Drift Diving Oahu's Sea Cave

Pete fighting the current
The pancake cliffs
    The winds were starting to kick up, throwing waves and spray onto our sturdy dive boat. I was out with Island Divers here on Oahu checking out a couple of offshore dive sites. After a successful exploration dive of a wreck called Big Barge (not even the instructor had been there before), we decided to fight the wind and head closer to the coast to dive a site called Sea Cave.
    The water was again nice and clear, however the current was very strong. But we were planning a drift dive where we could go with the current and get picked up by the boat down the coast. Luckily the group was all advanced divers so we hit the water and immediately descended with no problems. We could see the opening to the sea cave above water but under water it was totally different. Pancaked rocks form a 60 foot deep cliff. At the very bottom of the cliff there was a wide opening which led into the sea cave. 75 feet into the cave the roof disappears and sunlight filters down from above. A white tip reef shark slipped through the shadows inside the cave.
Inside the Sea Cave
White tip reef shark

Once out of the cave we easily sped down the coast on the current. Turtles and and an eagle ray past us effortlessly gliding against the current.
   The ride back in to Hawaii Kai harbor was nice and easy going with the wind and waves. I'm looking forward to more of these advanced dives here on Oahu.

Drifting with the current
Sea turtle in flight


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