The resort you are staying at most likely has a concierge desk that help arrange tours, excursions and even dive trips. While this is convenient to use just remember that the person behind the desk most likely knows nothing about the dive sites in the area. What they are going to do is look in a binder and see what dive shops they have an arrangement with and book you to go with them. That is not bad but just remember that this dive shop is associated with other resorts in the area and are having divers book through multiple sources. Which means that they will try to pack there dive boat to the max. If you have ever been on a packed dive boat you know how frustrating it can be with everyone trying to be the first diver in the water or trying to suit up with no room to do it, or monopolizing the staff so that you can't ask a question.

To help avoid this potential stressful event I usually take sometime at home a month or two before the trip to research the area, both the kinds of dive sites and what dive shops that may be close by to my resort. By searching for dive sites or shops in the specific area you are staying in as compared to the general area is very helpful. For example if you search for dive sites in the Bahamas you will find dive sites all over the Bahamas from Freeport to Exuma, but if your staying in Paradise Island what do you care about dive sites in Freeport. The more specific you are the better your results will be.

Using the internet for research is also useful because most dive shops now have there own website. This is very useful because you can see exactly what this shop has to offer, such as what type of dive do they specialize in like wreck, technical, cave or reef diving, and what they will charge to take you out and what there rental package contains. Most of the dive shops list the dive sites they mostly dive at along with a brief description of the dive site like depth, visibility and you are most likely going to encounter at this site. Thee most important aspect of a dive site being online is the fact that you can communicate with them via email. Most shops are pretty good at getting back to you in regards to inquiry

While it might be a little time consuming I find that doing a little research before hand can lead to a more enjoyable dive experience. I prefer going with a smaller dive shop because they usually have that extra personal touch that most larger dive shops don't have. One of the more notable personal touches I find associated with a smaller dive shop is that the dive master will lead the entire group around the reef or wreck and point out much more marine life both large and small. I have had dive masters look in nooks and crannies and overturn rocks to try and find the group something interesting. I have gone with larger dive shops and it seems that whoever is first in the water will follow the dive master, that is if he is not teaching. So do your research before hand and know what your getting into. It's your vacation it should be stress free.

“From birth, man carries the weight of gravity on his shoulders. He is bolted to earth. But man has only to sink beneath the surface and he is free.”

         - Jacques Cousteau

To view the ocean from the shoreline is to observe the line of demarcation between two worlds. One we are born to and become familiar with as we reach maturity. The other is a mystery and will remain so, unless we initiate the effort to become acquainted with the realities of all that define it. Such are the sentiments of those who dive below that veil of separation. Once experienced, scuba diving becomes a passion for many. So how about the rest of us? What are we missing? In the inquiries that I made for this article, I found out!

Exploration of the gardens of Neptune requires that we adapt for an environment that can be hostile and unforgiving if we fail to prepare. Scuba diving is a very rewarding experience for anyone who is eager to investigate issues of life and death within a watery world. Therefore, some devote themselves to the study of varied life forms in the ocean and others to rescue and harvest of its gifts. Thus, there is no loss when we seek to understand all that it takes to nurture and sustain life contained in our seas. In fact, many "frogmen/divers" (women included) are "Green" not because of some strange photochemical reaction to sunlight, but because of a dedication to protect and preserve the seas that they explore and monitor.

Sean Deming is a master diver and the owner of a small diving company in Waikiki. One of his "green" duties is to clean reefs strewn with netting and other types of debris. Creatures often get tangled in them and slowly starve to death. Like many instructors he teaches beginners not only how to use the equipment safely and the basics of first aid, but also some of the principles of being a polite visitor. Furthermore, Sean understands what Jacques Cousteau meant about a sense of freedom when under water. So his business is not about the numbers, as much as it is about the quality of the experience. No more than four students per instructor assure a safer program and basic certification can be accomplished in three days. Intermediate and advanced certifications are also available. However, if equipment is all that is needed, then the local diving shops can provide the entire support one could hope for.

One of the best reasons to prioritize a diving session in the Hawaiian Islands is the variety of sea creatures in the local waters, but rare anywhere else. For example green sea turtles, monk seals and whales that give birth to their young, though often seasonal, are abundant. Yet, it is the smaller fish that live and play near the shoreline, among the reefs and wrecks that are remarkable, for they are often curious. On occasion, a small, but fearless little guy will pull his own investigation of a diver. Perhaps the creature is amused by the spectacle of a "land lubber" who pretends to be something he is not. Or could it just be another way of Aloha? Dare we think that we are the only species capable of understanding and expressing such spirit?

Make no mistake, bigger more dangerous creatures do appear from time to time and sometimes they can be curious too. Yet, they usually do not bother anyone. A good instructor will be on the watch for danger and knows how to respond. It is important for a novice to learn from someone who loves the ocean and takes his responsibilities seriously. Always ready to assist another is one of the most important unspoken rules of the diving community. This is just one more reason to consider diving as a way to meet some very nice people.

A few of the most popular sites to dive around Oahu are Peliae Point, Sea Cave, Baby Barge, Fantasy Reef, Mahi Shipwreck, the Corsair Airplane, Makaha Caverns, Black Rock, Sharks Cove to name just a few. Keep in mind that I am still referring to the island of Oahu. The other islands offer their own treats. In addition, not all locations are equal in the skill level required of the diver; others can only be ventured at certain times of the year. Local divers know all about the issues of diving in local waters. So regardless of where one chooses for a diving adventure, it is wise to contact those who know.

Why Consider Diving?

Scuba diving is a new way of the "Great Outdoors", another way of freedom that develops different survivor skills from what may be necessary on "Terra Firma". Therefore, diving develops diverse ways of "seeing" the world and becoming sensitive to the earth and those inhabitants we would otherwise miss. Our imaginations are expanded, research is advanced and connection with others who often share similar values is quite common. So don't be afraid to get wet, and yes the waters of Hawaii are warm, clean and waiting for you.

All photographs were taken by Sean Deming.

Inside the canyon we had the first encounters with scorpion fish of remarkable size laying motionless on the bottom. As they can change the colour of their skin, often they look like one more stone covered with seaweed, but getting closer first you see the eye observing you, and if you came closer, the dorsal fin raises warning you that they are poisonous. Only under the light of a torch they show their real bright red colour. Almost at the end of the canyon, when both slopes sink in the sand, in an area full of small caves we were very lucky to see an adult, about 70 cms long Torpedo torpedo, a species of round-bodied electric ray, capable to give electric shocks up to 220V and 1A of intensity. It was lying in its cave, half covered with sand, waiting for the night as they are more active only after dusk. Just a few metres further we could see a very nice bright coloured lobster pointing at us with its long antennae and under it, two more good sized scorpion fish. Already very happy for what we had seen, almost in the deepest point, right before starting the way back, we were met by a muray eel. Its head outside the hole, blue coloured, with a face that resembles and old woman, opening and closing its four teeth mouth. And after saying good bye to the muray eel, we entered the realm of the conger eel.

I don't know how many of those we saw. Many. Sometimes we saw the tail, sometimes the head, or parts of the body through holes in their caves. The biggest of them was a thick as my arm. Of the last one we saw only the tail, but tackling it a bit we could see the head popping up through the other exit of the cave. They have big eyes and thick lips, and curious as they are, often they come out to have a look who is coming. Towards the end of the dive we were exploring the last cracks around the ancore, being rewarded with the sight of some brittle stars, a beautiful hermit crab with three anemones on top of its shell, plus a few bright red Galathea crabs and some small prawns that go out of their holes only at night. In total we were an entire hour under the water, including the three minutes safety stop at three metres. Unforgettable.

Finding the way under the water was not complicated as you basically have to go around that massive rock. I was there on my own so I was assigned a buddy of similar experience. I could not speak much with him as I my French is very limited, though anyway under the water all signals are very standard so we understood each other very well. After a multilingual briefing given by the pilot, we jumped to the water. On the surface the temperature was around 24C, finding the first thermocline about ten metres deeper, making us feel a bit cold for a couple of minutes till we got used to the new temperature. During the dive we were checking the many small caves and under big stones of the cliffs, seeing quite a lot of small fish, sea cucumbers, an occasional pen shell and lots of many different sponges, yellow polyps covering the ceilings, deadman's hand and some red coral in some places. The average depth for the first part of the dive was 22-23m. When I was already thinking that this was going to be a fishless dive, I saw the first big red scorpion fish, and right after it a moray eel, followed by one of those funny white sea slugs that are called “little Swiss cows” by locals and a couple of reasonably big octopuses hidden in their caves.

By that time my computer was showing 4 minutes of decompression time and 100 bar left in my airtank, so I decided to go a bit higher where it is warmer, there is a bit more light and we don't take so much nitrogen. Somewhere there, at aproximately 12m we saw the star of the dive which was a large Mediterranean grouper trying to hide in a cave. In the last minutes of the dive, at around 6m. we were looking for the small animals that hide in cracks. It didn't took much time finding two or three of my favourites ones which are brittle stars with their whip-like arms. In total we were 45 minutes under the water, reaching a maximum depth of 25m. It was an excellent and quite dive, very relaxed and with good rewards. Days like this make you love this sport.

When you check a hole or a small cave looking for any fish living there, they get flat next to the ceiling trying not to be seen. To observe them well you have to look from a lower angle and then waiting motionless till they feel more confident. Inexperienced divers who dive too far from the sea bed often see only the really big fish and/or the ones living outside caves. Photographers know this well and learnt how to wait and even not breath trying to avoid bubbles that might scare the fish.

This behaviour is even more common if in that area underwater fishing is allowed. Only in more rarely visited marine sanctuaries where scuba diving is not so popular fish behaves even curiously approaching you.

To start Scuba diving you will need to join a scuba diving club or school, this is one sport where you will need formal training before you start. No dive center or charter boat will take you scuba diving unless you have first obtained the correct qualifications, the best place to get these are at either a scuba diving school or club.

The Basic Open Water course qualifies you to go scuba diving without supervision, it will not teach you the skills you will require to go cave diving, under the ice or beyond certain depths. To do these things you will need to have further qualifications and have gained a lot more experience.

The Basic Open Water course will teach you all about the equipment you will be using, safety skills, navigation, breathing gas at depth and pressure and all the calculations you will need to know when you go diving, plus much more including quite a bit of theory. You will probably start the course in the classroom, and then progress to putting what you have learnt into practice.

Most clubs and schools will have an introduction day where you can go along to your local swimming pool and try out scuba diving under close supervision. This is to see if you are suited to or enjoy scuba diving. If you get the scuba bug you can then enroll onto the Basic Open Water course. This will also start in the swimming pools where you will be taught all the safety drills and skills required to pass the Basic Open Water course qualification. You will then progress to a few introductory dives in the open water to build your confidence in your equipment and skills you have learn. You will eventually gain the Open Water qualification but that is probably the start of a whole new life.

There are many sites online where you can learn more about scuba diving and the training and equipment you will need.

One of the largest scuba diving training organizations and most recognized is PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors). You can even learn to Scuba dive while you are on holiday, a lot of hotels all around the world now have courses which will give you the Basic Open Water qualification.

Once you have the Basic Open Water qualification the world is your oyster. You will now be able to dive unsupervised, although diving alone is never recommended. You will probably want to gain more qualifications and experiences. Once you have the diving bug you will not look back and a whole new world of wrecks, reefs and sea creatures awaits you.