Sunday, April 8, 2012

Scuba Diving in Oahu

Jon and I became certified open water divers in 2004. In that year, we did some dives in Oahu, and dove in the Mexican Riviera Maya near Cancun in 2006.

Then, the babies came.

Last Sunday, we dove for the first time in six years.  To say that we were a bit rusty would be an understatement.  Still, though, the dive master crazily took us along and we had an amazing time.

The boat took us a few miles offshore to a site called the Ewa Pinnacles and then to a tugboat where Navy Seals are trained. We saw beautiful lava formations and tons of amazing animals.  And although we did not get a photo of it, we saw a humpback whale VERY NEAR our boat in between dives, which was incredible and a definite first for me.
After the slightly frightening 80-foot descent down the rope, I was calmed by my first sight of wildlife: this sweet guy, resting on the bottom.

In true MK fashion, here's the typical crazed diving eye.

Looking up.  I am so glad we did this!

Jon

MK, checking air, checking gauges, checking, checking, checking...

MK

MK, now more relaxed, striking a pose



Jon, showing off his textbook example of equalization
The photos that follow are from the second dive, the tugboat.  Jon did this dive by himself, because I had become seasick for the first time ever and opted to "feed the fish" from the bow of the boat, rather than do it 50 feet underwater through my regulator.  A good move.  I sure missed some cool sights, though.  Fellow band director Dave took the shots of Jon.



See the ray?

Jon also saw a 6-foot white-tipped reef shark. The photo didn't turn out well, though.

We vow to dive again before 2018!  We must.  It is just too much fun.

1 comment:

Elle J said...

Amazing!! Wow, what an adventure!! So glad your underwater camera worked to capture this memory.