Summer is here and Niihau season is open one again!
For those interested in such a trip I always like to offer assistance with understanding what the trip is all about and it's advanced nature.
Many divers visiting Hawaii and diving here have done "Advanced Diving" in one form or another....Niihau's advanced nature is a bit unique though and many divers are not appropriately prepared/informed prior to this type of trip. Niihau has all the potential and likelihood of being the best of the best diving that Hawaii has to offer if you know what it involves and have the proper experience level and preparation.
Advanced diving in it's most commonly voiced form references deeper depths and currents. The ability to dive without lines for ascending and descending are commonplace with advanced diving - especially with drift diving. These are the basic foundation points for advanced diving at Niihau. This point sounds obvious and "may" be for most divers. It is however, the expansion of those abilities that are paramount in diving Niihau in my opinion.
The advanced nature of Niihau diving adds the factor of it's remote location, uncertainty of conditions (above and below), and a very lengthy dive day. The most common hiccups that occur are with divers who -
1) Have not experienced open ocean channel crossings and 10-12 hour ocean days
A) Divers must take precautions if there is history of seasickness It's awful to be sea sick anytime, let
alone for 6-10 hours.
B) The crossing to Niihau is "usually" calm - but the return "can be" quite rough and occasionally brutal
quite frankly. Boats do what we can to make the trip comfortable but the ocean has the ultimate say.
2) Have not had experience ascending an descending without a line (particularly in current)
A) Currents are sometimes non-existent and other times ripping at Lehua. There is little way to predict it
and we only know upon arrival.
B) Divers simply must be able to descend and ascend without a line to do some of the more advanced and
amazing dives at Niihau. If you find yourself saying "I have no idea how much weight I need" this is a
red flag to your readiness (One that's easily solved with check out dives prior).
3) Have no experience or little experience diving on deeper walls and closely monitoring nitrogen levels.
A) The reality is that on the whole many divers never monitor or really understand nitrogen loading and just
rely on guides. The focus is simply on air monitoring for most dives. If you are not used to monitoring
nitrogen and or diving on walls the combination can be problematic. Often you will not have a bottom
visual depth reference on these dives.
Without getting long(er) winded my suggestions and intent is to encourage divers seeking a Niihau experience to understand that you should be able to meet the requirements of having seasickness as a non-issue, understanding of the open ocean rough water potential, be comfortable ascending and descending without a line, some level of experience and understanding of nitrogen loading, comfort with monitoring depth on walls and staying within Divemaster depth guidelines. NITROX is a must for anyone who does 45 minute plus dives in my humble opinion as well to allow for complete availability of all dives throughout day.
In closing, I don't intend this to be a scare tactic for those interested. For me it is just disheartening to see divers who weren't prepared struggle, get seasick, or be overwhelmed by Niihau. It is the reason I live on Kauai and my single greatest diving joy is sharing it with others. Knowing some of this information in advance I HOPE can help people prepare themselves in advance to share in the magical and amazing experience of Niihau. Sometime the trips are very mellow. Sometimes there is no current. Sometimes the dives are actually all done above 70 feet. It's just nice to know a little more I hope in preparing form and understanding Niihau/Lehua.
PLEASE feel free to contact me if you are considering a Niihau trip or visiting Kauai with any questions. While I always openly state that I work for Fathom Five Divers - there are four first class operations here on island that make the Niihau Scuba Trip. I hope to see you there.
Aloha and have a wonderful day
A
For those interested in such a trip I always like to offer assistance with understanding what the trip is all about and it's advanced nature.
Many divers visiting Hawaii and diving here have done "Advanced Diving" in one form or another....Niihau's advanced nature is a bit unique though and many divers are not appropriately prepared/informed prior to this type of trip. Niihau has all the potential and likelihood of being the best of the best diving that Hawaii has to offer if you know what it involves and have the proper experience level and preparation.
Advanced diving in it's most commonly voiced form references deeper depths and currents. The ability to dive without lines for ascending and descending are commonplace with advanced diving - especially with drift diving. These are the basic foundation points for advanced diving at Niihau. This point sounds obvious and "may" be for most divers. It is however, the expansion of those abilities that are paramount in diving Niihau in my opinion.
The advanced nature of Niihau diving adds the factor of it's remote location, uncertainty of conditions (above and below), and a very lengthy dive day. The most common hiccups that occur are with divers who -
1) Have not experienced open ocean channel crossings and 10-12 hour ocean days
A) Divers must take precautions if there is history of seasickness It's awful to be sea sick anytime, let
alone for 6-10 hours.
B) The crossing to Niihau is "usually" calm - but the return "can be" quite rough and occasionally brutal
quite frankly. Boats do what we can to make the trip comfortable but the ocean has the ultimate say.
2) Have not had experience ascending an descending without a line (particularly in current)
A) Currents are sometimes non-existent and other times ripping at Lehua. There is little way to predict it
and we only know upon arrival.
B) Divers simply must be able to descend and ascend without a line to do some of the more advanced and
amazing dives at Niihau. If you find yourself saying "I have no idea how much weight I need" this is a
red flag to your readiness (One that's easily solved with check out dives prior).
3) Have no experience or little experience diving on deeper walls and closely monitoring nitrogen levels.
A) The reality is that on the whole many divers never monitor or really understand nitrogen loading and just
rely on guides. The focus is simply on air monitoring for most dives. If you are not used to monitoring
nitrogen and or diving on walls the combination can be problematic. Often you will not have a bottom
visual depth reference on these dives.
Without getting long(er) winded my suggestions and intent is to encourage divers seeking a Niihau experience to understand that you should be able to meet the requirements of having seasickness as a non-issue, understanding of the open ocean rough water potential, be comfortable ascending and descending without a line, some level of experience and understanding of nitrogen loading, comfort with monitoring depth on walls and staying within Divemaster depth guidelines. NITROX is a must for anyone who does 45 minute plus dives in my humble opinion as well to allow for complete availability of all dives throughout day.
In closing, I don't intend this to be a scare tactic for those interested. For me it is just disheartening to see divers who weren't prepared struggle, get seasick, or be overwhelmed by Niihau. It is the reason I live on Kauai and my single greatest diving joy is sharing it with others. Knowing some of this information in advance I HOPE can help people prepare themselves in advance to share in the magical and amazing experience of Niihau. Sometime the trips are very mellow. Sometimes there is no current. Sometimes the dives are actually all done above 70 feet. It's just nice to know a little more I hope in preparing form and understanding Niihau/Lehua.
PLEASE feel free to contact me if you are considering a Niihau trip or visiting Kauai with any questions. While I always openly state that I work for Fathom Five Divers - there are four first class operations here on island that make the Niihau Scuba Trip. I hope to see you there.
Aloha and have a wonderful day
A
