Snorkel and scuba diving gear rental in Kona Hawaii with Wanna Dive...

Well, now that we have our shop up and running 9-5 every day it's time to put together a gear rental program.

Looking at masks... it looks like I'm gonna offer 5 different masks for rental: kids, a S-M that'll fit the bigger kids/smaller adult faces, a M-L that'll fit most faces, a large and an XL for the broader cheekbones and temples. I just can't see getting buy with just 2-3 mask choices, there's no such thing as one size fits all, and I want to be able to fit everyone coming in. I've still got to figure out how to do more than one size of prescription mask so I can offer a choice for larger faces.

Snorkels... I've got to bring in a bunch of decent dry snorkels next week to really be able to do this, both kids and adult sizes.

Fins... I've already brought these in. I'm going to try something differnt than many of the rental places by using adjustable fins with soft foot pockets made to take bare feet. Nice thing about 'em is the adjustability for fit and the ability to wear fin socks on all sizes and the ability to wear reef shoes on some of the sizes (gotta figure out to make it all sizes, but I'm gonna have to look for other fins to make that work with big feet). I've also brought in some decent full sized open heel adjustable scuba fins that'll fit over dive boots for rent. I won't be renting fin socks, reef shoes or booties though... lots of extra sanitization involved in that one to make me feel comfortable about it, I think I'll pass.

Wetsuits... we'll have both 3 mil shorties and 4/3 mil (3 mil in some sizes) full suits for rent. Shorties will do awesome for snorkelers wanting more thermal and sun protection, as well as helping keep you nice and floaty. The full suits are great for diving and 4/3 seems to be about the right thickness for most people much of the year here in Hawaii.

BCDs... we brought in a bunch of weight integrated BCs that have been working real well for us this year. In the past I had pouch problems with a couple of brands I used for rental on the boat, this one seems to have solved the lost pouch problem.

Regulators. I brought in several regs that have been holding up for us real well. They're a Cressi reg with a piston first stage and adjustable second stages, very nice. I need to bring in more for rent. All of our boat rental regs have computers, I'm not sure if I'll put computers in the ones for shore rental.

I still gotta deal with the who boogieboard/viewboard thing as well as a few other accessories. I'm gonna have fun coming up with package prices and rental policies the next few days. The goal is to roll it out over the course of May 2011 and be up to full speed by the start of summer. I'll have pricing on my Hawaii scuba diving business' website.

I'm hoping that being on the highway between town and the airport makes us a convenient place for people to do thier snorkel and dive gear rental business. Having a shop now on top of the dive charter business is getting interesting... more to deal with. Fun.

Here's a group of yellow tangs, whitespotted tangs and a few other fish grazing on the reef down at "Two Steps" outside the Place of Refuge. It's one of the state's top snorkel and shoredive spots.

Later,

Steve

EDIT September 23, 2011: We've decided to change strategies on the retail store and won't be manning it full time, please read the link for more information.

Kona scuba diving has been great lately....

We've had some really great scuba diving in Kona lately. We did a night dive on Friday night, there was very little plankton but we had 6 manta rays putting on a good show for the crowd. I thought I'd have several days off the last few days, but I got a phone call or two and have been going out every day. Tonight we do the manta ray night dive again.

We've had a fun couple on board the last few days that have been diving here for years and are new to us. They were quite complementary yesterday, said they'd seen more new species on this trip than any dives here they can recall... part of that was site selection, part the fact that Cathy, Bob and I are into the fish and look hard, and part sheer luck - any given day you know. Anyways, it's been fun diving for both the passengers and the crew.

Their only complaint yesterday was after the first dive they mentioned... the dive would have been great, but every time they saw some cool fish to look at the dolphins would get in the way! They had a really good dolphin dive yesterday, along with a bunch of critters that were kind of uncommon. We've lucked into about 3 or 4 really good dolphin dives the last few weeks. I wish we could guarantee that, but it's kind of the luck of the draw.

I do have to report that the water temperature has dropped 3-4 degrees suddenly the last couple of weeks... brrrrrr... it's not really all that cold, but when you are used to 79/80 and it suddenly becomes 76/77 you feel the difference. I may be moving up in wetsuit thickness this winter if it drops below 74 again (last year it got down to 71 - very rare for here, it usually bottoms out around 74 degrees in the winter).

Here's an old (and not the best) shot of a Chevron Tang. We're seeing a lot of the 50 cent to silver dollar sized juveniles out right now, they're exceptionally brightly colored at that size, this photo doesn't do them justice. They become a large black tang as they mature.

Later,

Steve

When should you reserve your scuba diving charters... How soon is too soon???

I get people asking me if it's OK to book ahead from time to time... the answer to that is that I'd prefer it, I suspect that's the same for most if not all dive operators. I've had people book ahead as far as 14-15 months or so, but those are rare. Right now I've got numerous charters partially booked through September, September itself is starting to look fairly busy, but most people seem to be booking a little closer to actual dates than in years past. It's usually fairly easy to slide into an open spot on relatively short notice if there are only one or two of you in most cases, but with larger groups it can get dicey if you wait too long.

All in all it's somewhat of a guessing game. I usually recommend to people that they try to book when they feel comfortable that they know they definitely are planning on diving... during busier seasons it sometimes takes several phone calls to find space with someone if you wait too late.

I thought I'd mention this because I had a surprisingly busy May and had to turn down last minute bookings (by last minute, I mean last few days or longer) several times due to a full or mostly full boat. I'm not discouraging last minute calls, definitely give me a call (808-937-1175) if you're looking at diving last minute, but I'm definitely encouraging a little lead time if you plan on diving for sure.

Here's another shot of a turtle getting cleaned by surgeonfish/tangs at a cleaning station.

Later,

Steve

A little underwater video from today.

Yellow tangs from Kona Hawaii from Steve on Vimeo.

Yellow tangs on the reef. Took it with my Canon G9.

Later,

Steve

Some species of fish change colors as they grow...

Here's an adult Orange Shoulder Tang (Acanthurus olivaceus), also called Orangeband Surgeonfish or Olive Tang. We see them on the reef quite often. The juveniles of this fish can often be a bright yellow, developing the orange marking on the side and then darkening up over time. Here's a group of juveniles together. Oftentimes people will mistake them for yellow tangs, just remember yellow tangs are generally more roundish than oblong and you can tell the difference from a distance.

I'm not exactly sure why the color change exists, or if the juveniles are mimicking yellow tangs. In some species of fish, the juveniles will have a different coloration because the adults can be territorial and will beat on others that look the same - the small ones wouldn't stand a chance, so they have completely different appearance until they can handle themselves - - I'm not sure as this applies here, as the adults don't seem to be particularly territorial and are often found in groups.

We're back to the "slow" season again, not that spring break really panned out as crazy busy for anyone here, so no charter today or tomorrow for me. The last half of the week we're pretty busy though. I've got lots of charters set or started for later in the month, hopefully it'll be a reasonably busy April when it's all said and done.

Later,

Steve

It's Kona's slow season again...

Howdy,

People do on occasion ask what our slow seasons are. I've covered it before but it never hurts to repeat it. At least in this biz, it seems the slowest months are May, and September through late November (excluding the week either side of Ironman).

I've been on the call list for jury duty the last couple of weeks and it appears that Tuesday is the day for jury selection. I do have charters tomorrow and Monday, as well as earlier the last couple of weeks, so it seems the timing is right if I do get picked. I'll be going back to my part time job at the airport 'til it gets crazy busy again, they've been real flexible with me during the time I've been busy and I haven't worked with them in about 2 months.

Here's a school of tangs (surgeonfish) I ran across the other day. Tangs are herbivorous and do a good job of cleaning algae off the corals.

We've been reasonably busy with charters lately. We had a week of pretty crummy water - swells from both the north and south, along with winds - but the swells and winds and swells have calmed down and it's been gorgeous the last couple of days... that's how we like it here, and usually that is the case, we've just had some late season north swells lately. The manta action has been slow recently. Last year this time we were having record numbers. I expect with some calm conditions and better plankton levels than we've had lately, it'll pick up again - but you never know, we have no control over Mother Nature.

That's it for now. Later,

Steve

Fabulous day on the water today, lots of whale action...

You couldn't ask for a nicer morning in Kona this morning. It was bright and sunny and the ocean was FLAT. We did our first dive at Golden Arches with our afternoon dive at Kaloko Canyons (some call it arches or just plain Kaloko also). We did have a west swell bump up for the second dive, but it didn't affect the diving.

I stayed up top on the boat all day. The other day I was getting to a store for a single 1.5 inch bolt at closing time and they closed the front door just as I hit the parking lot... stupid me decided to make a run for it and got about 6 steps before I felt a pop, sort of like an electrical shock or someone kicking your calf, in my calf. I hopped to the door and at least they let me in to spend my 26 cents. I didn't have blood pooling up in my foot and the pain is going away more every day so it's not a major tear, but I won't be diving 'til it heals enough that I don't have to worry about cramping up while leading a dive. I'm hoping to be back at it next week, in the meanwhile Bob gets to do all the diving (he likes it that way anyway).

While I was on the boat there were whales passing both dive sites. My divers weren't in the right spot at Golden Arches to see them, but whales passed right next to the dive site on two occasions. The Kaloko whales were more like a hundred yards out from the dropoff.

The photo above is one of my early pictures of an Achilles Tang (Acanthurus achilles). I'm running out of newer pictures I like, so I'll be going through some of my older pics taken with a Sea and Sea MX10. Most of them will have the fish ID on the photo, so you'll be able to tell the older stuff from the newer stuff.

Later

Steve

So where do people who live in Hawaii go on vacation?

Most go to Las Vegas. There's actually a rather large number of Hawaiians living in Vegas, and I believe it is the number one destination for local residents going on vacation.

In our case, we're in Texarkana, Texas, visisting family for a few days and then heading along to Orlando to go to DEMA, which is the big Scuba Diving trade show.

Today was another pants and shoes day, that's 5 in a row, which is a lot of pants days for someone who is used to wearing shorts and sandals. I think the last time I wore pants and shoes an entire day was two years ago on another mainland trip. Last year when I went to Vegas I lucked out, it was warm. It's funny how you get used to wearing nearly nothing over time - I've got a buddy who went to the mainland a few years back and tried getting a job... had to wear a shirt with a collar. He told me he lasted 4 hours and 19 minutes, something like that anyway, quit and came home to the Big Island. The shirt was freaking him out, hadn't worn one in 15 years or so prior. We head to Orlando, and more Hawaii-like weather, tomorrow.

The picture above is of a Yellow Eye Tang, the Hawaiian name for this fish is "Kole". I used to see these guys in the aquarium trade. They are vegetarians with small rasping teeth and eat hair algae ravenously, yet generally won't bother thicker, plant-like, multicellular algaes, so they are popular in reef tanks.

Later,

Steve