Deeper Wreck Diving in Oahu?

[mulla]

Hi All,

Will be visiting Ohau in February and possibly doing around 5 days worth of diving.

I'm wondering if there's any wrecks or interesting sites in Ohau that are deeper and would be best done as a deco dive? If so what are the recommendation for operators?

If not I shall follow the other thread on dive shop recommendations.

Thanks heaps in advance.

 

[scottitheduck]

Dr. Lector and CaptFlyingDutchman would be the best ones to talk to about this....... We might be able to plan some small excursions as well if the dates work out right. Send me a PM or an email if you have a few minutes.

Mahalo!

G

 

[mulla]

Thanks for your help scottitheduck, just sent you a PM with my contacts and info.

Let me know if you didn't receive my PM, it didn't appear in my sent items box for some reason

 

[Dr. Lecter]

Depends on what you're looking for, I'd say. The YO at 100' or the Sea Tiger at 120' can be nice deco dives if you want to crawl all over their innards for a while...I think I did a 100 minute run time last night dive on the Sea Tiger, with 60 minutes of that being BT.

In the 130-300' range, the options are somewhat limited. The only sure thing of which I'm aware is the Friendship at 190', which is a 65' or so commercial trawler that sank under tow back in 1994. It's a nice little wreck with a tight penetration into the engine room and a ton of big jacks on it most days. Other than that, there's a biplane outside Hbay ~160' that I have yet to find and a bomber off the West side around 240' that's mostly rubble, but I don't have numbers for either one.

Here's a couple videos of dives on the Friendship, including one showing me looking like a show while reattaching my staged deco bottles after a trip into the engine room, and another where my scooter-weilding buddies seem to be intent on chasing some poor shark around. Friendship wreck 25 May 2013 - YouTube

Friendship Wreck 17 October 2013 - YouTube

 

[mulla]

Friendship Wreck definitely looks interesting. Unfortunately, I'm only an OC diver so unless there's ready access to helium 190' is probably a little beyond what I've previously attempted with air.

Would love to do a longer BT on the YO and Sea Tiger and spending a bit more time on penetration. I suppose the issue is to find a guide or a buddy that's happy to do a similar profile with me.

Hopefully, Gabe can put something together or if you don't mind budding with an OC diver and show a first time Hawaii diver what it's all about

 

[Dr. Lecter]

I'm still OC myself and use air on the Friendship (and anything else out here down to 240'), so we could probably come up with a workable plan depending on how far outside your prior air experience 190' is -- if you're rolling in the sand you'll hit 190' but the top of the wreck is around 165' and inside the wreck is around 180-185'. Helium can be had out here and I've used it for dives past where I'm comfortable with the O2 % in air, but it's fairly pricey ($1.50 USD or more per cf). For the YO and Sea Tiger, you can probably work something out with Kaimana and/or CaptFlyingDutchman re: a longer BT during one of the regular am wreck trips with the rec group doing some SI while you're doing deco.

The Friendship is probably a separate trip because it's in the opposite direction of most of the Waikiki side sites. On the plus side, it's located less than a mile from the harbor so it's a short trip. If you tracked down a scooter during your trip, it could be run as a shore dive.

 

[mulla]

Thanks Dr. Lecter for the orientation on Hawaii dive sites 101. Ah ok so you were doing the filming? Your buddy was the one on the rebreather? Thought the rebreather diver was you.

I'll PM you my email and travel details hopefully the moons will align and we can do a few dives together on the Friendship! Much appreciate the kindness from yourself and Gabe. I've checked out some of your other videos too, certainly some interesting wrecks out there that needs to be dived!

My deepest air dive was local cold water dive to 50m (~165'), I didn't "feel" narcked at all but that's probably the limit I'd do on air in cold water. Was told by many that in warm water you can push that limit a bit further but I haven't experienced it and I'm not sure how I'd react.

Good idea about longer BT during a regular trip. Much prefer 1 longer dive to 2 shorter ones. I'll speak with the operators you've suggested a bit closer to my departure date.

 

[Dr. Lecter]

Just to clarify, the cameraman is one of the other rebreather divers (pensacolaracer on here); I'm one of the two divers on OC in the May video. Look forward to talking with you by email, and hope to see you out here later on.

 

[CaptFlyingDutchman]

Here is a video of the P12 off Hanauma Bay. (probably the oldest plane wreck on Oahu)
Oahu Underwater Plane Wreck - YouTube

Pic of the Friendship


There are a few other deep planes but most are not in easy areas / in rough shape.
There is also the YS-11s, Ashahi Reef, and Pyramids off the YO
YS-11 Mid Pacific Wings on Vimeo

 

[mulla]

Thanks CaptFlyingDutchman, I really don't need to be more excited about this trip than I already am!

Doesn't look like there's much remaining for the P-12?

YS-11 would be awesome if the entire fuselage was intact and you can penetrate it! But as it is the friendship is definitely something I'd like to visit, hopefully I can manage to tag along on one of your trips when I'm over.

Trying to put 2 and 2 together, so you work for Kaimana Divers too CaptFlyingDutchman? Since it was in your sig.