Oahu and North Shore in Sept.

[Ozarksman]

Hey Everyone! New to this particular forum since I usually lurk around the Caribbean forums. My wife and I will be in Oahu staying at a beach front home on North Shore from Sept 26th - Oct 3rd next year. Been trying to study up on the diving and dive ops on the island but figured I'd best be served by the members of this forum who have been there/done that. What kind of shore diving should I expect on North Shore that time of year? We do plan to make a couple days of boat diving and would appreciate some input about which dive ops to use. I know this info is somewhat biased and one needs to take some of that with a grain of salt. But I've found that a few shops tend to get more good press and deserve to be looked at before some others. All my blue water dives have been in Florida or the Caribbean so I'm a complete novice when it comes to diving Hawaii. Thanks in advance for your help!

Tom from Arkansas!

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

Aloha Tom,

Sometimes it's all in the way you word your questions. You post is obviously worded in a way that causes the O'hana to hesitate, in more than one way.

North Shore shore diving is typically described as "summer diving" meaning May-ish through Sept-ish. Late Sept. is more miss than hit, although I have made North Shore shore dives in nearly every month of the year. Now comes the disclaimer; my normal North Shore shore dive site is/was an 800-1000 yard surface swim to the descent location. Only 5 buddies ever joined me and only one went twice even though everyone agreed it's a great dive.

The real answer is that North Shore Oahu divers will know if there will be any North Shore shore diving during your stay, sometime between the day before you land and a couple days before you depart. Check back at that time.

Dec. 25th North Shore shore dive a few years ago​

A little more info would help in your charter recommendation request; what type of diving do you and your wife most enjoy, what gear are you bringing, are you renting a car??? The more details you give the better the advise may be.

Finally, a caution about broadcasting your accommodations. Most of the beach front neighborhoods are zoned residential, which means most of the short term rentals are technically illegal, and many neighbors are fighting with each other over this issue. The County Government is fighting among itself over regulations and enforcement concerning this issue.

Even if you are staying in a legal vacation rental, I recommend just saying you are staying on the North Shore and leave it at that.

 

[VBlueV]

.. my normal North Shore shore dive site is/was an 800-1000 yard surface swim to the descent location. Only 5 buddies ever joined me and only one went twice even though everyone agreed it's a great dive..

hmm.. would that be the second reef/ far side of haleiwa trench?
(excellent photo.. btw)

that is a great dive..
and can be done even when haleiwa ali'i is breakin' (but not too big)

yes.. the north shore can be diveable almost anytime of the year..
i look for a forecast with at least 2 days in-a-row of flat-ish surf <2 feet..
(you'd dive the first day of it.. and use the second day as a pad.. just in case a bigger swell decides to sneak in or show up a bit early)
i use SNN.

i've dived sharks cove as late as november.. but be very careful.. keep re-checking the forecast right up to your dive time.

maybe check some west side shore dives (electric beach and makaha caverns) or south side shore dives (hanauma bay and halona blowhole) instead.

for boat dives call ocean concepts for west side dives and island divers for south/east side dives. both have great staff and solid boats.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

hmm.. would that be the second reef/ far side of haleiwa trench?
(excellent photo.. btw)

that is a great dive..
and can be done even when haleiwa ali'i is breakin' (but not too big)

For both the safety of divers and because it's a secret, the site I miss most from Oahu's North Shore goes by the name Helm's Wall. The turtle cleaning station above is nearly 900 yards off the beach I called home for 5 years. The finger tips of this fringe reef drop straight down from the 30' deep reef top to the sand at 90'.

This shot is from my free dive film days, and there is no way to put into words the chik'n' skin when you are 70' down, 3500' offshore, alone, taking pictures like this.

 

[Ozarksman]

Well, I guess I should explain myself a little better then. My wife and I are in our early 50's. I'm in fairly decent shape and been diving for mare than 20 years. The majority of my diving in the past 20 years has been 1) lots of local diving in one of several nearby lakes...great spearfishing for those who enjoy it! and 2) in the past 2 years I've logged more than 50 dives in Cozumel, including half a dozen nights dives. Cozumel is drift diving and at times it can really be ripping along! I've done some shore dives over the years but very much prefer boat diving overall. I enjoy most any type of diving (wall, drift, wreck) with a fondness for seeing those critters or coral life that one can easily float past and not notice or the type I wouldn't see in the Caribbean. The dive ops I use in Cozumel has a DM that is great at finding the small things you sometimes need a magnifying glass to see well. And anytime I can dive where there is an abundant variety of reef fish, turtles, rays, etc is a great dive to me. We don't like the large cattle boats and are used to diving with a 6-pack charter or less. Should I assume diving here is usually multi-level dives?

As far as gear goes, I usually bring along most of my own gear. A couple of dive skins (.5mm and 1mm), reg with Genesis computer, pressure gauge and compass, Aeris Atmos XT bcd and Aeris Velocity Duo fins. My wife will bring just her mask and fins since she doesn't like having to drag her gear around at airports much.

And yeah, we'll be renting a car and staying on the North Shore with several friends. None of then dive so it's just my wife and I. However, a couple of us guys would like to do a fishing charter one day so any help there would be nice as well. So I'm not locked into having to just dive the North Shore area but wanting to get to the best sites available during that time of year. If that meant driving to another part of the island, guess I'll be heading that way then. My wife lived on Oahu years ago when she served in the Navy so she's somewhat familiar with the island. But I'm quite certain that many things have changed since then.

 

[crab lover]

You're looking at south and west shores then. Get in contact with Gabe at Kaimana Divers Kaimana Divers: SCUBA Diving in Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, Waikiki (scottitheduck on here), he can set you up!

 

[crab lover]

BTW, I may be looking YOU up when we finally get back home to Little Rock!

 

[smellzlikefish]

Diving the north shore in the winter-time is unreliable at best, and at worst downright dangerous. I wouldn't waste my time trying to pick a day that might be okay surf-wise, because chances are you'll be diving in okay conditions when the south shore will be glass-flat. If you've never been to the island before, a great beginner south-shore dive is Hanauma Bay. Don't get discouraged by the dead inner-reef because the protected outer reefs are full of rare critters if you know what to look for. You could also go west, but I never leave anything of value in my car and I often will even remove the starter fuse. The locals can spot a rental car a mile away and have no quarrels against smashing a window to rummage through your stuff. On the flipside, Electric Beach and Makaha are gorgeous dives. As for boat dives, VblueV's suggestions were spot on.

 

[Ozarksman]

Hey Jamie!

If and when you get back to the Rock, please feel free to give me a call. My wife has family living the Little Rock and we make it down there several times a year to visit them. There are plenty of lakes to dive but after spending a lot of time in Hawaii, they'll seem a bit dull probably. The main reason I dive them (Lake Norfork and Bull Shoals) is for the spearfishing. My wife has stationed at Pearl for 2 1/2 years and I made a few trips to NAS Barbers Point when I was part of the VP navy.