Kona UW photos up

[Tjack]

Here are some UW photos from Kona last September 2014. Most were shot diving from the Kona Aggressor, great trip.

The photo gallery is at:

Night_manta_mind_blowing - ScubaBoard Gallery

Here is one of my favorites


Titan Scorpionfish, Au Au Crater, Kona, Hawaii

 

[Alexandra]

great photos! what camera/light are you using?
and what were the water temps on your trip to Kona?

 

[Midge907]

Nice pictures, thanks for sharing. Was the one person on the Manta dive raising his hand so he could purposely touch the manta? hard to tell. If so I hope you punched him (or her)

 

[Tjack]

Hi Alexandra, glad you enjoyed the shots. These were taken with a Olympus E-PM1 and Oly housing. Inon Strobe. Water temps were above average for September running from 79 to 83 degrees F. We dove from the Kona Aggressor which is a good boat with a great crew. Considering what land based diving and hotels cost in Hawaii the Aggressor live aboard is an affordable option. We did 27 dives in 5 and a half days (Iron divers), dive times ran from 70 to 90 minutes depths averaging around 50 feet.

Midge, I think the diver in the photo is holding a camera as opposed to trying to touch the Mantas. On the other hand the Mantas often brush up against the divers. The diver in the photo below was repeatedly hit in the head by Mantas as they swept over him, I'm pretty sure he was laughing the whole time. The health of the Mantas is of primary concern and marine biologists are present on most of the night dives. One of the night Manta dives we did had 37 Mantas which was a record.

 

[Midge907]

Thats a lot of Mantas, when I did it we only had I think 12. Got bumped in the head myself. Only mentioned the pictures as not long ago their was a video posted by one of the manta organizations that showed lots of people on that dive trying to touch the Mantas, they will touch you, but they don't like it the other way around The picture you linked is not the one I was speaking of however. I know that I had to put my hand up myself to cover my mask when getting swooped, lol. I think I would almost carry an extra mask on that dive. From what I've been reading the popularity of that dive is getting crazy, and the dive ops are looking at self imposing more regulations for safety of the divers, snorkelers, and the Mantas. The next time I go on that dive I hope to be on the Aggressor myself. I tried to go on the Aggressor this coming January but they wouldn't knock of $500, but then not long after booking another trip they added it to their specials for guess what??? $500 off hehe

 

[Tjack]

Midge, your concerns for the Manta's well being are not misplaced. Many show pink patches on their undersides which are probably a result of contact with divers. We were briefed not to touch the Mantas but some contact is incidental. Both times we did the night Manta were off the airport and there were 10 or more boats. Although awesome these are 'canned hunt' encounters as the Mantas are draw to artificial light.


Is this the photo you were referring to in your first post?

We did the $500 off special, full price, no way Jose. If you don't want to get hit by the Mantas you can keep your dive light away from you as opposed to directly in front of you. This was part of the Aggressor crew briefing.