Black Rock Dive, Part 2

Being underwater for an hour is possible with scuba gear. Scuba diving can be very safe but things can go wrong during the dive which is why all scuba divers are highly encouraged to dive with a buddy. But even this won't help unless you and your buddy can communicate without talking. If any of you have played a game of charades with your friends you know how difficult it can be to get your point across using only gestures and movements. This is exactly what underwater communication is like. For this reason you go over a few signs with your buddy and their meanings before going underwater. Things like; "I'm low on air", "Lets go up.", "I'm ok", "How much air do you have?", are common signs to go over for common issues that arise. Today our problem was a little different.

The current was going in the wrong direction for us to get back to the beach. This was the first time either of us had dove this site before. I downloaded this aerial shot of the dive site to help explain. We entered off the beach marked 'Entry', then got about halfway (just past the D in 'Dive Here') when we needed to come up with a plan on how to finish the dive. I knew there was beach on the other side but didn't know how far. But with all the cool creatures we were seeing I didn't want to double back and have to fight the current which was quite strong.

So just like playing charades, I held up 2 fingers. Then 1 finger for 'first option', and made swimming motions continuing in the same direction we were going. Then I held up 2 fingers for '2nd option', and made an up motion with my thumb and then swimming motion back the other direction. I wondered for a second if Heidi understood my meanings but almost instantly she pointed onward and nodded. Sometimes it pays to know your dive buddy so well.

We saw more nudibranchs including courting Imperial Nudibranchs, a tiger moray in the picture to the left which is a moray eel that eats other moray eels. I found this out after seeing one on my last night dive and researching it after. This one was so curled up in its lair that its face and tail were right next to each other!

Large schools of goat fish and a rare sighting of a scrawled filefish greeted us as we neared the beach on the far side of the rocky cliffs, just as we, well I, was running out of air. I believe Heidi still had quite a bit left.
Since we were on the upper west side of Maui we decided to end the day with a trip to our local Brew Pub for a few micro brew tasters. Not a bad way to end a fun filled weekend.

Kaanapali on Dwellable