Island Breath: Niihau Dive Story

SUBJECT: OCEAN DIVING

A sea adventure

SOURCE: LINDA EASTON scampuddy@hotmail.com

POSTED: 17 MARCH 2004 - 9:00am HST

Epic Day at Niihau

Ragged sea arches off Niihau Island

by Linda Easton on 15 March 2005

Talk about an EPIC day...we went on a staff fun dive over to the Forbidden Island of Niihau...the diving over there was AWESOME!!! I had some of the most incredible experiences of my life! Just before entering the water on my first dive, my boss had made a comment that I could either hang with the "boys" or dive with her and her daughter. I was like, uh - I prefer to go by myself. I thought that was a little funny, as last year I felt I needed to dive with someone and this year...well, like I said, I preferred to go by myself. That just tells you how far I have come in my diving.

I hit the water for my first dive...when I went in I was going through some caves and arches. I found a lobster of legal size and picked him up. As I was coming out of one of the arches, I happened to look over and almost sh*t on myself...there with me while I was scuba diving underwater, I had THREE humpback whales swim up to me. I was TOTALLY freaking out!!! I have seen them on the surface and while I was snorkeling ~ but never while I was diving. I was SSSOOO stoked!

On the second dive, I took along my three prong to see if I could shoot some fish. I did get about five u'u...and then saw a manta ray. While I was swimming back to the boat into the current, I felt something tugging at my bag. I look back and there is a 3-foot gray reef shark tugging on my bag at the fish I had inside. I shook the bag to get the shark off and then he went right back to gnawing on the bag...tore holes in it to be exact. I again, shook the bag to get him off...this time when I do, I happen to look back and see a 7-foot gray reef shark...at this point I start to get a little nervous. I pull the bag out of the little shark’s mouth again and this time I poke him with my three prong...couple of times in the side and once in the nose. He finally swims off and leaves me alone...I took out three of the fish and swam my ass of back to the boat. Climbed back up on the boat and told my story to my boss...I was both excited and a little freaked out.

On the third dive, my boss and I jump into the water. We do a 45-minute drift dive. I had to stay up above a little because of my nitrogen intake...we saw two eagle rays and a manta ray! It was SSSOOO awesome...and when we first got in, there was a shark feed going on as the "boys" were cleaning their fish and throwing the carcass overboard...my boss and I watched as three or four gray reef sharks were feeding and then another white tip reef shark came up to see what was going on. It was totally incredible. Niihau is some of the BEST diving in the state...with about a hundred plus visibility. Did I bother to mention how AWESOME IT WAS!!!

About two-ish or so, we started to head back over to Kaua'i (which is about 33 miles from Niihau), there was about a four-foot swell and the wind was a howling. I lay in my wetsuit on the engine box, splashed by waves as they came crashing across the boat. Every once in a while I got up to throw up. Kinda felt like I was in a washing machine. I'll tell ya this tho' I would do it again in a heartbeat! Totally epic!