Capturing the Moment

Hanging on in the current   Built in the 1940's, the YO-257 saw action in several different war campaigns across the Pacific. After surviving WWII, Vietnam, and Korea, it was lent to the Coast Guard as a transport ship. The YO came to its final resting place 100ft down off the shore of Waikiki in 1989 after being intentionally sunk to create an artificial reef by the Atlantis submarine company.   Heidi and I headed out early morning on the Kilikina dive boat with Hawaiian Diving Adventures to explore the YO wreck ourselves. It is a pretty deep dive bottoming out around 100ft so we would only have 20minutes or so. We were greeted with beautiful ocean conditions with clear water and no wind with beautiful sunshine above.    Looking down into the water one other thing was clear, there was a current, and strong one at that. Divemaster Erica and orange cup corals   The boat was equipped for the current with lines running down the side to hole onto. I...

At the surface read to dive Today I had the rare opportunity to make a dive in a submarine here in Oahu. Atlantis submarines offer a chance to join the exclusive 100foot club without being trained in scuba diving. I was invited to go for a ride along to check out the operation. I have seen this kind of submarine in action over in Maui. While I was scuba diving on the wreck of the Carthaginian this company's sub came and check out the same wreck. I could see the tourists inside snapping photos. Now I had the opportunity to see how the other side feels. It is pretty amazing. Plane wreck seen from the sub YO-257 wreck  The pilot, sitting up in front, does all the maneuvering by sight. He has a giant bubble windshield, and a co-pilot at the rear giving him distances. The narrator for the trip sits up front spouting off information about the underwater area and the fish. The sub deftly moves between quite a few wrecks strewn about the bottom. Old shells of airplanes, a Kore...