New Years on the Kona Aggressor!
New Years on the Kona Aggressor!
This trip started EARLY! Sherrie and I left her house at 5:45am to catch our 7am flight. We arrived in Los Angeles around 8:30am. Our connecting flight wasn’t until 5:30pm, so we had a whopping nine hour layover! We had no idea how to spend this time, but one thing we knew for sure was that we did NOT want to sit in the airport all day. We talked to Delores, a woman who was a volunteer at the help desk in the airport, and she suggested we take public transportation to Hollywood Boulevard. We thought it was a great idea! So, we went outside of the airport, with our carry-on bags in tow, and we found the shuttle to take us to the parking lot, which is where we would get on the bus. After listening to several people give us their version of which bus was faster, we finally picked a bus and headed off. This was unique for both of us, as neither of us had ever ridden public transportation in our lives! But we’re all about being adventurous, so we eagerly started the journey. It couldn’t be more obvious that we were tourists, but we tried as best we could to "fit in." We also learned that it wasn’t totally necessary for the bus to completely stop in order to get off or on. Once you’re on the bus, you’d better grab onto something and get ready to be jolted from one end to the other. When you want off, you need to start planning your exit about 3 exits prior to the one you actually want to use! Have 90% of yourself already hanging out the bus door helps to ensure your departure. These busses also stop at every corner, trash can, utility pole, and dog house along the way. It took us an hour and a half to get to Hollywood Boulevard. When we arrived, we amused ourselves by looking at the "Walk of Fame" and enjoyed observing who had stars and who didn’t! We ate at a delicious hamburger place, recommended by my sister, called Hamburger Hamlets. Looking across the street from Hamburger Hamlets, out the window, we noticed a crowd gathering. We saw Superman, Crocodile Dundee, Spiderman, Wonder Woman, just to name a few. After we finished eating, we wandered over to where the action was taking place. After a visit with Crocodile Dundee, we found out it was impersonators just out to make a buck. They were posing for pictures in exchange for tips. As tempting as it was for us to want to pose with these celebrities, we decided to continue walking up and down the strip to see the sights. Finally, we decided we needed to start making our way back to the airport. Once again, we passed the impersonators, and Crocodile Dundee and Superman assisted us to the correct bus! We needed to make a bus change along the way, just like we did on the way to Hollywood Blvd. When we arrived at the place to make the switch, we inquired to the bus driver as to which bus we needed to get on to go to the airport, and where the bus could be located. He was NOT helpful. He grumbled something and then shut the bus door. We found a bus stop and went to wait. Without a schedule, we had no idea how long the wait would be. Sherrie went back to the bus driver to ask for details, and he told her she could be arrested for being in his bus, since he was on his "break." Well, that’s the wrong answer buddy! He told her to "get off the bus." They exchanged more pleasantries before Sherrie came back to where I was waiting. She was HOT! I had already spoken to another person who was waiting for the bus, and was informed which bus we would need. So, Sherrie stormed back to the mean bus driver to find out his name. If the man still has his job, I’m surprised. The round trip cost us $2.70 each. If we had taken a cab, it would have been at least $60. We were proud of our thriftiness. We made it back to the airport with plenty of time to spare, so we read magazines, drank a Starbuck’s Frappacino and anxiously awaited boarding the plane to Hawaii! We squealed just talking about it!
Finally, we were able to board. It appeared we would have an empty seat on our row, which meant we could have extra room to sprawl out during the flight. That dream soon became a nightmare when some guy took the seat. He smelled like puke, but we discovered it wasn’t puke, because the stench was coming from his feet. Sherrie, who was sitting beside him, informed me that he had on sandals and his nasty gnarly feet were exposed. I don’t know where he’d been, but let me assure you, we don’t want to go there. I thought I’d die. After we took off, Sherrie attempted to recline her seat. The seat wouldn’t budge. We nearly tore the thing apart trying to get it to recline. I envisioned it breaking and smashing the person seated behind Sherrie! We gave up. It was broken. Sherrie asked the flight attendant for another seat. After an Act of Congress was passed, they finally moved her. This left me to enjoy Smelly Man on my own. At least a seat was between us, although I think it just provided a more accessible means of allowing the fumes to be funneled my way!
Somehow we made it to Kona. We arrived about 8:45pm, so it was dark outside. We collected our baggage and took a cab to King Kamehameha Kona Beach Hotel. Once we checked in, we discovered they didn’t have bellhops, or maybe they were off work for the day. Finally, the grandfather of King Kamehameha came to load our bags onto a cart. We didn’t want the man to have a heart attack, so we loaded the bags ourselves. He insisted on pushing the cart to our room. We went to our room and found one king sized bed. Now, Sherrie and I love each other, but we both preferred to have our own beds, since that’s what we requested when we made the reservation. Plus, we each needed a bed to lay out our stuff to repack, etc. One bed just wouldn’t do! Finally they found a room with two double beds for us. This new room had a better view to boot! After we got settled in, we sat on the balcony to relax. We planned to meet with Rick and Greg the next morning, so we hit the sack by 10:00pm.
Morning came early! Greg & Rick called to tell us to meet them for breakfast downstairs. We spent this time catching up and talking nonstop about everything from past trips, New Years, relationships, to the heartbreak of psoriasis. It had been too long and it was great to get together again!
The day was spent shopping! We walked all over the coastline of Kona and hit every shop within sight. We knew we were going to get on the boat the following day, so we didn’t want to buy very much, due to lack of storage space on the boat. But we did purchase a few bags full of stuff! That evening the four of us ate at Bubba Gumps. The atmosphere was festive, but we couldn’t wait until Dale arrived because our group just wasn’t complete without him!
The next day started off with breakfast and meeting new friends. Jamie and Robby, from Georgia who are friends of Rick, Dale and Greg’s, joined us at a little outside hotel buffet. We enjoyed listening to Jamie and Robby tell us about their hike through the volcano field. It sounded quite fun, yet challenging. Later that morning, we met Richard, who was from Florida. We soon found him to be a riot! We strolled around together anxiously awaiting the 2:00pm boarding to the Kona Aggressor.
When we finally boarded the Aggressor, we unpacked and got settled in. This Aggressor boat is a little different than most of the fleet. It is slightly smaller at 80 feet and with the addition this year of the new quad cabin only holds 14 passengers. Since we reserved the boat before the quad was built, we only had 10 in our group. Jamie and Robbie optioned to stay in the quad which allowed Dale and Rick to have private cabins. The main part of the Kona Aggressor is the lounge and galley located on the main deck. This is where you eat, and have slide and video shows. All the cabins open onto the lounge with the exception of the new quad cabin. Upstairs there is a sun deck, a bar, the hot tub, and the quad cabin. Outside of the lounge is the dive deck. There is a very large photo table as on all Aggressors, the fill station for air and Nitrox and racks for your equipment. You only gear up one time, after your dive you simply remove your first stage and magically your tank is refilled. All the diving in Kona is done from the Aggressor, no shuttle boats are used. You put on your gear, except fins, walk to one of the two small ladders leading to the twin dive platforms, step down two steps, put on your fins that are stored here and jump off. Of course, with my knee problem, I sat on the edge of the platform, and my gear was put on me! Talk about easy! I am a diva diver, and proud of it! To return after the dive you hand off your camera and fins and ascend one of the nice ladders located on each side of the stern. One problem with the design is there is no way for the DMs to get from one dive platform to the other without walking up to the dive deck first. They only had one DM working the dive platforms and this sometimes caused some delays in getting back onboard. Not a big deal for us since the seas were very calm, but during rough seas this could be troublesome. This problem is being fixed now while the boat is in dry-dock with the addition on a walkway between the two dive platforms.
This boat is fabulous, and we couldn’t wait to get to the part we came here to do... DIVE. The following profiles, and most of the descriptions are compliments of Dale!
Dive #1: Amphitheater
Depth = 59fsw Time = 51 min. Vis = 100 ft. Temp = 77º
The vis was spectacular, probably 100 feet. The water temperature was 78F, not that cold, but as the week progressed many were opting for more neoprene and hoods. Sherrie and I donned our hoods that best represented us...devil horns. The highlights of this first dive, in the reasonably cold water of the Pacific, was moray eels. They seem to be everywhere.
It didn't take long to get into the Aggressor "Dive Eat and Sleep" mode of vacation. Christina provided us with our snack and we rested on the sundeck and discussed our fist dive. Life is good, we're in Hawaii relaxing in 84 degree sunshine and diving with a great group of people.
Dive #2: Amphitheater
Depth = 57fsw Time = 66 min. Vis = 100 ft. Temp = 78º
Back into the water on Amphitheater revealed our fist citing of the Juvenile Yellowtail Wrasse, also called a Coris Wrasse. These guys are just the coolest little fish. Tough to video since they scurry around like crazy, never sitting still, pretty much like babies of every species. We also saw many Puffers, Morays and a few Nudibranchs were seen. As soon as we got out of the water and cleaned up a humpback whale breached less that 100 feet off the starboard side of the ship! Man, we could she have shown up 15 minutes earlier? It was a spectacular sight!
While we ate lunch the boat was moved to our next dive site, Lion's Den. Another whale was spotted as soon as we sat down to eat. This became a bit of a joke during the week. It seemed like every time we sat down somebody would shout "WHALE". We would all grab cameras and head for the railing. Other than the first one, the whales didn't get that close. It was still very cool seeing these guys doing their thing. The best sighting was one doing continuous tail slaps, just too cool.
Dive #3: Lion's Den
Depth = 79fsw Time = 66 min. Vis = 75 ft. Temp = 77º
More Coris Wrasse and several Crown of Thorn Starfish made this a nice dive. The Crown of Thorns nearly ate the entire pacific reef system a few years ago and then suddenly dropped off to their normal numbers. Nature...go figure.
Dive #4: Lion's Den
Depth = 51fsw Time = 48 min. Vis = 50 ft. Temp = 78º
One of the problems with winter diving is the amount of daylight hours. Our late afternoon dive started around 4:00 - 4:30. The sun was already starting to fade and the vis went with it. Still not bad but these dives were more like dusk dives than daytime dives. We saw more Puffers, these guys are like rats in Kona, I have never seen so many. We had started to notice the Decorator Urchins too, a brilliant shade of purple and decorated with what ever they could find to attach to their backs. I still have no idea how the manage that decorating thing because they have no arms! As we returned to the mooring I saw two Surgeon Fish doing some sort of mating dance. Too bad the vis wasn't better, because this was an awesome sight. Another great dinner cooked by Christina and a slide show finished many off for the day's diving. But several of us optioned for the night dive. I was not one of them!
I have a love/hate relationship with night diving because I often see cooler stuff at night. Maybe because of that uncertainty of being in the ocean at night, but it seems just a bit more of an adrenaline rush. Of course, that's when I am most likely to see my favorite aquatic creature, the octopus. However, getting out of my nice dry clothes and putting on that damp wetsuit, did not sound like a good idea, octopus or no octopus!
Again we were awakened by the smell of coffee brewing, I could get used to this. The boat was being moved to our next dive site and I staggered out of my room looking for that coffee and breakfast. Before we could even get in the water this morning we saw another whale. Just how cool is that?
Dive #6: Manuka Bay
Depth = 96fsw Time = 57 min. Vis = 100 ft. Temp = 77º
Just as I was about to enter the water somebody shouted "WHALE" "Give me my camera" Dale shouted! He swam out into the blue hoping against hope to get a glimpse of the whale, but it was not to be. The dive started out by following Jeff deep to 96 fsw to see the resident Fairy Basslets. These were quite different than the Fairy Basslets we see in the Caribbean. One on Hawaii's unique fish is the Rock Mover Wrasse. But for some unknown reason as a juvenile it is called a Dragon Wrasse. While it doesn't seem to swim at all, it used the surge to move rather quickly over the reef, stopping when ever it wanted to grab something to eat. Once again we saw many Eel of several varieties.A beautiful yacht was crusing around us. We were told it was owned by Paul Allen, Bill Gates’ partner. That thing was unreal! It even had a helicopter on the back. We watched in awe of the yacht and dreamed of what we’d do with that kind of money!
Dive #7: Manuka Bay
Depth = 38fsw Time = 64 min. Vis = 100 ft. Temp = 77º
The Dragon Wrasse was still doing its thing, flittering about the reef like a butterfly, we found several Nudibranchs but the highlight was a very friendly, well at first friendly Stripbelly Puffer Fish. I first noticed this guy sitting between two coral heads floating in mid-water. I thought I would give it one more chance to try to video the elusive, skittish puffer fish. To my surprise this guy swam right up to me. In fact many times I had to back up to keep him in the camera lens. He nipped at my camera lanyard (these guys have some huge teeth), allowed me to gently touch his tummy, he was like a lost puppy, very friendly and quite tame. Soon many of the other divers came over and he reacted the same toward everyone. Sherrie decided to allow this guy to nip at her fingers. She had no idea how close she was to losing a digit. We all thought the blood that was being shed might attract the sharks! Our daily whale encounters continued during lunch as we moved to our next dive location, Stoney Mesa. It doesn't get much better than this, great people, diving and at least a whale a day.
Dive #8: Stoney Mesa
Depth = 71fsw Time = 66 min. Vis = 75 ft. Temp = 77º
This dive featured a school of Unicorn Fish playing around the bow. It didn't really produce much in the way of critters, except that Dale saw an Octopus. I was not happy.
Dive #9: Stoney Mesa
Depth = 70fsw Time = 52 min. Vis = 75 ft. Temp = 77º
Because of the current on the last dive, several divers decided to skip this dive. Gregg and Robby took one of the scooters the Aggressor has for a test ride. Rick and Dale were swimming along the top of the wall when he felt there was something behind him. He looked up just in time to see a Hammerhead Shark swimming leisurely along the wall. He passed and then turned back toward Dale. He said looking though a video camera LCD screen at a Hammerhead approaching can be a little unsettling, its a little tough to tell how far away he is and you think "He is going to turn, I hope". Unfortunately this was the only shark seen all week. They also spotted several Gilded Trigger Fish, a fish that looks much like the Sargassum Triggerfish we see in Cozumel.
New Year's Eve. The last day of diving for 2002, a year that has just been awesome for me. Gie moved the boat to Wall's Wall for our morning dives.Dive #10: Wall's Wall
Depth = 108fsw Time = 41 min. Vis = 75 ft. Temp = 77º
We saw huge schools of Pyramid Butterfly Fish and schools of Coronet Fish.
Dive #11: Ladders
Depth = 110fsw Time = 47 min. Vis = 75 ft. Temp = 77º
They should have named this place Moray Alley, it seemed like every coral head had it's resident Moray. We also found a cool little Blue Flatworm and our only week's Lionfish. Suddenly the surge became very intense. We were being thrown around like rag dolls. Just as I was about to abort the dive a turtle came floating by, having his own share of problems with the surge. At first he seemed to be trying to escape us, but as he got deeper and out of the surge he calmed down.
Dive #12: Pohue
Depth = 119fsw Time = 38 min. Vis = 75 ft. Temp = 77º
Pohue would be our evening and night dive site. Again Morays were the dominant critter here. I have never been to a dive location with so many eels as we saw in Hawaii.
Dive #13: Pohue
Depth = 52fsw Time = 59 min. Vis = Night Dive ft. Temp = 77º
The night dive produced more life than the evening dive. A very nice Orangemouth Lizard Fish allowed us to get quite close. The Decorator Urchins were out in force looking even prettier at night. There were schools of Yellow Tangs hanging around under the ledges and a Yellow Margin Eels put on a show. This was a nice dive. (this was solely Dale's report!)
We all took a vote about being underwater for New Years. Being pretty far into the week and most people were doing 4 - 5 dives a day, I think this took a toll on the vote. It was decided that 7:00 PM Kona time was midnight EST....close enough. So the Champagne was served just after dinner. We all said good-bye to an awesome 2002 and toasted 2003. I think only a couple of people actually saw midnight on Kona, I was not one of them.
Our first dive of 2003 found us at Rainbow Reef. Another day of sunshine and calm seas. But the weather was about to change and Gie said the currents and surge were going to determine where we were going to be able to dive for the rest of the week. We had gradually been moving South and Rainbow Reef is as far South as you can go. Going around the bottom of the island is never done because of rough seas.
Dive #14: Rainbow Reef
Depth = 76fsw Time = 68 min. Vis = 75 ft. Temp = 77º
Many Peacock Groupers were seen here, what gorgeous fish. A male Gilded Trigger, which is rapidly becoming an Hawaiian favorite of mine, allowed me to get reasonably close. There were Coronet Fish all over the place, even in schools in the shallows. Also seen were some very cool Big Eye Emperor Fish.
Dive #15: Rainbow Reef
Depth = 89fsw Time = 64 min. Vis = 75 ft. Temp = 76º
Our second morning dive on Rainbow produced a couple of Nudubranchs. A huge Scorpion Fish was hiding between a couple of rock, while little Tobi Puffers, always in pairs, scurried around and Ornate Butterflies swam over the reef. This was a fitting dive to the southern most point on Hawaii. Well, Gie was right, the surge was picking up as was the current. He decided we needed some protection so we could continue diving, so we returned to Pohue Bay for the rest of the day.
Dive #16: Pohue Bay
Depth = 87fsw Time = 67 min. Vis = 75 ft. Temp = 77º
Not that moving back to Pohue was a bad thing. We were entertained by a Sabertooth Blenny, a very cool little Crab some more Nudibranchs and Sherrie and we spotted a Green Turtle at the end of the dive.
Dive #17: Pohue Bay
Depth = 81fsw Time = 64 min. Vis = 75 ft. Temp = 77º
Moray, Moray, and more Morays. As I was swimming down the wall looking for stuff I noticed Robby just over the wall intently setting up a photo shot. He had found a Conger Eel. Dale found a Yellow Margin Eel. Later they found a White Mouth Moray.
Dive #18: Pohue Bay
Depth = 59fsw Time = 67 min. Vis = Night Dive. Temp = 77ºAfter dinner we returned to Pohue for the night dive. I did not go, as being nice and warm sounded better than being cold and wet! We all thought about how lucky we had been, weatherwise, because it looked like whoever came in the following week was not in for the awesome weather we enjoyed.
Dive #19: The Maze
Depth = 116fsw Time = 57 min. Vis = 75 ft. Temp = 77º
During the briefing for this dive it was explained that it would be very easy to get lost in the Maze. This was not the most navigational qualified divers in the ocean to begin with, we did not need to hear this. But in reality nobody ever got totally lost all week, well there was some eye spying seen by one diver in particular, but that secrete will not be revealed here. Dale went for the deep dive option! He dropped down to 116 fsw, oops I mean 110fsw Jeff (Aggressor dive depth limit is 110 fsw), to see the 1900's Naval anchor. At the top of the wall we found a huge Triton Shell that had become home to a Hermit Crab with two big white Cleaner Shrimp hanging around.
Dive #20: The Maze
Depth = 63fsw Time = 70 min. Vis = 75 ft. Temp = 77º
You know those Blue Tangs that run in huge schools looking like a gang of juvenile delinquents in the Caribbean? Well Hawaii's answer to those is the Domino Damsel. We saw a school of these guys going from spot to spot eating everything in their path, totally ignoring us, pretty cool. Dale got close to some Unicorn Fish. There was also several of those big Puffers and a school of some sort of Jacks. Gie decided to at least give us one last chance to see a Manta. This had been the big disappointment of the trip, no Mantas. So he moved the boat to Manta Ray City for the afternoon and night dive. Everyone who dives much knows you never name a dive site after an animal. If you do, its a guarantee that animal will not be seen.As with all Aggressors the boutique was opened after lunch so we could buy t-shirts and other souvenirs. Sherrie and I, true to form, helped the economy on the boat! Suddenly Christina was putting hats and hoods on everyone, and for some unknown reason, we were all dancing! Not a pretty sight I might add. You're not going to see any of this group on Star Search or American Idol in the near future.
Dive #21: Manta Ray City
Depth = 113fsw Time = 65 min. Vis = 75 ft. Temp = 77º
No Mantas. It was certainly a disappointment but there was still hope the night dive would produce some. We did see a bunch of little Blue Spotted Boxfish, a gorgeous fish and a couple of Scorpion Fish one of which was huge.
Dive #22: Manta Ray City
Depth = 43fsw Time = 50 min. Vis = Night Dive. Temp = 78º
Dale and Rick said this was still an awesome night dive. They found a Yellowhead Eel, a Yellow Margin Eel and some unidentified Orange Eel. They also saw a Slipper Lobster, a Crown Of Thorns Starfish that must have been three feet across, and a fleeting glimpse of an octopus. (grrrrrr!) Gregg was privileged to see a Moray kill and eat a fish, sort of a Chester encounter. All too soon our last day of Hawaiian diving had arrived. We would only get two dives on Friday, so we were hoping for the best site possible. Once again the weather dictated the site, Gie moved us to Shark Fin, that sounded promising except for the dive site name rule.
Dive #23: Shark Fin
Depth = 116fsw Time = 66 min. Vis = 75 ft. Temp = 78ºThis dive didn't produce anything out of the ordinary. Not a bad dive, just nothing spectacular.
Dive #24: Shark Fin
Depth = 77fsw Time = 67 min. Vis = 75 ft.. Temp = 78º
Unlike the first dive on Shark fin this dive was pretty cool. Several Nudibranchs were seen, another of those beautiful Gilded Triggers, Pintail Triggers, a small Whitemouth Moray, and several weird looking Bird Wrassel, and a Goatfish. This was a nice way to end our diving in Hawaii. I know there were several tanks that had less than the requested 500 psi in them at the end. The rest of the day was spent cleaning and drying our gear and just relaxing on the sundeck. A couple of us had come down with a cold, we think brought on by some Yankee, kidding of course. We were feeling pretty rough. The traditional cheese and wine party was held that evening on the sundeck. Chris and Billy showed us an impromptu video they had produced. It was an absolute riot and showed us their sense of humor is just a bit warped and have way too much time on their hands. After the party we all walked to downtown Kona for dinner at Bubba Gump's again. We had to be back on the boat by 10:00 so they could move out to its harbor mooring. Saturday morning we were off the boat at 8:00 AM, an all too soon departure for the awesome hospitality of the Aggressor crew. Several had flights that day, some later that night, and some were staying for a few more days. Dale, Sherrie, Richard, Rick, Gregg and I rented a van and headed to The Volcano National Park. We took a 4 ½ mile hike through the volcano tubes, while checking out the beautiful Hawaiian landscape in the rain along the way. We returned to Kona around 6:00 PM and grabbed a quick dinner. We looked like drowned worn out rats, but they fed us anyway! Gregg and Dale were flying out at 10:30 PM, so they cleaned up at our hotel. Rick took them to the airport.
The next day Sherrie and I flew to Oahu to visit Pearl Harbor. After landing, we discovered we could, once again, use public transportation to get to the Arizona Memorial. Since we were well experienced with bus travel, we decided to save money and go the cheapie way! We were feeling like city bus veterans by the time! We knew the drill. We found it was much easier to do this when you aren’t carting your carry-on baggage with you!
Prior to the boat ride to the Memorial, we watched, with deep emotion, a video that explained many of the details of that tragic day, December 7, 1941. It was a somber experience. We felt an eerie feeling to know we were walking above the bodies that were buried beneath us. Every now and then a blob of oil would surface from the wrecked ship. We were told it was "tears of sorrow." It amazed us that after 60 years, the "tears" were still being shed. Through an opening at the top of the Memorial, the American Flag was waving. We felt a tremendous sweep of emotion. We were joined on this trip by approximately 70% Japanese tourists as well. The majority of the group weren’t even born when the attack occurred, yet in the back of our minds, we wondered if they shared our sadness, or did they perhaps feel a sense of victory knowing their country caused this. On the way back from the Memorial, a video featuring the voice of former President George Bush explained that "Japan and the United States have since formed a common bond, and that we are now able to visit the Memorial together in a spirit of peace." That was very comforting to me. After the 9-11 tragedy, this visit to the Memorial was very meaningful, and Sherrie and I both took time to reflect on the lives that have been lost at the hands of war. We took the bus to a shopping mall, and discovered it was exactly like the malls here. This wasn’t what we wanted! We preferred the local vendors, and we wanted to shop for souvenirs made by the locals. So, we boarded the bus and headed back to the airport to go home. On the airplane, we met a guy who tried to convince us he was an ancestor of King Kamehameha, and that he had something like 19 brothers and sisters. He was full of poi in our opinion, but he kept us entertained.
This was another great New Years trip for this group. Once again the Aggressor Fleet showed why they are the #1 live aboard in the world. Great boat, great crew and on this boat the food is to die for. Ringing in the new year with Dale and Rick is a great tradition!
Where to next New Years? Good question, We’re working on plans for that now!
