Dive Log, January 21, 2005

It was so nice to get underwater today. After 5 days of a rather
sizable north swell, the familiar calm Kona water was so welcomed. We
couldn't wait to get under and blow some bubbles.

However, before we could get to our dive site we saw two different
Humpback Whales and a pod of dolphins. This pod was unusual. It was a
mixture of two varieties, both Hawaiian Spinner and Spotted. Also,
there was an unusual number of babies, we counted 7 or 8!

The first dive was at Manta Ray Bay... one of our favorites... because
it produces! Again, it did not disappoint. We saw big moray eels,
illusive peacock flounder, several octopus and a beautiful spotted
eagle ray.

Between dives we headed offshore to look for whales. A few miles out
from Kailua Bay, we found a pod of Pilot Whales! They were acting
fairly social, spy hopping and logging. So, we decided to go for a
swim. Before entering the water Nikki briefed the divers and informed
them of the appropriate behavior for interacting with these beautiful
creatures. Everyone did just as they were told and slipped quietly into
the water and gently swam in their direction stopping a good distance
away and just floated there, resisting the urge to try and get a closer
look. If they are feeling curious, they will come to you, if not, they
will dive deep and out of sight. Swimming too close and too fast will
always result in them diving down. Lucky for us, they were a bit
curious and came over to check us out there were 9 of them and a
juvenile who rolled sideways to get a better look at us. It was an
awesome encounter and everyone was soaring with adrenaline.

As if the day couldn't get any better, the second dive at Eel cove
produced three rare critters. We saw a lion fish, a zebra moray, and a
dragon moray!

What an unbelievable, epic day!