Capturing the Moment

Galapagos Shark   A few years ago I went on the shark cage dive tour on the North Shore here in Oahu. They took us three miles out of Haleiwa harbor, dropped us in the cage and we were able to see lots of pelagic sharks in very clear, blue water. Since then I have been wanting to lead a mission back to this spot with our own boat and jump in for pictures without the cage. Another Close Pass Curiosity   I put the mission idea out there to some friends of mine on the North Shore and was surprised how quickly the plan was put into action. My buddy Alex has a jet ski he uses to tow surf into big winter swells. Now we just had to wait for the perfect morning with light wind conditions. With room for three on the ski our friend Nani jumped on board and away we went. Now we just had to retrace my steps from years earlier to find the cage 3 miles off where the sharks gather. Nani with 2 Galapagos Sharks   The first buoy we came across must have been for fi...

Moku Ho'oniki Rock (Elephant Rock) "Fish Rain", an aptly named dive site  When adventurous scuba divers ask me where to go while they are here on Maui I tell them about the big three dives. Molokini backwall, Cathedrals on Lanai, and the Hammerhead shark dive at Moku ho'oniki rock on Molokai. Yet I had never done the hammerhead dive until today! And what a dive it was. The conditions were rough. 6ft seas with 15-20knot winds all the way across the Pailolo channel which separates the islands of Maui and Molokai. It is a live boat drift dive so the captain and crew have to safely get everyone off the boat while bucking from side to side in the heavy seas. Getting back on the boat was a whole different story. Only one dive company does this trip, Lahaina Divers . Heidi and I went with this outfit a month ago over to the island of Lanai to do some cavern diving at Second Cathedrals . And with my buddy Sean at the helm I knew we were in good hands. What I didn...