| "Kauai's Premier Shore Dive Site !!!" |
One-of-a-Kind Distinctive Specialty Certifications !!!
Time and Temperature on Kauai
"It's All About the Fun !!!"
Specializing
in Personalized Guided Tours of Kauai's Reefs
&
PADI Professional Dive Instruction & Training
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Aloha ... and Welcome to the Best Diving in Kauai !!!
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Looking for something unique and different???
PADI allows a few of its Instructors to actually come up with our own Certification Courses which are called “Distinctive Specialty” Certifications. These courses tend to be based on the "one-of-a-kind" uniqueness of the region/locale/dive site of the Instructor and will be credited towards a diver’s Advanced Open Water Diver Certification and Master Scuba Diver Certification !!! You will have EXCLUSIVE BRAGGING RIGHTS because I am the ONLY one on the PLANET that can teach these courses !!!!! I am offering you 3 of my very own Distinctive Specialty Certification Courses. They are the : * Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasse Diver, * Hawaiian Sea Turtle Observer, and * Hawaiian Reef “Critter Gitter”. Unlike other PADI certification courses, these do NOT require that you purchase MORE PADI books, manuals, tables, or DVD’s … EVERYTHING that you will need to know (or might ever WANT to know) about each particular course is taught AT the dive site! * NO books to purchase! * NO study time required! * NO quizzes, examinations or finals to take! Just a LOT of fun information about some incredible underwater friends of mine! You don't have to be a Marine Biologist to enjoy this Course (you'll just sound like one when you're through) ... and if you don't want to tell your friends that you're not ... then neither will I !!! Each Distinctive Specialty Certification Course is designed to be FUN … INFORMATIVE … and EASY !!! Here’s a sample of what you will learn : Hawaiian Sea Turtle Observer There were once several million green sea turtles worldwide. Today, fewer than 200,000 nesting females are thought to remain. In Hawaii, scientists currently estimate that only 100 to 350 females nest each year, predominantly at French Frigate Shoals in the Northwest Hawaiian chain. Sea turtles have long been hunted for a variety of uses. Their shells have been used to make jewelry and ornaments, their skin to make small leather goods, their meat and eggs for food, and their fat for oil. In modern times, the number of sea turtles taken has increased dramatically due to the opportunity for profits they provide through commercial trade. Ancient Hawaiians used the meat of the green sea turtle for food. Green sea turtles are also recognized as being the main ingredient in turtle soup. Before protective laws such as the Federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 were passed, green sea turtles were killed in large numbers to feed fishing crews in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and to provide meat for restaurants. Hawaiian populations experienced dramatic declines as a result. Because sea turtles take so many years to reach sexual maturity, it has taken 20 years since the passing of the Endangered species Act to see evidence of a population recovery. Their natural habits also make sea turtles vulnerable to hunters. Because they lay their eggs in such a predictable way and are defenseless on land, poachers continue to kill hundreds of sea turtles each year for their eggs, shells and meat, despite laws prohibiting these activities in many countries. Egg clutches are especially easy to spot. After laying her eggs, the female turtle must struggle back to the ocean leaving a "tell-tale" trail behind in the sand. Fibropapilloma causes the growth of large bulbous tumors predominantly on the soft tissues of the turtles. Once turtles are stricken with the disease they do not appear to recover without the aid of human medical intervention. Fibropapilloma looks like large warts with a "cauliflower" texture that grow on all the soft tissue areas of a sea turtle, including the eyes and mouth, it can also grow through the carapace and plastron. Unfortunately in some cases the growths or tumors, as they are also called, can grow internally on the lungs, kidneys, liver and intestines. The coloration can be pink, white or black and can range in size from less than a centimeter to as large as a football, the largest tumor recorded at The Turtle Hospital weighed over 3 pounds. The disease has been documented as far back as the 1900's and has reappeared and regressed throughout the century. The growths appear on sea turtles in warm water areas, especially around the equator, from Florida and South America to Hawaii with a few cases reported from Australia... (Remember ... this is just a sample of what you will be learning !!! Course includes a detailed outline for you take take your own notes and then bring back home with you!) Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasse Diver The Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasse is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. They can be found on the reef at almost all depths within the recreational dive limits. This species establishes cleaning stations on the reef and attracts fish and eels by making distinct dart-like movements to advertise its services. While cleaning its hosts, it feeds on the host’s excess mucous and parasites, setting a classic example of a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship. They are generally easy to approach. The wrasse family is a very diverse category of fish with an interesting and complex social structure and brilliant color patterns that can change with age or sex. Wrasses are generally classified by their various life phases, including the initial, the intermediate or adult, and the terminal phase. While some wrasses hatch as males and remain male during every phase, many other individuals begin life as females and later experience a sex change, transforming into “super-males” or “super alpha males”. Super-males are usually the most brilliantly colored of the species, which dominate a territory. If a super-male dies, the next largest wrasse, male or female, quickly changes into a super-male. If a more controlling super-male is introduced to the population, other super-males may even reverse back to their initial phase (female)... (Remember ... this is just a sample of what you will be learning !!! Course includes a detailed outline for you take take your own notes and then bring back home with you!) Hawaiian Reef “Critter Gitter” The purpose of the Hawaiian Reef “Critter Gitter” Distinctive Specialty course is to provide divers an opportunity to go on an “undersea treasure hunt” and utilize the skills they have learned in previous courses, particularly the Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasse Diver Distinctive Specialty Course and the Hawaiian Sea Turtle Observer Distinctive Specialty Course. There are many species of both endemic and non-endemic creatures and “critters” on the Hawaiian reefs that the diver(s) will locate, identify and observe using proper recreational diving techniques for responsible interaction. By the end of this course, you will be able to locate and identify at least 4 endemic fish, including but not limited to the following : * Convict Tang * Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasse * Hawaiian Sergeant Major * Potter’s Angelfish * Hawaiian Whitespot Damselfish * Spectacled Parrotfish * Hawaiian Squirrelfish * Hawaiian Whitespotted Toby * Hawaiian Monk Seal By the end of this course, you will ALSO be able to locate and identify at least 2 endemic "cdritters", including but not limited to the following: * Rough-spined or Sputnik Urchin * Striped Nudibranch * Vibrating Nudibranch * Hawaiian Swimming Crab * Boxer or Pompom Crab * Hawaiian Spiny Lobster (Remember ... this is just a sample of what you will be learning !!! Course includes a detailed outline for you take take your own notes and then bring back home with you!) This is “just a taste” of the FUN we will have !!!!! It is easy … the memories will last you a LIFETIME …. And you will have EXCLUSIVE BRAGGING RIGHTS because I am the ONLY one on the PLANET that can teach these courses !!!!! AND ... if YOU don't want to tell your friends that you're not a Marine Biologist (you'll just SOUND like one) ... then neither will I !!! So … give me a call and let me know if this is of interest to you … Scuba Steve PS. These are "2 tank dive" courses and the certification fee for these one-of-a-kind Distinctive Specialties is only $55.00 each !!!
(808) 639-0919 Some divers have asked us why we prefer to do shore dives instead of boat dives. There are several reasons. We consider shore dives more of a "biological" dive while boats are considered to be more of a "geological" type of dive ... this means that you will see MORE types and species of fish, eels, shrimp, crabs, cleaning stations, and all that "biological" kind of stuff when diving with us on our guided reef tours than you will from a boat ... so unless you like colder water, stronger currents, less fish, and a few more big rocks to look at (sorry, there are NO wrecks to go see on Kauai) ... stay away from the crowded boats and come dive with us in a more relaxed style !!! Consider this fact … we have never had any diver get "green in the gills" or try to "feed the fishies" or "chum the waters" (these are nautical terms for "becoming violently nauseous") on our shore dives … how many times has this NOT been the case on a crowded boat ??? When the ocean is "calm and flat" for our shore dives .... there is AT LEAST a 3 foot (most times even more) rolling swell offshore .... Kauai does NOT have any sheltered boat dive sites (like some of the other islands have) so you will always have to deal with the pitch and roll onboard. The smaller the boat ... the rougher the float !!! Sometimes this is enough to make diving awkward and uncomfortable, to say the least! Certainly NOT our idea of fun group activities !!! On the other hand ... our guided reef tours take place in depths that they fishies actually live in !!! Did you know that approximately 680 species of fishes are known from the Hawaiian Islands and that about 420 of those species are designated as Reef and Inshore fishes? A surprising 24% are endemic to Hawaii (found nowhere else in the world) !!! And … most of these live in waters between 20 and 30 feet deep !!! You don't NEED to dive deep to see them …. PLUS ... you will get longer bottom times in shallower waters !!! And wait until you see the turtles in their cleaning stations !!! You will be stoked !!! In reality, most of the boat dives are done as close to the harbor as possible to save on time and fuel costs - NOT to give you the very best dive possible! And many of Kauai's best dive sites are never frequented by dive shop boats because it's either logistically inconvenient for them or boating is not permitted. Most boat charter companies in Poipu don't go to Mana Crack because it is too far away from their berth, while another boat charter in Pt. Allen won't go to Sheraton Caverns because it is too far from their berth!!! Our dives are always an easy walk-in/walk-out from the shore. The picture that you see on the upper left-hand corner of this page is where we usually dive at. Another reason for shore dives here on Kauai ... it's easier and more fun when we prep and dive on a more relaxed "Aloha-style" atmosphere rather than settling for the "hurry up and wait" regime of generic boat diving. If you are concerned about carrying your gear to the water's edge, no worries! We will be happy to assist you in whatever way we can !!! (Most of our entries are within 20-30 feet of the water's edge, anyway !!!) We DO NOT do "crashing surf entries" as a general rule - after all, this is RECREATIONAL diving, NOT a Navy SEAL's Survival Training Session!!! Only when we are training for the advanced levels of diving (Advanced Open Water, Rescue Diver, Divemaster or Instructor Training Levels) will we enter the waters in surf conditions. "Easy walk-in/walk-out"shore entries means just that …. in conditions that are pleasant and easy; minimal surge and swell. My general rule is to consider whether or not I would take my teenaged daughter or any of her friends into the waters with the conditions present. If yes, then we go. If no, then we reconsider. As far as meeting times, conditions are generally calmer in the early morning, and if you really want to see the "changing of the guard" - when the night critters go home and the day critters come out to play - then may I suggest a "Dawn Patrol" dive ??? |
(808) 639-0919
Explore the Reefs of Kauai !!!
Akamai
Divers' Guided Reef Tours and Turtle Dives
are supervised underwater tours designed to orient divers to
unfamiliar aquatic conditions and environments. It may also be used to
reintroduce "rusty" divers to the open water environment
after a period of diving inactivity.
You may choose to discover new aspects of diving or get an orientation to the local area while here on a holiday. The guidance provided by your PADI Instructor allows you to comfortably explore different underwater environments, find items of interest and avoid potential hazards.
Once you dive with Akamai Divers, whether it is a turtle dive, a fish identification dive, a shark dive, a night dive or just plain ol' goof-off dive, you will discover "why " we love it here so much !!!
We cater to those divers - both novice and those more experienced - who seek something off the beaten (boat dive) path and who are looking for quality tours or classes without being crowded or rushed.
Get ready for a dive experience unlike any other !!!
You will be treated to a truly exceptional, memorable and educational tour of our undersea world. We treat our divers to a marine-ecology oriented, information-rich experience.
You will discover the "symbiotic realtionships" that exists in our tropical underwater home, and it is our hope that you will come to appreciate the fragile beauty and splendor of Kauai's rich uniqueness.
"Take only pictures and leave only bubbles !!!"
Kauai, nicknamed The Garden Island, is the oldest, fourth largest and least populated of the Hawaiian Islands. Divers visiting Kauai will discover a host of excellent dive sites along the shoreline.
Kauai offers an interesting topography of lava ridges, pinnacles, archways, caves and caverns formed by molten lava meeting the sea. Wave action and erosion over the centuries formed coral reefs and miles of sand beaches.
The warm tropical waters are teaming with marine life around the beautiful coral reefs in an array of pastel colors.
With many different scuba diving sites to choose from, enthusiasts -- from beginners to experienced -- are sure to enjoy the beautiful waters and reefs that the Garden Island has to offer.
Generally, diving is available on the North Shore in the Spring and Summer months, on the East Shore at Ahukini Landing at various times of the year, weather permitting, on the South Shore nearly year-round, and the West Shore is rarely visited by divers.
Visiting these sites are always dependent upon the weather, ocean conditions and the time of year you visit. Overall, it is generally accepted that the PREMIER dive site is located on Kauai's southside, no matter what time of year it is !!!
CLICK HERE to See What Our Divers Have Said About Their Kauai Scuba Diving Experiences With Us !!!
Click on Any of the Following Links and Learn More about Scuba Diving Kauai !!!
Don't Miss Out !!! We book up FAST during Vacation and Holiday Seasons !!!
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Email or Call Now to reserve your Dive Dates !!!
(808) 639-0919
or Akamai Divers of KauaiSpecializing in Personalized Guided Tours of Kauai's Reefs
PADI Professional Dive Instruction & Training
Kauai, HI
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