs to really have fun with it. (he has obviously had a
boring dive). I tell him just to hurry up, he gives a good yank, and I
feel all the hickies that I will have to explain instantly form, little
circles across my neck. We both then peel her off and put her in the bag
(at least half way in). Nils comes along and tells us of his escapades
with parrot fish. He would put out sprinkles and run and hide and then
there would be choke parrot fish, big ones. Either that or he choked when
it came time to shoot the bird wrasse. Perhaps he was strangling birds
with Naomi sprinkles. Our underwater conversations are getting better,
Dick just had to look at my face to burst out laughing again.... see if
he gets any tako poke!! We surface and Lyle wonders what I was doing
swimming around the bottom with my hands around my head, but as soon as he
sees my face, there is no need to tell him. He has words of wisdom about
playing with octopus. We pull anchor and head home. Another great after
dive feeling. I am not sure if I will get out again before leaving town,
please send dive reports, so I can be jealous of all of you out enjoying
the marvels of the sea.
dive 181
The howling gale did not abate as I patiently waited for my tenacious
German cold to improve. Days pass. Tribble heeds no storm warnings and
his boat is always ready to prance into any thunder that the seas throw his
way. I met him at 5:30 for a trip to the hole. Lyle showed up with
fishing pole and came along as a boat babe. There was one other guy we
dragged along against his will and better judgment, some old dive buddy of
Dick's. It was great to be in a boat again, enjoying the ribbing,
catching up on adventures and exchanging lies. We decide on the pyramids
as there is a good chance for a current at the hole...the full moon is just
about to rise over Diamond head.
I have on my brand new super thick wetsuit and an extra 3 pounds to make
sure I sink. ( I could have used two). The water is sweet beyond sugar and
I swim down glad to be truly home again. We all hit the bottom at about
the same time, there is no game to be seen except a large school of really
small uku. Dick sets the anchor and we all go our separate ways. My
dive is mostly wandering around in a happy daze, noting all the little sea
slugs, playing with the fish. I never see anything big enough to shoot as
I cover the Kagami spot, the pyramids, and the spirals. The end of my dive
has my eyebrow expanding as I surface one foot at a time it is a long
decompression as I slowly equalize. My wetsuit is warm and I savor every
second of my return to serenity. No big fish were seen except one large
Kahala, the only thing caught was one taape by the boat babe. The moon is
up and there is an orange ball sunset. Glad to be home and ready to go
diving again.
dive 182
Friday evening, Brian and I show up on Dick's boat in time for the start
of the sailing races. The ocean is a little calmer and Brian wants to go
someplace with fish. Dick opts for Ewa, and we make our way through the
starting gates of the race with out getting hit or sworn at. I am just
happy to be going along as the scientists discuss USGS and UH relations.
Dick puts the boat precisely where he wants it (at the Japanese anchor,
one minutes boat ride Diamond Head of Marnie's rock) I am off to set the
anchor. The water is as clear as it gets and the slight DH current keeps
the boat right over the anchor. I straighten out the chain, but am side
tracked by the uku all around me. The biggest guy is on final approach
when I hear the anchor break loose, I would have ignored it, but I was
unfortunately laying on the chain at the time, having chain slide under you
is one thing but being hit by the anchor prevented me from taking the shot.
I square things up and follow the uku off the ledge and into the sand. I
get another chance and take a shot which I thought was good, but the uku
must have ducked, the shaft whizzed over his head. I load my gun, hear a
shot, and turn to see Brian fighting a nice size uku. I am down current
and I hope the smell of blood will bring the fish my way, but they remain
in the distance. I see Dick approach and figure to head off toward
Marnie's rock. Brian calls me over and takes me toward the rock that has
the big sponge crab on it. Sure enough, the crab is still there, and Brian
wants to know how they taste. Underwater is no place to tell him that I
have taken them home twice and both times managed to leave the things in my
car for two days until the overwhelming bad smell reminds me of their
existence. OK, so it was back in the days of 4 bottles, deep diving, etc.
Never the less, they always bring to mind a particularly bad smell. I
debate telling Brian that they stink, but just give him the " I have no
idea" sign. I do know some one who breaks off just the claws and claims
they are quite good. I head off along the inside ledge, there are some
unusual encrusting montipora corals growing and I have soon lost the art of
spearfishing as I get sucked into the wonders of the living ground beneath
me. I come across a small snowflake eel out in the open and just right for
an aquarium. I stroke his head with the end of my spear and he reacts
just like a pet. I wonder at the touchy feeliness of eels. I have always
assumed them to behave as fish... not particularly snuggly. Most fish seem
to be able to swim real close and not actually touch each other, they have
even perfected non-contact sex. Very not mammal. I had not thought about
eels. I repeatedly stroked the little eel, and realized how much contact
they must always have against their bodies, I wondered about eel sex...as
well as the nerve receptors in their bodies. The corner of my vision
picked up the large papio, he was right there, what had I been doing? I
turned my gun and shot. It was a prize fish and a perfect shot. He
trembled and fell to the bottom. The spear shaft wedged itself in between
the ledge and some rocks the fish came back to life and tore itself off in
one move and it swam away to die. In less than a breath I had gone from
the great underwater nature scientist to Jack the ripper. I hoped that I
would perhaps come across the carcass the way a child might look for a toy
left at the beach days ago. Knowing there is no chance, yet unable to not
look. I made it up to Marnie's rock and found myself swarmed by lots of
kala. There were small weke ula as well as small uku but it was difficult
to make them out through the ball of kala I seemed to be in the middle of.
I chased the enclosing cloud and their reactions served to attract all the
remaining kala that had been keeping their distance. The group circled
around me becoming more and more excited. I began a coughing attack as a
reminder of my German cold, that at least caused the cloud to move off of
me. There seemed to be no evidence of big uku and I headed back down
towards the anchor. Brian and Dick were in the exact same place and I
wondered if my dive had been some sort of time warp. Neither guy had seen
much and I continued past them in search of action. The water was so clear,
that sight distance was great, but the fish were getting hard to see
because of lack of light. I could still see the distant bubbles of the
other divers but had trouble making out the papio in front of my gun. The
papio was so friendly that I could not bear to kill it (Jack the ripper
still playing on my brain), I tested the touching theory and it darted off
in the direction of Dick. I soon heard the gun and knew that Dick
would have a dinner. It was time to call the dive because of darkness,
even though I could still easily make out the rocks below as I
decompressed. Brian arrived, happy with his catch and wanting to make
small talk with me, destroyer of all things beautiful. I remained in my
melancholy state as Dick arrived with the papio. I began to snap out of
it when I surfaced to a sunset streaked sky, there is more beauty in this
world than I could ever hope to waste. Brian and I pull anchor and it is
a joyful crew that heads back to port. I regale any listeners with
exploits of my travels and note the stars are well into spring. The days
are getting longer, the wind is dropping and diving opportunities look
good.
dive 183
Wednesday morning and I can't believe my eyes; the wind has stopped. My
heartfelt thanks goes out to whoever it was that left town. You should
travel more often. I spent the day pulling nails and watching the surf
lines on the silky smooth sea. I need to collect sponges for class and am
planning a dive. Dick is back from Kwaj. and is planning a dive, I tag
along. We are leaving the harbor and run into a friend of Dick's who has
just brought his powercat over to haul out at the AlaWai. He is up for a
dive and we head for Kahala. We anchor at Joe's Barge and I get my
collecting bucket, speargun and enter the ocean. Closing your eyes when
you are really tired, cold water on a hot day, laying in a hammock with a
diet coke, actually nothing compares with being in the sea. We are right
over the barge and opelu kala are everywhere, there are fish everywhere
but I concentrate on sponges and rock turning. I catch glimpses weke of
varying sorts sauntering in and out of range. I am picking up sponges and
other interesting invertebrates as I slowly head for the opelu kala swarm.
A uku comes into view.... I am concentrating on rocks... O.K. if you are
going to be a pest.... by the time I pick up my gun and drop my bucket he
has wandered off, he passes by Dick's friend and he nails him and bags
him. I pick up my gun and stand ready.... sure enough there is grampa uku
playing shy. It takes three passes to get him in range then I send the
spear high over his head.... phooey, the worst part is that I know that I
was watched, you know tripping when walking is only bad is someone is
looking. I load my gun and go back to rocks. A small kahala cruises by,
then suddenly, fish all start diving for the bottom. I await the giant
shark. It turns out to be Dick with a large ulua in his grasp. He
signals that I should get the anchor and heads up. Everyone has fish but
me. Harumph. There is still time, but judging from Dick's instructions,
I had better at least check the anchor, he could have tied the chain in a
bowline around the barge. Sure enough, the anchor takes a bit of
maneuvering. The ukukiller heads up. I have the whole ocean bottom to
myself. My beeper goes off but I have plenty of air and I am feeling like
sponges are not pray to be proud of. The mu start arriving in droves, the
show is about to begin. Where do they come from? There is a funny nenue
thing in with them. I am sizing them up, small enough to be safe, large
enough to be impressive, they are all around me, not just in one direction
so it makes it difficult. They slowly move away as I spin around with my
gun out like a trapped soldier. Smooth move, I have forgotten how to
fish. My deco time is building up and reality is pulling me up the line.
I pet Dick's ulua as we decompress. It is a beautiful fish, not the
biggest nor the smallest of the many that were at the deep barge. He
seems to just head over there and pick them up one by one. This one is in
the 45-55lb range, I am sure we will hear the accurate weight soon. If we
hear nothing, assume it is around 40. I have a bucket of sponge. I feel
very left out and hope that the anchor will catch on the barge and I will
have to go free it. Dick does a perfect anchor pulling job and the boat
is soon gliding back to port. The good news is the seas are calm and I
have a couple of full tanks waiting. The not so good news is that I am
scrubbing the hulls and moving Roger's powercat from behind the Mo'o and
into the dry dock at the Ala Wai for some needed repairs. All of you who
are still in town should set aside a couple of hours this weekend, call
Roger for info., I of course am exempt as I can poison bottom paint with
my looks alone!
dive 184
Friday afternoon and I am ready for a dive. I invite Robert for a dive and
we plan to meet at the Ala Wai. Dick and Brian are planning a dive and I
see if I can tag along. Wonder of wonders, we are invited to all head out
on the Mo'o. We head for the hole just after the Friday afternoon crowds
have left the harbor. I am going to set the anchor and Brian and I head
over when the boat hits neutral. The water is clear, and free of
currents. I set the anchor and look around. The visibility is great, but
I cannot see any game. It is a good day to wander about as the conditions
are perfect. I check on Brian, make sure Robert is OK, and head out the
peninsula. Three weke ula swim by, but since I still have one in the
freezer, I don't get too excited. I head out and see Dick drifting down
on the cave, he checks it and then comes over to where I am. With a master
spearfisherman about, I feel compelled to let him pass and head back
toward the hole. I hear his gun fire so I turn to see what I missed. The
papio has wrapped him up completely before taking off into the depths. I
let him untangle himself and avoid the 130' mark he must be at. I head
back and see Roger is leaving the deep cave, he chases three weke ula back
my way, they are looking sweeter, but they keep their distance this time.
I check my air knowing there will be plenty since their is no current. I
find I am into deco time, I guess those beeps I thought were from heading
up too fast when I left Dick were really the start of deco time. I head
to the hole to check on Robert, he is fine and has seen some weke. I tell
him I am going up and head for the anchor, I hear his gun go off. Once
again missing all the action! He has shot a small MK right through the eye
and has it well in control. I still have 1200 lbs. of air and suddenly
five minutes of deco is looking like nothing. I look for the hairy red
lobster at the inside ewa rocks, and study the sky as opelu zoom over head.
Nothing to shoot anywhere. Ten minutes to decompress, I decide to swim
mid water and tour the area, getting in my deco time and being ready to
drop into action at a moments notice. I cover the area until it looks
unfamiliar and wander back through the opelu. It is really clear, I can
see everyone's bubbles at the same time. Back at the line Roger and Brian
both show up with weke ula in their bags. We surface to a vibrant orange
sunset. Brian can't get over how beautiful the hole was, he swam out to
the cave first and shot his weke ula in front, only to have 30 yellow spots
swim out of the cave while he was busy. The school then regrouped out in
the sand where Dick ran into them. It is good to know that all the fish
are not gone yet!
dive 185
Sunday brings so much sunshine the ocean has turned a beckoning peacock
blue. I spend most of the day doing odd jobs and end up changing leg oil
down at the boat yard. There is a strong contingent of beer drinkers, but
I manage to get two other divers and we head for the Mo'o iki. The engine
runs poorly, sounds like high speed jets on the corroborators.... the
additional boat problems upsets the boat owner as he faces his never ending
stream of maintenance. The Pursuit, Kamasugi's boat is anchored at the
ships with several skin divers working the area. We anchor at the
pyramids, the water is clear, calm and currentless. I am the first one
down and the uku follow me for the last 30 feet. I miss and load just as
four large Kahala cruise by and chase everybody away. My tank is filled to
2500, I had better go deep to use some of the air. We all have the same
idea and the hunter squadron hits the airplanes in a unsuspecting attack.
We each hit a wing tip and circle around to the next plane, nothing but
clear water and small fish. The engines are full of menpachi and would
make nice pictures. There is a large group of opelu kala cruising, they
are no papio even though Mac keeps hoping. I am out of bottom time just as
we get back to the pyramids, it has only been fifteen minutes!! This is
like those deep divers! I head inside to the Kagami area and spot a
fourth diver off in the distance. Deco is building up, I figure to move
higher in the water column and "off gas" for awhile. I will drop down on
the returning uku at the end of the dive and pick one off. I swim over to
the ships. There is nothing but swarms of mating butterflies. I head back
and find I am in the clear, 50 minutes at 50 feet. I drop down and see
lots of weke ula and uku in the dwindling light. In less time than I can
hold my breath my bottom time runs out, the uku are larger but farther
away. I head up the line and join the rest of the gang. The wind has
fallen away and the moon shines down on us from above. Warm calm summer is
coming. No one has any fish but we are all glad to have gotten wet and are
happy to get the light to work and the engine to flounder us safely back to
port.
dive 186
Tuesday and the weather is looking good. Roger wants me to check
out the Power Cat; what better way than take it for a dive? I invite
Marvin for a check out dive (see if he can actually swim or not) I plan to
take him to the Kewalo pipe. The boat runs fine and the gas problem is
on its way to being solved. We toss anchor and I put Marvin in his first
ever Hawaiian pack, (Snerk special) he is comfortable and his buoyancy
worries seem to be for naught. We tour along the pipe and find it
particularly devoid of fish. The bottom ten feet are murky making seeing
distant uku impossible. The dive is uneventful except the joy of being in
the water again. Marvin pulls anchor, (another good trait) and we head
home with still plenty of daylight. The rest of my day does not go as well
and I am feeling very broke and figure the only thing to do is to go
diving. Lyle is planning a dive, but I miss connecting and plan on taking
the Mo'oiki out even though I have not gone through the carbs yet and I
doubt Roger has either. I hit the Ala Wai around 5:45 and am happy to see
Lyle still in the harbor....I should have known better, he is installing
his new fish finder and transducer. Sunset comes and I find myself
settling for an evening swim. The water is warm and soothing, my hair is
wet and all problems get put in perspective.
dive 187
Saturday and with reason to celebrate (Nils is going to Harvey Mudd next
year) Nils and I plan a dive. Lyle graciously offers to take us out to the
hole. Nils is a little apprehensive since he got lost the last time there.
We plan a recon dive where we learn the area. (I lead him away, he leads
me back) Lyle is just up for killing some fish. We anchor (or so we
think) and all head down the line. The main anchor is right on the hole,
but his small secondary anchor actually was not attached to the anchor line
(an oversight) and is off somewhere. Nils and I head out looking for it
and soon find it. I hear Lyle's gun go off, I swim the secondary anchor
back and see Lyle putting a weke ula in his bag. I am not sure what to do
with the anchor so I tie the line in an obvious bow tie so that he will be
sure to see it. Nils and I then take off on our scouting expedition
first to the diamond head cable I show him the cross bar, and where the
ledge is in relation to the hole and he leads us right back. There is
little current and there are lots of opelu kala around, the water is medium
murky making for good conditions. I hear Lyle's gun, but he is not in
sight. We head to the ewa ledge and see a giant lone weke ula in line to
get cleaned but he stays right next to the rock but leaves as we approach.
He still want his cleaning and does not want to loose his place in line...
he circles back a few times but remains shy. We head off the ledge and
look at the rocks Nils has a good idea where the hole is and leads us
back. Off we go to the die hard battery and out the peninsula we see uku
but they take off and don't come back. Nils and I spot a nice pole spear
and make the road kill. We swim back along the outside ledge and come
across the big school of weke ula. There are several grampa size guys in
the distance, they are shy and I soon see why as Lyle comes and takes
another one. Nils heads back to the hole and finally shoots a big parrot
fish.... unfortunately the shot was long and the barb did not enter the
fish. He was very proud of his three scales. We still have plenty of air
(aluminum tanks), but our time is up and we head up. I notice that the
secondary anchor has been untied and wonder what Lyle has planned. He is
too busy using the newly found pole spear to help him get the tako and not
the eel. As Nils and I watch him from above we wonder if he isn't after
the eel as well! I know he will be low on air. He has his gun, a bag of
fish, the pole spear, the heavy tako on the end of the pole spear... and
what about that other anchor? As I see him finally coming up, I worry
about his air/bottom time. He declines air from me but I think it is the
mold on my mouthpiece that dissuades him. I notice he does not have that
other anchor and since I still have 1500 I try and ask him if he had time
to take care of it. He shakes head in disgust at my pestering and gives me
the I am dizzy signal. We all surface and proceed to get in the boat. I
ask about his health and find that when I think he is dizzy and near death,
it really means "you are driving me crazy". I again ask about the anchor
while I am still in the water with fins on. He says he took care of it and
not to be tying bow ties on the line. As we pull the anchor into the
boat, it suddenly becomes apparent to him that the second anchor was not
actually attached! Some people can shoot all the fish, get tako, make
mega mistakes and still find it in their hearts to be in a bad mood and mad
at me! Well I still had air, so I re-rigged my tank and got back in the
water. It was a perfect drop and I was right on the hole. I load my gun
but find only a congregation of parrot fish. I look for the one with the
head ache, but they all look fine. The anchor is right where Lyle left it,
all folded up and ready to be pulled into the boat, funny how the line
floats off toward Diamond Head, seems obvious to me. I dawdle a little
just because it is nice to have the world to myself. The fish are thick in
the evening light, but I see no game. I slowly ascend through a ball of
opelu feeding all around me. I can watch the boat streak the ocean over my
head as they await my return. It is as if they are trying to mark the spot
but their lines are erased as quick as they are drawn. I think of children
trying to write their names in the sand before the waves come. The ocean
has a way of making memories out of everything we do. I surface to find a
thankful and contrite captain. The sun is setting as we blast in, Nils
is worried about making his date on time, Lyle is worried about looking
like a fool in a dive report and I am listening to the Lomi Lomi hour on
the radio and drinking in Waikiki.
dive 188
Wednesday afternoon, the winds are turning southerly and the swell is
coming up. Dick, Stan, Richard, and I are divers. Stan is visiting
from Kwajalein. and brought friend Tommy along to be a boat babe. Tommy
thinks a lady with a spear is like a dog riding a bicycle, so incongruous
that it is funny. Now I really want to spear a fish. Richard has not
been diving in a month and is just looking forward to getting wet. Stan
has never actually been to the 100' hole (too much tropical fish diving,
not enough spearing). I go down to set the anchor. The water is perfectly
murky and full of fish, as I pass 60' there is a coldacline and the water
turns clear. The anchor is just Diamond Head of the rock with nothing
between it and the cable. I manage to maneuver it over to a small nub of
rock. There is a small diamond head current. Small fish fill the cave,
but most are high above me. I swim up current toward the ewa ledge and see
nothing. I pick up a fork that somebody dropped and wonder what kinds of
fish attracting noises I can make. I glance up and back lit above me is
the poster chart of spearable fish. A rainbow runner heading Makai, three
ulua heading ewa, a bunch of big uku and weke ula straight over head,
there are also a couple of small papio just to round out the picture. All
the fish are in the murky warm water about 30' above me. I figure there
are so many fish that somebody will still be there when I make it up there.
Nope, the water turns warm at 60-50' deep and it also turns murky and I
see only uku in the distance. I drop the fork and they ignore it. I dive
down and sand roll and this brings them down. They come down ewa of the
ledge, out in the sand and one by one show me how to properly roll in the
sand then each one heads back up to warmer water. What brats!! Now I am
on the bottom in the clear water again and I can see the weke ula. I head
back up and they move down not far from the hole. I drop in on them
thinking to take a shot, two small perfect size kahala join the weke as
possible targets. I find my self thinking kahala, or weke? Is there still
some of that oyster sauce in the door of the fridge? What vegetables do I
have? Kahala or weke? There are both in range and I am missing my moment.
I shoot, but I am not sure at what. Well, there is a big discussion
amongst the fish as to who was being shot at, what type of spear I have and
how the barb works. The kahala think the barb looks quite edible and the
weke like the sand it stirred up. I finally get my gun loaded and find my
self alone and cold. I go back to the warm water and I guess all the talk
about Sacred Falls and death has really affected me because there seems to
be a dead body around the other side of the hole, I can see what look like
human legs awash in the lee of the current. Wait, those are human legs! I
am trying to think what to do when I realize, "Oh, it is just Richard".
the no bubble thing is really tricky. I wonder if he could have swum right
into the uku... probably. I head back upcurrent and glimpse a big tight
school of opelu kala up near the ewa cable. I swim toward them but never
see them again. The rest of my dive is spent close to the clear water. I
spot Dick, he is also empty handed, shucks I figured him for getting two
of those big uku. Dick heads up and I soon follow, it is still plenty
light and Richard gives it a few more minutes before joining the gang on
the surface. There is a lot of boat talk (Richard has a dock sitting
empty!), Stan is on his first power cat and is full of questions. Dick
pulls the anchor and we head back to the Ala Wai while it is still light!
No fish on board, but everyone is glad to have had the chance to visit.
The surf is coming up, but so far it is onshore. Perhaps dawn will bring
glassy conditions and our first summer swell.
dive 189
Rainy, cloudy Thursday evening, the surf is about 3 feet and the ocean
looks murky. Michael calls and is up for a dive. I hem and haw and he
says he is going anyway we plan to meet at the Mo'o at 5:30. Mike, John,
Lyle, Doc and I take the Mo'o from her slip and head out onto what turns
out to be a glassy sea. The conversation centers around Mike's party,
boats and the fish I saw yesterday. Captain Mike takes us to the hole and
I drop anchor. There is little wind and the slight Diamond head current is
the only thing pulling the boat. The old guy and I are the last ones in
the water and the murk is thick enough that I keep him in sight. The
anchor is right on the hole and it is surrounded by divers. We head off up
current with out seeing anything, I keep Doc in sight just for safety
reasons and he leads me right out the peninsula, down the cable and over to
the deep cave. (so much for worrying about my elders!) He is seeing
something outside, but I cannot make it out. We head back and part
company near the sand hole just outside of the hole. The big school of
weke ula arrive and I take a good shot. The shaft is just in front of the
eyes, and it tears off before I have a chance. The school hangs around
and I reload and try to find the same big one. I don't want to wound two.
No luck, I wound two. They are hanging back and out of my range. I head
back to the anchor where Lyle is hanging around empty handed. Hey, he has
a giant gun with THREE rubber slings, and an extra wrap of line. I give
him my gun and swaggered off with his. Ready for bear and nothing but
butterflies. I can hear some tank banging and since I owe a couple of
minutes decompression I head back to the anchor. That old guy had just
gotten a 15 pound white ulua that had been sleeping in the hole the whole
time!! I head up to find Lyle with my spear. There is a large uhu at the
end of the shaft and I quickly wonder how I can phrase it in my dive
report. " Once again, my spear brings fish back to the boat" I have lots
of decompression to pay. The top 15' is clear and the murk below appears
like a cloud bank I am flying over. The sun finally peaks out as gets to
the dry side of the world, the sudden evening glimmer brings magic to my
lonely decompression. I surface to find the hero fish stories flying.
Lyle points out how straight and accurate my gun is. "Well at least we
know whose fault it is when I miss fish!" Lyle and the hero pull the
anchor while I cheer them on. The Mo'o glides us back and we catch the
wave of the day as we come in the channel. Another good day after all,
funny how a dive can change everything.
dive 189
Rainy, cloudy Thursday evening, the surf is about 3 feet and the ocean
looks murky. Michael calls and is up for a dive. I hem and haw and he
says he is going anyway we plan to meet at the Mo'o at 5:30. Mike, John,
Lyle, Doc and I take the Mo'o from her slip and head out onto what turns
out to be a glassy sea. The conversation centers around Mike's party,
boats and the fish I saw yesterday. Captain Mike takes us to the hole and
I drop anchor. There is little wind and the slight Diamond head current is
the only thing pulling the boat. The old guy and I are the last ones in
the water and the murk is thick enough that I keep him in sight. The
anchor is right on the hole and it is surrounded by divers. We head off up
current with out seeing anything, I keep Doc in sight just for safety
reasons and he leads me right out the peninsula, down the cable and over to
the deep cave. (so much for worrying about my elders!) He is seeing
something outside, but I cannot make it out. We head back and part
company near the sand hole just outside of the hole. The big school of
weke ula arrive and I take a good shot. The shaft is just in front of the
eyes, and it tears off before I have a chance. The school hangs around
and I reload and try to find the same big one. I don't want to wound two.
No luck, I wound two. They are hanging back and out of my range. I head
back to the anchor where Lyle is hanging around empty handed. Hey, he has
a giant gun with THREE rubber slings, and an extra wrap of line. I give
him my gun and swaggered off with his. Ready for bear and nothing but
butterflies. I can hear some tank banging and since I owe a couple of
minutes decompression I head back to the anchor. That old guy had just
gotten a 15 pound white ulua that had been sleeping in the hole the whole
time!! I head up to find Lyle with my spear. There is a large uhu at the
end of the shaft and I quickly wonder how I can phrase it in my dive
report. " Once again, my spear brings fish back to the boat" I have lots
of decompression to pay. The top 15' is clear and the murk below appears
like a cloud bank I am flying over. The sun finally peaks out as gets to
the dry side of the world, the sudden evening glimmer brings magic to my
lonely decompression. I surface to find the hero fish stories flying.
Lyle points out how straight and accurate my gun is. "Well at least we
know whose fault it is when I miss fish!" Lyle and the hero pull the
anchor while I cheer them on. The Mo'o glides us back and we catch the
wave of the day as we come in the channel. Another good day after all,
funny how a dive can change everything.
dive 190
Friday afternoon, Dick is a diver and Marvin and I tag along. We get
there early to miss the Friday madness. The ocean is calm and there is
plenty of light, we head for Marnie's Rock. There is still plenty of
light when we toss the anchor. Marvin is still waiting to fix his
regulator and as a result, using my regulator with no BCD inflator hose so
he is also using a Snerk pack again. This time he has his own aluminum
tank so his weight is off. I am of the more weight will keep you out of
trouble and not scaring the fish theory, which is good when you are not at
Marnie's Rock and the bottom is covered with sea urchins and eels. We head
down the anchor line and into the murk. The surf has kicked up a surge
which has the fish rushing about nervously. The good news is there are a
lot of fish, we are surrounded by opelu on our way down, then palani
encircle us as the bottom comes into view. It is murky, I am keeping a
close eye on Marvin. A large school of yellow spot papio zoom by, fast
and out of reach. Dick appears and I tell him about the fish. He no
sooner heads for the rock when I hear his gun go off. I head over to see
if the fish are still around, there is nothing but the master putting a
good size papio in the bag. There is a big turtle cruising along and I
head over to pester it. It wants nothing to do with us and heads out to
the depths. We head back toward the ledge and I look up to see three
large mu over head. They don't give me a chance, but I know I could work
on them on a day like today. We start to head ewa and run smack into
Dick's buddy, the sandbar shark. Marvin does not see it and thinks my
shark sign means "let's swim", I am impressed by how nonchalant he is.
Since Dick has a bloody fish, I think I had better tell him about the
shark, but he has left the area. The fish are really active, palani and
opelu kala everywhere. I see a couple of MK move out of sight and hear
Dick's gun go again. That rat.... I keep looking high to see if the mu
will pass again and am lucky to glance up just as the large hammerhead
passes over. Nils just started his senior singing, and I get to see my
first big shark of the year, the season is upon us. Marvin misses all the
action as he tries to keep from sinking. I am thankful that he has no more
than a single sea urchin spine and has managed to avoid all eels. The
surge and the murk has taken its toll on Marvin's air and we wander back
toward the rock. We pass Dick who now has a mu added to his cashe, I
tell him about the sharks and I give him my empty bag to fill as we head up
with the fish. Feeding opelu swarm us as we decompress and provide the
entertainment. The surface is in serene sunset mode belying the turbid
turmoil going on beneath us. The only clues are the birds that stop to
dive into the action as well as the opelu occasionally touching the
surface. Ten minutes brings the bubbles of the hero up the anchor line,
he has another good size papio and tales of ono passing overhead. I have
to put up with endless harassment about not getting anything and as soon as
I try to blame taking care of Marvin, he chimes in with how he was helping
me lure the fish! No mercy! At least Dick feels sorry enough for me to
offer me one of the papio....hmmm fresh fish any way I can get it. Marvin
pulls anchor and we head back, pointing out the various channels and
orienting Marvin to Hawaii by sea instead of air.
dive 191
Sunday's ocean is glass smooth. Nils had been in charge of making
Poisson crue out of the uhu that Lyle had shot (very delicious) but his
hands were now sore from squeezing so many limes. His request for the day
was to get a citrus juicer. Now it just so happens that the last time I
dove David's spot (near Marnie's rock), I came across a great juicer. It
was made of glass and would clean right up. I carried it around for
awhile, but it seemed like it would be one more piece of clutter in my
kitchen cupboard. Three years and I have not needed one yet. I remember
seeing and shooting a papio, leaving the juicer where it could be found
again. (some where halfway between Marnie's rock and David's spot along
the inside ledge).
Marvin has just bought the Grasshopper from the Pfeffers and is
dying to go anywhere. He actually believes that taking off from Hawaii Kai
to go to Marnie's rock seems like a good idea! (new boat or what?) He
agrees to be captain and Nils and I are on our way. The lineups are
sketchy and lucky someone noticed that the fathometer was on simulator mode
before we jumped in at 400'. We anchor just exactly where I think the
juicer is, and as Nils and I descend, I have visions of myself just coming
back up to the boat in one minute mission successful. (really impressing
the hell out of Marvin) Well, the moments when I don't look a fool are few
and far between, and none were forthcoming. I can't for the life of me
remember where I set it down. Well no use crying over not being able to
make lemonade. We head over to Marnie's rock to check the action. The
palani are there, as well as waha nui, but nothing else and we leave it to
go back to the original mission. One in five coral heads when you squint
and look at just the right angle from just the right distance, could pass
as a lemon squeezer. Nils and I find all kinds of not juicer items,
shells, lines, old pieces of who knows what. Alas, we must return to the
anchor unsuccessful. Oh, the shame of it. The opelu come and visit and we
watch Marvin snorkeling overhead as we decompress. He chastises me for
leading him on a wild goose chase but still has too much new boat owner
euphoria to be taken the least bit seriously. Nils pulls anchor
(complaining about his sore hands) and we blast back to the Ala Wai for
fuel, then another 20 minutes back to Hawaii Kai. The ocean is mirror
smooth, except for the pelting rain which keeps us from becoming too
spoiled.
dive 192
Marvin is hot to dive off of the Grasshopper, we head out for a midday
visit to Fantasy reef. I manage to find it with out marks other than the
usual "I think that lines up on something", probably because I have a
fathometer and the water is clear. We head down to check it out. I have
little hope of shooting anything, but am looking around anyway. There are
friendly turtles everywhere, and Marvin is enjoying watching them. He is
much more comfortable now that we have visibility of more than 5 feet. I
leave him exploring caves and chasing reptiles and head down to my favorite
spot. There are a lot of fish and with daylight, the bright red sponges
stand out to make the area very photogenic. There are no uku, I do a semi
check on Marvin, thank goodness for open circuits... he is still breathing
and the silver bubbles are easy to spot. A small papio darts away as I
approach. I double around the other way, with hopes of catching him on the
rebound. I glimpse Marvin's silver bubbles out of the corner of my eye and
wonder how he moved so far so fast to wreck my plan... I figure to join him
and focus on the shinny silver bubbles, which are, oddly enough, in the
shape of a shimmering Kagami. Oh, I need to pay more attention in the
future. I have been in the presence of a great fish and ignoring her. I
call and get her to turn, a slim silver fun house mirror, she bends and
shimmers, turns and approaches my funny noises. The water is clear and I
have no hiding place. I try to act nonchalant, looking at sand, not paying
attention etc. but she can see me fine from where she is and close enough
for her is not close enough for me. My heart yearns after her as she
looses interest in me and leaves my life forever. I get over it and head
back to join my buddy. He is cruising around and still has air. (or so he
says) We swim around one of the arches and I check out the throng of
mempachi swarming in the crack, a good spot for a pole spear. I hark back
to my lost glory and wonder if the kagami is down at the next channel, she
could be just waiting for me. I head off in that direction and loose
Marvin along the way. I figure he has headed back to the boat. Murky
water has moved in an I have great hopes for the fish. Alas murky water
has moved in and I can't see a thing. I hope Marvin has found the anchor.
There is no major current and the seas are calm so I am not too worried.
He is not on the line when I return, (he is above me heading back for the
boat) and I leave the anchor and do a short search for him. No luck, I
hang with the black humus at 15' as the visibility continues to decrease.
We had perfect timing on the dive and I am happy to find Marvin in the boat
when I surface. We take advantage of our situation, blast back to the
marina drop off tanks (air in Hawaii Kai, place by Longs, has $1.10 a fill
special going on.) Kimo fills our tanks while we eat and get ready for an
evening return.
Sunset gives a chance to anchor again, only to find the Diamond
Head express full throttle. I know it is going to be a miserable
experience, but the sun will not allow us to wait out the ripping current.
The water is super clear and inviting, we can clearly see the bottom at
90'. We hem and haw, and just when I decide not to go diving, Marvin heads
over. Boy those BC's can really fly when conditions are right. Thank
goodness for heroes lines. There is some debate if it counts as a dive,
but I maintain it is not worth logging unless you actually get down, no
matter how long it takes and how much air gets used.
dive 193
Wednesday afternoon, I join Dick and Lyle for a dive trip in Waikiki.
There is plenty of daylight left and we debate following in the wake of
Navatek and sneaking around Diamond Head. Lyle says the hole was happening
on Monday as he had gotten an eight pound yellow spot and there were plenty
more. Well, that sounds good, we drop in at the 100' hole. Lyle is down
with the anchor. The water is clear as I enter and I can see the rocks
below me, along with the white bag that indicates Lyle already has fish.
There is a slight Diamond Head Current, almost the perfect amount. Dick
is using a half tank and I know I will be the last one up so I head in to
check on the anchor while Dick drops down on the action. I can see lots
of fish hanging up current and I wander off the Ewa ledge and lay in the
sand among the ewa rocks in 95' of water. There are weke ula everywhere.
They are busy courting and do not pay much attention to me. There is one
good size guy, but he energetically tickling the back of a vixen of a
weke's neck with his barbels. I am way too anthropomorphic not to be
touched. It seems like evolution should encourage neck tickles over
watching for predators and today it does, at least with me. I have heard
two shots taken as I lay in the sand. The heniochus are like evenly
scattered clouds in the sky over my head and I peacefully play in the sand
following a miter trail and finding the beautiful shell burried at the end
of it. The weke join me and I can actually count three between my mask and
the end of my spear.... now that is getting them close. They suddenly move
off as three large Kahala appear, once again I can only think of hoodlums
as the homey G's come cruising by. I see both Lyle and Dick pass by
with fish each going separate ways and it occurs to me that I should
probably move some where. I check my air to find that I have been down ten
minutes and apparently have not been breathing. With this much air I stay
at the bottom of the ledge and move out towards the cable crossing. I
see no game, except some smaller weke that pass me twice. It seems really
silly to shoot the smaller ones after playing with the big ones. Now it
actually makes sense not to shoot these either! I circle back to the hole
and still have lots of air. My sand patch seems like the most fun as it
was out of the current and I head back out towards ewa. Dick is coming
back out along the ledge and he is bringing the gangster Kahala with him.
I roll in the sand as the kahala pass by, I get one interested and he comes
by to dare me to take a shot. My decompression meter has beeped.... well I
will wait at least until I have 1500 pounds before heading up. I see the
others are heading up the line and I wander back toward the anchor. Dick
has a large weke ula and a large mu in his bag. Lyle is getting ready to
powerhead an eel (no doubt to impress me HA!) but the shell goes off when
he fires the gun, not on impact and the eel is left seemingly better off
than the rest of us who still have residual ringing in our ears. I hold
Dick's fish while he unties his spear. The weke either put up a good
fight, or was an expert in macrame. There is lots of neat plankton
drifting by and decompression is full of interesting visitors. I really
like diving.... I need to do this more often. I have no remorse at all for
not having taken a shot. I surface to find the boys discussing their fish,
Lyle has a mu and weke ula as well (the smaller version of Dick's catch),
they cannot believe I did not see the many dumb mu that were there, and
Dick does a David imitation mocking my lack of fish. I bemoan the fact
that I really did need a fish to give to Reid at Hose Service Inc. who jury
rigged a fuel pick up line for me to for the Prince William. He did it
after his boss said it couldn't be done, and he did not charge me for it.
I thought a fish would be a good thank you. Well Dick does work with
those guys, and generously offered me his weke ula to claim as my own and
pay the debt. I don't know if I will pull off the lie, but at least I will
help to encourage good deeds. The world can always use more neck tickling
and jury rigging.
dive 194
Thursday morning.... Marvin has not used his boat for a whole day and is
ready for a dive. He invites me along although he does mention that my
dive reports don't always show him in the best light and that I always seem
to be the hero. He says he will let it slide, not steal my thunder, and
could I show him where Fantasy reef is again? Seems he couldn't find it as
easily as he thought. I sealed my invitation by telling him there is a
whole lot of nothing. The weather is rougher than the last time out, but
it is a down wind run. It takes me awhile to find the spot and we bounce
around, putting the boat to the test while I try to remember the marks.
We anchor and head over. There is no current and the water is clear,
perfect conditions underwater. The dive is a nature walk through a set up
park. We find three small octopus, three pairs of helmet shells, five
barracuda, bright sponges and long spined sea urchins dot the landscape.
A large turtle comes up behind us and pesters Marvin until he gets some
attention. He leaves me for reptile (what's new) and I go see if the
little mu have any big brothers. There is no game and we spend our time
petting lemon butterflies (as they raid a damsel fish nest), and chasing
puffers. With no current our air lasts for the better part of an hour and
we mosey up. I pull anchor and we take the slow up hill ride home, 15
minutes and we drop off tanks on our way in. Not a bad way to start the
day... now off to fix the Prince William, deliver fish (I don't pretend
that I shot it.... ), and wait for my next dive.
dive 195
Friday and the sun rises... seems like a good reason to go diving. Marvin
is up for exploration and we anchor at a Kahala junk pile that looks good
on the depth recorder. The water is clear and the current slight. The
anchor is on an older pile of zees that I am not familiar with. It is
swarming with opelu kala and lots of reef fish. There is another pile of
newer pieces of concrete nearby and we swim over to see if the grass is any
greener. I see a helmet shell upside down and find it full of anenome
hermit crabs. The shell is dead, but the congregation of crabs suggest
there could still be a stench problem. I pick it up and begin to lug it
around.... just what I need, another stinky project... oh well there is
always the freezer potential (heaven help me(and the neighbors) if the
power ever goes out at my house) I look back to check on Marvin and see
him being followed by uku, they are almost in range, but it could be tricky
to miss Marvin. He gets down and behind me, but I can not get the uku
close. They come straight as if talking to me. "Hey, we liked following
that other guy. Why are you so mean to him? Do you really think we can't
see that spear of yours as clear as day?" I give up and we head back to
the anchor and go explore a layer of tires that lie on the other side of
the first pile of concrete zees. The tires are laying in a single layer
and are stacked tightly together. The method seems to be planned, but it
attracts very little fish life. The other end of the layer brings us to
the start of familiar tire area and I fit another piece into the kahala
dump map. Marvin is getting low on air, and we zip back down current and
find ourselves at the anchor with some play time. I hand Marvin the gun
and he wanders around in search of something to shoot. He teases me that
he is going to shoot the dacillus, and I have visions of the spear right
through the tire that is laying behind the fish! (shades of Mike!) My face
must have looked good as he decides to unload the gun instead of taking the
shot. (all those mom years pays off!) We head up the line, what a way to
start the morning.
The rest of day seems to deteriorate before my eyes, and when I get a
chance to go out with Dick late in the evening I jump at it. Mike and
his Dad come along and we take off in search of adventure. Dick points
out that he has tons of fish and it makes no difference where we dive. We
all pay homage to the master (and Captain) and Mike picks Marnie's rock as
his choice. There is plenty of light and we head down there discussing
world and family politics. Both seems tinder box ready for explosions,
with no easy solutions. The ocean is clear and calm as we throw over the
anchor. Mike and I drop down and find ourselves lifting the coiled anchor
line off the bottom. Mike heads out to the rock, and I head along the
inside aiming to come back along the ewa ledge. I find a large wana party.
Every urchin who is any urchin is at the event. I guess that there is an
evening spawning planned. (either that or a couple of them are getting
married.) I feel that my legs will be safer as the surrounding area must
be urchin clear. I glance up as I approach the ulua hole and see a papio
tail vanishing off across the flats. Shucks, should have been paying
attention instead of using my gun to rearrange the seating chart. I am too
impatient to hang around to check if there is a urchin hierarchy and I
leave the confused souls and head up to uku corner. There is one small rat
uku pretending to be a ping pong ball between Dick and I. Dick had not
seen any fish. I next come upon the other master diver and he is bored
enough to take time to give me the full report. I amazed both his
ridiculous choice of hand signals as well as the fact that I actually seem
to understand it: "I have not seen anything much, have you seen any uku?
Only one small one? Oh, yeah, I saw two tuna, could have been ahi, but I
think they are big aku. They still might be around, keep you eyes open.
Maybe when it gets darker, the weke will come in." either that or he is
taking a trip for two to Las Vegas and planing to walk all over the town.
I leave the chatter box and head down toward David's favorite area. I am
gliding along the ledge and just for old times sake (and maybe the fact
that someone thought I need to work out more (Ha!; more implies a base
line!), I decide to really swim like I was on final approach with more than
four Nasos heading toward the net. Wow! I am really flying.... this is so
pointless....I glance off the ledge and see team uku pacing along my side.
I am afraid to suddenly change anything and I blaze along until I come to
the first mushroom rock, I zoom along the inside side and come to a -there
is a police car on the other side of the yellowlight-type of stop and get
ready to fire. Sure as termites on a streetlight, those uku come over the
top at point blank range. My trigger sticks and they are gone. I manage
to get the gun to fire and load it and fire again... must have been from
not rinsing it this morning, salt crystals in the trigger. Opelu suddenly
dart by in a mad panic and I am ready for tuna.... nothing but panicked
opelu. I head back towards the boat thinking about going to look for that
blasted lemon squeezer. Some one probably stole it, that's what happens
when you leave things in plain sight, you can't trust people anymore. I
look up and see a big otaru aku staring me in the face. I am carrying my
gun around mid way along the body, and there is no time to get ready before
he is gone. Back to the anchor, Mike and Dick are hanging on the line,
Mike has something. I head out to the rock and find an excited hand signal
king going off about tuna. He really wants one and heads off in search. I
look up to see five rainbow runner passing by. I never get close to those
guys but I manage to swim along side about ten feet off the bottom and take
a long shot and the closest one. Well now they are friendly! All five
come over and count coo on my spear shaft!! AAAhhh!!! Sassy fish!!! I am
out of air and surface to find Mike had gotten a nice size uku and gets the
hero award for that as well as pulling the anchor. We head toward Honolulu
in the evening light with the full moon above Diamond head sending a
glimmering road for us to follow. The long ride back is filled with our
recounting our dives, heroes all, in our own eyes. My problems seem to be
in better perspective. We are greeted at the harbor with the Friday night
fireworks.... not bad.
Saturday morning, time to meet Joe at the Mo'o. I haven't seen the guy for
awhile, his gear still seems like slight over kill. There is a couple
from Houston along, the guy, Phi, has a gray box of death and is just as
technical as the rest of that gang. His wife Melanie is coming along as
boat babe and team photographer. The boat owner shows up and we head out
for the little hole. I am supposedly captain, but with the owner looking
over my shoulder, it is a good chance to catch up on my lessons. The
winds are on shore and the ride is bouncy and wet. Joe gets up on the bow
and plays ride um cowboy. It is good to see that guy again, one tends to
forget just how far childish enthusiasm can go. I hope he doesn't fall
off.... I finally get to the spot and Joe throws the anchor. I
put on my gear and head off to set the anchor. The anchor is a little off
the ledge, but it is in plain sight. The current is fairly slack and I
head out in search of game. I follow Mike's transect line and find it has
at long last broken up. The float still marks the end and there is a good
size pocillapora head growing on the float. I think about making it more
secure so it can last the 15 year life span of the coral head. It would be
fun to have a giant coral head that floats in space. While I am wondering
how much mass the float will float, a group of weke ula swim by. I pick
the biggest and my trigger sticks again.... second time, and I know it was
rinsed. I am worried about my gun and I load and shoot it just to make
sure, it works fine. Fifteen minutes have gone by, so I return to the
anchor to check on the others. There is no one about and I swim out toward
the ledge past the cable. I come across The boat owner and he asks if I
have seen the others. We cruise the ledge in sight of each other. The
current is picking up toward Diamond Head, but we have a down current
return to the boat so it isn't bad, he get low on air and we head back
looking for the two who don't have bubbles. They have another half hour of
planed bottom time so I am not too worried. The chief of worry is along
with us and by the time I get to the surface (deco cut short by frantic
waves), he has the perfect scenario for disaster all worked out. "What if
that Phi guy had some sort of sinus problem, and they couldn't actually get
down and got caught in the current?" The current is now pretty good, but
it was slack when they started. We debate the possible disasters back and
forth as we tie the anchor line off to a float. Melanie is slowly getting
alarmed by are preparations to search along with our coast guard alert. I
keep thinking of solutions that would avert the problems. "Surely Joe
would make the bottom and he has that batman belt. Phi seemed fairly
prepared as well, (he even carries prophylactics.... (you never know!) )
they both have marker sausages etc..." Melanie is selected to settle the
problem of how worried we should be.
Worried guy: "Melanie, how good of a diver is Phi?"
Dutiful wife: "Oh, he is a very good diver."
Worried guy: "Does he have any experience?"
Dutiful wife: "Yes, he is C.I.D. and R.S.V. P. class two"
The engines are started and panic resumed. I try to straighten out the
obvious miscommunication, ( Melanie should have known just by looking at
our gear), I ask her "Phi has spent lots of time in the water hasn't he?"
Dutiful wife: "Oh yes, why he even has his instructors P.D.Q."
We are off to the Diamond Head buoy! We flag down a fishing boat and get
them involved. The coast guard boat that blasted by us does not respond,
it seems like our radio receives but does not send. We see no sign of the
divers, but their expected bottom time is just about to finish. With my
suggestion, we go check the anchor and sure enough they are coming up the
line. We tie up and wait for them to surface. Melanie is very happy and
relieved and looks to the instigator of this whole thing as her hero for
somehow saving her husband. (who didn't even know he had been saved!) They
surface 15 feet from the boat and give the OK sign, unfortunately, they
have let go of the anchor line and are caught in the current. The turtles
are swimming backwards away from the boat and we have move the boat over to
them. The fishermen come and check with us and are happy we found our
missing guys. The divers had a great dive, played with fish and saw a
shark, (that was really good, you should have seen Joe nonchalantly talking
about it; "It's not the sharks, but the sea urchins that get you"). They
were none the wiser for our antics. It could all have been a ploy to
prevent having to sit around and wait for divers while the winds were
onshore and the Mo'o was wallowing stern into the waves. Everyone was
elated and glad to head home alive.
Sunday morning is a repeat of yesterdays crew. Phi, Joe, the guy in charge
of worrying, Melanie, and myself. Melanie is a diver today and we plan on
going to the ships. Less current, no anchoring, nice place to dive. We
tie up to the buoy and send everyone over. Melanie chooses to stay with
Phi and Joe because she is not that confident, hasn't made a dive since
way back when, wants to stay safe, is worried about diving with the
radical one (me), and opts to stay with the always safer boxes of death.
Up until then I would have said she was bright, now I realize beneath that
honey sweet exterior, lies pure genius. Phi says "don't worry honey
bunny, I'll watch over you", his chest swelling with manly pride. After
yesterday, she is not, I say NOT letting her baby out of her sight,
period!! The water is clear and you can see the ship laying beneath the
boat. There is a dive charter boat going to tie up on our stern and I high
tail it before the zoo arrives. Dive class is going on on the deck below
us, Joe gives me the O.K. and I head off to look for game. The subs are
running and I can hear the ever present whine as they approach. There are
a group of mu, too smart for me that disappear off toward the pyramids. I
head over to the kagami spot. If they are going to ignore me, well, I will
ignore them as well. HA! Well nothing here except fearlessly friendly
white weke, they surround me and smother my visibility with curiosity. I
head back to the ships, but instead of my usual ground shrew like behavior
of following the ledge and returning the way I came, I venture off into the
great flat plain and try to make a straight line to the ships. This
unshrew like behavior is disconcerting and I keep altering course towards
the safe side. End result; I hit the ledge right at uku corner, not far
from the pyramids. I probably followed my exact same path about 10 meters
to the left! The good news is that there are uku chased off the ships by
divers and mu chased off the pyramids by the sub. None of the fish are
interested in me, but I plan on cornering the mu and uku between me and the
submarine. Now if you had to avoid dangerous monsters in a computer game
and the choice down one path was a giant, white, whining, mid water shark
capable of swallowing sixty people at a time, or down another path a tiny,
quiet, little pigtailed turtle, scared to leave the bottom, so timid it
tries to be camouflaged, and uses a stick as its only primitive weapon,
which would you choose? Let me tell you, those fish are really stupid,
they will never advance to the next level. I circle through the pyramids,
wave at the tourists on the submarine, and head back to the ships. There
are divers everywhere each in their own world. Photography, videoing,
posing, chasing turtles, playing with fish they are all having fun and seem
oblivious of each other. The two boxes of death stand out as different,
but Joe seems to be putting out bubbles, probably some tricky exercise for
experts. Melanie and the Captain are decompressing and we come up
together. The captain got a late start (tying up the other dive boat), and
he has enough air that he heads back down and checks out the airplanes, he
returns with tales of big weke ula and an empty bag as well. The other
boat slowly fills up with divers, and is gone before the boxes return. Phi
comes back elated at his great and fun dive, Joe has a killer head ache, a
broken box and is still in a good mood. Even in weakened state, he
volunteers to pull the anchor or in this case cast off the line. We return
to the fuel dock, and fuel for tomorrows antics. Phi gets hero award for
buying me a cold diet coke. See, there are more ways to get hero award
without spearing giant fish and giving them to me!!
dive 196
Sunday afternoon, the underwater artist is in town and we plan a dive with
Lyle to the kewalo pipe. Janetta has not been underwater for over a year,
but she loves the pack I got her for Christmas (really cool, I am jealous
of it myself). There is no current, the water is slightly murky. The
anchor is on the pipe and we wander along watching fish mate, they are
doing it everywhere!! A too small papio comes to visit and I do a pretend
shot, piece of cake. Out at the end of the pipe are five slightly larger
papio. Lyle has brought along a "drop gun", to get those sassy fish after
a shot. This is not the first time someone has come up with the two gun
theory. The little gun as a very small range and I don't know how many
dives it will make. I can see there are uku far out in the sand but am
unable to draw any interest out of them and we wander back to our little
fish observations. We watch Lyle's butter knife performance, which is
twice as entertaining with two guns. We watch the antics from a safe
distance, no uku appear and we turn to leave... guess what kind of fish are
in the row of seats right behind us? There are four uku between my gun and
the pipe. I get a promising first pass, and settle in for some uku
hunting. A strange whistling sound suddenly begins. I wonder if it is
Lyle with some new gadget trying to get a hold of us. Janetta hears it as
well. I can not see Lyle. Janetta is beginning to get cold anyway and we
head back to the anchor. The whistling stops. Janetta is using my
regulator, and I am using some new superduper thing... perhaps it is some
sort of 1500 psi warning? Never trust those industrial designers. The
sound has stopped, so I can not determine if it was caused by me. We head
up playing with the myriads of phytoplankton that fill the sea. Janetta is
even more pleased with her pack, and feels ready to start some serious
drawing. Lyle surfaces with no fish, some disgust with the "drop gun"
idea, and not having heard anything unusual at all. He had spent the
better part of the weekend helping friends in drydock, and was very happy
to get out diving. The sun is just thinking about setting as we head back
to the Ala Wai, we hope to get out diving again soon.
dive 197
Thursday and the sun is shining. Marvin is back in town and Janetta and I
take advantage of someone who has not been diving and is desperate to head
out. We head for fantasy reef. The surf is flat and the seas are fairly
calm. Marvin lets me circle the boat around like a dog looking for a place
to settle down. No matter how few the options, it is always nice to circle
around. We anchor and head down, there is a slight Diamond Head current
and I park Janetta on the back side of an island to do some drawing. I
have promised to keep her in sight and Marvin is cruising around the same
island as well. I wander off to a more familiar part of the reef (we are
on one of the outside islands). A large kahala is tailing me, but he
doesn't get very close. There is a small mu, dinner for two, but I have
house guests and am a party of four until next week anyway, I don't try for
him. I turn around to glance at Janetta's bubbles and lo and behold, she
is not in sight. I have wandered further than I thought, then I head back
to the wrong island group. I don't want to waste to much time looking for
them, although I am certain Marvin and Janetta are fine. I surface to find
my upcurrent instinct has moved me an easy flight down to the others.
Marvin has seen a large "I don't know what kind" fish.. I assume it is the
Kahala, but load my gun again just in case. Janetta is working away with
her new superior paper and has not noticed my absence at all. She still
has some air and I play with little urchins and shells under rocks until it
is time to surface. Marvin is the first to surface and he swims right on
board. It is a lot easier to get on a boat, when it is completely awash.
I am fairly certain that we are in dire straights, but ever the airplane
pilot.... "we're fine, just get on board" The engine starts even though
it is half underwater (keep those seals well greased) and we are soon
underway and trying to figure out what combination of things could have
caused the mishap. It takes the whole way back to the marina to get the
boat dry, but then she seems fine and does not take on water. It is
always a good day when you get back alive, and even better when you still
have all your stuff.
dive 199
Tuesday... I feel like I will not stave off this cold... might as well go
diving. Dick is going, Lyle and the old guy with no voice are starters
as well. Lyle is up for Kahala, the ocean is calm and we head that way.
I throw the anchor at the baby barge and Lyle heads down to set the anchor.
There is a slight current and as I watch Dick and the old guy sink
beneath the boat, I decide to leave my gear bag on the surface, I never
spear anything anyway and with the new gun, I will have enough to deal
with. The water is clear and the current is not that bad. I get to the
bottom and load the new gun. Wow, I can actually load it pretty easily. I
see the old man up ahead, he is posed for a shot.... I can imagine I see a
smallish uku swimming just out of his range. I plan to head it off at the
pass by hiding behind a concrete Zee. I wait a bit and peer out to see
three weke ula right in front of me, there is no uku in sight and since I
am being watched I choose the largest and shoot it. I have no bag and the
nice old guy lets me put the fish in his bag. I head inside toward the
baby barge and see some large mu heading off toward the turtle barge.
There is nothing in my vicinity, and I check my air and time and head to
Joe's barge. I cross the sand and imagine there are hoards of uku
following me, I make a large sand trail and spin and hide behind the first
object expecting to see uku.... there is one 10 ounce guy eagerly trailing
me. The barge seems devoid of life as I swim across the deck. The next
pile of Zees has some MK and I head over to check them out. I see some mu
and try to get them close, I take a shot and hit him in the cheek.... he
shakes the shaft off, I am not sure if it had reached the end of the line,
or had hit the bullet proof mu helmet. I am happy with the gun... it
hasn't missed yet! I see the mu still hanging about and play hide and go
seek around the concrete. I sneak up and find myself face to face with not
only the mu I was planning on shooting, but two or three larger uku. I
have a split second to debate changing plans and shoot at the mu as I
intended. It is a gut shot and I give the gun as much slack as I can and
the mu takes off under one of the zees. I have to move a couple of rocks
before I pull him out. He is still a bit feisty and I am wondering what to
do with him. I don't mind papio and uku in my wet suit, but mu are known
biters. Should I put him head up or head down? It seems risky either way.
Just in time, my meter rings the "time to go up" bell and I can safely
keep the fish held by the gills as I return to the boat. I drift straight
down to the anchor line and find the others all decompressing. Dick saw
big and small ulua but did not get a shot. Lyle saw rat uku that would not
come close and the old guy got lost and safely found the boat again. No
one took a shot. I have the gun that never misses and am feeling smug, but
come to find out... I was lucky that Lyle mounted the trigger so true
shooting, and lucky that Dick honed the spear so sharp and lucky to have
a bag to put the fish in... all in all, we all got fish. The ocean
glassed off for the evening and the ride home was smooth, inviting more
adventures.
dive 200
Friday afternoon, Brian is up for a dive and I haven't seen him in an eon.
We take the Mo'o iki knowing it does not run at high speed and leave for
the 100' hole early. We drop in on the fish like a couple of gangsters,
loading slings as we drift downward. Brian checks out the cave, while I
move the anchor. There is barely a current, and I have plenty of air. I
figure to head out to the peninsula. Others have gotten fish out there
recently, after all, my gun never misses. There is a large weke ula far
ahead, but he drifts off into the deep. I settle at the top of the ledge
and watch the fish, there are weke, but they keep their distance, I try
all sorts of tricks and finally turn in frustration only to scare the uku
that were watching from backstage. Uku, you gotta love em! They quickly
shy away as I try to give a repeat performance. A small very edible kahala
comes bouncing into the game. He is so curious, he is checking out my new
gun. When the deer come over and nuzzle your ear, that is when you have to
give up hunting. I tell myself to kill him as he tries to mouth the barb.
I can't do it and bat him off with the gun. I head along the ledge looking
for less friendly foes. Rolling in the sand gets the uku to follow, but at
a great distance. I find myself in a field of weke ula feeding their way
up the ledge. They are paying no attention to me as I pick out a larger
one, suddenly my gun has gone from 100% to 75%... the risk of making it
60% makes me more careful. I have been fairly deep, and my bottom time has
gone, but I still have so much air and the conditions are so favorable that
I figure on giving myself 5 minutes or so and looking for more fish. There
is still plenty of daylight, but I head up to shallower water. I see Brian
paralleling me coming up the Diamond Head cable, he does not have any fish
either. There are some smaller weke between us and the little kahala
passes by again, but nothing close. I head back to the hole and the
anchor, still plenty of air. My next plan is to move up to 30-40' and
"off gas" then drop down on those uku over the peninsula. The water has
become even more clear and I think I might be able to redeem the gun and
myself yet. The idea seems foolish, but I am feeling blase about
potential risks. I am just over the intended spot, unable to make out
uku. I begin to drop deeper, suddenly I am surrounded by flashing opelu.
Saved by mackerel, the mirror ball dance hall that I find my self in is
full of beauty. I watch them feeding all around me, all thoughts of must
spear fish are gone from my head as I enjoy the pleasure of my
surroundings. The sting of plankton breaks up my interest and I head back
to the anchor line to chat with Brian. He has seen lots of papio, weke
ula, and a beautiful kagami has swum over his head. Our communication is
getting better, he only had to take his regulator out of his mouth and yell
once. We are both empty handed, nothing to brag about, no fish to feed
us. I should feel ashamed, but as Brian pulls the anchor, I actually feel
quite lucky, another evening on the water, playing in the ocean and being
outsmarted by fish.... not bad.
dive 201
Sunday and there is still an ocean out there. Lyle is taking Glen diving
and invites me to join them. We head for the 100' hole at around 6 p.m.
We drop the anchor and Lyle heads over. I wait for Glen because he has
never been there before and I want to make sure he finds the spot. We
enter to find the anchor right on the hole and I head over to the ewa
ledge, out in the sand I see two weke ula and try to get them to come over
by digging around in the sand. I find a pair of kitchen shears in the sand
and begin to play with them, the weke come over to see what I am up to...
it is hard to pull the trigger when you have scissors in your hand. My
chance is gone and I am still playing with my new toy. Like a teenager the
tool burns in my hand and I wish that that big eel had whiskers. Snip snip
snip, what can I snip? I head out to the peninsula to see if there are
some fish, helping a few sponges to multiply as I go. There are the uku,
and weke ula too! I call them but they remain aloof. The uku keep coming,
but never close. I am in the sand pit right before the cable crossing. I
throw up so much sand, that I can no longer see, but I think they are
coming pretty close. The sand settles and the fish are all far away. I
look over my shoulder and there over my head is a beautiful mirror, she is
shimmering silver as she leaves me. I call her back and she turns and
comes over. I land her with a shot from ole "only missed once" and put
the fish in my bag. The uku are all over me and watch me load. My gun has
the special auto load feature which makes it quick, but alas the uku are
bored by the time I am ready. I try to call them over but my time runs out
before their patience and I head back toward the hole. Glen is near the
anchor, he has no fish and we begin to head up. Lyle stays down and
attempts to power head his eel enemies, unfortunately the eel once again
gets the better of him and swims off with the power head, sorta stealing
it. He comes up and decompresses with me, he only saw a small weke and a
couple of papio. I get to be the hero today, impressing the heck out of
Glen (he had never met me before and knows nothing of my miss record!), no
sense letting him find out. I act nonchalant, but my chest swells with
pride... which is good, because I have a new swim suit as well!! We head
in at sunset the firery clouds outline Diamond Head on one of the longest
days of the year. It is always good to get wet, hope to get out there
again soon.
dive 202
Joe is back on his once a week dive schedule and is ready to go. Mustn't
discourage him, Wednesday sounds good. Nils can handle his own going away
party/ graduation/ birthday party. How much trouble can 20 teenagers get
into? They probably don't want the old spinster Aunt around anyway. I
will get home in plenty of time. I am planning on taking the Prince
William, and phone around to try and dig up some divers. There are an
amazing number of reasons not to go diving, luckily, none of them apply to
me. By Wed. afternoon, it is Amy and I heading out on the sea. I don't
think I have seen her since Jan. She is still high from her morning
flying...Congrats are in order, we now have someone who can fly us over to
Lanai for day of diving. I am excited, she promises to take ME flying next
week!! Roger has removed the GPS and the depth recorder from the boat....
huh, the nerve of some boat owners! The weather is windy and Amy has never
been to the Kewalo pipe. It is close and easy to find. We toss the anchor
on one of the islands and plan on swimming the circuit. The plan is for
Amy to swim behind me (out of the way) and if she sees any big fish, she is
to point them out. She laughs saying that she is the last to see anything.
The water is murky as we enter, there are damsel fish but not much else.
We head over to the pipe, stopping for nudibranchs, candy cane shrimp and
what ever else we stumble on. I look for uku in the sand, nothing. We
cruise along the pipe, Amy stopping me to point out an eagle ray which I
never actually see. The pipe has its usual assortment of little fish and
big eels. We reach the end and I go to my favorite uku spot and call. Amy
points out a shark cruising around that I never actually see.... for some
one who never sees anything, and has trouble with her contacts, she seems
to be doing a lot better than I am. If I don't actually see the shark, it
doesn't really bother me, so I just shrug my shoulders. I stretch my eyes
into the murk, looking for uku. Luckily, I see the five papio that are
feeding right next to me before Amy has to point them out. They are pan
size, dinner for two type. One of them has a long string/ worm/ parasite
or something on its side. I try for that one because I am curious and it
is the largest. I miss, wow... that is the second time that has happened,
perhaps I need a new gun. Amy gives me the "aw shucks, you almost had
him". What a great caddy! Perhaps I can train her to carry an arsenal.
I could choose pre loaded weapons. I wonder how long before she would give
up in disgust and out shoot me? We watch the opelu kala come in and out
of the murk, I never see any other game. We spend the rest of the dive
poking our way back to the anchor. Our air consumption is identical, it
begins to get chilly as we head up the line. Amy pulls anchor and we head
back into the harbor. Amy is on cloud nine, in awe of the beautiful
evening (It is raining, dark and cold), claims to have seen more than ever
on the dive. (she was recently diving in Midway, this is the Kewalo pipe)
I wish I could capture the perspective and hold on to it. We get back
and make the usual promises - "really must do this more often"- I am
hoping for Friday.
dive 203
Friday turns out to be a day where I really need a dive, fortunately, I got
the key to the power cat gate. Brian Popp, Robert, and Brian OCC (He is on
his motorcycle with all his gear, including tank! ) turns up and the four
of us are off to sea. I am captain and am planning on the Hole in the
Wall. It is really windy, but not that rough, and we continue down to
Marnie's rock. Brian Popp is the first guy down and the rest of us follow.
The anchor is just off of the corner.... missed the ledge entirely.
Brian OCC has gotten a new underwater camera since the last time I saw him
(for the trip to Australia). A keen photographer, he drops down on a
snowflake eel, well he is happy. Robert has never been to the spot, so I
take him up towards the rock. I am flanked by divers and some small uku
show up, with out missing a kick, I just shoot at one. Well, it would have
been real impressive if I actually hit the fish, but I load my gun on the
go, and feel pretty efficient never the less. Marnie's rock is in sight
and Robert drifts out after some weke ula couples. Brian P. is banging on
rocks, just to let Dick's shark know he is back. Brian (Ansel Adams) OCC
and I head up the ledge a ways. He is hanging back nicely, but I see
nothing in the way of game except occasional weke ula couples,. They are
not coming very close. I don't know Brian's air consumption, so I am
hesitant to take him all the way up to David's spot (turns out it would
have been fine), I cut inside and Brian turns and heads back along the
ledge. I swim back along the inside ledge, some big opelu kala join me.
I rejoin Brian up near the anchor close to the ulua cave. He is totally
absorbed with a spotted puffer about one inch long. I try to get his
attention and just end up laughing as I watch him be out smarted.
Photography means the fish has to be close, still, and not running from the
camera. I leave him and go looking for those uku back at the corner, they
are there, but not coming close. Back to the rock where I play with mu, a
big school moves in, but they are not interested in me. I run and hide,
trying to raise their curiosity....you know when your mom told you she
would play hide and go seek with you, and you run and hide while she counts
to ten thousand? After a certain amount of time, I realize that no one is
looking for me and the mu have moved off toward the anchor. I see Brian's
bubbles and hope that the mu will be chased back to my gun, they make one
distant pass and I charge them with the hopes of getting in range, I take
a long shot and find the water must be very clear and the mu must be bigger
than I thought. My shaft comes to a halt well short of the mu. It is
getting cold and I head for the anchor, I still have 1000 pounds, but
knowing that I have already broken the Pfeffer dive safety rule of always
having a spare tank on board, I save some air for the emergency anchor
pull. Brian OCC and Robert are already on board as is a nice weke ula
that Robert got.... he is such the hero, that he actually got the fish
twice! It seems that the barb on the gun that I lent him did not deploy
and after his nice shot, the fish swam off! He had to chase it down,
following the trail of fish. He saw some rainbow runner but not close.
Brian OCC had a good dive, clear water and cameras go well together. Brian
Popp is a long time coming up, but does beat the sun to the surface. He
saw the shark twice (must have thought he was Dick), along with two
rainbow runner. He took a shot at a particularly hard headed mu but did
not see much else. The guys pull anchor (I fiddle around trying to start
the engines and avoid any work), and we head home. The ride back is not
half bad considering the conditions of the sea. The moon is filling up,
and the sun has spilt orange paint all over the place. We all agree that
it is well worth the occasional shower of spray. Well, Robert is the hero
with his fish, I head home for a dinner of leftovers. Need to get back out
soon.
dive 203
Sunday evening, Dick is back in town and ready to go diving (after a
certain amount of dusting off of the boat) Brian, Lyle and I join him for
a trip to the 100' hole. The water is murky and there is a slight Diamond
Head current which moves all the fish to the ewa side of the rocks. I find
a butter knife and figure to use it on any shy uku I come across. I drag
the knife over to the ewa ledge, tapping it like a best man making a toast
on every stone I come across. I expect to see some weke ula out in the
sand but none appear. I pick up a very nice rectangular stone and push it
in front of me to make some interesting noises. Just like the old days
with a Tonka toy at the beach, I soon have a major highway going in. It
will connect the ewa stones with peninsula. I am trying to pick the path
of least resistance, avoiding as many coral heads, sponges and sand traps
as possible. It is a grand highway, akin to the Al Can that crosses the
wilderness. Construction has similar problems, trying not to disturb the
wildlife, actually building detours to go around large spikey cucumbers. I
finally get to the oil pipe line, (I am not confused by chronological
facts) and my road crosses under the built in overpass. I am quite
enthralled when I look up to see the final ledge... I finally have reached
the great pacific. So this is how the Spanish Explorers felt. Reality
comes floating back in spurts of bubbles. Dick is down at the bottom of
the ledge, he comes over with tales of large weke ula (emphasis is on the
large), but his bag is still empty. He heads off leaving me to start a new
game. I see some uku outside and I try make some friendly squeaks. They
remain aloof, but a large kahala comes in at my flank. He is very
friendly, and I swim out above the sand and drop my knife. The kahala
charges. If it is possible for a fish to sniff, snort and toss its head,
that is exactly what he did. His initial charge however, rekindled the
interest of the uku and I retrieve the knife to try it again. The kahala
helps me on the retrieval and we both roll in the sand. He vows to be my
blood brother and protect me against all approaching uku. What a sweetie!
I leave him to his task and head back to the hole without seeing any
other fish. The hole is covered with white weke in a tight and beautiful
school. The school is swimming from under the rocks to the top. The
school is close and spells the letter C as it moves. I briefly wonder if I
should see what the whole message is, waiting for the smoke from the sky
writer to make the next letter. Lyle appears from the other side and
breaks up the action. He does chase three large weke ula my way, but they
keep their distance and head out towards Brian. Well, at least he might
get one. I am not having much spearing luck, well OK, so I haven't really
been looking and I have spent all my bottom time just goofing around. It
is Sunday, I am allowed a "Sunday dive" I am moving into more and more
deco time. I decide to join the thick tornado of opelu kala at 50'. That
will slow down my N build up a little, and the opelu kala seem to be having
the most fun anyway. I am comparing all the different plankton feeders in
terms of distance from the rocks, the spaces they leave between each other,
and their over all rate of feeding as well as how much space it takes to
feed. I see Dick below, he wonders at seeing me off of the bottom and
asks what I see. He is poised for tuna, rainbow runner etc. I signal that
it is nothing, but he keeps looking up lest I be steering him away. I
finally head back to the line to find Dick and Brian there. Brian has a
small papio and he and Dick discuss the size of it, comparing it to their
own body parts. Things soon deteriorate to regulator button pushing, air
turning off and the usual boy antics. Being raised as a youngest, I am
good at not actually getting involved, appearing to help both sides and
turning off anyone's air when they are not actually looking. The bozos
soon leave, and I can enjoy the sun set twinkling under the sea. Dancing
rays making an upside down aurora borialis. It is a great show, but I
leave it to catch the actual sun set from topside. The moon is full, the
sun is going out with a bang. Yes, it is very hard to beat this. Lyle
pulls the anchor and we head home.
dive 205
Friday afternoon, weekly dive with Joe, Brian, Amy. The owner shows last
minute and we take the power cat out to Hole In The Wall. Finding the
place involves a lot of driving around. Joe, Brian and Amy have total
confidence, but the rest of us are sure that we are in the middle of
nowhere. We finally anchor after Amy has had time to really psych up for
the dive. She is using the coolest looking rebreather, German built,
small, affordable, good for about 1.5 hours... the only thing is it only
good in shallow water (80'). It would be a tropical fish divers dream, no
bubbles, more bottom time. I jump in to see that the water is clear and we
are right over the spot. We meet on the bottom, Amy and Joe are the last
ones down, the antics involved in taking lessons from Joe is enough to make
any girl (except his wife) have some second thoughts. Amy does get
everything squared away and begins to enjoy her dive. Joe and Brian are
photographing her every move. Time to head off in search of game. The
captain and myself head across to the hole in the wall spot. He is in
front of me and I am following in his sand trail. Uku arrive on the scene
at uku spot #1, right in the swail, he shoots a smaller one and brings the
larger ones closer. I shoot one in the back and it fights itself off the
shaft and digs out to shallow water. A large brown humu goes zooming after
it. I follow the entourage until I can no longer see the humu. I have my
gun back together when the humu comes back empty handed. He is now my best
buddy, "those other people bag their fish, but this one, she donates the
food to the people". We go cruising looking for more fish. The Captain
has gone around the far side, so I approach on the near and deep side in
case he has fish leaving the area in front of him. I round the bend and
see him at full point. He is not aiming at me, but at some fish that is
next to the ledge right below me. I can not see the fish, but I am afraid
that I will scare it anyway. I back slowly away and watch. His gun goes
off and a good size papio fights his way into view. Darn that guy, his bag
is nowhere to be seen and to help him out I begin to look for it. We get
to it at about the same time, back in the swail. There are clouds of blood
and the uku return and I get another chance. This time, instead of killing
the fish, I just put a hole in his dorsal fin. A snerk piercing that he
can brag to the other fish about. The Captain heads off with his bag full
of fish to check on the others back near the anchor. I stay till my bottom
time is gone, but do not see any more things to shoot. I have a couple of
minutes deco when I get back, yet everyone else is still cruising around on
the bottom taking pictures and looking for game. I am the only one going
up, Brian joins me and we wait for the techies as well as the master
spearfisher man. Joe and Amy get in, she has had an exciting dive. She
is going over all the things she did not like. She could never seem to get
enough air to breathe, but Joe said that it was only "perceived" feeling
like you can't breathe. Oh great, you only think you can't breathe... not
to worry, I take a big step back from buying my rig. As Amy runs through
her symptoms, Dr. Joe checks her over in full clucking hen fashion and the
rest of us test our knowledge of both anatomy and diving. Amy is fine, but
we go over all the things it could be anyway. Brian pulls the anchor and
we head in. All of Waikiki is pink orange, the sun set colors make Diamond
Head a soft hue, all the mirrored buildings are fire red. It is still
light as we put stuff away and plan our next adventure. My recent weight
loss and general hungry look, get me an uku, I have excellent dinners for
the next few nights.
dive 206
Saturday, I have taken off the carburetors on the Mo'o iki, and got the
rebuild kits. Now like a true Tom Sawyer, I have managed to have the boat
owner sucked into doing the work... "no no no, here let me show you how it
is done" I am enjoying a diet coke in the cool shade of the Mo'o, when
Marvin shows up looking for dive partners. (of course I have told him to
come pick me up) . The others are too involved to drop what they are
doing. (Just to make things truly unsettling, Lyle has dropped by to
help) True boat whore that I am, I jump ship and we head for the deep blue
sea. Marvin has yet to dive the wrecks, and it seems like a perfect
opportunity. We tie up and head over. There is no current, and we
descend in a gentle drift to the bottom. I am between the ships and as I
approach the bottom I see a school of pan size papio jazzing around. The
opelu above me dart by and I look up to see some really big ahi chasing
them. I head back up to mid water and actually do get close as the fish
uses me as a wall to chase opelu against. It would be a great story, but
there is no doubt I would loose my gun. Those are some strong fish. The
instant is gone and the opelu resume normal behavior and I focus on all the
papio below me. In the school of 20-30 fish, there are two of those weird
really good tasting ones. (barred papio in Jack's book) Those are the
ones I want and nothing else will do... I miss, amazing since the little
yellow spots were trying so hard to get in front of the spear, I was sure
I would accidentally get a couple of those. Marvin chides me for the
miss... great, another expert. There are some MK, but they move off
towards the deeper sand. The papio have moved to the inside wreck, and I
follow. We are playing hide and go seek around the ship. The ahi come
back over head and I watch, I see two, but it seems as if there are three
of them. I stop to check out the little white tip and to show it to
Marvin. The shark is there, but Marvin has gone to the upper deck. I
continue to the stern and lie under it as I watch the big mu approach with
the small papio. I figure to go for the mu, they are almost in range when
the hammer head comes by. I never like to shoot fish when I am in plain
sight of a shark. I figure to go check on Marvin and show him the shark.
Marvin and the sub both appear at the same time and all the fish are out of
sight. We visit with the tourists until they have passed and I go off to
look for more game. The ahi are still above and I think of the blue water
guys that would love to have such an opportunity. Not a minute goes by
before Marvin returns having caught a fish of his own. He seems to be
able to catch them with his bare hands, who needs a gun? He has a greedy
black humu who has a hook in his mouth and is trailing fishing gear. We
get the goodies with out getting bit and let the humu go on to steal bait
yet another day. The sub returns and we visit with the folks on the other
side, our bottom time is up, but decompression is busy with visits from
damsels, butterflies and a turtle. We surface and Marvin takes me back to
the harbor, where the Mo'o iki has its engine reassembled, but now has no
steering! Boy sure glad I don't own a boat, but I am truly thankful for
all of you who do!
dive 207
Some days you need to go diving more than others. I definitely need to get
some water over my head. The wrecks seems as good as anyplace and we
anchor there. There is a Diamond Head current, so I head over towards the
pyramids figuring there will be more fish there. The water is murky and
getting lost actually sounds appealing, so I just take a heading and start
out. I never look up, just watch the rocks beneath me as I kick along. I
pick up a couple of dead shells and a nice calling rock, eventually l come
into a palani school, and I know I am close to the pyramids just by dead
reckoning. Cool. Having not looked around, I missed seeing all the uku
that have no doubt escorted me here, there are about 20 of the guys, mostly
smallish, with several larger ones mixed in. I am laying still and
surrounded by opelu kala, they are very close. I notice there is a papio
at my elbow, I really should pay better attention, here they go through
all this trouble to cheer me up, and I don't even notice. I wait for the
largest uku, and then miss. It does not phase them at all, they are still
around when the mu come along to help with the cheer up Snerk campaign, I
miss the close one, but I do feel better. I take turns between uku and mu
and continue to miss. At one point I vow not to take another shot unless I
am actually sure of getting the fish. HA! That idea came and went. The
fish were unbelievably friendly, coming close to see how I play in the
sand, I even go as far as writing messages for the uku to read. They come
and study the word.... "uku".... but I think they were patronizing me.
Loading the gun is a good exercise, and I soon feel more serene. My pesky
meter however, limits how long I can lay about at 100', and taking that
last mu shot cost me two more minutes of deco. I swim midwater back
towards the ships, my gun is not loaded when I notice the uku escorting my
return as well. They are much more aloof away from the bottom. I try
diving down again, only to earn another three minutes of deco time. The
ship is looming close and it is a good three minutes before I realize that
I am at the outside ship, and the anchor is inside of me. (thanks to the
large ball buoy) So much for great navigating. I do find the line and
decompress. Dick is the only one that got a fish, and it is a kawela
'ai! (He says they looked like ono from far away, what sassy fish! ) We
all get safely back to the boat and home in time for the beautiful sunset
sky. I feel remarkably better, I need to do this more often.
dive 208
It is really windy, marginal sea conditions and no dive partners.
Unfortunately, my hair is drying out and I am sure that the moss barrier
keeps both the loose brain cells in as well as those excess Nitrogen
molecules out. I am desperate to dive and figure to be extra cautious.
The Mo'o iki runs like a champ as I head for the hole. The water is rough
and I almost don't waste time getting the Mickey Mouse beach ball, but then
I see that Goofy is on it as well, I have a soft spot for Goofy. I can
totally identify with him, he is a lot more coordinated, but we have a
similar general disposition, and we both have such cool laughs! The beach
ball is rescued. The west side of the island is socked in with rain and
there are no line ups from there, I can make out the Gold Bond building,
what is it supposed to do with the hill?? There is the blue roof on
Diamond head, what does it do?? Better safe than sorry, I head back to the
wreck/pyramids... I hook up the depth recorder, but can not get power. It
is rough enough that I don't mess around with it.... I will just go by my
best recollection of lineups. Well, the water is only murky on the top 20
feet, I can see the ship, not bad for an old girl...hey... that is not a
ship, it is an airplane and the anchor is cruising through the sand with no
place to set it in sight. I turn around at 90' and head back up the line.
Pull anchor and try again, I give it all the scope that there is, which
does not really help because the scope is used by the wind on the surface
and the Diamond head current is keeping the line about vertical near the
bottom. This time I am in the sand out side of the wreck, I can hook the
anchor (which is cruising slowly along), but then I would have to swim up
wind and down current to do my dive. It does not make sense, I am wet, I
am at 100', there are no fish, I head up letting the boat keep drifting so
I won't have to fight the current getting in. I decompress just to enjoy
all the plankton and being wet. I spend the time trying to figure out how
I can possibly be a hero in a dive report, no way... perhaps it doesn't
really count as diving if you use less than 1000 pounds of air. Oh well;
so it goes... To be safe, and since I am in deep water I tie up my pack
before attempting to put it on the gunwale. I have not yet undone my belt
when I feel my goodie bag slipping by my foot. I quickly go after it only
to find "fuck", I am tied to the boat!! I undo my belt, and continue, but
I know that the bouncing sea is likely to undo my tie job, and I watch the
bag sink out of sight. Back in the boat, sans bag, almost popping the
beach ball with my gun! Pull anchor and head for home. Too many things
working against me. The trip home how ever is a high speed down hill surf,
the boat is running very well. Taco bell sounds real good for dinner, and
I now have a reason to go to Kona and buy a new gear bag! Good old Goofy,
did he ever try scuba diving?
dive 209
Saturday morning, Dick is taking some USGS visitors out diving and
invites me along as pseudo safety diver HA! (.... well, then again,
comparatively speaking....) We meet Stan and Nick at 7:30 and head for
Marnie's rock. The trades have been napping during the night and it is a
rather pleasant trip along the coast. Nick is a little nervous and keeps
telling us he is not that experienced... as if we would toss him into 75'
shark infested water. Well, OK. I promise to be his buddy, since I think
I am slightly more maternal than Dick. We toss the anchor and I am the
first to the anchor line. Stan follows and the other two are last, Nick
is not weighted properly and his tank is loose, not a great start when
being thrown into deep shark infested water. Stan heads down and Dick
follows while Nick and I try to do it right. We get it together and head
down to the anchor. The water is pretty clear and there is a slight
current heading toward Waikiki. Nick and I swim along the ledge down
current, checking out a cone shell and eels along the way. We cover some
ground and head back up current along the inside. Near the anchor we come
across Dick, who has a nice uku in his bag, Stan who has some nice urchin
spines in his finger, and their new found friend a nice sized sandbar
shark. Dick is chasing it off like an old man scaring off the puppy who
has followed him home. Not very friendly after killing a nice size fish
and waving it around on a stick. We all go our separate ways and Nick and
I continue to find nothing but eels. Dick has informed me that he left
two uku for me to get, (so generous) but the funny thing is he's vague
about exactly where he left them, and I see not a whiff of game. Nick and
I continue to see how many eels we can bother before heading up the line.
Stan and Dick are decompressing, and since I still have 1500 pounds, I
leave Nick to his own devices and head back down in vague hope of lost
game. On the bottom, Dick's friend is so happy I came back. I actually
scold him for not having any rainbow runner with him, one tiny pilot fish
is hardly an entourage. We head in along the ewa ledge, the shark soon
circling off out of sight, I guess he knows who actually spears fish.
Funny how much better I feel about him when the water is clear and the day
is sunny. There is no one in the ulua spot and I head back seeing one
small cagey mu. The shark meets me back at the rock and I can see no game.
I head up, noting the opposing current really has the boat wallowing in
the trough. I hope those guys don't get sick, I should have come up
sooner. I come up at a distance, just in case... coast is clear and I get
back in the boat. Dick pulls anchor just as Stan feels sick. We are
soon under way, the ocean has really picked up some swell size and we hang
on for the ride home. We pass a Hawaiian sailing canoe, (nice touch for
Arizona tourists) and once we are in the calm off Kewalo, the guys are
ready for a second dive on the pipe. How many divers does it take to
figure out how to string up a cam buckle on a BC? Dick and I each do it
twice with out success. It is really good when I say things like "here you
fool" let me do it! hmmm, act humble and hope for the best. Stan and Nick
just lay low. We finally figure out how it goes and we head in the water.
Dick sits it out while the three of us tour the area. The water is
murky due to recent swell, there is still some surge. There is no game, but
plenty to see. We play with starfish, crabs, sea cucumbers, sponges, flat
worms and the like. Stan endears himself to me by understanding everything
I say. (OK, the guy is probably whacko) We are soon back at the anchor,
biology lesson over. We surface to find Dick enthralled with radio
excitement, fortunately tragedy is avoided as engines of a distant boat
spark to life. The sun is shinning brightly as we head back to the busy
harbor. Canoes are paddling, sailboats are sailing, fishermen are fishing,
all is right in the world.
dive 210
Sunday morning, time to meet the rebreathers down at the Prince William.
Joe, Amy and Brian are going to be using rebreathers and Cal will be
filming them for a show on high tech gear. We load up and head out for
the Kewalo pipe, the only place I can think of that is shallow and close.
(the winds are howling) We anchor on the islands and notice that the water
is murky, but it looks much clearer over toward Honolulu harbor. Since it
is a filming expedition, we move to the clear water and anchor on what
would be another island if it were not for all the sediment. Every one is
soon in the water except Amy who casually asks: "Hey Jen, this isn't quite
right, can you reach back there and give my reverse trunctinator valve a
quarter turn?" I immediately have visions of Joe and Brian looking over
her body and saying: "I just don't understand it, I am sure I checked the
emergency reactant aspirator, it somehow made a quarter turn" Fortunately,
Joe comes back and all is squared away. They are all happily filming away
by the time I get in the water. I seemed to have stumbled on the stage of
a fashion show wearing my regular clothes, I make myself scarce. I cruise
over a ruble patch between islands and see a group of hand span size papio
darting along, chasing small goat fish and nibbling the spot where the goat
fish last stopped. Who can tell? I continue back toward the pipe and soon
am over familiar territory. There is a lot of coral on the flat just ewa
of the pipe, it will be neat to see it in ten years time. There is no game
and I swim down the ledge into 70' of water and wait in the sand for the
hordes of uku. Nothing but white weke. I am really enjoying having a mask
that does not leak... oh yeah, by the way Janetta, I kinda borrowed your
mask since you weren't using it. Mine has cockroach nibbles all along the
snot line and is leaking a lot. (Hopefully I will get to the store before
you return) I move back towards the anchor, seeing a distant pan size
papio cruising along. The anchor is still set, but no sign of the stealth
divers, not that they are easy to find, and who knows how long they can
stay. I move in the direction of Honolulu harbor to cover new terrain. I
glance up to see a nice small kagami high up and heading away, I follow
in case it is heading to the secret coral grotto... nothing but sand, I
head back to the anchor. Those guys are probably done. I clear the
anchor, admire the beautiful giant pocillapora coral head and head up the
line. I am hanging at 15' when the anchor breaks loose, time for coral
head rescue, I should have moved the anchor clear! I get there just in
time and the coral head along with its community of crabs and fish are
spared by the very one who endangered them. Back up to find the others
have had a good dive. Amy was a lot more comfortable, in fact down right
enthusiastic about her rig. It is a cool. Brian hauls up the anchor and
Joe takes us back home. Planning our next adventure...I think Dick is
heading out later.
Dick's boat, five thirty, Brian, Dick, Lyle, myself and the Birthday
boy. We are limited by rough seas and the debate of where to go. The plan
is to go find the new boat that has been sunk by the yellow submarines, off
of courts it 120' of water. Dick had driven over it yesterday and we had
seen it on the fathometer. Joey had confirmed that it had actually been
sunk and we were ready to explore. Lyle is more practical and points out
that it is too new and nothing will be there yet. Don't confuse us with
facts adventure is afoot. Dick pulls out the marks he took two years ago
as an environmental scientist, telling them where they should sink the ship
and figures he will look there. Birthday boy has his ideas on how to find
a wreck, I kind of feel like the place where we saw it yesterday would be
good, three loud mouth captains on the same boat. Brian and Lyle lay low
and get rigged up. We finally stumble upon it and toss the anchor, Lyle
and Brian are over the side. I leave Dick still rigging up and head
down. There is a big ship all right, but I can see that I do not have
enough scope on the anchor line, the anchor is hooked on the deck and would
not reach the sand around the vessel. I head back up, trying to surface
before Dick gets in the water, yet being held back by a computer that
always wants me to ascend slowly. This is where the computer has really
changed my habits, slow as molasses, yet I surface just before Dick has
entered. I get him to put out the scope and return to the ship. It is
huge, sitting in 115' sand all around, one file fish has found it. Lyle
and the Birthday boy are ready to head up and look for a real dive spot we
are all at the anchor wondering where Brian is. We see him out on the
sand, he shoots and like birds on aku, we quickly head over in his
direction. We are about 20' over his head, he has shot a beautiful small
kahala and is loading his gun so quickly that there must be invisible uku
in the sand around him. The birthday guy drops down and takes a shot at
the invisible fish, it is more than I can handle and I find myself in the
sand at 115 staring off into nothing. He signals uku and continues to load
his gun. There is a line stretching off the stern heading in towards
where I imagine the ledge to be. It could be a submarine directional
marker, and I follow it from sand to rubble. Of course there are uku
following me and I did look around and see them. There are two and I take
one before continuing to the ledge. The ledge has a big anchor leaning
against it, another prop for the tourists, looks nice. Dick soon joins
me on the ledge, he says he has fixed the anchor and I am free to explore
he goes toward Diamond Head and I go towards Kewalo. I see lots of potters
to catch, not much else, and head back to the Sea Tiger and meet Brian and
Birthday boy on the line. We discuss our dives and Brian and I compare
fish. I surface just as the mountains pick up the orange glow of the
disappearing sun. The sunset cruisers are hanging close due to rough seas
and they fill the ocean with the hum of their engines, definitely
detracting from the peace of the scene. Dick returns having shot the
other uku, and managed to spear himself in the arm and get bitten on the
finger in the process of bagging the fish. We come back with three fish
from a wreck that we agree will be a good dive spot in six months. It is
close, a current free area, an easy swim to the ledge, it is a bit deep
and easy to get into deco time, good over all potential.
dive 211
Tuesday afternoon, Dick, Lyle and I are going to Marnie's rock weather be
dammed. Dick is sure that at sunset, there will be uku everywhere. The
sun is still high, and Dick dawdles as much as possible. Stopping to
check out pinnacles that come up from 500' to 240' just off the Pearl
channel. Zig zagging down the ledge and seeing how far outside of Marnie's
rock does it drop to 800'? I am ready to get in the water by the time we
anchor. Lyle drops over and Dick and I are left to find out the source
of the mysterious whistling or high pitched ear ringing that we both can
hear. Dick goes through all the electronics, checking all bilge pumps
and I wander around trying to pin point origin of the noise, it is
definitely louder when I bend over... finally we discover it is my mouth
piece! (I am wearing my tank the whole time, turning in circles trying to
catch my tail) The captain at ease, I head down. The water is fairly
clear, and I can see below the boat a butter knife sparkling as it glides
down. It is fairly far off the ledge, and I glance toward the anchor line
and see Lyle's bubbles way ahead. That was no butter knife, it is the real
thing. I sink down, loading my gun just as I begin to make out three or
four large fish. I continue to sink as the fish magically turn into 100
kawela 'ai. They taste OK, but having just eaten one, and knowing there
is no glory, I head toward the anchor. There are two big weke ula they
are courting and ignore me. I leave them be as I am surrounded by feeding
opelu. As they feed, there is a random pattern of dashes going in all
directions, then suddenly they all align and fall into a synchronized
school. Like metal filings being passed over by an invisible magnet. The
school pulls tighter and tighter as it moves away. The opelu kala move in
close, fearless tonight for reasons I don't understand. This place is so
beautiful, I lie in awe as several small uku join the fray. I debate just
spending the dive right here with out moving, but Dick is ewa of me and
Lyle is on the other side. I am in the space between the rock and the
ledge. I figure the hordes of fish will thin out if I hang around any
longer. I hear Lyle's gun and see he has one of the weke, I make my way
down the ledge toward David's spot. I am out of sight and lost in a
miniature world of sponges and miter shells. When I get to the breaks in
the ledge, I wish for rainbow runner I look up to see there are three
swimming by me. They are a fish I do not understand, they are soon gone.
I am so mad that I ignore the two small uku that appear. I come across two
big turtles laying on the bottom, not against the ledge or anything, just
off the ledge, facing out toward deeper water. I sneak in the middle of
them to see if there is a reason. Oh, what a great view, we are on the
incoming route of all the opelu kala, twenty or so tiny papio, and of
course all those giant uku. The papio come in like tail wagging puppies
and surround my gun, rub the sand, circle out and do it again. They really
are the cutest little puppy dogs, I just wish they would stay out of the
way as the uku slowly make closer passes. Great grandpa uku is
approaching, I am ecstatic that it is the big one that I am going to get
the shot on. It is the perfect shot. In retrospect, I will admit that
it might not have my most humble moment. Perhaps there was a slight
inkling toward gloating as I envisioned the others faces as I tried to lift
the fish into the boat. There was per chance the fleeting thought of
sporting good stores across the nation begging me to use their equipment.
My picture on the cover of Hawaii Fishing News. Never the less, it did not
make the sting any better as I simply pulled the shaft back out of the
fish, the barb never deploying. The excitement stirs one turtle and he
moves a little further away less I try that trick on him. The gun seems
fine and I load it again. I am a long ways from the others and the boat,
there is a bleeding fish swimming around, it is getting dark, time to head
back. I am feeling dejected and I kick sand as I move along. I come
across Lyle exactly as I left him, except he is using the weke ula as bait
and spearing what now seem like small uku. I continue on to find Dick
with a bag full of uku, he is excited, sees my empty bag and tells me about
all the uku that are around here. I can see two of them behind him as he
speaks. He misunderstands my scoff and agrees to swim with me and show
me some. I feel very patronized and I ditch him as soon as he turns his
head. I short cut across to the ewa ledge the opelu kala are very thick
and come so close that the mu almost does not see me in the hoards, but the
bubbles blow my blind, and he is gone. I glance over my shoulder to see a
larger uku tailing me, another great shot, mid spine. I am afraid to pull
the spear out, I let him swim off the undeployed barb before I can think.
My brain is slow, but the humiliation is complete. I briefly wonder if
Lyle has put a drop of glue on the barb. I under take "fixing" my gun with
a near by rock. The scene very reminiscent of John Cleese giving his car a
good thrashing in an old Faulty Towers show. I regain composure about the
same time I run into Dick, who tells me there are uku about. I move back
to the rock, it is now dark and the fish are hard to see at any kind of
distance. A sandbar shark appears, smaller (I think) than Dick's one,
but very feisty. I am about where Lyle had used his fish as bait, and the
shark is not afraid to come right over to me. I head back to Dick who
fortunately had sent his catch up with Lyle. We clear the anchor, and
leave the bottom. We exchange tales, my barb seems to be fine. Did I pull
on the line to deploy the barb? He talks about the weke he saw, the uku he
caught and jabbers on the whole time. I can tell it will be difficult not
to sulk. I surface to find an equally happy Lyle excited about his great
catch, one weke ula (large) and two uku. Dick has one brag size and two
smaller uku. Six fish; happy divers. Lyle pulls anchor and we head for
the dark ride home. Those gloaters can't wait to see the dive report; "How
will she ever make herself the hero now?" Insult to injury, as if I ever
use dive reports just to make fun of people! (maybe that is why it is so
hard to find dive partners anymore?) It is a dark ride home and it is not
the lingering sunset, but the stary sky that gets my admiration on the way
home. We get back late, there are lots of fish to clean. It is well past
nine. Those divers with lives have worried family and loved ones, Roger
is sent to check on us. Dick generously gives him some uku and gives me
one as well. I am honored to be diving with such great spearfishermen. I
am glad just to be included. I return home to start the rice at ten,
happily I have two messages waiting: 1. "Hey Snerk, since you won't be
coming on the river, mind if I borrow your waterproof bags?" 2.
"Jennifer, sorry you won't be on the river; is any one using your fly rod?
I mean you never really catch anything anyway...." This is the kind of
evening that makes it really sweet when I have to lash the giant fish to
the stern and drag it home. I will gloat unbearably and without mercy!
Never say die!
dive 212
Tuesday eve, Dick is planning to go diving in Kahala, the wind seemed
slightly better and he wanted to take advantage of it. He has been diving
later and we plan on six o'clock departure. He brings his old friend and
we head out. The ocean is not too bad, lots of short wind chop, no big
swells have developed. We round Diamond Head with plenty of light and
discussing different options. Dropping Dick for a bounce at the deep
barge is suggested, and his eyes light up. We drop him and I soon loose
his bubbles in the Navatek wake. A few minutes later a floating gun is the
first thing that hits the surface, sure enough he has the 35 pound ulua (he
shot the smallest one). He has a great shot, but needs another shaft.
Fortunately he has spares on board and will be ready for another dive. The
next plan is Joe's barge, Dick is to toss the anchor, the old guy is
going to set it, and I am supposed to put us on the spot. I drive around
and the other two don't help, just make fun. I know I am close when I tell
Dick to drop the anchor. I go to the stern and help with gear
entanglements before realizing that I am still idling forward. I hope I
can at least recognize our location, as I head down the anchor line. I
have anchored at the pipes, not too far, but off never the less. I reach
the bottom and find Grandpa has no clue where the barge is. I take him
about half way there when he worries about how we are going to get back to
the anchor again. He does not take to my idea of diving the barge and
swimming back the way we came after the dive. He asks what I use for
landmarks and I answer " the big pipe", he is up for moving the anchor and
we meet Dick with his repaired gun on our way back up. The amount of
light is now getting to be an issue as we pull anchor. I am not going to
risk the wrong spot again and I leave it to Gramps, who is now convinced
that bottom time is a factor and thinks fantasy would be safer. I am on
the bow with the anchor as my visions of fat uku playing ashes ashes we all
fall down around the barge slowly fades. The anchor is tossed at fantasy
reef soon after the sun has gone behind Diamond Head. I am first in and
the black humu tell me we are spot on the site. It will be too dark soon,
I am kicking myself for having missed the barge. Why is it always me that
is so inept? At some point I should run out of things that I can do wrong,
but why can't that happen soon? I am grumbling along across a channel
flanked by the other divers when three barracuda swim between me and
Dick. We watch them as they circle around out of sight. I hear a gun
and figure I had better go check. Dick's friend is in the middle of a
barracuda battle. He is being tied up in his line, the fish has already
managed to unbuckle his tank clamps and is working on his corkscrew spin.
It looks like an easy victory for the fish. I try to help, and the fish
does get bagged without anyone getting bit. I will think twice before
spearing one of these guys. I then continue on by myself the others having
the good sense to stay close to the anchor when it is dark. I started with
a light tank (having done 8 minutes on the bottom on the last dive), but I
do not know how light. All I can figure is the rule of thirds cannot apply
to me. I surely have enough to get to the uku spot and back. I pick my way
along not seeing any game. My spot reveals one tiny mu small enough to put
in my pocket. I see something bigger, the kala are slowly coming in.
There are lots more barracuda, and they circle as I strain to see something
more. Actually I am straining to see anything! Forget the silly rule of
sixths, I am heading back while there still is the small ray of hope that I
will be able to find the anchor. It is the perfect time to hand net nasos.
They are just going to sleep. It is a bad sign when the fish are
sleeping. I hope the guys will turn on the boat lights so I can at least
find the boat. Boy I am good, here is the smashed coral head the anchor
was hooked on. Someone had moved the anchor five feet away and it takes
good detective work to find it. I look up to see Dick backlit on the
line. Plain as day.... guess I should look up more often. He has no new
fish. We decompress, the water is dark blue when looking toward the surface
and you can make out the quartermoon shinning overhead. Venus even shines
through like a wishing star. I still feel like a fuck up, but at least a
happy one. We head home with two good size fish aboard. It will be nine
by the time we wash up, looks like pilot crackers and cream cheese for my
dinner. Maybe underwater wishing stars are better than the normal kind.
dive 213
Sunday, the ocean remains unrelenting but Tribble is up for a trip to
Marnie's rock. Everyone else has a life, and no one except myself shows up
by six. Dick is strongly for hitting just the right light and dallies
around trying to find "Rich's spot" off of Pearl Harbor. The uku won't be
there unless it is dark enough. I would rather be a little early and have
a margin for error but he is of the no error theory and we finally toss the
anchor only slightly ahead of the sun. I jump in and still can not see the
bottom when I am at 50'. I finally bought a new mask, (before Janetta
shows and wants hers back) so I am not that surprised that I can't see
anything through the fog. The thing is, it is not the mask... it is murky
and dark. I can just make out the rock at the same time I start to see the
fish. Big opelu kala, three ulua straight ahead, large uku approaching
from the right and two weke ula on the left. It is all time, Marnie's
rock at its finest. I wonder about shooting the uku mid water, but the big
guy turns a little far. I dive down and they follow. I miss my shot at a
normal size one, but I am not worried, plenty of time. I load and line up
again, big guy moving in, I am not going to miss, he is big and coming
straight in. KA-POW! What was that? The fish disappear and I only have
one rubber left still loaded. I see some small papio and the uku are
inside running along the ledge. Dick appears from the ewa direction, he
is empty handed but sees the uku and heads back down where he came from. I
sit by the anchor between the rock and the ledge and watch the fish circle
around. There is nothing but opelu kala, but they are willing to come
close and make it fun. Two mu appear and join them, they are coming in and
I think I might take a one rubber shot, as long as I don't have to breathe
anytime soon. I refrain from exhaling and the large one makes a slow
approach. Too slow, I can feel bubbles coming and try as hard as a dinner
guest at the white house not to let any air out. Ever so slowly, it is
just a whisper, but Mr. mu hears it and looks like a hiker who just
noticed a rattle snake coiled up at his feet. He takes off, scattering the
opelu kala. The uku pass by and I take a shot, the one rubber thing
makes me feel like I am using the Nerf spear. It looses umph, and bounces
off the side of an uku. So much for that, I had better have them touching
the shaft for my next shot. I hear Dick's gun going off periodically,
well at least he will be happy. The uku no longer pass close and I try
throwing sand... yeah right, like that is going to do anything... "Hey
Paul, does that area look a look slightly more murky over there? See? If
you get just the right angle, it could be sand. Let's go see!" O.K., so
the idea just makes it harder for me to make anything out. I leave the
mess and head along the ledge where I last saw the uku. I am quickly
flanked by opelu kala joining me on my trek. As we move toward the ewa
ledge, they all turn to leave. I am now in kala territory, how about
that? Fish got hoods! I wonder what the opelu kala tag is and where I
could leave it. I am wondering if my thought processes are totally whacko,
or if people just don't mention these things as I approach the ulua cave.
Ever since running face to face with the big one, I always round this
corner with a lot of mental build up, I am relieved to find it empty as I
and my wounded gun head back to the anchor. I come across Dick, empty
handed. He at least has the good humor to signal that we are too early (I
only see the signal because the moon is getting full!) I signal that I am
heading up and he soon follows. He tells me he took three or four shots at
uku, never able to land one. I am getting stung non stop and keep my
decompression time short. I surface to a bright moon and a rough sea.
Dick pulls anchor and we head home. The silver moon road is beckoning us
to head toward Lanai and the southern cross is still shinning brightly off
our starboard side. It is still summer, but I can feel it waning as the
cold sea spay crosses our bow. Dick is feeling dejected and ready to
give up fishing, boy am I glad I don't have any reputation to maintain.
The mighty have fallen, but it is hard to have sympathy when standing on
the same level. Sort of like having a house guest who says "boy, I could
never live like this!" I plan on repairing my gun and returning to the
sea.... I just wish the wind would stop blowing!
dive 214
Friday morning, a gift, the winds have diminished. Marvin has his son
Andrew visiting and they are anxious to dive. We head for Waikiki with
Andrew's girlfriend Stacy along as boat babe. We are looking for a calm
place to dive where Stacy might be able to see something. The wrecks seems
like a good place and we tie up to the empty buoy. There is a slight
Diamond Head current and the water is surprisingly murky. I leave Andrew
and Marvin playing with turtles and waving at submarines and head up
current to see if I can see some fish. A few rat uku are around, but I
can't get them close. I lay on top of the ledge by the pyramids and call.
The uku stay in sight long enough for me to get stung several times by the
paneria sp. on the bottom, but they stay out of range. I swim to the
pyramids and spend time laying in the sand. I head across the sand to the
mu hang out, there are 20 good size uku and 6 big mu and a submarine, all
going in different directions. I work the uku and the sub stops to watch.
The uku remain aloof. I give up and turn to find the mu all behind me.
Pull pull shoot. The mu drops like a stone, the people on the sub are
excited. I swim over to my dead mu feeling like a champ. As I approach,
Mr. mu gets up, shakes the unpenetrated shaft off of his head and joins his
friends. I stick with them and can not for the life of me figure out which
one is wounded. I am sure the tourist think it is part of an elaborate
play done for their benefit. The fish are trained to fall with blanks like
the afternoon cowboy show at Knotts Berry Farm. I move up on the ledge
with little bottom time left, I am heading for the wreck. The uku circle
around and they are joined by a big uku. I lay down on more hydroids and
scratch the bottom. The uku are approaching and I am focused on the big
guy. I have been hearing the sub, and know it is around, but I am
ignoring it. Between me and the fish there is suddenly a darkness followed
by the sight of the far steel channeling that makes up the bottom of the
sub. It has come from the pyramids and gone from 10 feet off the bottom to
1 foot off of the bottom, and over me! I am being run over! The nerve! I
back away as the sub also pulls up. There are the happy tourists waving
away. I feel a lot less friendly, a BA seems like a good idea, but it is
not my nature. I am into deco time so I head back and watch Andrew and
Marvin on the decks below as I decompress. They soon join me and Marvin
wants to see my fish, he is beginning to doubt that I have ever speared
anything. I proceed to tell them of my exploits with the big mu. Hmmm I
must have lost them, they seemed to get the "I speared a big one", but the
part about the fish coming back from the dead and the sub landing on me
just brings looks of "huh?" They have had a great dive and Andrew is hot
to go again. There is nothing like a dive to ease the mind.
Later that day I show up to tell Dick, Joe and Amy that I am not a diver.
They all laugh at the idea that I don't want to go diving and help me load
my gear. I leave my gun because I am not in the mood for killing and we
head for Kahala. Funny thing, this morning the Grasshopper was happy to
get around Diamond Head and visit Waikiki and now Dick's boat is happy to
get around Diamond Head to where all the uku are playing. The ocean is
always bluer on the other side of the point. We head for Joe's barge as
Amy has never been there. Joe and Amy are very honeymoony. (I guess
getting a sitter for the night can do that) They are spooning and
kissing along and on a boat there is no getting away from them, in fact
they always seem to be right were I have to get to. "excuse me can I get
that gear bag?" Lovey couples are like that, you walk into a dark room,
flip on the light and there they are, making out on the couch. Make some
small talk and move on. Head out for a walk in the garden and run into
them making out behind a tree. It will continue along with the small talk
getting more and more difficult and awkward. The ocean is calming down for
the evening and we are soon at the spot. I am going down with the anchor
and tell Joe and Amy that I will meet them there. Since I don't have a
gun, I figure they won't mind company, they look longingly at each other
and begrudgingly agree. I ride the anchor down just upwind of the barge
and set it. There are uku, big uku, mu and weke ula. "hey no gun!" I
try not to scare them off and ignore them. They approach and tease. I
come across a broken textured cone. It looks like broken china on the
bottom. I wonder about its demise, and start picking up the pieces...
can't leave broken china on the bottom... I decide to glue it back together
as a project and pick up all the sharp pieces and put them in my wetsuit.
Ouch. Dick shows and asks about fish. I tell him the big uku have gone
to the forward zees, the mu are on the other side of the barge and the rat
uku and weke are around here. He never got the message past the part about
big uku forward. He checks the anchor and heads off. I make friends with
file fish by feeding them crab snacks from the bottom of rocks. It is kind
of nice to not be trying to hunt. Joe and Amy have gone down below the
boat and I see their bubbles making their way across the sand. We join up
and go explore the barge. I still have lots of air since I just have been
laying around, but I am out of bottom time. Seems like getting into deco
should be fine, just as I have this thought the Diamond Head current picks
up one notch. I know Kahala, in ten minutes it could be howling. I head
up, it is clear and I enjoy being a voyeur of Joe and Amy below. It must
be 30 minutes since they were last entangled.... I suppose they have some
story about dive gear training, but it sure looks hot and heavy. Joe knows
I am watching and signals that he is fine and not to worry just before he
starts discarding tanks and clothing. Their bubbles are drifting right
into my face, making it like a scrambled channel. I can't really see
anything except to know that it must be the playboy channel. Joe has lost
his neoprene hood and it floats away with out them noticing. I dive down
and meet it as it passes by. The current is picking up and I make my way
back to the line and hang on. The new hood is warm, not bad. Dick has
cleared the anchor and comes up empty handed. Amy comes up with some lost
hood story while Joe searches the bottom for missing bits. I show Amy the
hood I found and she answers "Nice, yeah it is just like the one Joey lost"
Joey is still searching for something that floats.... hard to feel sorry
for the guy. He comes up and tells me about how he lost his hood and ends
with "hey that's my hood! How did you get it?" We surface to see Diamond
Head back lit by a firey orange sky. The seas are dropping down for the
evening. Dick pulls anchor and we head for home. I am glad I went
diving, it definitely is good for clearing your head. Amy finally got to
see Joe's barge and they are making the once a week thing a reality!
dive 215
Tuesday evening, Dick is heading out with Tod Payes and his acting boss
John Payne. Dick is on best behavior, but invites us anyway go figure?
Tod and I promise to be good. John is just glad to get out of the city and
is in it for the boat ride. It is windy enough that we plan to stay in
Waikiki. Tod says there are big weke ula at the hole, so we head there. He
and Dick tell tales of Molokai, giving and guarding information at the
same time. There is no current and I go down with the anchor. A small
yellow spot papio greets me as I set the anchor. Mike and Dick are
calling them endangered species lately, and he is only pan size so I ignore
him. Three large MK come tearing out of the cave at the sound of my
bubbles and disappear. There are lots and lots of small fish surrounding
the area. It makes a picture perfect scene as I swim around the hole
looking for sleeping ulua. There are small weke ula by the outside rocks.
I ignore them and head out the peninsula. The area is devoid of fish away
from the hole and I see only an occasional brown humu. Two large weke ula
lead me out to the deep sand where there are lots of big weke feeding. I
settle down at 110' and watch them. They are feeding and courting and
ignoring me. It is super quiet and serene as I lay in a bed of sand
watching. I think this is why I like diving, I would probably be happy
laying in a meadow watching deer and antelope, but my body always gets
sore. Underwater wildlife watching is far superior comfort wise. I think
it would be nice to sleep underwater as well, and I am envisioning making
my cave into an aquarium when it occurs to me that I am wasting precious
bottom time heroes are being made elsewhere and I should try and call
those big uku over here. The uku remain outside, waiting for dark. A
larger yellow spot comes by and with disregard of Dick and Mike, I fire
away, missing of course! I am out of bottom time and head back toward the
hole and shallow water. Tod is putting a weke ula in his bag, his second
one, fair size considering he only has one rubber on his gun. I head over
to my uku corner and court three small uku who do not come close. I pass
over an octopus and check out the shells he has been eating. He is a small
one and has nothing like the broken textile cone I found the other day at
Joe's barge. I still wonder who ate that. I come across a much larger
octopus and tease her while she flashes colors at me. I have five minutes
of decompression time already, not a good time to start a battle royal with
miss sucker feet. I check her shells, nothing big, and head back to the
anchor. There is no sign of anyone and the anchor is gone, there is that
bigger yellow spot again I guess I could shoot it so I could have a
midnight snack as I swim home.... oh wait, there is the anchor...whew...
Dick moved it for better pick up, no chance of getting it caught on the
hole. I head up and do my decompression without seeing the other guys, but
I hear a reassuring gun shot and know they are still down there. A good
dive for me, didn't loose or break anything, didn't kill anything
needlessly and found tremendous piece of mind. I surface and visit with
John and watch the sun set. Tod comes up with his two fish, turns out he
usually has two rubbers and broke one right when he went down. He had
taken on a different octopus and came away a sad looser with one tentacle
which was gladly eaten by an eel. Dick surfaces with nothing but
complaints about his terrible shaft, he just put it on his gun and missed
three good shots of big weke ula. Tod pulls the anchor and we head for
home. I am ready for more diving. I feel my free time being sucked away
and it is driving me to the ocean.
dive 216
Friday rolls around and the Mo'o is going diving. I am not usually welcome
across her bow but standing on the pier with all my gear whimpering and
looking forlorn has the desired effect and I get to join the others. The
Captain, Lyle, Dick and John Chang are all on board, we are bound for
Marnie's rock. Lyle sets the anchor and the rest of us follow him in. The
opelu kala are hanging outside the rock there is no current. I drift in
with the fish as I watch the others. Dick is cruising the ewa corner,
Lyle has the rock covered. I figure to head down to David's area, Dick
must not have seen anything as he is heading this way as well. I think
about backing off from the master, but it occurs to me that after landing
the giant ulua, he could not possibly need more fish. I hold my ground and
continue down the ledge, I can see he is surprised at my total lack of
respect. We both refuse to give in and swim along the ledge. There is no
sign of game, we finally come across distant uku, but I can see that they
are not having any part of me and I leave them for Dick to entice. I
swim inside with the kala and move back toward ewa. Here are more pieces
of textile cone... who eats these things? No sign of anything. I pick up
a big lettered cone and try to crunch it with my hands. Perhaps eels
crunch them, their version of nuts. I know they got strong enough jaws.
This lettered cone is definitely a Brazil nut! I find an eel and try to
feed him a cone shell. Like a small child sticking food in the face of a
reticent house pet. The eel is more scared than anything, even cookies
when force fed to you by Nazis can loose their appeal. The experiment is
inconclusive. I move along to the ewa ledge. I come across a very nice
Hawaiian anchor stone and proudly check it out before retuning as it is too
heavy to lug around. I take marks. A big silver fish swims by in mid
water, it could be a rainbow runner, tuna, shark, or kagami I wait to see
if it reappears. No luck. I check the cave and just to check my marks, try
to refind my anchor. Yep, there it is, right under the 30 black humus
feeding on my stirred up bottom, easy to find that again! I head back
toward the boat. Dick is at the corner, he is empty handed. The anchor
is crowded with divers heading up, there is a large kahala in a bag, his
tail hanging out. John is the hero, the others are empty handed. I head
over to the outside rocks in search of the evening run. The uku are just
coming in, two come close and I take a long shot at the larger, I miss,
but the numbers of uku triples. They watch me load. My beeper goes
off.... is it possible to run out of bottom time at Marnie's rock? I check
my gauge... eeek! less than 800 pounds of air. I was fooled by the fact
that everyone was still down, I leave the swarming uku, control my "under
1000 panic", and head back to the anchor. The gang is all on the line and
I hang at 30' watching the opelu kala come closer and closer with the
darkness. John and Lyle saw the shark, Dick lost a papio down by
David's spot, but on the whole very few fish were seen. We surface to
hear about Johns first fight with a big fish, of course the Captain is
telling the story and John is characteristicly quiet. Just glad he didn't
loose or bend his spear. I brag about MY great find; "well I found a
beautiful anchor stone"..... "Is that the one by the pipe?" the captain
asks. "Oh, I have seen that one, nice horizontal groove, by the ulua cave"
Dick chimes in. The Captain wants Edwards son to take a look at it!
Talk about wind out of sails! Scrambling up a mountain only to find a beer
garden full of people at the top, they having come up the well worn path,
the older ones took the tram. Dick pulls the anchor and the Mo'o starts
her trip home, she loves the windy sea, splashing up her own storm.
Drenching herself in the face just so she can't see! We head for the
brightest light, it turns out to be the bow of the oil tanker that has just
got underway. Never a dull moment on the Mo'o, she has always seen to
that. I am glad to be included, there is after all, always brownies and
beer for dinner again and more fish still out there.
