Sand Chutes and Eel Cove (Fish Bowl) Kona, 2/23/21

 Calm seas after a week of big surf opened up the west coast of the Big Island for diving over the past few days.  Taking advantage of the conditions, we headed north to Sand Chutes, one of my favorite sites in the Garden Eel Cove area.  There is a super health reef sloping down to over 100 feet sand flats, with a big sand chute bisecting the reef vertically, thus the name.

 Very fishy dive with all the usual suspects including the Lei Trigger, the Reef Lizards, Ornate Butterfly, some nice plate coral, and my favorite critter of the dive: Pom Pom Crab.  Sandy found it and held it for pics until was time to put it back on the reef.

Here is a Rough Spine Urchin and a White Mouth Eel.

On to eel Cove, which as been rarely diveable this winter.  We were all excited in hopes that the resident critters there would be home.  The Cowfish, Gooseberry was right where she usually is, at arouond 50 ft flitting around in the rubble.  From there we went immediately to the shallows east of the mooring to the spire the Viper Eel lives in to see if he was home.  Usually, we hit this attraction at the end of the dive, after cruising the deeper boulders where the Sergent Majors battle the Butterflys who want to eat therir eggs.  The Viper was home, but he was curled up way inside the pillar...not hanging out the front of it.  So the photo ops to get him were tricky and not the usual dramatic shot he often gives us.  Bonus appearance was from a large Frogfish.

Additional appearances were from a very horny male Bullethead Parrotfish, a juvenile Bullethead contributing to the sand cover, Moorish Idol, Orange Band Surgeonfish, and a Raccoon Butte4rfly.

Lonetree Arch and Kaloko Canyons 2/7/21

 Fast forward past the end of 2020–good riddance. Just at the end of our second big swell of the winter today, and there were still some big bumps rolling through.  It made for some surge at Kaloko, which makes macro shooting fun.

First day in a while diving with Sarah B, on Aquatic Life Divers boat Amelia.  She found a couple of tiny Tom Smith nudies under the Big Arch.

Out on the reef, as we headed up toward Suck 'em up, we found multiple antler coral heads with Leaf Scorpions, one brown, one white and the last one I think was pink.  The brown one was close enough to the outside of the coral that I could get a shot of her.

My favorite fish of the day was at Kaloko, a nice bright yellow young Frogfish.

Among the rest of the cast were a big warty thing crawling along the rocks.  Is it a Spiky Seacucumber?  If so, first one Ive seen.  Also, a Four spot butterfly, a nice Lei Trigger, and a big Yellow Margin eel.

Finally, near the end of the second dive we found a shy Octopus hiding in a crack, with just his little eye poking out to check us out.  And here's Capt Rob helping a diver into the water.

 

Pre-hurrican dives at Lonetree-Big Arch/Freezeface and Shark Alley 7/25/2020

The day before Hurricane Douglas was scheduled to slam into the islands we snuck out for a couple of dives along the Pine Trees area of west Hawaii.  Since there appears to be a kerfluffle over dive boats mooring near the point at Freezeface we moored at Big Arch.  Actually there may not even be a mooring at Freezeface anymore, so we had to swim down there.

HIghlight of the day for me was that I got to see three animals I'd never seen before.  Gosline's fang Blennie, Steindnacher's Moray, and Crown of Thorns Star Shrimp.  

We got to the entrance of the Freeaeface swimthrough, and there was enough surge that I decided not to take the camera in there.  So I swam around to the north and caught the group as they exited.

EArlier, though we cruised briefly through Big Arch and Janine found a couple of Tom Smith nudis on the ceiling.  I only got one out-of-focus shot because I was too clumsy and lazy not to flood the area with bubbles.  Immediately after leaving the arch we stumbled onto a very large Devil Scorpion, a Gold Lace nudi, and a rare Steindachner's Moray.

Another highlight of the day was finding a couple of Day Octopus that had gotten a room.  They seemed like they didn't mind people watching.

See the two sets of eyes?

Shark Alley inshore lava tubes and caverns were calm, if a bit murky, and we went through them looking for nudis.  I did end up finding a couple of White margins laying eggs.  Back out toward the deeper ocean Janine found a Crown of Thorns Star with two teeny shrimp underneath.  Are Crown of Thorns Shrimp even a thing?  I guess they are.  Near the end of the dive someone spotted this very large Frogfish.  Meanwhile, as I puttered around the pinnacle near the mooring I found a Gosline's Fang Blennie poking its head out of a hole.  Yay!

There are two shrimp here, sorry they aren't popping in the pic better.

Gosline's Fang Blennie

Yellow margin Eel

Hoovers Tower and Kaloko Canyons 7/21/2020

This morning the ocean lay flat like a billiard table, sunny and no wind.  Perfect day for diving.  I hadn't slept well and was up early watching the sunlight spill over onto the west side of Hawai'i Island.  Gear was in the car, and I was at the new harbor gate by 7;15.  Saw Johnny C's blue t=shirt moving away from the Kona Honu slip.  He was walking in my direction.

We talked for a while--me from the car-- until Janine showed up with the truck.  Not a lot of tanks in the back because there were only 5 divers plus Janine and John on Kona Honu Divers big Newton 46 _Honu One_.  Was like a private charter.  Which instantly reminds one of the fact that a lot of travel related jobs have been lost, and the people who lost them are trying to find ways to buy groceries and pay rent.  What an upside down year.

Johnny asked where we should go and I volunteered "Hoover's Tower."  One of my favorite spots for structure, day mantas, and a dramatic drop off.  I hadn't been there since 2018.  Everyone agreed so we headed north.

No discernible current which was the last hurdle.  In we went.  The massive tower jutteed up from the bottom just north of the mooring.  We headed west toward the drop off.

Immediately there were banded coral shrimp in every hole along with a few flame backed ones.  But as the dive unfolded we realized it was Nudi Tuesday.  Lots of nudi pairs getting it on.  Below are the Strawberry nudis and the Gold lace nudis cuddling up together along with a lone Red Spot nudi..

As if not to be outdone by nudibranchs, fish were pairing up too.  Here's the female and male Spotted Boxfishs.  They had been more discreet perhaps.

 

Kaloko Canyons hs become one of my fav spots.  The collapsed lava tubes create so many little walls and crevasses for things to hide. The make navigation a bit of a challenge, but I was following Janine so didn't even look at my compass until we weree still out on the sand flats south of the structures at the hour mark.  Hmm, maybe at least figure out a heading back to the boat.

On the way through the canyons I had my eye out for the Wire Coral Gobie I'd seen last time i was here.  And ther he was, right after a visit to a Dwarf Moray who didn't try to hide.  At that point the critters just didn't stop coming out to play.  The Male Whitley's Boxfish, who ai hadn't seen for a long time was right where he should be out near the second mooring.  Laura and iI chased him for a while because he really wanted to show off his butt.  I finally snuck up on him for a side shot.

This Octopus was in his shallow hole and not moving.  maybe nesting?   But she had her eye on me.

 Here's a beautiful catch of Spanish Dancer eggs, a Sea Rose.  I didn't think to look for egg eating nudis, and there probably were some.  Below is the Wirecoral Shrimp, at least his lower left side.  he ewas under s ledge and I could only get this angle.

Janine found this little circular fritter.  Is it a baby urchin?  Janine told me after the dive but i can't remember now.  Below is a Hazlett's Hermit Crab, another of Janine's finds. You fan just see his little feet and eyes.

Manybar Goatfish and Cleaner Wrasse

 This is a apunctured Miter, I think.  He was just hanging there off a ledge.  In the sand flats I found a Razor Wrasse darting about.  On the way in I ran across a yellow Cone, but didn't mess around to see if the animal was home.