http://www.shorediving.com/Earth/Hawaii/Oahu/
The general cautions anywhere are car break-ins/vandalism and surf/currents.
Waianae dives tend to be shallow, rarely more than 25ft, sloping off to 40ft depths at about 200+yds offshore. Beware of the possibility of a townward bound strong (>3kt) offshore current at about 200yds.
Kahe Beach Park and the next door Electric Beach are well known. (The powerplant's cooling pool separates these two sites.) Picking across the Kahe reef will reveal small lava tubes sometimes with resting whitetip sharks. Flame angels are a possibility. The warm powerplant outlet water attracts loads of fish. Pelagics, including dolphins and tigers, make an occasional appearences. For the Kahe exit, navigate carefully since (facing the beach) on the left there are boulders and on the right there's a very shallow shelf which will grind you if there's surf.
Further on, the townside of Nanakuli Beach Park has a nice reef; one of the rare places with a shallow finger coral reef. Locals call the place Zablan Beach. The entry is from the lava shelf in front of the houses. I don't recall the line-ups/azimuths, but there's an enormous boulder or rock tower that rises to within a few feet of the surface; it's almost a hazard for boats. Poking around that may reveal some rare coweries.
Past Pokai Bay is Lahilahi Point which can turn into one of the rare deep (70-90ft) shoredives. The problem is the slog to hike out to the point of Lahilahi. You could try making the 200+yd swim from the beach but it's better plan the beach for the exit. About 100yds off the point, the depth can be 90ft. Locals know the area for the "Ulua Cave" which is actually a large undercut in the rock shelf; possibly a short section of lava tube which broke open. Beware of boat traffic out of Pokai Bay. Beware of offshore currents; if you feel the tug, abort immediately and move for the beach; don't fight it, if you get swept past your planned exit, so be it; just don't exhaust yourself.
The townside of Pukano Point, just before the Makua live fire range, is a shallow dive. The area was known for lobsters (probably all gone now) and good photo ops, especially juvie pennant fish. I strongly suspect that many of the photos tagged "Makua" in John Hoover's book was taken in this area.
On the other side of the island, Halona Cove and Lanai Lookout are popular but are good only during the rare calm days. Beware strong currents (the "Molokai Express") and entanglement with fishing lines. I strongly recommend having a shore-watcher especially at Lanai Lookout where the exit can be difficult to spot; it's often obscured by whitewater. The entry is on the BlowHole-side of the Lookout and is a shelf reached by crossing the road and duck-walking through a drainage tunnel under the bridge. The exit is on the Hanauma-side of the Lookout and is a long gouge or trough in the lava shelf which drains the wash running up the shelf. Recon both sites carefully, especially the exit because the next haulout will be after the long swim to Hanauma Bay. Fortunately, the lifeguards at nearby Sandy's are among the best on the planet.
The general cautions anywhere are car break-ins/vandalism and surf/currents.
Waianae dives tend to be shallow, rarely more than 25ft, sloping off to 40ft depths at about 200+yds offshore. Beware of the possibility of a townward bound strong (>3kt) offshore current at about 200yds.
Kahe Beach Park and the next door Electric Beach are well known. (The powerplant's cooling pool separates these two sites.) Picking across the Kahe reef will reveal small lava tubes sometimes with resting whitetip sharks. Flame angels are a possibility. The warm powerplant outlet water attracts loads of fish. Pelagics, including dolphins and tigers, make an occasional appearences. For the Kahe exit, navigate carefully since (facing the beach) on the left there are boulders and on the right there's a very shallow shelf which will grind you if there's surf.
Further on, the townside of Nanakuli Beach Park has a nice reef; one of the rare places with a shallow finger coral reef. Locals call the place Zablan Beach. The entry is from the lava shelf in front of the houses. I don't recall the line-ups/azimuths, but there's an enormous boulder or rock tower that rises to within a few feet of the surface; it's almost a hazard for boats. Poking around that may reveal some rare coweries.
Past Pokai Bay is Lahilahi Point which can turn into one of the rare deep (70-90ft) shoredives. The problem is the slog to hike out to the point of Lahilahi. You could try making the 200+yd swim from the beach but it's better plan the beach for the exit. About 100yds off the point, the depth can be 90ft. Locals know the area for the "Ulua Cave" which is actually a large undercut in the rock shelf; possibly a short section of lava tube which broke open. Beware of boat traffic out of Pokai Bay. Beware of offshore currents; if you feel the tug, abort immediately and move for the beach; don't fight it, if you get swept past your planned exit, so be it; just don't exhaust yourself.
The townside of Pukano Point, just before the Makua live fire range, is a shallow dive. The area was known for lobsters (probably all gone now) and good photo ops, especially juvie pennant fish. I strongly suspect that many of the photos tagged "Makua" in John Hoover's book was taken in this area.
On the other side of the island, Halona Cove and Lanai Lookout are popular but are good only during the rare calm days. Beware strong currents (the "Molokai Express") and entanglement with fishing lines. I strongly recommend having a shore-watcher especially at Lanai Lookout where the exit can be difficult to spot; it's often obscured by whitewater. The entry is on the BlowHole-side of the Lookout and is a shelf reached by crossing the road and duck-walking through a drainage tunnel under the bridge. The exit is on the Hanauma-side of the Lookout and is a long gouge or trough in the lava shelf which drains the wash running up the shelf. Recon both sites carefully, especially the exit because the next haulout will be after the long swim to Hanauma Bay. Fortunately, the lifeguards at nearby Sandy's are among the best on the planet.
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