Big Island Whale Shark

[AZTinman]

The arrival of heavy surge conditions during Christmas week resulted in cancellation of our manta dives. We did catch a break on our last dive day when the boat crew got us on a whale shark. The crew guys said whale sharks aren't frequent visitors to the Big Island and finding one was a real treat.

The photos are a couple of captures taken from some video I shot with a GoPro.

-AZTinman

 

[jameseg]

Excellent, thanks for posting those pics. I had no idea whale sharks were even an option in Hawaii. I'm heading to the Big Island in two days - probably won't be as lucky as you on the whale shark front, but hopefully the manta dive goes as planned.

James

 

[AZTinman]

Do hope you don't encounter the surge conditions we did during Christmas week. Our major purpose for being there was the night manta dive. There were multi-day cancellations by the operators and they were heavily booked for the week. When conditions improved enough for the ops to get back on schedule, there were no openings for us to re-schedule. Still, we made the most of the trip and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Damn, now we'll just have to do a return trip.

-AZTinman

 

[scottitheduck]

It's insane but Dec and Jan are usually the months that Whale Sharks are spotted in Hawaiian waters. I wouldn't say every year but certainly most. Excellent post and it just reinforces my belief that our waters always have surprises!

G