VISIBILITY
Ah, we wish that we could promise you crystal clear water every day. In reality, our visibility often exceeds 100 feet in September and October - usually our two best diving months of the year. Year round, visibility averages a respectable 75 - 100 feet, but in high winter surf or summer south swell it can drop to as low as 40 feet. (Again, these things are all relative. Sure 20 ft. is fantastic in the Southern California kelp beds, but that’s an incredibly bad day here.) Most days we ask you what you'd like to do. On days with high surf or strong currents, we tell you what you'd like to do, i.e., we pick the dive sites for the best diving conditions.
Photographer and Racoons
Pelagic Jelly
CONDITIONS
The island of Hawaii, though very large, is a baby island in geological terms. As yet, no fringing reef protects our corals (mostly lobe and cauliflower types), which must be tough to withstand the lashing of seasonal storm waves. Our underwater scenery gives rugged and beautiful testimony to the unfathomable power of the earth under creation. Massive pinnacles, drop-offs to who-knows-where, graceful arches, mysterious caverns and lava tubes provide an ever-changing backdrop for our colorful array of fish and protection for our more secretive critters. Favorite dives north of the airport depict the changes rendered by the 1801 lava flow you observed as you flew into Kona.
Nudibranch Red Spotted Chromodoris
Brochures tout Kona's "warm, crystal clear waters" - which is true - most of the time! Summer water temps range from 76 degrees (May-June) to 81 degrees through September and October. Most people are comfortable with a wetsuit top, some without. If you get cold really easily, bring a full suit. From the time the first winter swells from the Northwest come rolling through here sometime in late November, the temperature can drop to 72-73 degrees and stay there through April. That's getting chilly! (If you are used to diving in Puget Sound, please stop laughing. 72 degrees seems cold after 81.) During the winter months, many people need full wet suits, (we have plenty for rent) especially with our long, slow-paced dives. A polartech suit is OK on its own for some, and adds warmth under a top or full suit for others.
Naked Lady
