The Snerk Report
Volume 8
dive 218
Well, it has been awhile since I have written a dive report, thanks to all
of you who have wanted me to resume. Let's see, what has happened since
last summer? Yes, I still go diving. I was unable to find time to write
with visiting family sleeping everywhere, then that horrible work thing
came back into my life. Boy, whose idea was that?? My life consists of;
work, sleep, and an occasional dive. On the whole, nothing new. Here is
the scoop as I know it. No shark bites, no bends, no deaths, no one lost
at sea... Oh, I think Joey tried, but managed only to loose his big
sausage. I have shot some nice fish.... (no 80lb Dick size ulua). I did
get my lemon juicer from Marnie's rock, I almost brought home a bag of old
cement while Roger has been picking up beautiful Hawaiian octopus lures.
Mike flies to the mainland as often as he dives. Brian P. gets out when
he can (Jan is in second trimester). Lyle has a new girlfriend and has
consented to diving with me on occasion (not on his boat mind you!!). I
have seen David out diving, so I know he still gets out there. Dick has
been going to Molokai every chance he gets. Joe, Amy, BrianOCC and Rich
are still testing and breaking new equipment. Marvin has disappeared from
the face of the earth with out me ever getting a dive trip to Palau out of
him (he has a new girl as well). What the rest of you are up to is
anyones guess..... I hope to see all of you soon.
Now for the actual dive....
Friday, Dick and Lyle are going out and I beat the traffic and prep the
boat. The other two arrive just short of dark and we head out the channel
hoping to get to the nearest spot. We aim for the pyramids, and I
volunteer to set the anchor as every minute of light will count. The water
is clear and cool, I see the anchor will fall on top of the ledge and swim
for the line to get the free ride to the bottom. My attention is
distracted by the unmistakable shape of ulua below. It is a beautiful
kagami slowly undulating away from the kagami spot. Did you ever try and
load a gun, swim for the bottom, tuck a gear bag away in record time?
Without taking your eyes off of the quarry? I can't swim and pee at the
same time! I managed to catch the gear bag in one rubber and my pig tail
in the other. I am mid water and I realize the fish will have to return
for me to get a shot..... it's possible.... There is a sting ray cruising
by the anchor and I wonder if it is friends with the kagami. I hide
behind a concrete piling and watch the uku, they turn and are interested,
then something moves them all out at once. I look for the ulua, only to
see Lyle descending on my left and Dick on my right. A little mu and MK
come in range, but I am holding out for that kagami. I leave the crowd and
move down current across the river bed. I know the uku often hang out at
the other corner, were the ledge resumes. Today there is one small papio
to be seen and very few fish. I think the fish are all back up by the
kagami spot nearer the anchor. I want to be close to the anchor as I
recently got lost thinking I could find the anchor in the dark. (Hey, did
you notice how lazy the sun has been lately?) I come across Lyle and he
shadows along close enough to prevent any kagami from passing by. I let
the pile of rocks come between us and turn around and ditch him. Back
towards the anchor again I find Dick, how can it be so dark and still
seem so crowded? I tell him of the fish I have seen, he has only seen
small uku. We go our separate ways.... hmmm these opelu kala are acting
mighty unfriendly..... I turn around to see Dick tailing me! He is like
a puppy that has been told to go home... trailing along just far enough
behind to make it difficult to catch him. I wait and scold him... he
gives me some song and dance about since I saw a kagami and large uku, and
he has seen nothing, it makes the most sense just to follow me! I agree to
dive as buddies, let him get ahead and take a sharp right back to my uku
corner. I can hear Dick calling for fish, but the uku are with me now.
Unfortunately, it is so dark, that I can only see them when they are close.
They are tending to not be in front of where I have randomly pointed my
gun. I remember Dave, Athleen and I in this same area at the same light
level. Athleen of course had a flash light to find the anchor with. I
don't hear Dick anymore so I wander back towards the anchor. I keep
seeing divers that turn out to be pieces of man made reef. The file fish
are passing for papio and I am glad to find the anchor line. Dick is
decompressing, Lyle is still out wandering (he found the boat from the
bright anchor light that Dick left on, too bad it turned out to be the
moon. He surfaced and swam back to the boat) He is empty handed as well,
he missed a shot at a MK with his new all wood gun. I saw the most fish
and there is no sympathy for my whining about the kagami that never looked
back. We are all glad to get wet as we pull anchor and wend our way back
into the busy Friday night harbor. Earlier start times. I am still
savoring the beauty of that kagami, and thinking of heading back out soon.
dive 219
Sunday evening, Dick has borrowed Nils's gun and loaded it with an old
slightly bent shaft with the barb removed and the tip freshly sharpened.
He is on a shark training mission. Mike, Lyle and I are up for a trip to
Marnie's rock to learn about animal training. Dick's puppy has gone to
school and this is the next animal he is going to work on. He figures to
present himself to the shark as a potentially painful thing. Like one of
those cactus that can shoot needles if you get too close. If it works, I
figure on being one of those mimic cactus that looks like it might be able
to shoot needles, but really can't. We are all interested in the
outcome, but no one else is excited enough to want to volunteer to do this
brilliant deed. The sky is overcast but it looks as if we will be able to
see the marks. We circle a few times and I toss the anchor. Mike and
Lyle are over before the chain. I am in next, leaving Dick and with his
arsenal to be last. There is a slight current going ewa. I have
purchased a new secret weapon spoon at the Goodwill store and I drop it
ahead of me just to see the action it makes. It is not as good as a butter
knife, but the humus come charging and create a commotion. I drop to the
bottom and see nothing but Dick and some small weke ula. The area is
particularly void of fish, and with the others up current, I head to the
inside spot to look for uku. The opelu kala are thick and friendly and
above them I see four large papio/ulua shapes. I am hoping they are
kagami, as Mike is wondering how I manage to see them all the time. I
would love to come back with one, but they are omilu, and they drift off
with out coming in on me. I have been looking upwards and as I return to
my own surroundings I see a large weke ula to my left and a large mu to my
right. Well, I just had the last bit of kumu for lunch, so the mu is the
logical choice. I make a great shot, but he wiggles free leaving
snowflakes of scales in his wake. My shaft did not go all the way through
the fish. Those guys are the hardest headed things down here, and with me
here, that says a lot. I will study the skull of the next one I take home,
just so I can aim for a better spot. I drift out to the uku area and see
nothing but more big mu, there seems to be two on every island. I duck and
hide until I get my chance to bonk another one on the head. I think I do
better to pull and shoot, getting the buggers as they are running away,
that way I at least land the fish. Head shots and mu don't mix. I figure
it is time to go check on the tiger by the tail session and head out along
the ledge. I am looking out on the flat for uku, not having seen even a
one. My attention is not on the ulua cave as I see a large black shape
head out the back door. It is about 10 pounds and I quickly move up for a
possible return. There I am gun between turrets when five nice size yellow
spots sneak over my right shoulder to see what I am aiming at. Sassy fish.
The opelu kala are most friendly and I amazed at how close they are around
me. They are going in and out of the cave, showing me how much fun it is
to use the back door. Not my day, but at least a really mad shark has not
shown up. I head back to where I last saw the guy with guns on both hips,
he has not moved, but has landed a nice size yellow spot papio. He has not
seen much of anything, but is ever ready. Lyle is close to the rock. There
are no fish around, I go back to where I was. The opelu kala are still
there but nothing else. It is getting dark. Perhaps out side of the rock
there are hordes of weke ula.... I make my way out, Lyle is heading up
empty handed. I do see some weke off in the distance, I work my way over,
take a long shot and miss. My air is low and loading again seems futile,
but, you never know. I load the gun and drift down current to the anchor.
Dick is still ready for bear with his papio acting as bait.... not a sign
of game and I head on up. The timing is good, just getting too dark, I am
low on air, and the current has picked up. Dick has a fish bag and two
guns to unload while he hangs on to the anchor line. I am right behind and
above him. I debate turning off his air, or ripping off his mask... some
Dick like maneuver. Since he still has two loaded guns, I think better
of it. I must be getting old.
I am the last one in, Dick's papio is the only fish amongst us. Mike had
a chance at a leaf fish, but with no aquarium he contented himself with
watching it sway.... he did not see anything. Lyle saw a small uku and not
much else. Dick only saw the fish he had in his bag. The shark was no
where to be seen. I pull anchor (yes you read that right.... ) and we
head home. Dick regales us with shark escapades from years past. Even
before the beer, the stories are hair raising. The ocean is smooth and
quiet, the moon a soft fuzzy glow through the clouds, even with the epic
tales, danger seems very far away.
dive 220
Cloudy Tuesday afternoon, Dick is diving, Roger, Lyle and I serve as
last minute crew on the way to Kahala. Lyle has given up on his beautiful
virgin gun and brought along the big sister to my gun, he doesn't really
like it, but he figures on giving it another chance. The afternoon had been
calm, but the south wind was kicking up the ocean and it was surprisingly
choppy when round Diamond Head. Scattered squalls adding credence to
eyore's words of impending currents and certain doom. Luckily, the
captain is experienced at ignoring grumblings in the ranks, and I soon toss
the anchor at Joe's barge. There is a current running, but the divers are
making it down the anchor line before I tie off the anchor. Dick and I
are the last ones in. We are out over the sand, there is a Diamond Head
current, but it is not very strong. Dick heads off toward the deep
barge. I drop down, but stay above the sand so as not to build up too much
bottom time below 100'. So much for being efficient, the sand is full of
big weke ula, but they scatter at my- land on their head- approach. A
small kahala comes charging over to see who I am. I don't shoot, but
think that he is a really nice size. He continues to pal around with me,
as I tell myself how delicious they are. He is too friendly, it seems
unfair, I ignore him. I swim over to the ledge out side of the Z's on the
way to the barge. The top of the ledge is a river pouring into me and I
cruise along half way down the ledge totally out of the current. I can
see the other divers on the shallow up current side of the Z's, both of
them are at full point. The old guy takes a shot, and as he reloads,
Lyle uses his fins to kick up a tornado of sand. They must see uku, I
pass behind them as Lyle fires off into the distance. I ease through the
concrete, sliding over the smooth algae slyly making my way to the barge.
I know the uku will travel in the channel between the Z's and the barge
when they have had enough. Sure enough, there are some good size uku
milling about. I almost get them close enough, but they head over to Lyle
and I hear his gun go off again. A large school of uku head out into the
depths. They don't look very happy, and I doubt they are coming back. I
follow down into the sand just in case and the approaching shadows turn
into mu. There are 8 or so coming in on me, they are slow, and keep me
laying still behind my Z. I hope there is no eel under here, I glance down
and am startled by the dreaded gymnothorax hairbraidus. Ok, you would
think someone as petrified of eels as I am would come up with a less
alarming hairstyle. The mu are now close enough for me to choose one, pick
a spot a little further back and shoot. Wow! That is a good place to
shoot mu, he falls down dead and I slide him into my bag. I think about
heading back toward shallow water, but my bottom time is up anyway. I had
noticed the anchor had one of those Lyle never break loose and never pull
up sets, and I figure to head back there and reset it. I still have half a
tank so I lay by the anchor and look for any game. Roger and Dick both
show up empty handed and have some "over my head" discussion. Normally I
would have said they were asking me where the anchor was, but since my fin
is hitting the line, and my hand is next to the fluke, they must be asking
me something else. Maybe they are asking me to reset it. Roger comes over
and does just that on his way up. I don't see any fish and rather than get
any more deco in the dark time, I head up as well. Lyle soon appears empty
handed and frustrated, he is ready to break his gun in half. He had taken
5 shots at the uku and missed them all. You gotta love guys, I would be
blaming my aim and be letting everyone convince me what a poor shot I am.
Listening to everyone tell me how to make underwater targets. I will lay
money that Lyle just gives his gun a make over. Dick's bubbles come into
distant view, he is making his way back toward the anchor and the tiny
bubbles are fish scales floating up. The old guy points out the bubbles
and makes signs to tell me it is snow rising from the depths. Dick
appears empty handed and with 4 minutes decompression. He takes out his
gear bag and begins to put his gear away. Now I have seen him clean fish
underwater in order to save time, but this seems a little excessive. I
stand back to see just how far he plans to take this. He signals that his
bag stinks and he is just rinsing it out, oh well, shows over, I head up
into the rain. Dick and Lyle pull anchor in the middle of the down pour
while I warm up in my purple snuggy jacket. Being spoiled sure is great.
It is dark and feels later than it is. The days are continuing in this
short direction against all reason. With it comes the north swells,
banishing the divers from the north shore of Molokai. Dick has some hot
prospective dive spots on the south shore and his focus has shifted towards
the new season. Lyle is going to remake his gun, cutting it down into a
twin of my gun so he will have something new to try next time. There is
always more diving to be done and good reasons to do it.
dive 221
Dave Pence has a new gun, guess who wants to go diving in the worst way??
We agree to meet at the power cat as close to 5 as possible on a Friday
afternoon. Dick will join us for a planned trip to Marnie's rock. Dave
helps me set up the boat, he has that Christmas eve anticipation most often
seen in seven year olds. He does indeed have a beautiful new gun. Dick
arrives and we are off. Dave drives the boat as we catch up on each others
lives and discuss underwater politics. The clouds are just beginning to
have that sunset glow as we drop anchor. Dick goes in to set the
anchor, Dave and I follow. The water has the perfect murk and the opelu
kala are swarming around us before we even get to the anchor line. Things
look good and we load our guns. I drift over to the opelu kala looking
for papio. The school is full of salt and pepper fish, they drift over to
me with equal interest and we all glide to the bottom together. The anchor
is set on one of the rocks between Marnie's rock and the ledge, a good safe
place to leave Dave to try out his new gun. I head over to the outside
rocks to look for weke ula. The trap is so full of palani it looks as if
could swim. I see only one little friendly pan size papio. I can hear
Dick calling at the ewa corner, perhaps he will chase the uku to my
inside spot. I head inside, I see one large weke ula off in the distance
and nothing else until I get into the mu territory. They are three mu off
to my right, but since I am still eating the last one, I ignore them and
swim ahead. Well, no one likes to be ignored. The mu head off and
intercept my path. I figure I might as well take a shot. I miss for no
good reason, and move onwards. I see no uku, but once again the place is
crawling with mu. I choose a large one and miss again. The mu are not
phased and I load my gun and miss again. Three misses!! Fortunately, by
the time I am ready for another shot, the uku have shown up, and they are
kind enough to swim up to me, turn sideways and let me hit one. I get the
fish through both gills, and it drops instantly. After I pull the shaft
out and put it in my bag, it comes back to life. How far is a fish going
to swim in a bag? I concentrate on loading my gun and let the fish act as
bait. I am ready again, it sure is murky, can't see very far... it is
going to be embarrassing to have to admit that an uku swam away with my bag
never to be seen again. A clover leaf search luckily saves me and I tuck
the fish in my belt. The uku are still around, and I get another one with
the same type shot. I am happy. I guess I might even be nice to mu...a
small mu comes by and I shoot him too, guess again. I hurry to get the
fish put away, and am a little panicked because I have not looked at my
gauge and time flies when you are having fun. 1200 pounds and seven more
minutes of bottom time, whew, no sweat. I have to remind myself that
darkness alone is not really dangerous. Time to head back out and see how
the shark trainer is doing. I don't want to loose my cashe. I swim
along the outside of the ledge and pass the ulua cave. I am pretty far
away, but I can see that those are not opelu kala in there. Four fish, two
small ulua, two large papio. They are exiting the sky light one by one as
I approach. They are like fighter jets doing the missing man formation.
Circle the cave and one takes off through the back door, circle the cave
and the next one is gone I will get there in time to get the last and
smallest. I am ready... I am ready.... hey come out of there! The papio
stays in the hole and I try and cover the exit while I scare him using my
fins. I am forced to chance loosing it while I try and scare it out. I
yell, shake my gun and try and move him with my gun. I just know as soon
as I shoot him, he will take my shaft out the skylight, rip my line and
swim away with my shaft. He continues to circle and I try for a kill
shot. He drops like a rock and is fairly cooperative as I put him in my
bag. I am worried about the shark, and I leave the bottom but keep the
ledge in sight in order to find my way back to the anchor. I am pleased at
my ability to navigate with such limited visibility. Well, here is where
I thought the anchor should be. No sign of the line, either the boat has
broken loose, or I am right next to the line and just do not see it. I
head up hoping to run into the boat. I am happy to hear Dick yell and
see him come over to retrieve me. He still has two guns but no fish. I
know there were a lot of fish down there, so he must have had a really bad
dive. I have so many fish, he will be even grumpier. I know offering
him one of mine will just rub salt in his wounds and I am at a loss for the
best approach. I figure I will be proud and happy and he will be forced to
be happy for me. Sort of like it was a lucky fluke on my part, and not
that I am a master all time spearfisher champion. We get back to the boat,
or it could be motel six, since Dave has left a light on for us... very
inviting. I surface while Dick unloads his guns. Dave is talking,
muttering something of importance, but I can't really hear anymore because
my eyes are using all my sensory power as I stare at the large tail
sticking up and over the gunwale. It is shimmering golden in the waning
light. It is obviously a very large kagami. I can't believe I was
feeling sorry for that guy, now I know why he signaled me to go up!! Dave
voice finally registers, he is worried if I have seen Dick as he went to
look for me. I hand him my suddenly smaller and lighter bag and scramble
aboard to find that Dave has put his gun to the test with three large opelu
kala, Dick has a papio and the golden wonder. We are a happy wealthy
lot. Dick and Dave pull the anchor and Captain Dave takes us homeward.
Dick was the only one to see the shark, but with his catch, and the
anchor breaking loose, his hands were too full for any real training.
Mostly he wondered why I was not there to help him. He saw two kagami,
and lots of big uku that came in with the shark. It was the first time
Dave was at Marnie's rock when things were happening and he was amazed at
the number of fish all around him. He is extremely happy with his gun, it
was certainly a charmed inaugural dive. Let's hope it will always be
lucky. I have the most fish I have ever shot in one dive, well, if you
don't count mempachi with a pole spear... I can safely say three very
contented divers were enjoying early Halloween treats.
dive 222
Tuesday afternoon, the winds are dropping and Dick wants to take
advantage of the window of opportunity. Mike is busy, but his dad is
free. The three of us head out towards Kahala. The calm ocean only lasts
until Diamond Head and as we pass Black Point, we have to hang on tight.
The clouds have moved in making for an ominous feeling as we head for Joe's
Barge. We wonder what Joe has been up to, and fill in the blanks with
what ever dive fantasy occurs to us. I manage to toss the anchor without
doing too much damage and the divers head down. There is a current going
upwind toward Kokohead making for an easy descent. The other two are near
the anchor, there are some concrete Z's and pipes below the boat and it is
not instantly clear to me where we are. I can see some really large uku
(2 or 3) outside. I drop straight down, making the uku have to pass me to
head over to check out the divers who are calling them. They do not come
close, no time to dally, they head by and out of sight. I avoid checking
on the anchor and head up current. I think I am kokohead of the barge and
I plan on hitting the next pile of Z's shortly. The current has a lot of
south in it and I hit the ledge outside of the concrete. At least I know
where I am now, I swim over to the concrete pile searching and scanning
for uku. After all these years, you would think that I would know that
the best uku viewing is usually behind you. There is a large school of
uku zooming by. They are the uku from Alice in Wonderland, rushing off to
a very important date, no time to be curious. They even can change size
as they rush around in circles going nowhere. Nothing I do seems to get
any notice, and they do not come close. I finally get my chance, but I am
forced to hold my gun against a surge and I can not hold it straight and
miss. I quickly reload. The opelu kala come right along side, a herd of
small weke ula graze by on the flats. It just gets darker and darker.
The uku stay away. I should head back to the anchor while there is still
some hope of finding it, especially since I did not go by it on my way
down. I head out across the flats and swim along seeing nothing. It is
very unusual to be able to swim along this far and not see even one man
made item. Being a ground shrew, the only thing that makes sense is to
head back up current and go back to my starting point to try again. I
swim upcurrent with determination and speed, the uku follow along at a
distance and we end up at the ledge quite a bit outside of where I
intended. Now I know what I need to vector into my next attempt at the
anchor. The current is going out as well as kokohead. The uku remain
aloof, but there are mu outside and I think about working them. I had poke
for breakfast, and there is still fish in my ice box, it is getting dark
and I only sort of know where the anchor is. I have been a goat before.
It won't hurt anything to head back empty handed. I might even find the
anchor. This time I am right on and get right over to the pile of Z's I
was aiming for. There is a huge weke ula and I take a long shot at the
trophy. I must have tangled the line when I loaded because the shaft only
goes half the distance it is supposed to. Not to be. My bottom time is up
but I can see bubbles and happily head over to the anchor line. Dick is
empty handed and is still calling fish. I head up and see the other guy
above me, the uku in his bag back lit and recognizable only by its shape.
The master does it again. The water is getting cold and we soon are all
in the boat having had similar experiences with evasive fish. Dick
pulls the anchor and we head home. The ocean seems calmer and in Waikiki,
the city lights are reflecting off of the low clouds making for a bright
calm night. I am outside, breathing fresh air, heading down current, the
warm safe anchorage in sight. It is a good feeling.
dive 223
Having survived another week of teenagers with Bunsen burners, I was ready
for an evening dive. Mr Mac is back from N.Y. and he and his best buddy
invite me for a trip on the Mo'o iki. Traffic is snarled and it is with a
joyful heart that I make it down there before they leave and before it gets
dark. We head out into gray seas, Mac is telling great fishing tales of
Rockaway Beach, the Stripeys were throwing themselves at the fishermen.
There is a one fish limit, so if you think you can catch a bigger one, then
you throw yours back. (What a great quandary... Of course someone down the
beach has caught a 40#er, so you know they are out there.) I brag about
all the great fish I have caught in his absence, he accuses me of depleting
our resources. The usual banter, it gives me a happy sense of camaraderie
and we vow to stick together as we toss the anchor at the pyramids. The
first liar does not stand a chance. Stanley's boat indicates a strong
Diamond Head current so we stay away from the hole. I am the first one in.
The water is cold and clear. I load my gun before looking anywhere just
in case there is a big kagami below me. The butt of my gun moves against
my weight belt, dislodging my goodie bag. The bag is sinking down and as
I follow it, I see the incoming uku. I hit the bottom and they are coming
straight in. You know those small leaks that happen when the regulator
does not seat against the tank? Well, the O-ring must have shifted
suddenly because I went from no leak, to a good size leak. The fish are
scared away and I wonder if there are any o-rings on board. It is dark
enough already and the leak small enough that I decide to see if I can fix
it on the spot. I have a pet peeve about getting water in my regulator,
the one that exploded on me was one that I used to soak in water, Ricky
said it was badly corroded. (never mind how long I had it) I figure I can
keep some air pressure on it and still move it around, wrong. I see the
other guys go down the anchor line and swim off the ledge toward the
pyramids. I hope there are still some fish around by the time I get
organized. I manage to fix the problem and still have more air than
daylight. I am disoriented and turned around, the ledge is in plain
sight, yet it seems to have moved. I feel like I am heading out when all
evidence says I am following the path to the kagami spot. There are two
small baby uku and one MK, but nothing to get excited about. I wander in a
zig zag out to the pyramids just as Mac is heading in to the anchor. I
have my bearings back and head out into the sand even though it is quite
dark. There is a small white tip zooming around the pyramids, but nothing
more. I see a distant group of fish but they turn out to be broom tailed
file fish packing together. Perhaps they sleep in groups. I lay on what
used to be sand and get stung by all the hydroids growing on the bottom. I
guess without surf this summer, the sand has gone? There are no fish and
I move toward the uku hangout. There is one good size uku and I call him
over, unbeknownst to me, I am also calling the little shark from behind
me. I am holding still and quiet when the uku darts off and the shark
comes into view over my head. One good exhale and he disappears in a
panic. No fish, so dark that little friendly sand perches startle me as
they suddenly come into view. I head back toward the anchor, I end up way
up current and it takes some convincing to allow myself to drift down to
the anchor. Sometimes things work perfect, I drift right on to the anchor
line and head up. Darkness and fish in the bag has allowed the more
sensible divers to the surface and it is a quiet decompression for me. The
water is a rich metallic blue, looking surreal as the black cut out shapes
of opelu kala feed near the surface. This is really why I am here, the
fishing is just to show the others. (this I tell myself when I have not
taken a shot) The best part of diving is just watching the world, oh
yeah, the breathing thing is pretty good too. The problems of the week
have been put into their proper proportions, and I surface with that
baptismal feeling. There is a good size uku in the boat, the master has
done it again, he went up current to the spirals. Mr. Mac's empty bag has
not diminished his dive, he is back in Hawaii and out on the ocean. He
takes us homeward, I hold the red green flash light as we cruise down the
swells back to reality. T. G. I. F.
dive 224
Sunday, the weekend ends all too soon. Fortunately, the uku master and
Dick are planning to take the power cat out at 4:30 for a trip to
Marnie's rock. The boat starts and we head off under cloudy skies. The
ocean is fairly calm, the banter from the guys is about the joys and
responsibilities of parenting, I am forced to limit myself to the
occasional wise ass comment. We are soon at our destination, Dick tosses
the anchor and I am the first one down. The opelu kala are thick, showing
good promise. I check and reset the anchor while all the fish come visit
me. I don't see anything like weke or uku, so I head back over the ledge.
Dick has come around the back side of Marnie's rock on my left, the
Master is cruising over on my right. I figure my chances of having a fish
swim by either of them and come visit me is slim and I head inside. I see
no uku and even the mu are not in their usual place. The islands have no
game on them and I start back out to see how the shark training is coming.
I figure I can head down the ledge to David's spot. I spot two mu inside
and hide down below the ledge and look for a rock to call with. I make a
noise only to have the small mu jump over the ledge on to my head like Kato
when Inspector Cluesou comes home. I guess he had been heading over when I
was looking around, I felt the way you feel when you pick up the phone to
call someone only to find someone on the line calling you. I was not ready
to shoot, but he was the small guy anyway. I try to get some interest out
of the larger guy, but I soon give up in favor of checking on the others.
As I approach the rock, five papio join me in my swim. I think they are
too small, then they get bigger as they leave. They come back again but
don't give me a good shot. The fish are all inside the ledge, as are the
other two divers. I take a shot at an uku and miss. The master calls me
over, he has a nice mu in his bag but he wants to show me something. I
head over and see the opelu kala in a tight tight ball. They are swarming
around Dick's shark. The shark is upside down and flailing on the
bottom. I guess Dick's training has turned into something he did not
intend. I can't help but feel immense sorrow to watch what now seems a
beautiful creature helplessly struggle against his wounds. His belly seems
so very white and I want to go over and stroke it. (I refrain) The fish
are all fascinated by the whole thing, the opelu kala certainly don't plan
on eating the shark, it must just be rubber necking of a sorts. A few
nice papio come along and the master takes one down. There are a bunch of
uku in with the opelu kala, and I get to choose the one I want as they
watch the shark. I take my fish battle out past the ledge where I can
think about putting the fish in the bag without putting my foot
accidentally in the sharks mouth. I have speared the fish just in front of
the eyes and he moves his eye to watch me insert the shaft back through his
mouth. I feel really sorry for the fish. It takes me awhile to mentally
get back from becoming a vegetarian again. I manage to get the fish in the
bag and think about going back to the show to pick off more of the fish in
the audience. I feel like a sniper. The master has two fish in his bag,
and he heads up. The fish have all left the scene and I wonder what ended
the show. The uku might come back out here and I turn around in time to
see that I am being charged by a shark. Is it a miracle? Is it his evil
twin? I feel like it couldn't possibly be the same shark, but where ever
it came from, it is in a really bad mood and it seems to be my fault. I
tuck my fish away and he veers off, only to turn, and charge closer, more
aggressively. He whips away just as Dick comes over. I am ready to go
up, but Dick says he has not got a fish yet. Under water whining. (he
did not see the full posture maneuver) . I don't want to leave him alone,
so we watch the shark pass by, further away and swim out of sight. The
danger is past, but there are no uku in sight. We start back up the
anchor line. Dick unloads his gun just when the uku come up to see where
we are going. He hands me one gun as he tries to load the other, there is
nothing like hurrying to slow you down. He is too low on air for any real
hunting and returns to the line, offering to let me go shoot some uku while
he heads up to safety. Ha! I spend a short decompression getting stung by
invisible enemies. When I get out of the water, I get the full report on
the action. Dick had been using the bagged mu as a come on. The shark
of course, came over to see his old pal Dick just while Dick was trying
to shoot some uku and not paying attention. The shark thanked Dick for
the offering and made off with the mu. Dick then chased and shot the
shark. Surprise surprise, not only did the shark not like being shot, he
did not feel obligated to give back the bag of fish. The master, was not
really eager to get involved with the Dick, shark battle until he noticed
HIS bag in the sharks mouth. There seemed to be a discrepancy as to who
owned it. The shark rolled over and the two divers poked and prodded,
getting the fish and bag out of the sharks mouth seemed to have occupied
the better part of their dive. I was sorry to have missed that piece of
action. The question of the night was it the same shark back from the
dead? Had he recovered from shock and found himself in fine shape? Did he
think my fish was his mu? How did everything suddenly become all my
fault? (Why am I surprised at this logic?) Or, was it another shark
especially excited by the smell of shark blood? Dick feels if it was the
same shark, he will be much more leery. I am not so sure. I remember the
TV polar bear special where the scientists who have tranquilized, weighed,
poked, tagged and measured the bear are going to release it to the wild.
The cameras are rolling as they open the door and expect the terrified bear
to run for his life. He gets out of the cage, turns around and demolishes
the cage. Then, when the cage is good and dead, he looks around until he
looks straight into the camera and you realize he has just seen the guys
who have been filming him. There is just the start of him running before
the camera starts filming the sky and the guys run for safety. I just hope
the shark doesn't think Dick gave him a nice fish, then suddenly the next
thing he can remember, he has mysterious painful wounds and that pig
tailed Siren ended up with a yellow fish bag. I usually like it when
some one thinks I am more capable than I really am, but in this case...
Well, it was an exciting dive, three good fish, and a torn up bag as a
reminder.
dive 225
Wednesday afternoon, tomorrow is a holiday, chuck the work and go diving.
Dick is planning to dive and he is bringing Rob along. Rob is passing
through; they let him off of Saipan to go to the mainland a couple of times
a year. We head out shortly after five, the ocean is calm and we head
towards Kahala. It looks like there might be a current and there is
enough light to head down to Dick's rock. (I think Dick just wants to
be as far away from Marnie's rock as possible. Give mom a chance to calm
down after she finds the broken lamp in the living room, play outside till
at least three other kids have gone home. Standard procedure.) We toss
the anchor and there does seem to be a slight current. I am the first one
in, I am going to meet Rob at the anchor. The water is clear and we are
centrally located just inside the trap. I fool around with the anchor and
Rob and Dick show up and we all head out side, using the opelu kala as
smoke signals to action. I let Dick head toward the trap and I head in
along the sand channel. There are three uku, two smaller and one pretty
good size. Of course the smallest is sent in to visit me first and I
patiently wait to take the shot at his big brother. Big brother comes over
and wonders what whizzed over his head. He stops to take a look at the
shaft laying on the ground.... nope, can't eat it, and heads off, he would
have winked at me if he had eyelids, he settles for a whoosh of tail and
disappears. I load my gun and we head down current. The ledge is covered
with tropical fish and activity. I play around with an overhang full of
mempachi. There is a small papio shape far away on the next ledge but I
don't see it again. We head across into a field of taape and work our way
back toward the anchor. Dick has not seen anything to shoot and wonders
where I saw any uku. Rob and I pass the trap and head out to the end of
the ledge. The ocean looks large and empty and I don't venture further, it
is fairly dark and we all meet at the anchor not wanting to give up empty
handed. We spread out and move up current like an organized search party.
Dick goes around an island to the left, I once got a mu in that area.
Perhaps he will see one. Rob and I move forward and I see a mu in the
clearing in front of us. It is not that big, but it is a mu and it would
make more than one meal for me. I call it, shoot it, and put it in the
bag. Rob picks up the bag while I try to load my gun again. Having a
sherpa carry the bag is cool, I could get used to this. Dick comes by to
see what happened. My meter beeps that I am out of bottom time and Rob
and I head up. His beeper sounds as well, and I am reassured that I am not
being cheated by some faulty computer. Dick lingers on the bottom,
taking one last hopeful pass out side. Decompression is chilly and dark.
Dick returns with an empty bag and my little mu grows larger. I
surface to a silver ice moon overhead. A dull hole punch used on the
dark sky, the unfinished cut out still in place allowing just the smallest
arc of light. The others surface. Dick pulls the anchor and we head
home in the night. The lights of Waikiki shimmer on the water. It is
always good to be out on the water with wet hair.
dive 226
Friday afternoon and no one is diving, fix myself a large snack and get a
call from Dick, he is done with his meeting, can I meet him at the boat
in a half of an hour? It is a scramble. Things beyond my control, but
never the less still my fault give us a late start and we are forced to
stay in Waikiki. Roger and Mac are heading out in the Mo'o iki, no doubt
heading for the same area. We aim for the pyramids I toss the anchor on
top of the ledge and head over trying to ignore the unhappy captain. The
water is cold. We are directly over the spirals, they have more fish above
them than the pyramids. There is an eagle ray snuffling towards the
pyramids and I have hopes of seeing that kagami again. I am loading my
gun and heading down the anchor line when I see the anchor skipping along
the bottom. It is a mad dash to catch it before it passes the last rock.
I catch it on the last scrub of a nub. I should have put out more scope.
If it breaks loose, there is nothing.... I could hook it on a spiral, but
that looks so tanglely. I wait for Dick and signal him to help me out.
Of course there are uku all around just at the edge of visibility.
Captain Grumpy is disgusted, one more thing HE has to take care of, he
drops his gun and free swims the anchor up to the top of the spiral, very
impressive. I pick up his gun and carry it to him like a good girl. He
takes it and heads into the ledge. I see no more uku. I follow the path
of the ray and head upcurrent to the pyramids. A lot of small opelu kala
follow.
the pyramids have two baby mu (still cute) and lots and lots of broom
tailed file fish. Dick is on the ledge calling and I circle past him and
head toward the inside pile of rubble. The top of the ledge is murky and
full of stinging water. My legs get stung, my arms get stung, something
wraps around my mouthpiece stinging my lips, I am getting quite grumpy
myself. There is a small MK, lots of taape, a papio puts on a file fish
disguise and swims right by me while my hand is no where near the trigger.
I head back to the ledge and out to the sand to be in clear water again.
It will be a straight down current drift back to the spirals, hope I don't
miss them as I usually find them by going along the ledge. I am scratching
my legs, out of bottom time and feeling like it is a wasted dive. I catch
myself mid thought, hey, I am here to have fun... no other reason. The
queen of 'have fun' is grousing about no fish? I catch my self, do a
shoulder roll in the sand and see the uku coming in. They must have heard
the thought "fun". I am in the middle of nowhere, there is no cover, but
they come up close and I take a high shot. There are six of them and to
keep them interested, I load my gun while trying to swim away from them.
It works, they are right there when I get to the ledge, turn and fire.
Lucky I have such bad aim, the just have fun gang hangs about, and I bid
them farewell as I head back toward the anchor. Dick is hanging on the
line empty handed. The surface has more stings per square meter than is
decent and I decompress deep to stay out of it. I am watching the distant
opelu kala swirl in the distance. They are acting like a school of giant
aholehole, darting dipping and pretending to be a flock of silver sided
pigeons. Hey! opelu kala don't do that they come into view again and I
see them as 100 papio! Dick's gun is still loaded and I point behind him
and he turns just as they swoop into view again. They are close enough now
to see that they are perfect size kahala. They swim up to Dick and he
fires into the mob. I expect him to have two fish strung up, but alas he
has none. He calls, but just as quickly as they came, they are gone,
ignoring all aspects of our presence. I load my gun on speculation, and
finish my decompression fighting off things too small to see, but not too
small to feel. We are empty handed, and so is the Mo'o iki. I try to be
appropriately solemn, especially when the starboard engine starts buzzing a
warning sound. Inside I am glad I got to play with the uku, I like
rolling in the sand and would gladly go back tomorrow.
dive 227
Saving Dick a haul out certainly merits him taking me diving, he is
planing a trip to Marnie's rock. A return to the seen of the crime, I am
anxious to go along for potential shark excitement. I wear my figiian
shark pareou just to show my 'oneness' with the shark gods. Lyle and I set
up the boat and soon Dick, Dave and Athleen show up. We take off around
4:30. There are exchanges of dive tales, Dick is going lava
diving,(where are going to find lava?) Athleen just came back from diving
in St. Croix, Dave has been diving a lot at Portlock. I feel very ham
sandwich. Lyle and Dave check out each others gear. Dave sees several
toys he does not already have and they talk about spear guns. (guy talk)
Dave has repaired his old gun and is showing Athleen all the tricks of it.
The dive safety officer is loading a speargun he just had repaired on board
a moving boat full of people! Lyle and I look at each other and agree to
give them a lot of room! We get to the spot and I toss the anchor and Lyle
is off to set it. I don't want to be any part of shark training and am the
next one in the water. The water is warmer than Waikiki has been. There
is no current which is nice because I have a short fill of only 2000 lbs.
I check the anchor, it is set nicely and Lyle is on the Barbers point (Is
it still called Barber's point?) side of the rock, he has not seen
anything. There are opelu kala, but they are still spread out and I decide
to head Diamond Head to David's hang out. Three quarters of the way there,
my rainbow runner hopes are shattered when I realize they are all
barracuda. Two, six, eight they come down from on high to see what I am
all about. I ignore them. Why does everything hate to be ignored? Do we
all believe were are the center of the universe? Where do these lowly fish
get off thinking that I should pay attention to them? They join me on my
trip down the ledge, stopping when I stop moving along at Snerk speed the
rest of the time. I feel like I have body guards, it is actually a very
nice feeling to have eight big barracuda acting as escort. A giant school
of opelu passes slowly overhead and I think "oh that's why these guys are
here", but my new mates don't move after the potential meal at all. I am
getting close to likely area and I see a large weke ula way outside. I
don't think I did anything, but the barracuda all move in close for the
kill. I feel like I am a leopard on the Savannah who has just dropped his
tail from straight up and moved into a low crouch. Am I that obvious? Do
all the zebras know when I am in hunt mode? I thought I was soo clever and
sly. I just found out I am a black cat on a snow covered field. I guess
stealth Snerk was a stretch. Well, the uku don't care, they come right in
to see us. (yes I have barracuda on both sides and above me) The uku are
head on, and it is hard to judge size. The front runner decides he doesn't
want to be first and does a U turn to circle into the back of the group.
Usually they turn side ways and I could get a shot, I quickly change the
course of my gun on to a larger oncoming uku and miss the shot as he turns.
My body guards scatter. Never to return. I pick up the shaft, and head
on down the ledge. I want to keep the uku interested by leaving the scene.
I think they will be more inclined to hang around for a repeat approach.
They follow along with me as I reorganize my gun. Wow, this works even
better than I thought! They are so excited to be going somewhere that they
race off ahead of me to get there first. They all pass right by and keep
going. So much for that great plan. Alone again, naturally. I continue a
little further to turn at the turtle spot. There is a great big guy
sleeping with his head under the ledge, from his shoulders back is sticking
out on the sand. It is the ostrich trick, he keeps sleeping and I think I
could set up a beach mat and lean against his shell with out him moving.
There are no more fish and I am curious about shark training lesson #2.
When ever I try and teach some one a lesson.... guess who gets taught a
lesson? I mosey back the way I came. I usually like to go along inside
and look for papio but having neglected to even check for a dead shark
carcass, I head back to Marnie's rock. Visions of picking up shark teeth
off the bottom. I come across Dave and Athleen they have fish and I wonder
if Athleen got one. Her gun is no longer loaded. I debate asking what
they have seen, but I think that they probably speak a foreign sign
language, use international signals for Jacks that don't involve the word
imua. I won't understand a word, I settle for a friendly nod and go check
on Lyle. He has at least one fish and has not seen any shark. Untrainable
shark, not showing up for lessons. The opelu kala are swarming, but I see
no game. Head over to Dick who is hanging out at what used to be the ewa
corner, but can now be called Dick's hang out. He has seen no shark
and few fish. I will see if there are some mu inside. The opelu kala move
in with me and turn off as I pass inside of the ulua cave. The fish are
spooky and I am convinced that this approach is not as good as my usual
method of arrival. A thought crosses my mind and I check behind me... sure
enough! I am being tailed! The sheepish Dick puppy dog is cowering just
out side of range. " O.K., you can come too" and I signal for him to
follow. I move out to the ledge so we can hide along it. I see no mu
anywhere, I glance up to see the two mirrors passing overhead. The kagami
head over and we both take positions behind the ledge. There is one for
each of us and I am excited about the double shot. I wait for Dick to
call, because I know he has stones in his hand, while I would have to look
around for some. He is so nonchalant and finally calls after I ask him to.
I wonder if he has a secret kagami method that I don't know about. The
fish are gone and we shrug our shoulders and head on. I can see the area
is dead, no mu on the outside islands and Dick looks doubtful when I
tell him "here is the spot". I see one lone uku and he sniffs and skirts
by me and ventures over to the real hunter who immediately snags him. I
hope fish will come in on the excitement, but nothing appears. I am low on
air and head back toward the anchor, not so low that I don't pass the cave
and hope for fish. Back in opelu kala land I play in the sand, they think
I am nuts and don't participate. Lyle and I head up leaving Dick chasing
more elusive uku. Lyle and I have a great conversation where we both
think we have total comprehension and it isn't till we surface that I find
the weke he got is a mu, and he has no rainbow runner. I did get the
octopus part right though. He finds that the rainbow runner I was talking
about were really kagami. Lyle is most pleased with his gun, he put on a
new shaft and got three uku the other day and now this mu saved the gun
from certain death. Athleen practiced with her gun, but Dave has the
rubbers set up so only bears, or people with bear biceps can load it. Dave
got three opelu kala and with Dick's uku we have a good haul. Dave pulls
the anchor and we head home. Dick and Athleen discussing resource
management and government monies. I get the feeling that my hard earned
tax dollars might not be being spent in the best possible way. If I ever
get to be king, things will be different. We clean up and I guess Dick
feels since I got his boat fixed, and showed him my spot and the uku for
that matter, that he should graciously offer me the main part of his fish,
which he does, and greedy girl that I am, I take it. Dave now feels
obliged to offer me one of his also, I take a rain check until I have
propane for my grill. I love opelu kala, checkerboard cut (like mango),
covered with lemon pepper and tossed on the grill. I know, I should not be
so fussy about food preparation. Sliced banana is not the same as peeling
back the skin and taking a bite, peeled grapefruit is not the same as cut
in half and eaten with a spoon, you can't eat a nashi as if it were an
apple and opelu kala are best grilled. I at least got dinner, it was
delicious, although I should have checked for hundreds of scales BEFORE
covering the fish with spices and cooking it. I don't want to look a gift
horse in the teeth, but certain parts of the fish should definitely NOT
have scales.
dive 228
Friday rolls around and I am committed to babysitting. (My Thursday dive
had fallen into dishwasher shopping) I am feeling particularly sorry for
myself, (Yes, even more than usual) Dick phones, he is going out on
the Mo'o iki with the Captain and they will be in Waikiki.... I will easily
be back for a 7:30 date with three year old. Load my gear and join the
Friday afternoon traffic races. I definitely pushed that light on Hobron
Lane, my spear gun and Roosevelt sticker is probably what really saved me
from officer Kawamoto. We load the Mo'o iki and head out to the
pyramids. The ocean is tranquil and inviting. A large rainbow encompasses
Honolulu. Dick tosses the anchor and I am the first one down. There is a
slight diamond head current and the visibility is perfect for spearing. I
set the anchor and head out to the spirals; that is where I saw fish last
time. My legs and hands still have little scabs from my last visit with
hydroids so I stay out in the middle of the sand. I lay on the bottom and
wait. One lone uku approaches, he never gives me a good shot, but I
finally shoot and miss anyway. I load my gun just as several yellow spot
papio appear, I weigh the chances of getting anything else and finally
shoot one. It is the perfect shot, except no one mentioned it to the fish.
He is off of the spear in no time, and I would have thought I missed him
except the shaft had stopped, and there was that glaring hole in front of
his eye. He continued to cavort around with his pals, circling curiously
around me as I loaded my gun. He did not seem to bleed, nor was his
swimming off in any way. They moved off before I could try again. I had
to admire his denial, a necessary survival technique, and he sure was
good at it. I waited a little longer and did the empty handed easy swim
back to the anchor. The Captain was also empty handed, but full of
entertaining tales as we decompressed. He saw a pair of Queen trigger
fish, way too big for Jack to be able to say that they were released from
someone's aquarium. And a small ass bite white tip shark. I actually
caught on to the communication, and when Dick came up with a small uku in
the bag, I got to watch as the Big Queen trigger tale was retold. There
are times when we are so good at sign language, (usually when it does not
matter.) I finish my five minutes of required decompression, and surface
to find that the sky was falling. I had thought that the rainbow had
meant good luck, but it was just a prelude. I put my gun and bag in the
boat to rinse go decompress until I can be the last one up. The rain is
soon gone and Dick pulls anchor and we head for home. Dick decides
that his uku is too small for his family.. Not only do I get a complete
restoration of patience and an ethereal view of my life, but I also get
sashimi and dinner for tomorrow! People will walk in my shadow just to
catch some of my good luck.
dive 229
Luck is holding out, diving two days in a row! Dick has forgotten about
the uku he gave me yesterday, and is ready for a trip to Marnie's and the
big game. I wear the shark pareou again, I wonder if I am getting more
superstitious as I get older just because reality and common sense have
failed me so often. I think that it just becomes more consuming the more
fishing you do. The number of variables seem stacked against Newton and
leaning towards words like fractals, chaos, and quantum. I briefly let my
mind wander to constructing fish orbitals, (the Snerk uncertainty
principle.) Fortunately before my brain waves wander too deep, I remember
the life saving copper bracelet I wore when I was 12. Nothing new. Dick
has invited Mac and his buddy and the four of us head west. The boat
repair of Dick's tilt beeper fails and we have a nice chorus of
intermittent beeping as I try to find the in line fuse and kill the
speaker. Somewhere off of Honolulu harbor I come out of the cabin,
slightly deaf and rejoice in the calm quiet peaceful evening. Mac is
filled in on the shark training schedule and decides that any fish he gets,
he is bringing back to the boat. We arrive at perfect time and toss the
anchor. Mac's buddy is the first guy in the water. I am slow putting on
my wetsuit as I am attacked by a braid that wrapped around my arm under the
wetsuit, making it impossible to move. Dick laughs at my predicament and
heads over the side. Finally, Mac and I make our usual vow to stick
together as we head over at the count of three. Loading the gun is
hampered by braids jumping between the rubber and the shaft. There is no
current and I drift down on the opelu kala at the ewa corner. The fish make
an Escher sketch against a blue backdrop. Black and silver in a
mathematical array, my eyes jumping back and forth between the two. The
fish are docile and move along with me to the little inside ledges. The
big pocillapora head is holding two large mu over it. There are lots of
wana, and the spines keep me from getting right on the bottom as I
approach. I miss my chance at a shot and am about to move on when a group
of sassy papio show up. They spit up, circle around me in a sporadic jive.
Instead of swimming as a unified group, they are performing what I will
call the dodge ball method of distraction. Closing in where ever the gun
is not pointing. Fortunately the sound of my bubbles drowned out their
taunting "Snerk! Snerk, over here! over here!" I finally shot one straight
over my head, ready to dodge the dropping spear shaft . It is a good solid
shot, but the fish puts up a great fight, there is soon a mob of opelu
kala all around me as I battle. I am expecting to see uku appear at any
second. The papio still are around, but I save my next shot for the soon
to come uku. When I am finally alone again, I wonder why I did not shoot.
I head over to the inside area in search of mu. There is one and we play
cat and mouse for a while before I give up and head back. I figure Dick
will come this way and I avoid the ledge and make a straight line towards
the anchor. The inside ledges have a school of weke ula swimming along it.
They are good size, but from my perspective, they are now out of sight. I
swim along trying to head them off and find that they had been swimming
faster than I thought and I miss their passing. I watch them disappear. I
return to where I was heading and I see the weke coming along again doing
the exact same swim. I wonder how they keep count of their laps. This
time I move quicker and catch them just perfect, I make a good shot and put
the fish and one braid in the bag. More than one dead fish might get
someone thinking I need to share, so I head in search of people. Dick is
empty handed. He has not seen much, some papio and no shark. I am glad
there is no shark around and I head over to Roger's rocks in search of
weke. The weke are there all right, but I do not see them until they
magically wake up beneath my gun. I have found the magic animal that can
disappear just by closing its' eyes! I lay still and wait. I feel Dick
trying to get attention by tickling my but. Great! He obviously does not
see the weke, I point them out to him. I can not see him above me, I
figure he is hiding in my blind spot. I know Dick is part uku, so I
simply ignore him... sure enough another tickle, but this time I am ready.
Aha! Hmmm, no one anywhere. The tickler is found and I wonder how hair
can grow two inches overnight. O.K., Ruby's piggy back pony rides last
night could account for about a one inch stretch. The other inch could
just be due to compressed vertebrae from sleeping on that lame couch.
Anyone who owns a couch too short for the babysitter to sleep on, better
get home before two a.m. What is the point of a couch you can only sort of
lie on anyway? Puzzle solved just when the bell goes off, time to head up.
The trip to the anchor is dark but I do think the uku have appeared, I
only saw them go by once. I am the last one up. The sun has set and left
an orange glow to the south. Poor confused sun, there are still three more
weeks of less light. I am ready for longer days already. Mac got nothing,
he saw lots of nice papio when he first went down, but not wanting to miss
something bigger, plus that bringing the fish up idea... he takes no shot.
He shot a parrot fish towards the end of his dive, but it tore off and
used it's last few wiggles to drop into a moray filled crack. Christmas
comes early for the eels. Mac's friend had trouble with those sassy papio
as did Dick. The old guy got an opelu kala. Dick pulls the anchor
and we start for home. We discuss high finance and good future investments
as well as U.S. history and the great depressions of our time. Dick is
most pleased at his obviously successful shark training. The rest of us
withhold judgment for a little longer. The moon is getting fat, she has
left a silver oil slick for us to follow home, very pretty. I breathe in
as much beauty as possible, and vow not to work too hard this week.
dive 230
The week is squeaking along at slug speed. I am hoping to dive but have
not been home and am just leaving mom's place at 4:15. Dr. Tribble has
left the office, which is a good sign, he must be diving. His cell phone
saves me and he and Lyle agree to wait till I get there. The engines are
running as I jog down the pier and jump on board. Rigging my tank gives me
a good feeling. I need this dive. We ignore the pounding waves and head
for Joe's barge. I throw the anchor and discern a Diamond Head current
right away. I remember that beautiful big moon set this morning, I am
determined to dive, even if it is nothing more than an energetic crawl for
my life along the bottom. Lyle had gone down with the anchor and is
back... bad sign. He says the current on the bottom is not bad, his mask
strap broke and he figured his spare mask was worth getting. I hand him
his mask and follow him down. He drops below the boat into the 100' sand
and uses his new compass to make his way to the ledge. (He just got a great
deal. From where I am above him, I can see the ledge plain as day.) My
decent will put me in the sand at the base of the ledge just after Lyle
gets there. I watch him below me, he has those super fins, yet we move at
about the same speed. He is not hunting and I feel like a sea bird using
other birds as a way to find fish. He gets to the ledge and shoots a M.K.,
amazing, just swim up and shoot. I need to hone my skills. I reach the
bottom and see no game. Lyle will probably stay near the anchor, and
Dick will figure the current will bring in the big ulua, and head out to
the deep barge. I will play it safe and spend my dive up current. I
leave the barge, heading for the next pile of Z's and pipes. I figure the
uku might be hanging on the far side. There is one large M.K. with two
little guys in among the Z's. They move in and out of sight and we play in
the maze, occasionally catching sight of each other until I give up. The
big guy gets lost in his own tricky maneuvers and ends up right in front of
me. I don't let the gift go and I bag nice fish. I will use this guy as
bait to get all the big uku. I drop my bag out past the pile and return to
hide behind a pipe. I turn to see that I have been followed by two uku.
One big guy. Typical, when will I remember to look back? They probably
have come all the way from Joe's barge!! They are tired of me and move on.
Eight mu have appeared. They are equally spaced and staying still,
sitting ducks. I am plotting my big kill when all the fish move. It must
be Dick approaching, chances are slim Lyle would get this far, I wonder
if he has seen lots of uku. The intruder comes into view and the race to
my bag is on. The hook hanging out of the corner of his mouth is as good
as having "bait stealer" tattooed to his dorsal fin. He still has a ways
to come and I have the advantage of knowing just where the food is. I beat
the brat, but not by much. I would have thought our head on charge would
have intimidated him a little more. He is about four feet, but not afraid.
He hangs around making it difficult to resume my hunt. I am afraid he
will sneak up behind me and bite my okole. The mu all come back to watch
me spin around and chase sharks. My meter goes off and the shark finally
moves on. The mu are all about like idiots and I plan on taking one with
me back to the boat. I pick one, get close, and shoot. It looked like a
good shot, but the shaft falls back. The mu however does a couple of
backward somersaults and goes into mid water nervous twitches as he drifts
off down current. I hope to catch him with my bag and am almost caught up
with him when the barb of the shaft that I am dragging catches on the Z's
below me. The quick decision; leave gun, catch fish and come back for gun
or swim down unhook gun and hope fish does not get too far. I stick with
my current task, but I do pause to take note of where exactly I am leaving
my gun. (some times I am brilliant....experience pays off; years of " I
don't know... I dropped it some place around here") I am able to convince
the mu to swim into my bag. I am now into deco and darkness. I swim hard
and fast back to my gun, I have a good strong momentum going when my right
foot gets jealous of my left and I kick my own fin off of my foot. So
close and yet so far. I look at my gun, just out of reach and back at my
fin, drifting like a dead mu off into the night. My left foot is
fluttering around not helping anything. It is hard to compare my leg to a
headless chicken, but the thought was there. I get my fin and finally
manage to retrieve my weapon and drift back to the anchor line. Dick is
back lit above, he has a very beautiful ulua. He admires my mu, (mostly
to be gracious) and wonders if it attacked me. I debate telling him my
story, but the current and the stinging ocean keeps me deeper and hanging
on. We surface at dusk, all happy to have fish. Lyle and Dick pull
anchor. They both get stung by the anchor line, it must have wrapped a
man-o-war and they seem to have some sort of anchor line ritual that
involves rubbing the line on your legs and stomach. They hop about
complaining about invisible enemies, men possesed. We head for home.
Cleaning up gives me the chance to inspect the mu for the secret hard spot
that I should NOT be aiming for. Where did I hit this fish? I once
thought mu might be supernatural; able to swim without moving, smugly able
to calculate one foot past the reach of your gun. Pied pipers, leading
young hopeful divers off into the abyss. Now I realize they are actually
aliens, they obviously have a force field that spears can't penetrate. I
searched hard for any sign of a wound, perhaps just behind the eye? Not a
scale out of place! Why did I catch this one?
I will sharpen my spear and continue to do my part. Hey Rich, why are
they monotaxis anyway? Who are their relatives? What's with the teeth?
The distrust grows... I think I liked the shark better. (Dick offered
me the training gun)
dive 231
Wed., hump day, have my gear at school,... only makes sense to go diving.
The lightning has abated. From my classroom the ocean no longer looks like
the top of a meringue pie... now it looks like the white polka dot
outfit... there is definitely a blue background. The winds have dropped.
(It is all relative) I show up at the Mo'o iki at the same time as Mac
and his buddy. The three of us install the new anchor and head out with a
feeling of accomplishment. The feeling only lasts until we get near the
pyramids, and I am required to hold the transducer off the stern while the
other two watch the depth recorder! Mac tosses the anchor, it seems to
hold, I head down. The water is clear despite the mud level in the Ala
Wai. There is a diamond head current, but it isn't too bad. The anchor
is stretched over a cement piling, I reset it in a better spot and watch
the others descend. Mac heads to the pyramids and the other guy goes up
current toward the spirals. I figure to check my uku corner and go down
current to the ships. The sand has no sign of uku, there are a bunch of
distant mu and I try an assortment of tricks, but fail to get them close.
There is a congregation of shell collecting urchins (lavender with short
spines). I wonder how they find each other in rotating currents, each
member of the group taking turns on the approach. I leave them with out
too much rearrangement and continue my drift to the ships. I see the
opelu kala before the shadow of the bow looms over my head. The fish are
all hanging in front of the bow, and I lay on the bottom and watch for any
uku. Three little papio check me out and I have mercy on their size and
ignore their curious approaches. The evening is peaceful, I enjoy
watching the distant opelu feeding near the surface. I awaken from my
reverie and start back towards the anchor. Either the current is
stronger or the winds have died. I see the boat directly up wind and I
pass beneath her. I venture out to check on the evil mu and find them
still drifting away from me... but they are moving towards the pyramids and
Mr. Mac.! I can see the distant third set of bubbles approaching an gloat
over the soon to be cornered mu. Mu are on to the obvious tricks, and when
Mac shoots a big parrot fish, all fish panic and scatter at high speed.
Mac. manages to loose his quarry and break the bungee on his gun. I lay on
the sand in the middle of the pyramids and am surrounded by trusting baby
mu and scribed file fish. One large kahala charges through and the three
divers give up and head toward the anchor line. The uku master has a nice
uku in his bag... how does he even see them? I move in to check the
kagami spot. There is nothing to be shot, but I play with the taape and
weke. I have not checked my gauge in a long while... O.K., I admit it, I
have not checked my gauge since I rigged my tank... seems like that beeper
should have gone off by now. Luckily I have 5 minutes of bottom time and
plenty of air. I should go back out to the ledge and wait for the uku. I
cruise the flats and am debating spending the rest of my dive either at the
top or the bottom of the ledge. I will check my bottom time, remaining air
and make the decision. HOLY SMOKES! I now have fifteen minutes of
decompression. This makes absolutely no sense, I went down with 2200 psi,
and now have 1100 psi. I have not gone to 150', where does this stupid
computer get off telling me to decompress for this long? It must be
broken! Well... let's see.... it could have read 5 minutes deco when I
thought 5 minutes left... It says I have been 40 minutes... half of that
at about 100' in the sand, the other half about 65'. O.K., it is not
broken, I rely on the beep too much and those guys on the surface are going
to be grumpy and sea sick. It is already dark and cold and I am feeling
that some how I was tricked. I make my way slowly up just in time to see
the uku swimming peacefully along the ledge. I already have 15, why not
make it a even 20? I slap sense into myself and try to call the uku up to
me. No luck. I am all alone wondering what is really enough
decompression time. 10 minutes seems forever, I cut off the remaining
minutes and surface. The silent computer comes to life alerting the others
to my near death situation. They are ready to toss me over at the
slightest symptom, I am instructed to drink lots of fluids and take
aspirin. (does this cure sound familiar?) Also; NO hot showers! The
drubbing is not worth it, next time I will definitely do the time, my
probation officer is too harsh. I am not worried, Richard can cut deco
short three days in a row... oh yeah, he turns into jello; but only on the
third day!
With all this fuss, you would think I wouldn't have to unload and rinse
gear, think again. Worry has its limits. The lesson is the same... pay
attention!
dive 232
Friday is long. I take my gear and just show up and hope. Mac, The
Captain, and Dave are taking out the Mo'o and I invite myself along. The
ocean is frothing again, Waikiki is whipped into a frenzy. I have no
doubts about what the Mo'o would do if she had a chance. She loves this
stuff, she is dreaming of taking on the deep blue. I go down with the
anchor when we reach the Kagami spot. I remember Roger Sames: " a good man
beats the anchor down", well today I am a good man, I set it nicely and am
on my way. There is no current and the water is clear. A whole different
world, no more tumultuous traffic, no more fearsome seas. These fish don't
even know about Christmas shopping. I envy the noble savage only
momentarily before two orange shoulder tangs come streaking by having some
sort of war. Note taken. I am inside with no signs of fish, one good
size MK darts on to the scene, he is spooked and takes off. No current
makes the world of difference and I happily swim out to the ledge. There
are uku at the edge of the ledge where Dick usually hangs out. They stay
out of reach. I take a long shot, the fish take off, they do not even
stop to laugh or check my shaft out, experienced uku. My meter has a long
memory, and a penchant for having the last word. After five minutes at 65
feet, it thinks I should call it quits. Who is the boss here? I ignore it
and head up to my uku spot, no sign of them, no mu either. The ships will
be beautiful when it is this clear and I continue on. The opelu are on
the surface, along with the outline of a turtle. I stop beneath the bow
and enjoy the show. The opelu kala come over to share the moment, but we
see no uku. The white tip that hangs out under the ship wakes and joins
us. Perhaps the pyramids will be more forthcoming, with my deco time
building, I head back on top of the ledge and only venture over when I get
close. There are two mu in the center of the pyramids, I fail to interest
them and move to the top of a pyramid with the idea of charging the guys.
A larger white tip slides in beneath me and settles into the sand next to
the structure. When I am diving, I am much like a four year old boy,
picking up odd stray items and always having some sort of treasure in my
hands. I find myself right above a resting shark with a rock in my
hands... it is too much to resist. The shark noticed the descending stone,
but not soon enough. I laugh at my childish success and watch the shark
dart off. A baby white tip is drawn over by the excitement. Three white
tips and no uku! I will head over to the spirals. The baby shark
apparently is not allowed to cross the street without an adult and he
happily lets me take him over to the spirals. The action is nonexistent
and now my decompression time is getting out of hand. I now have a stop
at 20 feet, perhaps I can move it down to 65 feet if I give it some more
effort. I meander back up to the anchor where I find Dave about to head up
with two opelu kala, that gun has been serving him well. I can see the uku
off in the distance I give them a chance, but they move on. I start to
head up to pay my penance and watch Mac make his way along the bottom. He
is looking for the anchor line and reminds me of a shark smelling fish. I
bang on my tank and he looks up and waves. He is not into decompressing at
40' and passes me on the line and I watch the Captain coming home empty
handed as well. We discuss freeing the anchor, decide it is fine and talk
about our dives. He saw the two sharks at the pyramids as well as the mu.
Two very large kahala charged in and fed on the weke while he was there.
He did not see nary an uku and did not take a shot. Birthday boy Dave is
the hero tonight. My decompression time seems manageable and I think I
will withstand the cold just to get on the good side of the machine. I let
the others surface while I stay and play with night glowing plankton and
watch my computer. It finally relinquishes me and I surface in the safe
quiet beepless zone. Dave and Mac pull the anchor and we turn the boat
towards home. Leaving the serenity only to get involved in Friday night
traffic trying to get into the harbor. The wind is gusting irregularly
making for sail boat stop and go to end up their race. Someone obviously
is letting my mother be the skipper on one boat, why else would a boat do
a 360� spin during the final stretch? The Mo'o hits reverse on three or
four occasions during the course of our return. Back into the 'real'
world! We make it back into the slip feeling like we cheated death once
again. The scary part is NOT when you are underwater!
dive 233
Sunday afternoon, the Mo'o is planing an adventure. I divert my plans and
sneak aboard. It is Mac, Lyle, Dick and the Captain. The subs are
still finishing up their day, leaving the 100' hole the only sane option.
The winds are howling and Dick and Lyle go down with the anchor. It is
not the sort of day you would want to search for a diver on the surface,
and the captain gives us all 25 minute limit. I head down to the outside
90' sand hole and spend my dive watching weke ula nudge and snuggle each
other. There are uku outside, but they keep their distance. I hear guns
going off elsewhere. There is a slight diamond head current, but in
general the conditions are nice. I make a large circle around the hole,
following the ledge just out of sight. There are a lot of little white
weke, but I do not run into the opelu kala until I am almost back where I
started. They are fun to watch, but even they remain aloof and I chase
the whole group back over toward the other divers. My time is too soon up,
and I find myself the only one back at the line. Dick has two fish in
his bag that he is using as bait as he hides in the cave waiting for prey.
(papio and uku) Lyle soon joins me on the way up, he shot and lost the same
weke ula twice and is empty handed. Mac returns and he and Dick come up
the line. We all watch the captain still on the bottom chasing after papio
below us. He finally comes up, he has a weke ula. We all decompress and
watch the surface billowing overhead. Mostly it looks like someone shaking
out the sheets, but every once and awhile there are tiny ripples
superimposed on the surface, a gust making little wrinkles on everything.
We surface and listen to Dick complain of the fish that swam out of his
bag and escaped while he was not watching! The rubber that broke, the pin
on his shaft will no longer hold a rubber (bent the wrong way)... blah
blah... he still has two nice fish. Lyle tops the feel sorry story having
shot a weke ula in the head twice, only to have it tear off twice. Every
one but me is involved with the anchor pulling, we are soon on our way
home. I really enjoyed the pleasure of being under water and hope to
repeat it soon... when are the winds going to stop?
dive 234
Should I feel guilty about chucking schoolwork and diving again? Twist my
arm, I am at Dick's boat at 4:15. Lyle and Dick show up; they are
talking up Kahala. (yes, the winds are still howling... yes, they are
crazy, they both mention how the winds have really died down.) I am game
and we head out. Somewhere close to the Diamond Head buoy, Lyle and I
manage to dissuade the captain. After calling us names, he waits for a
break in the swells to find his chance to turn the boat around and head for
the 100' hole. I toss the anchor as Lyle sinks into the depths. I am
worried about a current, but conditions are nice as I drop down. I
remember Dick's encounter with dumb uku in the sand by the ewa ledge, and
I drop and roll in the sand. There is one brown humu and perhaps a couple
of sand dwelling gobies, mostly a fish free ocean. I move out along the
ledge ever hopeful. Cross at the cable and meander back along the outside
ledge. It isn't until I get to the diamond head cable that I see a few
weke ula snuggling about. They remain far afield and I stop and play with
an octopus. He has a good collection of stones and I go through them
looking for Hawaiian sinkers. He is not at all thrilled with my visit. He
makes spiky skin, flashes colors and gives me his best stink eye. He has
one fancy hair scrunchy. I wonder what was going through his mind when he
used it for decoration, I would have liked to watch the discovery and
exploration of i t. The weke and uku hate being ignored and I look up to
see that I am being approached. There is a papio as well, I will have to
make a choice, I go for the bigger of the two uku. If the uku were a
matador with a cape and my spear was the bull then the crowd would have
gone wild. I missed only by the most graceful move on the part of the
prey. The octopus is too curious not to peek out and watch me load my gun.
I take my time and find myself alone with one sullen boneless creature. I
see Lyle heading up between me and the hole. I make a wide path towards
shallow water. Dick is in the cave, using his bag with a weke ula in it
as bait. I continue to the anchor and finally head up due to cold and lack
of bottom time. The water is chilly, Lyle has gone up and I watch
Dick's bubbles below me for entertainment.. I am contemplating Boyle's
law and general physics, when Dick interrupts my clever observations by
simply ceasing to breathe. Hmmm.... the slowly emerging little bubbles
helps me to figure out that he is in the cave again. This takes me to
wondering about bubble size and noise and making a quiet regulator. It
does not seem possible with only one gun and one mesh bag to work with. I
think it is the inhale noise that is the problem anyway... will work more
on it later. The cold drives me to the surface. Dick is the last one up
with the only fish of the night. Lyle and I pull anchor and we head home
in the dusk. I actually can see the buoys as we head in, are the sunsets
getting later yet?
dive 235
Got boat?
I am a diver today just because I want to spoil myself... it is MY
birthday. Divers are few and far between, I head down to the Mo'o iki at
4:30. No Mac by 5 and I head out of the harbor. The steering is bit on
the stiff side, I remember Mike's report on how Dave took the helm and I
remember how I thought; that was nice of Mike to share the wheel. Now I
understand, it takes both arms and bent knees to make a turn, you have to
be careful not to over correct, very tricky getting out between a flotilla
of girls in canoes. The subs are heading in, but there is still one out
there, I watch the hopeless broad in the zodiac trying to catch the ball
off the line to the ships. I will go ask her when she thinks the sub will
leave. She says they will be gone in five minutes, but I am welcome to tie
up and undo the float and let her pick it up down wind. A tie up to the
ships sounds appealing as it was going to be tricky to hold the transducer,
steer the boat and watch the depth recorder all at once. The zodiac
captain says she cannot understand it, but the float and line are pretty
deep in the water. "Super high tide?" I might have to get wet to get the
line. This dippy snippet of a girl has a captains license? I have no
intention of jumping over the side while I let the boat drift in a whipping
current. I figure I can catch the line with the barb of my spear and pull
it up smooth as silk. The wind has blown me out of reach before I even get
the gun ready. Try again, (remember, boat does not steer, and will stall
if accelerated too fast) I pick up gun and reach over and manage to fire
the trigger... tangled mess, blown off course, try again. Fortunately the
other captain has to go take care of her submarine and fleet of ships, so
she does not get to delight in my next two attempts (I am now only using
the shaft and as I miss it on the port and switch to starboard, either the
line hooks around every protrusion, control box, any and all available
cleats, back back strap, or the barb itself manages to grab a hold of the
steering cable, the dive flag, regulator hose etc. I do eventually succeed
and spend the next bit laughing at my self as I try to untangle my shaft,
the slings on my gun wait until I figure out where to put the shaft, then
when I am not watching, they spin about and turn themselves every which way
so that instead of untangling a single snag, I am now creating a piece of
macrame. O.K. I am now ready for the perfect dive. I am rigged and ready,
sipping water when the big blue tug comes for the float, I toss it and a
very adroit young woman picks it up with a flick of a boat hook. All
systems go, current is cranking towards ewa beach, I fall into the murky
water. As I make out the underwater buoy, it has a mass of damsels hiding
in the eddy, not upcurrent catching their dinner. The line to the ship has
a single stack of opelu kala with their noses right behind the line the
pelvic fin of one touching the dorsal of the one beneath it. A photo would
look fake. A comb of opelu kala. The ship has no fish at all... wait, I
take that back, the ship has fish plastered all over it... some one came
along and painted fish on the decks. I crawl up the deck and peer over the
stern of the wheel house. Opelu kala fill the space of the vertical wall,
nose into the current and tail against the ship. You lazy fish!! I am 40!
I am swimming!! I slide down the face of the wall forcing about half of
them to swim upcurrent, they circle right back. I look for ulua or papio,
but nothing hiding anywhere. I make my way along the bottom towards the
other ship. There are the big ulua! Now I am scared, I will shoot one as
it lays there and some how die, to my great relief they turn into 8 giant
kahala. Hurrah! saved from my own stupidity! They are more perturbed to
be out done by humanoid and join me as I survey for game. I hang out under
the bow, down current and call for papio or mu... Mike got two uku down at
the pyramids and still had time to build rock walls. The pyramids are
probably swarming with uku.. I check my air and ability to swim upcurrent.
I think it can be done... the current is dropping I can see moorish idols
venturing three feet off the deck now. I am down to the pyramids without
doing much of anything. The water is murky, but I saw one distant mu and a
bunch of uku. I stop out in the middle of the sand and do my best to get
them close. They all think I must be Mike and stay clear. They pyramids
are very devoid of fish, the taape and weke are gone, just the file fish
and one stick fish. He must have fun turning around in a current. The
current is less and when I head back along the ledge I do not even crawl.
The kahala are still there, and as I make my way between ships, I see uku
and a mu. I pull up and call. They do not come close. Dick was talking
about how he just pulled hard at the last second in order to get closer. I
try this and find it is an utter disaster, the fish scatter before I finish
thinking about it! I check my bottom time hmmm did not hear the bell
again, going deaf in my old age. I must learn to check bottom time when I
check air. Well, at least no one is waiting for me, I don't feel bad
about the 9 minutes. The opelu kala are starting to behave normally, and
two turtles leave their hide out and come on up. Both turtles drift down
current, surface behind the Mo'o iki, and swim back up current on the windy
choppy surface. Is there something I am missing? Do currents have ground
effect? I watch them until they finally dive back down to their ship.
What a wonderful dive, I feel great when I surface. Dick's boat is near
by, he has a crew of wahines he is entertaining with a sunset booze cruise.
He thought he would make sure I did not need a ride back to the boat,
nice to have people watching out for me. The show off in him takes hold
and he volunteers to stay and make sure I can pull the anchor. He begins
to warm up and goes on about how he is going to enjoy this, not having ever
seen me pull an anchor, wonders if I even know how to pull an anchor etc.
etc. I smile, start the boat, thank him and agree that there are those of
us who do not bother to pull those heavy things up. I untie the line, toss
it overboard, do my darn best to spin a 360 and dash off towards home. Ah,
life does have those sweet moments. As I surf down the swells in the last
lingering light I marvel at how truly lucky I am and how wonderful my life
has been. There is such incredibly great joy in having wind in my wet
hair. I think that should be in my Christmas greeting... in case I do not
get around to sending each and everyone of you a card... Merry Christmas,
may you all have wind in wet hair through the coming year.
dive 236
Raining cats and dogs, might as well be underwater where it is dry.
Dick is excited about the drastic drop in the winds and is up for a dive.
Mark is in town for a day and comes along as a boat babe. The Ala Wai
looks like chocolate pudding as we head out. Mark has not seen Dick's
boat and admires the non-pfefferness. The winds are down to nothing and we
head for Kahala. We anchor at Joe's barge and I quickly get in the water
before the big squall gets us. The water is clear with a slight Diamond
Head current. I check the anchor and look around... boy it is dark! The
cloudy skies really make a difference. I head up current to the pile of Zs
and notice the palani are doing strange maneuvers. They suddenly dart here
and there and I wait to see the shark that must be chasing them. As I get
into the Z's myself I find myself acting like a palani. The water motion
with the current is unpredictable, must map out like fractals. It is
impossible to tell which way the water will be moving 10' in front of me.
So much for a shark, the fish are just trying to swim in a straight line at
a constant speed. I lay on the bottom and watch for anything. There are a
school of opelu being chased by two large rainbow runner far above my head.
They are soon gone. I see some distant mu out on the flats, but their
night vision seems very good and they stay clear. I drift back to the
anchor and find Dick has come back from the deep barge with a large
rainbow runner, such the hero. We wait around a little longer just because
we have bottom time and air. I realize, hey, there are no fish, it is
cold, and very dark... I think I will head up and signal to Dick at the
same time he signals to me. The only fish he saw was the school of 10
rainbow runner, he heard a whale, the first of the year. We watch the
surface turn prickly as we hear the hiss of the down pour. Maybe it is not
so bad here, sure glad I am not stuck on the surface. We wait until it is
the rain changes to just cats and surface to find a wet bedraggled tall one
huddled on the deck. Mark admires the fish... "biggest fish he has ever
seen speared" Dick pulls the anchor and we head for home. Another week
done, I have got a lot of diving this week and it definitely making me
feel pretty good.
dive 237
Tuesday afternoon, the winds are calm... Dick is taking care of Carrie,
but volunteers to drive the boat for Lyle and I to do a drift dive. We
head for the deep barge with visions of ulua and rainbow runner dancing in
our heads. The water is slightly murky but there is absolutely no current.
The captain puts us right on the spot. We check around and call in the
sand, but there is nary a fish. I think the ulua only show up to get out of
the current. We take advantage of no anchor and no current and head off to
Joe's barge. The opelu kala are thick over the Zs, one kumu manages to
stay out of Lyle's way and passes by me in full panic. I do not pursue, I
am in the travel mode, and since I have the float line, we head off to the
next group of Zs, then on to the pipes. There are some big mu, and Lyle
takes a long shot, but the mu shakes off the spear and is gone in a flash.
It is truly a wonderful dive, I collect shells and baubles as a thank you
for Carrie waiting for us in the boat. No current is such a nice feeling,
we are nearing the tire reef when we run out of bottom time. Empty handed,
but feeling good is how we head up. We decompress and compare what we saw.
I know Lyle enjoyed putting some perspective on the different dive sites.
Feeling more comfortable to "cruise". It is a nice feeling seeing the
boat nearby as we surface. We have missed the sunset, but have a very
pleasant ride home in the twilight.
dive 238
Quick dive? Lyle and the uku master are going out in the Mo'o iki. The
ocean is still calm and we head for the pyramids. Lyle is the first one in
and I soon follow. The water is full of phytoplankton and the opelu kala
make a curtain from the surface to the bottom. There is no current, which
is amazing since the tidal differences are so great. Lyle and his partner
head for the pyramids and I drag myself in the sand down to the spirals.
No fish anywhere. I just lay there watching the fish overhead. A school
of opelu move through the opelu kala and start making an opelu kala
tornado... it is great to watch the actual formation, I feel like a
meteorologist. I am using up bottom time daydreaming... I head up on the
flats and take the inside track to the kagami spot. I know there are a few
interesting sights, there is no current, but way to murky and I know I
will be lost. I take the more conventional path across the flats. The
spot has one MK (small) and one distant uku. Move slow and get back to the
anchor. I see the gun floating up above the old guy.... he got the MK and
is heading up. Lyle is heading up as well. I have 1300 pounds and 4
minutes.... I will check the pyramids. I see a distant uku and roll in the
sand as I go. Every palani and opelu kala thought "oh that sounds fun" and
I am swarmed by fish... no uku to be seen. The current has not remained
slack and it is picking up towards Diamond Head with considerable force. I
will get back to the anchor knowing how quickly it can get bad. The
current continues as I decompress, the plankton is going into warp speed
and it is fun to have intergalactic dust stinging me. I surface just in
the nick of the bell as the big orange is just beginning to set. I enjoy
the moment, with my legs dangling in the water and making the others stop
and watch. We plan the work it will take to fix the steering and plan
some strategy for repairs. Our return to the Ala Wai to find the boat two
away from the Mo'o is very low in the water and diesel seems to be spilling
out of it. The fire trucks arrive just as we do, lots of excitement. Glad
it is not my big fancy sailboat.
dive 239
Nils is back in town.... We meet up with Mac and his buddy. Dick is down
at the Ala Wai getting ready for a dawn trip to Molokai. Reunion is over
and we take out the Mo'o iki for a refresher dive. We anchor at the
pyramids and find that although Nils remembered how to rig his tank and
check his air, he got confused about what to bring and left his bag with
fins and mask back on the dock. Not to worry, there is an extra mask and
no current. We tease him about too much gear being in the way, encumbering
and confusing. He can hand his way up and down the anchor line. We give
him a clip to hang off his tank. He does a 500 pound ear clearing dive to
the bottom and soon heads back up due to the leaky mask. He is happy to
get wet, be back in beautiful Hawaii and out on the ocean. (I know the
feeling). Mac heads for the spirals, his buddy for the airplanes and I
check the pyramids. A small tasty kahala appears, but is so close to the
tip of my gun, I miss him. I head inside where I see baby weke ula, baby
papio feeding on the plankton. I feel like I have not been catching any
fish lately, and perhaps I have been spending too much time covering ground
instead of setting up camp and waiting. All I can say about the new method
is that you get really cold, eels creep up on you, and orange shoulder
tangs loose their patience and start harassing you. This probably holds
true for all types of hunting. Duck hunters sit in blinds and it is not
hard to imagine them getting rained on and shivering as they try to sip hot
coffee. Pheasant hunters get to walk miles through fields whacking brush
and running their dogs. Eskimos can cut holes in the ice and sit and
fish, or they can walk along looking for holes with a club in their hand.
I would rather be a naso than a rock fish. I am cold enough, that I head
back to the anchor where I meet up with the empty handed crew. We
decompress, one large kahala was seen. Mac saw some parrot fish, but has
lost the last two and waited for the most perfect shot and got none. We
come up in time to see a dark orange sun touch the water. Nils pulls the
anchor and we head back towards the xmas boat light parade heading out.
The Mo'o iki is tough to steer through the exodus of singing, costumed,
glittering boats. We get back to find Nil's gear, dry and waiting. Next
time he will try fins.
dive 240
Wet rainy and gray. The only thing more foolish than me going diving is
Nils going camping on the north shore. We come to our senses and decide to
go to a movie. Better stop by the Mo'o so the fools wont wait for me.
Tomas is waiting and we visit... he is not too excited about a solo trip to
the ships when he has not been diving since summer. Finally Dick, the
Captain and Brooks show up. They cajole us into going along (Dick
claims "large uku are everywhere, it is going to be such fun"...."It could
be the last dive of the year" ) I did have my gear loaded, but Nils has his
second jury rigged dive. He at least has fins this time. Small little
body surfing fins, but a big improvement. The ocean is calm and the shore
looks distant in the gray mist.... very Seattle like. We anchor at the
pyramids and Dick sets the anchor while the rest of us organize. If
there was any sun, anywhere, it would be setting soon. Nils and I head for
the anchor. The remaining three plan on heading out to the airplanes, I
figure to keep Nils in shallow water, he tends to get narced at 90' and
spend inordinate amounts of time looking at sand or trying to comprehend
the simplest message. We head for the kagami spot, there is no current,
but there is surge due to surf. We wash back and forth watching the white
weke and taape. All the mempachi are out and a pole spear would have been
the thing. The only big fish I see are six large parrot fish. I debate
fixing cerviche for Christmas visitors, after all, I now have the lemon
juicer. I check with Nils to see if he wants to fix the dish and all the
parrot fish disappear. It is dark and cold and we head back to the anchor.
Dick is arriving on the line, he saw one large kahala and is very grumpy
about his dive. He claims the place is f _ _ _ _ed, the fish are f.....ed,
etc. Nils and I surface with a grumpy Dick to follow. The others return
to the boat, happy to have found the boat, happy to have gone diving, and
of course the master has a nice size papio. "The spirals were covered"
they laugh at Dick's vow to never return to the ugliest spot where he has
never ever caught a fish. (could this be true?) Tomas pulls the anchor,
and the Mo'o glides toward home. The Christmas lights shine across the
glassy ocean.
dive 241
Christmas comes early and Dick invites Nils and I on one of his Molokai
adventures. Five a.m. on Christmas eve finds the world still dark, but the
ocean calm. Nils makes a nest on the floor and promptly goes back to sleep
for the crossing. (he was out till two) The weather calls for diminishing
swell on the north shore, I am worried but the captain is confident. It is
a spectacular sunrise and moon set, the ocean looking dark purple as the
sky mixes orange and blue with out even worrying about the clash. As we
pass ilio point, the gentle southerly swell gets blocked, and the ocean
turns to glass. Dick has some mystery uku spot off of Momomi beach, and
we head that way. Nils wakes as we cruise along the cliffs admiring the
geology. The cliffs turn to sand dunes and we soon drop anchor. There is
no current and the water laps under the hulls making bathtub noises.
Perfect conditions, I feel lucky as we enter the water. There is a ledge,
a cave with two skylights and a few fish near by. The bottom is scraped
bare of any coral and I am reminded of what the bottom must be like when
there is a north swell. Nils and I head up the ledge only to find Dick
with a large ulua strung on his spear. I offer to help but he signals for
me to watch for the big uku that are around and bound to come in on the
blood. I feel like a fool, standing out in the middle of an open field in
the dark with my loaded rifle at the ready. Not knowing where to look or
what to expect. I am only good for short self imposed adrenalin rushes,
and as soon as Dick has the fish in his bag, Nils and I head further
along the ledge. The few fish turn into none, and the 10' drop turns into
a gentle sandy slope. We head back to the anchor, where Dick still
mumbles something about four uku, he is heading up, but I see the four
uku. I drop down into the sand and the uku spock me out from a distance.
I have no good tricks, they are too aloof and I collect Nils who has been
watching me from the top of the ledge, and we head up and decompress. The
surface is still beautiful and we troll our one line while we pick up some
bottom time. The mist is filling all the valleys and the sun is shinning
on all the ridges, the island looks intriguing and mysterious. Our next
dive is at the spot Dick got his big ulua. We anchor, bottom fish until
our bait is gone (about the time it takes to drop a hook and reel it up
again for each sardine) Dick has cleaned his fish and is planning to use
the guts for uku bait. He describes the location and we make plans to
enter the "ulua cave". Ulua cave is an understatement of both words. The
"cave" is larger than mine, and has three grand entrances and one sly back
door. The "ulua" are of such number and size as to no longer be fish, but
a silver moving wall that swallows you without touching you. Too big...
too big.... too big... WAY too big... too big... there, those over there.
I shoot a small 15-20 pounder. It immediately wraps the line around the
central piece of furniture, a large boulder that functions as something to
swim around in the middle of the room. I am trying to get to the shaft
before the line breaks. I am amazed that the fish the line has held and my
shaft is still straight. I hear the snap of the barb breaking off, the
fish about to be free, takes the time and extra effort to bend my shaft
before departing. Like a grown up, breaking your slingshot clean in two
before returning the pieces to you. Fish have not left the scene, I am
not sure where my guy has gone, but I know he is still around. Since Nils
has not taken a shot yet, I leave my gun and steal his with the hopes of
finding my small fish again. Too big.... too big... way too big.... too
big. Dick returns in another entrance and the fish start to leave the
scene. I circle around the living room couch, Dick shakes his head at
the sight of my gun, as if to say "You foolish chick, I would never attempt
to shoot a fish in here... (you can tell underwater that the man has a big
ulua on ice) I come across a frustrated un armed Nils who has been courted
by the swirling dervish, including one with a hole through his back. We
are the last to leave the house, and we move down the ledge exploring new
territory. My gun is not functioning, so I can enjoy my dive while Nils
hides in a ditch and tries to convince a nice size uku that he is nothing
more than a small harmless pebble. No luck. The ledge along here is
spectacular, (120'-80') just sitting on the top watching the fish makes a
great dive. We are soon low on air and head back to the line. Nils and I
decompress and talk about our dive while we hear Dick calling in the
distance. We are in the boat before he returns dragging a giant uku with
him. Two fish that are too big for his cooler. The sun is shinning, the
surf is down and there is plenty of fish on board. We head back along the
cliffs, Dick has not had enough. Nils and I let him do a shallow drift
dive while we run the boat. We can see the backs of the nenue break the
surface and at last we have found a place that does have lots of fish, lots
of boulders and an interesting looking bottom. Dick comes up with yet
another uku, small enough that he can give it to me, but big enough for me
to have sashimi for all my friends. We are a happy lot as we head towards
Oahu. Dick sacks out and I get to drive. Nils sits quietly and my mind
wanders as we glide homeward. Oahu is nothing but clouds, it is going to
be and instrument approach. I listen to the Grateful dead, reflect on
Christmas eve and watch for birds. There are the first whales of the
season. We pass two piles of birds, but Dick is not up for perseverance
(some kind of dinner engagement at six etc. etc.) We make one pass, I have
visions of big ahi. The visions remain as I loose the wheel. We use the
GPS to take a heading and continue towards the DH buoy. Portlock and
Diamond Head have a good current mixing going on, the ocean turns markedly
worse as we pass the points. Waikiki has a south swell and I am glad we
hit the north shore. We run into Lyle and Roger heading out for a dive. I
beg for gun repair from Lyle who has lots of not very helpful
suggestions.... "I can now use the bend to shoot fish around corners, bugs
bunny style...." Everyone is in awe of Dicks trophies, and the hero is
still on time for dinner! With sashimi to boot! Nils and I are happy to
have had the great experience. Truly some beautiful diving, spectacular
ocean and great music. All the makings of a great Christmas. I hope you
all have as nice a time as I have had, enjoy your holidays.
dive 242
Sunday morning, take the last house guest off to the airport and head for
the ocean. It is windy and rough, but Joey, Amy and Brian are planning a
dive. I join them and Captain Joey takes us to the Sea Tiger for a look.
I have not been in a while and I am curious to see the recruitment. It
seems to be recruiting divers quite well, there are four guys just coming
up and they graciously set themselves adrift so that we can tie up. Now
that is hospitality! I would have waited until everyone was in the boat.
The water is cool and fairly clear, no current at all. Amy is worried
about her sinuses, but makes it to 15'. I advise hanging on the line as
long as possible, to maximize the cold vs.sea sick balance. Brian, Joey
and I head for the ship. I see an eagle ray off of the bow and dive down
on it hoping for something.... once you see a kagami and an eagle ray
together.... (Brains are great aren't they? Never mind all the lonely
eagle rays I have seen... don't confuse me with facts, my mind is made up.)
I am alone in the sand in 122' of water, nothing in sight. The guys are
exploring the wreck, there are lots of file fish, opelu kala, a school of
little white weke and not much else. The lemon butterflies are missing.
It has a lot more than the two fish that were here last time. I move along
the bottom looking at the ghost ship looming over my head. Joey is
checking out the algal growth and the fish are excited by the bubblefree
guy.... like their first seedless grape they follow him around. I decide
that since I am on the bottom anyway, I might as well swim into the ledge
where I got that uku. There is now a rope that is shackled down to the
bottom that leads straight to uku point. It must be the traffic arrows for
the sub. I am playing with the extra galvanize shackles, trying to think
of a use, when I am accosted by a kahala gang. These must be the big ulua
Joey was raving about. The recruitment of predators before any prey,
suggests the help of Purina fish chow. Good, more fish sooner. The fish
soon disappear and I find the ledge has a lot more fish as well. There
are lots of lemon butterflies here. I see the uku school hanging out in
the sand and use stones to call them in. Perfect, I am going to get an uku
in broad daylight. I fire my gun only to see the fish dodge the bullet.
Since ole "never miss" is in the shop for shaft straightening, I have gone
back to "old faithful". The rubbers are long and easy to load, they seem
to have gotten even weaker than they were. How did I ever spear anything?
I load my gun but the uku are now keeping their distance. I have lots of
air, but the water is cold and I have a vision of poor Amy slowly turning
green on the surface. There are no more fish to be had and I mosey back
at mid water. The kahala greet me before the ship comes into sight. They
escort me back to watch the other divers below me. Who could foresee the
day when taking the picture not having the picture was the fun and
meaningful part. I hang out at 40' and debate diving down when the eagle
ray appears again, nah, the others are heading up and the cold is getting
to me. I look up to see two heavily armed over finned visitors coming down
the line. We pass, wave and I show them my empty bag. I surface to find
Amy relaxing and doing fine, it is windy, but the swells are pretty small
right off of Ala Moana beach. Joey and Brian soon surface with their usual
banter entertaining me all the way home. It is soo good to get in the
water again and we all vow to "do this more often" as we head in.
Later that same day:
The Mo'o gang is planning a test run to the hole (new water pump), since I
have been out doing sea trials on the Grasshopper anyway,... I am already
wet, I already have my dive gear, I might as well invite myself along.
Mike, Lyle, Dick, and the boat repair guy agree and we head off for the
hole. Dick is optimistic about the current . He had lunched at the
outrigger and noticed the subs were suffering with a tremendous Diamond
Head current. He reasoned that therefore, there could be no current now.
I am glad we were on the Sea Tiger and not at the hole (good call Joey).
Mike and Lyle suit up and I wait until the last possible second to put on
my wet wetsuit and climb out to the bow. As I toss the anchor my hands are
shaking, my teeth are chattering, and my skin is turning blue. I have a
vague distant memory of having been ranting on to Joey about the miseries
of cold non-tropical activities. I am really really glad he did not ask
"What is the coldest you have ever been?" He would have shut me down big
time, I am also really really glad I am doing this for fun and do not need
to make two more dives after this one. The boat pulls around and there is
a swimmable D.H. current. I jump into the clear water and see that the
boat is hanging right over the rock garden pit. I head down and am joined
on my descent by couple of nenue. They are wearing rainbow runner outfits.
As if putting a tutu on a hippopotamus makes it into a ballet dancer.
They circle around and I wonder how they taste. The old mechanic comes
along and I point them out. Bam! He shoots one. I wonder if I should be
shooting the other. Dick comes along, he shows me his pressure gauge
rising and falling with every breath. I tell him he needs to turn his air
on some more and he agrees. Ok, Ok, I won't shoot nenue. I fix the problem
and we discuss the fish. He has seen nenue in rainbow runner disguise
before, but our sign language does not at this current time include Latin.
What he knows about this fish will have to wait till we surface. All four
divers are near the hole, I continue along the outside ledge heading up
current toward the peninsula. I see large schools of weke ula, and uku.
My gun is just as slow and weak as it was this morning. Another uku has
earned the nick name "dodger" Dick is heading out as I head in, I
point behind me towards uku and weke, he points behind him towards sharks.
I ask if it is a big one. Latin is not the only lacking part of our sign
language. I am left to decipher. Well, it is obviously not a white tip.
It is obviously not little. Nor is has it bitten anybody yet. I will keep
my eyes open. Mike is decompressing, he has a fish. I watch Lyle
stalking an unseen target. I can not make out anything and I lay on the
bottom and shiver until my bottom time runs out. The master mechanic is
next to the anchor and he shoots at nothing. As soon as the shaft
penetrates the invisibility shield, the uku comes into plain sight and he
puts a second fish in the bag as he heads up. Lyle clears the anchor and
we head up as well. Dick soon reappears, he shot a weke ula, but it will
no doubt end up as someone else's dinner as it pulled off of his spear.
First he feeds the sharks until they really like him, then, he begins the
training program. We surface shivering. We are still in time to see the
sun set. The high cirrus clouds make it spectacular. There is much
discussion about pelagic nenue amongst the science types. Lyle figures
they are the two in two million that were sent in for genetic diversity and
now, with one fatal shot, speciation no doubt occur. No one has eaten one
and this leads to all sorts of stories about rare and interesting toxins.
(I will stoop to any means to get a fish) I will let you know how it
tastes...
dive 243
Cold gray rain continues. The Ala Wai is the exact color and clarity of
cardboard. No one in his right mind would go diving on a miserable day
like today. That outs Mike and Lyle and leaves Dick who has not run his
boat in weeks. Dick has ridiculous visions of Kahala. I never get
credit for being the voice of reason just chastised so I keep my mouth shut
as the swells become more and more daunting. After taking some green
water over the roof several times we both agree to turn back and dive the
hole. I toss the anchor and Dick goes down to set it. There is a
diamond head current and the water is clear. Dick has set the anchor is
on the DH cable and I catch up to him as he heads off toward the hole. He
has seen 15 or so uku, they are long gone. He heads off after the weke
outside and I head up current to the ewa ledge. I was cold all day, I
don't know why I am surprised to be shivering as I lay in the sand. There
are lots and lots of opelu kala on the bottom, a big group is getting
cleaned by some shrimp and they let me get right next to them. I don't see
any game and drift back along the ledge, circle down by the anchor and come
back on the shallow side. I turn over rocks looking for elusive
nudibranchs and making the fish curious. I see Dick charge off into the
cave, he is being followed by several small weke ula; that must be what he
is after. He doesn't take a shot and I slowly circle around again. I lay
on the upcurrent side watching the fish hunkered down near the bottom. I
am cold, my bottom time is up, seems like a good time to call it a day a
farewell splash of sand attracts nothing. I leave Dick to clear the
anchor and take his large weke ula up to decompress with me. Why didn't I
see any fish this beautiful? He saw an ulua in the hole, (that explains
his charge) but never saw the uku again. The surface is still dreary, it
is easy to imagine being off the Grand Banks. The full moon is just a blob
of light behind the gray. Dick pulls the anchor and we head for home,
as fun as diving is, I admit to looking forward to my hot shower.
dive 244
Friday finally rolls around. It could be getting warmer, or I could just
be getting used to it. Either way, diving seems like a reasonable idea.
Dick and the old man are celebrating Friday and I join them on Dick's
boat. We head out to the hole and toss the anchor. What a difference a
day makes, Oahu is still shrouded in rain, but now the current is going ewa
instead of diamond head! The ocean is clear and we all pull our way down
the anchor line. I am last to the hole, the other two are up current
stalking something. I figure to check the cave for the sleeping ulua. A
large dragon wrasse buries itself in the sand on the floor of the hole. I
chase it around like a cat with a toy moving under the floor mat. I hear a
gun and back out to see what is happening. Another shot and I turn in time
to see the shaft settle to the bottom before it hits me. I can't believe
Dick is shooting at me! That is when I see the wounded weke next to me.
He must have escaped two divers already. I quickly try for a head shot,
and he escapes me as well. The fish will not live long and I prepare to go
after it with my bag. I see Mr. Moray getting excited out of the corner of
my eye and I grab the shaft of my gun as I charge after the poor fish like
She-ra Queen of the Amazon. Dick has loaded his gun and follows me and
gets the fish. Enough goofing around, I head of in search of uku. I
think they must be up at my uku corner and I head over towards the DH
cable. The area is thick with weke ula hanging high in the water column.
If I don't see any uku, I will come back and get these guys. Of course
there are no uku about, and 100 weke vanish in the blink of an eye. I
drift down toward the inside of the hole, there is a distant Mu, but he
avoids me. The old guy goes after a papio on top of the hole, he misses
the shot and disappears toward the anchor. Dick reappears with a second
fish, a fair sized papio, the hero of the day. It is about time to
decompress and we both head for the surface. The long lost sun has decided
to show itself and bits of escaped light dance on the surface. It is
wondrously beautiful, it is amazing how warm little bits of sun can be.
We are up while it is still light and my full polar fleece outfit makes the
ocean sweet. Dick pulls the anchor while I show off his catch to the
passing sunset sail tour. We are back in the Ala Wai while it is still
light!! The days are getting longer, any day now it will be time to bust
out the summer wet suit.
dive 245
Sunday, the sun is out and the ocean is blue. The owner of the power cat
is up for taking his boat out, he invites Dick and I to join him for a
trip to Marnie's rock. Power cat is all gassed up (thanks Joey) and ready
to go. (it needs oil now) We head down to the dive site chatting about
nothing and each trying to be the most outrageous. The water is clear
enough that I can make out the ledge as I toss the anchor. One guy is
complaining how cold it is while the other complains that it is too light.
I manage to be the first one in to check the anchor. There are about
10-15 small yellow spot papio circling around me as I get to the bottom.
Small guys are up close, the bigger guys in the back. I know the small
ones taste better and go ahead and take one. It is nice to have "never
miss" back in action (thanks Johnny). The papio hang around and wait for
me while I put the fish away and load my gun. I can't believe they are
still here. Well, I will leave them for the other guys, one is enough for
me. I head along the ledge towards David's old hang out looking for
rainbow runner (I have been having sashimi fantasies again) There is very
little action and I spend some time calling a distant mu over. It is
going to be a pull pull shoot deal as he remains aloof, I am looking up at
him when the tuna come into view, six big guys, could be Ahi and they are
traveling slow and checking me out!! I move up in the water column trying
to be as fascinating as possible. They slow but refuse to turn around.
Unfortunately, I did not turn around either and did not see the next 20
fish as they approached me, I only saw them as they passed next to me. My
gun facing the wrong direction, I miss my chance for a great sashimi
dinner once again. I watch the last one head out of sight. I am still
calling after them when I make out fish coming towards me. My heart is
racing as I call the opelu kala right to me, those rats! It was a set up!
I return to the bottom and head over toward my inside spot. I hear a gun
go off as I pass near the anchor, some one is scoring. I am in the middle
of a open field looking at sea shells when I see the many mu. They must
have been chased here by divers because this is not their usual spot. I
have no hiding spot, but my chances look real good anyway. The mu are
joined by weke ula, uku and small papio. I am surrounded by game with not
even a coral head to hide behind. I just charge and pick the mu over the
uku at the last second. It is a good shot. Mr. Mu waits till I have him
off the spear, but before I put him in the bag when he makes his move. I
can't believe he got away! I chase after him while I load my gun. He
circles around and I loose him while I cock the gun. I see the pile of
black humus going crazy. Aha! Masterful observations pay off. Lucky I am
so good at reading fish behavior. The humus lead me right to my own bag
where they are picking at my papio! The mu is lost. Bummer, I will give
up on my inside spot and head back to the rock to see if the uku or the
shark are there. The boat captain has a bag full of weke ula and he is
heading up, too cold to stay down any longer. He had seen uku and shot a
good size one, but it tore off in the fight. Dick has a weke as well,
but he is waiting for the uku to reappear. My air is low enough that I
head up and watch Dick from above. The shark appears, I can not see it,
but I can see Dick acting weird and wonder at his antics. By the time he
starts up, I am too cold to wait and I surface and put on my warm fuzzy
clothes. There are four fish in the boat, the captain is wrapped up in
the silver tarp, looking like a space age tent. Dick surfaces with more
fish talking about how well trained the shark is. (He only saw it once)
We pull the anchor and head for home shivering as we fly over the waves.
The silver tent runs the boat at a dry 30 mph as we huddle against the wind
all the way home. Fresh fish always seem to temper the cold and we are
all in good moods as we put away the boat.
dive 246
The weather is still strictly long sleeved, I have tons of work to do, but
the winds have died down and the ocean is calm. Dick must have tons of
work as well because he is up for a dive. We meet around 5 and head out
through the finish line of a high school canoe race. The ocean is indeed
calm and we head for Kahala. There are two whales jumping and showing off
and I watch them from the anchor well as Dick puts us on Joe's barge. I
toss the anchor and stall around feeling cold. There is a slight DH
current and Dick asks me to check the anchor as he is heading for the
deep barge. I get in, not bad, current slight, and not as cold as I
thought. The lemon butterflies are spawning like mad, perfect timing. I
drift downward looking for uku out in the sand, nothing. The anchor is in
one of those one in a million spots and it takes me some time to free it
and set it properly. I turn around see that my gun is aimed at me and is
surrounded by fish. There is a big kumu trying to work the trigger while
his little brother dances around in front of me. Gary Larson was right! I
chase the swarm of opelu kala away and retrieve my gun. The kumu is too
friendly and I leave him be. I am still dreaming of rainbow runner sashimi
and I wonder if they are out with Dick. I look around and turn over
rocks. I drift down to the pile of Z's on the other end of the barge
hoping for some mu with size. (I have only seen smallish ones). There are
lots of opelu kala and they are fun to interact with. I have been swimming
down current and getting colder so I decide to head off to the pipes in
hope of warming up. I cruise along the bottom. There are no fish until I
am right on the pile of Z's. There is an MK whose spear hole has
completely healed, he seems no worse for wear. He is hanging out with
another big kumu and a smallish MK. I wonder if it is one I speared, he
does not seem to recognize me and foolishly comes close. I have not the
heart to spear him again.... that is one of those hit by lightning twice
kind of things. The kumu he is with looks the most tempting as he drifts
in and out of the concrete. I am too cold to stay very still and I
continue to swim along enjoying the beauty and watching for a chance at the
goat fish. They weave around, practicing where they will drag my spear
should I actually shoot one. I move up kokohead looking for mu in their
usual spot . They are there all right, but they have all taken Alice's
little shrinking pill and are even too small for me to go for... not to
mention it would require laying still and letting the shivers find out
where I am. I head back toward the anchor only to find Dick in the
middle of cleaning a big ulua. His gun is loaded and aimed at himself,
glad I am not the only fool around. I am too cold to wait and see what his
bait brings in and I head up the line. He soon follows, he had seen a
couple of small uku, and was hoping to call them in. He got the ulua out
at the barge, (the smallest one he could find.... pardon me while I puke!)
saw some rainbow runner and had a great dive. The beauty of the dive is
wearing off as I am some how envisioning the surface akin to climbing into
a hot tub. Why it looks soooo warm from 10 I do not know, but it sure
does. I surface, try to dry off and change even though I am doing a pretty
good Parkinson's imitation. Dick pulls the anchor while I don all my
warm fuzzy clothes. Suddenly the world looks stunning, the post sunset
clouds are purple and orange, the ocean has become glassy smooth,
preventing the sunset from sinking below sea level. There are spilled
light puddles drifting and running around on the surface. I feel very
lucky to have such a great life.
dive 247
Friday afternoon, Dick is taking his boat out and Joe, Amy,Brian and
Dave join up for party at the hole. It is good a fun visit as a boat full
of gear heads out. Brian only has 2000 pounds in his tank so he is
planning to come up early... Dick offers him a full tank and he says
"great, thanks" and plans to take both down with him. The sail boat start
is underway and we wend our way out to sea. Free at last we leave the
confines of Friday afternoon traffic. I toss the anchor and Dave heads
down to set it. I leave the gang and head down myself. I miss seeing the
whale breach just off the stern, but I hear it as I head down the anchor
line. There is a DH current, I can see weke ula below me on the outside
ledge. I drop down and the school is huge, all sizes, all staying out of
range. I move along with them. A little white tip passes by. I finally
just charge and shoot one that is swimming away from me. The shaft goes
through the gill and out the mouth, not bad. I bag the fish and meet a
second shark, not a white tip, but small. Joe and Brian must be at the
130' ledge chasing them in. I continue my dive, not seeing much of
anything upcurrent. I decide to drift back down to the cave to see what
everyone is up to. Dick is hiding at the guard stone calling. There are
a lot of uku approaching from outside of him. I am drifting down current
and will show up at the sand pit and cut off the schools approach. I know
Dick is going to be plenty mad, but hey, he just got that huge ulua
anyway! He leaves for a trip soon, what does he want more fish for? I
drop in and divert the fish to me, they approach and I miss. No fish for
anyone, I better leave before I get yelled at. I head back ewa, still no
fish and so I cruise over to Amy, she looks lonely and cold. We wonder
where everyone is and I leave her watching the butterflies. I head in to
the far rocks and see only one mu off in the distance. The cold is
beginning to take its toll and I head back to the anchor. Dave takes his
fish as heads up. Amy is still wondering about Joe and I tell her I am
heading up even though I have air and bottom time. She joins me followed
by Dick. Dick only saw that one group of uku, he does not seem
perturbed as he got to analyze my shot. He said my wrist shot back, I did
not seem to handle the recoil, or he could have said that I am not holding
my arm straight .... I think back to the miss and remember that my gun
was kitty corner to the current, that is why I think I missed. We surface,
still no sign of Joe and Brian. Amy is a little worried. But sympathetic
friends that we are, "oh they are fine, they probably swam after that
whale 200 yards down current" She is relieved when Joe climbs up the
stern. It soon turns to worry again when we question him and find he is
hiding something, we think it might be pain. I am happy when Brian
surfaces and I realize it is anger not pain. Have you ever been at a
dinner party with one couple at war? Thick silence that makes it hard for
others to breathe? Now, with good Italian and Irish stock, you would
expect that Dituri vs.Occonell would be lively and entertaining. I suppose
as newly weds it would have been better...."you stupid f___! What did you
do that for? I clearly gave you the "I am swimming around the block"
sign!! But after nearly 25 years, they are now reduced to "nothings wrong"
, "I am fine" Amy is obviously used to it, but the rest of us stay
clear... they are two pretty big guys, although I would like to douse them
with cold water, I refrain. Dave has two nice opelu kala, and I have the
weke. Joe and Brian seem to patch things up, they tell us about the giant
sting ray they came across. Not bad for a party at the hole, Dick is not
even mad at me for dropping in. (turns out he did not see the uku until I
took a shot) We head for home. We are all planning our next dive as we
rinse the boat and head home just as the fireworks start.
The next day:
Mike and Abby are coming at last, pick them up at the airport and give them
an hour before we head out with Dick to Fantasy reef. The ocean is
calmer, but still choppy as we round Diamond Head. I toss anchor, the
water is clear and the current still. A good intro to Oahu for a couple
that was blowing the snow out of their driveway this morning. Dick heads
off and the three of us cruise along the ledge enjoying the scenery.
Turtles, shells and fish abound. I am looking for a nice big kagami. Mike
and Abby are just happy to be wet. I ignore them and look for uku out in
the sand. There is one little guy, too small although it would be nice to
shoot with such an easy to impress audience. I let him go unmolested and
he circles back with his six bigger brothers! Perfect, I shoot one and we
get it in the bag. Mike is happy to carry it for me as we wander back
toward the anchor. I see a couple of more tiny uku, but nothing else.
Dick is on the surface scrubbing the hulls. Giving his boat a nice rub
down before leaving town. He saw a couple of papio, the tiny uku and
nothing else. We surface and Dick pulls anchor. The ride home is down
wind on a calming sea, the sun setting off of Waikiki. The Alaska couple
are so appreciative of the beauty. It allows Dick and I to see it though
fresh eyes and we are all happy to be in Hawaii as we head in the channel.
We gas up, rinse up the boat. Dick does one last swim in the Ala Wai,
futilely trying to grab his sinking credit card. Who needs the
confinements of a capitalist society? The best things in life are free
anyway. Sure glad it wasn't me leaving for a trip the next day.
dive 248
A perfect Sunday, God says "go diving".....there is barely a breeze and not
a cloud in the sky. I load everyone up (Mike and Abby) and hustle them out
to the power cat. There is nothing like making everyone hurry and then
having to say "oh, I forgot to pick up tanks!" We make it by eleven. We
stop for gas and head for the wrecks. Tie up and hop in. There is not
much current and clouds of fish around each ship. There are two of those
weird file fish Jack Randall wanted to photograph maybe they are coming
back again. (you might mention it to him Rich) I see nothing to shoot, and
we take time to enjoy the wildlife. Abby finds those "worms" Joey was
talking about (nudibranchs). There are turtles in every crevasse and eels
in the holes. I do see a school of weke ula, but the sub appears and gets
between us. They make a getaway. All too soon we are out of bottom time,
I have not used half of my air yet. We come up the line and play with the
humus and lemon butterflies. It sure is different when the sun is
shinning, we surface, warm up in the Hawaiian sunshine and talk about all
the things we saw. Everyone had a nice time, we head in for lunch. I
hope the good weather continues. It is so much nicer when it is calm.
dive 249
Department meetings, focus groups, next years teaching lines, steering
committee, .... it is Friday and I NEED to go diving. Dick and Amy want
to go.... the meetings inch along, but if I leave early I will end up being
department chair next year... must hold on.... I am finally free, I will
not be on time, but since I am bringing Dick's tank, I feel like I have
some leverage. The boat is there, Amy has opted for staying home with food
poisoning. Dick and I head for Kahala, it is too glassy calm to stay in
Waikiki. I toss anchor at Joe's barge. There is no current, and I agree
to check the anchor while Dick heads off in search of Rainbow runner. We
jump in together and I see the uku swimming below us. Dick is quick to
load and drops a spoon to keep them interested. One circles in and I see
him shoot and nick the fish as I follow him down. The uku checks out the
gun and heads out to deep water. I head down toward the anchor. Whenever
I check the anchor near the concrete Z's, I seem to find some "rare"
chance happening that takes me forever to undo. Today is no different, as
I yank on the wedged anchor chain, (one foot on either side braced against
the concrete, and periodically fan the eel with my fin to keep him in
check) I vow not to be stuck with this job again. After the chain is
free, I am forced to swim the anchor over the pile so as to keep the rope
free from chaffing. What a work out! Six hundred pounds of what should
have been some one else's air! I look outside towards the barge and see
the great big grandpa uku watching my anchor antics. That is the size uku
I want to take home! I am forced to sleep at Mike's house tonight and I
REALLY want to show up with that uku. The mighty fish pulls back and heads
over to the barge where he disappears underneath it. I am frantically
trying to remember if there is another way out or if the big guy is obliged
to return. I move closer as he returns to see what I have been up to. I
try my best to look harmless, he keeps his distance, checks me out and
heads on his way. I circle around the barge in hopes of heading him off,
but to no avail he goes to investigate that banging sound and I am sure
that Dick will end up with MY uku. Par for the day, time to enjoy the
dive, there is no current and I decide to go barge hopping. I head ewa
along the ledge stopping to check out the area that looks real good but I
have never actually seen fish there. One small kumu, and an even smaller
mu. I come to the fork, which barge should I head for? I head for the
turtle barge just because I have not been there for awhile. It is very
pretty, there are some mu adding artistic focus to the vast distant sand
plain. I work them half heartedly, nothing tastes the same after seeing
the big uku. I check my air and decide to head back via the little barge.
The trip is nice on such a clear day. I look for big uku and see none,
time to head up. I will dead reckon my way back to the boat. I glance
toward the surface on the off chance that I happen to be right under the
boat a big silver fish dashes out of sight leaving me to puzzle over its
possible identity. Dick's bubbles come into view and I am proud of my
sense of direction. I see his bag and I focus on its possible contents as
I approach. The big uku turns into some small papio, which soon turn into
two rocks and an extra sling. We are both empty handed. I feel like I
have dropped a huge load off of my shoulders. " The girl can actually
outswim state bureaucracy!" I can enjoy a weekend at long last!
Dick is bound out of town again and wants to go to Molokai on Sunday if
the weather holds calm. Waking up at four weeds out the more likely
candidates, and he is forced to invite me. I know enough to bring a
blanket and pillow for the first three hours so I agree to the trip.
Sunday proves calm and I wake for the sunrise somewhere in the middle of
nowhere. There is no land visible as I am given the wheel and told to head
east. The surf seems manageable so we head for the north shore. We make
it in record time and gas consumption...clean hulls and a smooth lake.
Dick anchors on some "hot" uku spot of his. I let him head down while I
wake up. I finally enter the clear water and see some uku under me. A
large kahala rolls in the sand, it almost looks hurt by the way he rolls on
his back. I wonder if it is really a wounded ulua as I head down. I swim
down fast and my head swims in unexpected dizziness. The kahala heads off,
still rolling on his back like a loony. I move toward a ledge inside of
me. Nothing but some mempachi in the overhang. I head over to join Dick
on the main ledge. He has a papio in his bag already. The bottom is a
95 foot algae covered expanse with small "ledges" for lack of a better
term. We swim two abreast with about 10 yards between us looking for
something of interest. Well the large uku that appears is of interest. I
turn a dent in the ground into a fox hole and drop. A stealth sharpshooter
hidden in the terrain. I glance over towards Dick who I know is twice
the sniper that I will ever be. He has done the same and boy, fox hole or
not, he sure stands out like a lone person on an empty beach. Our only
hope is that the uku drops his guard from laughter. No luck, we move on to
a bright spot. Kala, taape, mu, and uku abound at what must be the only
place like this place anywhere near this place. The relief is not greater,
but the ledge is rocky and undercut. I aim for some uku and get one to
come over and see what I am all about. I shoot the guy and Dick not only
helps me, he even offers to carry the fish. The uku have left and I
venture off after the remaining mu leaving Dick following the ledge in
the other direction. The mu are elusive I give up and circle back to
follow in what I guess will be Dick's path. As long as I pick the most
interesting looking ledge, I should catch up. The feeling is eerie,
which ever way I head, there seems to be some sort of a ripple to follow.
I can head up of down little ledges and it always seems to be 95'. I feel
like Alice and the looking glass as I wander about in search of definition.
I come across another bunch of fish but fail to entice the uku very close.
I start to head back in what I think must be the the direction I came
from. I am happy to find the taape again, only to find that they are
impostors. Maybe this is the second bunch of fish, perhaps I am swimming
in circles. I feel certain that I know which way "deeper" is and decide to
head for the "big" (2 foot) ledge as an aid to navigation. I feel that I
must be deeper only to find it is 95 feet no matter how far out I go. I
prevent total panic by stopping and calling in uku when they occasionally
appear. This dive is going on forever. Dick went down earlier so he no
doubt is back at the boat. I have already given up on the bottom helping
me with direction, I might as well swim around in mid water and at least
decompress. I leave the uku, who follow me off the bottom. They don't
want to stay in la la land either. I am aiming for 40' and that when I
really notice that my computer is stuck at 95'. That explains a lot. I
have no timer and I will guess the depth and use air consumption as a
measure of time. I keep checking and keep finding it is 95' and I have a
1000 pounds of air. I count kicks and find after 100 kicks that it is 95'
and I have 1000 pounds of air, after 500 kicks it is 95' and I have 1000
pounds of air. The thing to do is to surface so at least I can move in the
right direction. I have the distinct feeling that the boat is not going to
be close. Some days mother nature smiles, and things just work out. The
ocean is sooo glass calm that I can still see the boat even though it is
just a distant speck. Luckily, I have 1000 pounds of air. I dip below the
surface to approximately 95' and proceed to swim, if I follow my gun which
is straight, then I will be sure to swim in a straight line. Three
hundred long pounds of air go by and I figure to check again. The boat is
now directly inside of me, I can see that Dick is on board, but not
worriedly standing on the roof yet. Good sign. He is still out of hearing
distance, but I can now swim right into the sun and bee line back to the
boat. He was slightly worried, and wondered at my foolishness. I will
stick by him like glue on our next dive. We move the boat to a rockier
area with a more pronounced 90-60 foot ledge. I check his depth gauge at
the anchor and figure not to get into too much trouble. The ledge has a
couple of huge arches and as I swim through one, I see a side cave that is
bound to be full of lobsters. I enter and as my eyes adjust I can make out
the back of the cave swimming around in a rather agitated manner. My mind
tells me cornered white tip before my eyes fully adjust and confirm.
Well, that is a good heart stopper, I back out even though the swell is
pushing me in as if to say "kiss the shark" I mover to another part or
the arch, the ceiling is covered with tubastria and I search for the
camouflage nudibranch. No luck. I come across four baby lobsters. The
kind you can keep in your aquarium. I do see one small guy that would be
legal, but not big enough to impress anyone I would give it to. I leave
him be, and move to the top of the ledge in search of game. I find a spot
with some little holes, lots of friendly fish and I settle down to see who
will come visit me. (I am staying in sight of the anchor line the whole
time, just in case you believe I can't learn) I am playing with the lemon
butterflies when all the omilu that have been hiding in the hidden cave I
am on top of come charging out. There are four of them, but they are gone
before I can aim my gun. A large Molokai size MK comes into view and I let
him come close before taking a shot. It is a great shot, Mr. big uku comes
right over to admire it. He enjoys watching me thread the shaft through
the same hole in the same direction wondering why I want to tie a clove
hitch over the head of the fish. I figure out the problem and manage to
finally load my gun so I can play a proper game with Mr. Uku. That is more
like it, I should pay more attention to HIM, now he can act elusive and shy
and make me beg. My only hope is to make a lunge and take a shot, I wait
my chance as he plays coy. It is never perfect and I tell him what I think
as I head back to the anchor line and do my usual 95' decompression. I am
coming up with half a tank just to be safe. I am soon cold and I surface
to warm up. Dick comes up empty handed, having spent his dive swimming
along the ledge calling elusive uku. We troll for uku and look for
potential future dive sights up and down Momomi beach. I play it safe and
offer to run the boat for Dick to do a drift dive and he chooses to go
back close to our original spot. I clean the fish to find the fat uku is
full of little octopus, just the ones Michael was telling me about that
live in the sand. I need to get a rubber one to try and fool those
rascally uku!! Dick comes up empty handed, frustrated at the lack of
fish but grateful for the glorious day. He sleeps while I drive us back to
Oahu, I count 16 pods of whales between Ilio point and Portlock. That
does not count all the ones we saw along the north shore while looking for
dive sites. I wonder at moving the thrill craft zone at Hawaii Kai out of
shallow water and out of the lee of land for the whale season. There sure
seem to be a lot of whales in deep water. Do whales "like" shallow water
because we count most of them from shore? Athleen probably knows the
answer to this?
The calm water brings us back to the hustle and bustle of Waikiki by four
P.M. I still have time to go home and to my home work!! Thank goodness
for the ocean, I would truly be insane without it.
Does anyone know about getting Aladdin computers repaired?? Does anyone
want to do some 95 foot dives??
dive 250
Friday, three possible dives and I missed them all... try harder on
Saturday. I plan to double dip and make up for it and it begins to look
like I will miss out again. Things come together and a gang meets at the
Power Cat. Dick, and Mike are both in town and ready for Marnie's Rock.
The professional divers are up for a dive and Joey and Brian bring along
visiting buddy Chuck. I do NOT want to miss the boat and get there early
to set up. I guess Mike has not been out on the power cat in a while, I
spy him standing at the old slip looking confused. The weather has been
glassy and beautiful and Joey glides the boat down to the spot. There is
lots of jovial bantering going on as I get the crash course on Nitrox.
Everyone else is certified and know all the answers as I struggle along.
I know I will blow them all away when we actually get to a math problem,
but alas we get to the spot first. Joey tosses the anchor and Mike heads
down to set it. There is plenty of light and I hang around and wait for
the others to get safely in the water. I jump in and am glad that there is
no current. There is a tremendous amount of phytoplankton in the water and
visibility is poor. Good for spearing, and bad for photography (Brian)
and Chuck has to go down the anchor line into a bottomless sea of gloom.
I feel for him and am on my way over to put him at ease (make some sort of
joke), I did have the best of intentions as I saw the tell-tale glimmer
swaying below me. It must be 25 pounds+, ulua. The glee of Mike and
Dick half heartily saying "good job Snerk" is too much and I dive for
the bottom. Alas, the slow undulations move that guy at a pretty good pace
and he disappears into the murk. I stop to play with a little candy cane
shrimp in hopes he will return. There is a mad grunting blue throat humu
in the neighboring hole. I debate taking it over to Chuck and Joe as a
pleasant diversion, but she is well wedged and I wont get her out without
loosing some skin off of my knuckles. Only one of them would think it
was funny anyway, the other guy would be really angry to have a mad biting
humu stuck on his butt. I give up on the ulua and head over to the rock
where Mike is. He is very excited, not only does he have a passle of papio
in the bag, he is giving me the signals one after another. Lots of uku,
lots of papio, lots and lots of papio, three ulua. My one seems meager and
I start looking and see nothing. I move toward the ledge and see a bunch
of weke ula. I take a shot that hits above the eye and the fish rips off
and swims by Dick who also nicks him... talk about running the gauntlet!
The fish escapes and we split up. I hear Dick's gun fire and head over
to check. He has a papio, but is excited about something and sends me out
to go kill them... I see nothing. I wonder what I am supposed to be
killing. I head over to Roger's hang out. I check Nils' gauge. (mine back
home still says 95'....it has been one week, how long do those batteries
last?) Now I remember that having a watch does no good unless you look at
it when you first get in. How soon I got used to that computer. Oh well,
I can count decompression minutes on it. (and I was upgrading my
certification?) I see the uku. They are shy and my one chance nicks the
front of the fish's dorsal fin. Dick comes over and I give him the spot
and move in to the ledge. The flash of the camera gives away the
whereabouts of Brian, Chuck and Joey. They all seem to be doing fine and
having fun, no use confusing things, I head in further. Uku are
everywhere, big ones too. They almost can't be bothered to stop and look
at me as they surround me. I take a shot, nick the fish above the eye and
he soon tears off. *#@$!! Irritability, was that not one of the symptoms?
I must be suffering some toxicity; let's see 3 atm. (close enough) X .21=
.63, hmmm guess not. But what about all that diet coke??? Pay
attention, there are mu now mixed in with the uku.... it is a clean miss
this time. I like those better. All fish leave and I head back out to the
ledge. I see the distant flash, even if the pictures are nothing but
back scatter, the guys are easy to keep track of. Chuck has made good
time with his air but they seem to be heading up. I stay inside and move
Diamond Head. Out in the great flat plain; there she is; the most
beautiful siren, glimmering in the waning light. Tossing her head as if
she still had the long tresses of her youth. Oooooo KAGAMI!! It will be
hard to miss!! I do what I can and she circles just at the edge of my
vision. Totally unaware of anything save her, I keep my gun pointed as I
spin. I am circling around like the altitude needle, I have finally
resorted to wishing really really hard as she moves out of view for the
last time. Where am I? Too bad there is no sun to follow. At long last
I have found a good thing about those broom tailed file fish. I see one
and know that is the direction of the ledge! I didn't even know that I
knew that. It is like not knowing you have missed something until you see
it again. Brains are amazing... maybe I will do this nitrox thing after
all. The ledge has uku and mu and weke ula, but they don't taste as sweet
and I head up leaving Dick surrounded by uku... he will be happy. I
surface between the bait that is being dropped by Mike and Joe who are
happily fishing for uku. Mike has three papio and I feel rather inadequate
as I tell my "feel sorry for me" tale. Mike kindly tells me not to aim
right above the eye, the secret is to aim for behind the eye. Now that I
know that.... fish watch out!! Dick surfaces with a bag full of uku and
papio. Six fish; six divers... seems right. Brian and Dick pull the
anchor as Joey heads us home in the dark. He has as many back seat drivers
as there are blinking green lights. The sky is clear and the half moon is
lined up with a great planet grouping. Does any one know anything about
aligning Mars, Jupiter and Saturn? Is it coming or going? Let me know the
date, so I can see it at its finest. We make it back to Keehi, I happily
find an uku in my trunk after putting the boat away. Thank you Dick.
Boy it is good to go diving, great fun, beautiful fish, fresh sashimi and
the greatest friends that anyone could ever hope to have. Thank you all
for a great time.
