How's the Diving on the Big Island of Hawaii?
An ongoing series of freediving journals by Rob White

June 11, 2005

I know it’s been a long time since my last journal entry because many of the faithful readers have emailed me to see if I’m still alive. Yes, thank you, I am very much still alive and kicking… and so is the ocean.

As of late, billions of reports of HUGE Ahi have been coming in via all our fishermen friends. One major problem, however, it that the Ahi are being caught in “random” areas, which basically means that they are not congregating around the FAD’s yet and the fishermen are catching them while trolling. For a diver, we more or less stay in one spot at a time so covering the amount of area that a boat can while trolling is unrealistic. I have been out the last few weekends and have seen, from the boat, numerous Ahi get air-born while chasing bait or whatever. But by the time I get in the vicinity of the thrashing, the water is calm and settled and the fish are gone... Ten minutes goes by and another boil begins, but once again, by the time I get up to the action, the water is calm.

Considering the time of year, historically, the large(er) Ahi start showing up at the FAD’s around July and August, so I guess June could be considered a little early… but man, hearing all the stories, seeing the pictures and the excitement of the fishermen… how the hell am I supposed to contain myself!?!?! The evidence is evident; the last journal entry I made was for Garrett’s Ahi. Well, there’s a reason for that… I have been sooooo focused on the Ahi this year that I haven’t gone after anything else. Well, except for this weekend…

For the most part, the weather was calm and collected. Three of us, model-Kathy Evans, professional photographer-Wayne Levin and I, visited the usual FAD’s. Starting with VV-buoy, which is located about three miles outside of Kona town, it was LOADED with Aku and baby Ahi; both are known as “great bait!” After throwing a little palu we were surrounded by the speeding bullets racing to be the first ones to the chum. The three of us waited calmly, bobbing on the surface, probably looking like bait ourselves, from “certain” perspectives… heeeere sharky sharky sharky… Anyway, two good-sized Ono came in for a look but I couldn’t get anywhere near them. We tried a few more drifts with the mild current to no avail.

Traveling full throttle on the twin hull Twin-Vee with the twin Honda’s, we made C-buoy in about a half hour. No boats and no current made for, guess what, no fish. So, upward and onward we went to pursue a lot more of nothing as UU-buoy had lots more bait but nothing worthy of boat ride on a bed of shaved ice in the cooler.

After a day of what felt like simply a nice boat ride instead of a day of spearfishing, we found ourselves back at VV-buoy around 1:30 in the afternoon. The fuel was 1/2 burned and so was my skin, this white-boy was surely going to feel it tomorrow. Once again, I covered my now bacon-smelling flesh with my camo body-condom and entered the cool deep blue. Before I could even load my first rubber band I looked to my right and noticed a nice sized Mahi Mahi kissing my fins, literally, I could see her fish-lips and everything. Anyway, she circled me as if she was critiquing my camo. and outfit. The way she looked at me made me feel violated, looking me up and down, and up and down… So I gave her the Heisman pose, sticking my hand up between us, turned up my nose and said to myself, I don’t think so beeeeeeyatch! Actually what I did was I stick my head out of the water and told the other two humans to hurry up and get in because we had a “guest.”

She, the Mahi, continued to circle as everyone got into the water to check her out. She was beautiful… unusually long and slender, yet thick and strong. Her muscles flexed with elegant grace and perfect composure. Her movements, purposeful and powerful, slippery as silk she slithered through the upper level of the seemingly endless liquid layers. Wow!!! I need to get out of the house more often…

I was here to dive and to spearfish and this nice Mahi Mahi was the first decent fish I’ve seen in months… it’s no giant Ahi but it’s still dinner. I gave the ok sign to the other two divers to make sure they had enough pictures and memories to last a while before I pulled the trigger. Their nods told me to catch my breath and dive. Leveling off about ten feet below the surface, the Mahi met me face-to-face as I had to maneuver AWAY from her to get her about six-inches off the tip of my spear before I let it go. My shot was good as she stood still for a moment than took off… Her fight brought in a significantly larger image with a trailing shadow; a huge Bull Mahi and another female followed him. They came in for a look and proceeded to prance around like the first female did when I first got in the water. What a sight!!!

I laughed aloud as I boated the 27-pound female at what an incredible visual all the action created. We all agreed to move our party back up current and see if we might get another visit from the Bull while I had a loaded speargun. Thirty seconds after reentering the water and throwing some palu, here comes an aggressive Bull Mahi lit up like a Christmas tree as he fed on the bits of palu. His elevated dorsal fin made his size match his demeanor, as I approached he appeared to act as if he was defending his food from me. He would turn at me, than away, than back at me and each time he would puff up to appear larger and snap his jaw.

I answered his intimidating posture by feeding him my spear shaft, however, his motion was so erratic that my shot placement was a little less than desirable. To relieve some pressure on his initial run, I grabbed my tag line and pulled my float in his fleeing direction. When I felt the line go a bit limp I began to apply some retrieving pressure as I slowly pulled the bull in my direction. His angle of departure was arching us back toward the boat so I let him do his thing as I kept a simple amount of controlling pressure on the tag line. At this point the other two humans accompanying me began diving down to take pictures of the struggling Bull. I gave the hand signal to wait a little bit so I could pull the Bull closer to the surface for better lighting and approachability. The Bull obliged beautifully and shined in all its florescent, shimmering glory as I held him about five feet from the surface.

The master of his harem swam in slow circles as I was careful not to apply any pressure to the spear shaft itself and act calm and uninterested in the Bull to keep it as calm as I could. I could see this powerful Bull Mahi was still fresh and “green,” no pun intended, so I also cautioned the onlookers to be aware of my shooting line and tag line so they would not become entangled if the Bull was to explode for one last hurrah. After several moments I felt it was ok to attempt a grab and secured the Mahi. Swimming this 46-pound Bull Mahi back to the boat felt like paining a barn door. The faster I swam the more its flattened body, against mine, would lift me out of the water… It’s hard to explain… But it not hard to understand why and how these incredible hunters create such power and efficiency with each massive kick of it’s tail; they utilize their entire body like one giant fin! Nature is amazing!

Black and White pictures taken by:

Wayne Levin
Wayne Levin Photography
(808) 328-9036

http://waynelevinimages.com/
All rights reserved.

January 23, 2005

Should (shood) v.aux. 1. part. Of shall 2. used to express: a)obligation, duty, etc. [ you should help] b) expectation or probability [he should be here soon] c) a future condition [if I should die tomorrow]

- Webster’s New World Dictionary

The word “should” has so many literal meanings as well as some implied slang uses but like many words the essence of its conception has been diluted in importance. Or, more simply stated, it’s the sum of, a. how the word is used plus, b. the literal and implied meaning(s) plus, c. the body language during the delivery of the word as well as the preceding and following words surrounding the word “should.” If none of this makes any sense to you than just ask Garrett, he’ll tell you something like this…

Garrett and I have been friends for a while now and we have dove together on many occasions. You will notice his name and pictures in numerous past journal entries. To cap off some great adventures, Garrett was my partner when we won the 2002 Sony Tanabe YMCA Invitational here in Hawaii, which is touted to be one of the most competitive tournaments held annually in the state of Hawaii. I’m telling all-yall this because I believe in Garrett’s abilities as a diver and his logic behind his techniques and gear… well, I take back the - believe in his gear - part due to recent events.

Garrett is on leave from Iraq right now so I wanted to take him to do what he likes to do the most, dive. He asked to take the boat out to try some “off season” Blue Water hunting but the weather has been so $%*^^# around here lately that we got pretty beat up last weekend. This weekend didn’t look to promising either but ya got’a go when ya got’a go…especially because this was the last chance for Garrett to dive for a while.

High Surf advisories were announced for all west facing shores, and they weren’t kidding… the shoreline was POUNDING! The moment we left the protection of the harbor we expected to get hammered like the previous weekend. We were pleasantly surprised with what seemed to be unusually calm outside conditions i.e. no wind at all.

With minimal expectations we headed toward the usual closest buoy called C-buoy. Arriving to the buoy we noticed numerous dorsal fins of the “infamous” Stino Dolphins. Now, the name Dolphin creates all warm and fuzzy feelings and everything except for the fact that this species of Dolphin love to 1. eat all your chum 2. chase all the game fish away and even 3. take a speared fish right out of your hand just like a shark but ten times the intelligence and agility of a shark… Reluctantly, as Garrett suited up, I throw some chum knowing all my efforts would go to the Dolphins… I guess it could be considered “giving back.”

Just as Garrett was jumping in I asked him to let me know if there were any fish. Only then was I going to make the effort to suit-up and get in the cool morning water. Damn, am I getting spoiled?!? I decided to take my video camera instead of my speargun to make sure I wouldn’t be tempted to spear anything that I really wanted Garrett to spear. Plus I figured the Dolphins might give me some entertainment. The water was clear but the light was still a bit low creating a bit of surface-funk, so I couldn’t see Garrett about fifty-feet away on the surface but I could see straight down a billion feet. After a few minutes I hear Garrett yell, “Rob, throw some more chum! Ahi!” That’s all he said, nothing more. So I figured there might be a few five to ten-pounders cruzing around but I thought to myself, boy, he must be desperate to want to shoot something that small and that are more than likely moving a billion MPH due to the Stino’s.

I watched the usual feeding frenzy of the Stino’s when I did a usual scan of the underwater area. Oh wow, that’s big Dolphin, I thought to myself when it registered that it wasn’t a Dolphin but a HUGE AHI!!! Now, if you had a Dolphin, in particular one of these Stino Dolphin, on a shish-cabob stick and you wanted to push the Stino off the cabob stick from one end toward the other so you wouldn’t stick the roof of your mouth trying to eat it right off the stick, the Stino wouldn’t actually change weight it would just be more round than long. Does that make any sense? I’m not sure but it sure makes me hungry…mmmmmm Dolphin-cabob’s… Just kidding Martha Stewart, sort of.

What I’m trying to say is the Ahi was as big as the Stino Dolphins so I would estimate 150 – 200 pounds. I couldn’t believe my eyes, totally out of season, totally unexpected. I looked up to see where Garrett was than took a dive to get a shot of my own with the video camera. I hit the surface and looked around again for Garrett’s location. He was inbound swimming in my direction on the surface and focused on the meandering carefree Ahi and I could see the anticipation in Garrett’s face and drool from his mouth. He was in la la land…

Again, without trying to embarrass Garrett, I want to clearly state that WE’VE ALL BEEN THERE when it comes to a moment that was so exciting and unexpected that you aren’t sure what to do… diving related or not. Noticing Garrett’s demeanor I got his attention and signaled him for a brief meeting. I’m no specialist of any kind, but my being able to separate myself from the situation enough and a little experience with this situation to try and settle his nerves I was simply doing what I bet he will return to me sometime soon and remind him of what he already knew, which was to slow down and take his time… don’t rush the shot.

Remember I mentioned Tobin earlier? Well, both Garrett and Tobin’s stories are related to what I called the Lulu’s syndrome (Lulu’s is a busy local bar and dance club) where a guy might run into “something” so incredible that his jaw will open so wide that it will create an unusual amount of drag that his aim/goal will be clouded and he will lose all bodily functions. Well for a spearfisherman it usually translates into a poorly placed shot or a total miss. To further explain my example, the same spearfishermen that can pick off the eyelash of a fleeing two-pound Kumu at full range, than the Lulu’s syndrome occurs, they can’t hit the broad side of a barn with a shotgun, point-blank.

Garrett’s shot penetrated the huge Ahi just rear of dead center while he leveled off with the Ahi about thirty feet below the surface. The fish did a few high-speed horizontal zigzags before heading away and downward at about a 45-degree angle. I started waving good-bye when I noticed the fish started swimming slowly and seemingly unfazed after the initial strike by the spear stuck in its body. Garrett hit the surface and stared. I watched his single lifeguard float approach between Garrett and I. The Ahi never changed its pace even when the added resistance of the float was at its fullest. The angle of descent stayed consistent throughout its departure. We watched the float crumble and implode like shave-ice under hot running water as the pressure of the depths weighed heavily on the structure of the float.

I got onto the boat to search for the float but encouraged Garrett to stay in the water considering this fish could very well be a new State Record. We searched for about an hour and a half without any luck.

Did I mention I got the whole thing on video? That’s how we know the approx. size and shot placement because we went home and watched the tape a couple billion times. Garrett’s cries got louder every time the tape rewound. That and a lot more will be on my next Blue Water Hawaii DVD. When will the DVD be available? Sometime before my 100th birthday… I don’t know.

Oh, and why did I start with the word and definition of “should?” The weekend before, when I dove with Garrett and the weather and water was nasty, I commented to him that he really should use a different float set-up because you never know what your going to run into. I think Garrett’s new definition of should might be something like F%$# S^%& A(# H*&( F&$@^%* G$*%&^$#

January 10, 2005

A modest beginning to a new year; I went back to visit my beginning. I guess you can say my New Years Resolution is to remember where I came from because I have been so focused on where I’m going. A business man would say to never look back, a spiritual man would say it is wise to remind oneself where one came from; I consider myself both so it is very easy to lose balance of either.

There were many factors to how I decided this weekends adventure, which involve old-school beliefs and techniques. I was twelve years old and living in California, diving at a beach locals called “The Pit.” Between two majestic hillsides lay a sand ladened valley of ocean. A place where families came and spread huge blankets the entire family could rest on. These were the times life was simple, when a kid could be a kid and his mom would drop him off at the beach in the morning and pick him up in the afternoon. A time when the ocean would teach the kid and the kid would listen and learn.

A spider walked the length of the rod as I cleared it from a corner of the garage and broke its web. I pulled back the crusty old rubber band attached to a long skinny piece of fiberglass with a dull, bent and rusty point on the opposite end that looked like it might have been sharp at some point long ago. I asked the man at the store, I think I need this thing to use that thing, right? He handed me a new rubber band with a grin that screamed an old salesman’s disapproval of wonder what mischievous activities I might be partaking in with this spear. Or maybe it was my subconscious screaming???

FF (fast forward) to this weekend where I sport a spiffy new Sea Horse Pole Spear. Today, I don all the best gear available to enhance my abilities and childhood dreams of blending in with the marine environment so they might take me in as one of their own. From my long blade fins replacing the boogie-board fins of old to my high-tech camo wet suit I enter the water with a custom ten-foot, half aluminum/half graphite collapsible pole spear and heavy-duty rubber band.

It has been more years than I’m willing to admit since the last time I have used a pole spear. In addition to the lack of practice and the extreme length of this custom spear I have rigged the spear with some parts that are not normally associated with pole spears. Well, they are spear GUN parts so they are very heavy duty and kinda heavy for a pole spear. It’s my job, what can I say, I’m allowed to go a bit out of the norm… The story of my life for those that know me…

The surf had come down from “huge” to “big” so I decided to take my annual winter weather beating and headed out from shore and diving to the bottom as each wave rolled over my head nearly ripping off my mask. Oh, did I mention the poor old (kidding) man behind me carrying an expensive video camera set-up that he would have to protect with his own flesh as we rolled over the reef getting in and out of the water? I guess you could say I had it pretty easy comparatively…

The soupy water cleared slightly as we passed the surf zone to a ledge that dropped abruptly to about twenty-five feet with some nice arches, caves and other structures to keep a persons interest; any fish would be considered extra at this point. In this easily accessible area the fish were nervous and any movement “out of the norm” would send them stampeding and consuming all things with fins like the stomp of a deer signaling to all life forms on the African plains that a Lion was hiding in tall grass near by.

Today was a bit different however due to my fish catching apparatus and my intent. Because I wasn’t using my normal “big gun” I figured I would just go out and fart around. Needless to say, it took a few dives to make me realize the fish are not going to make this easy just because I wasn’t in the mood to try very hard. Boy did I get a schooling for my lack of consideration. Just because I didn’t have my usual “cannon” doesn’t mean the fish are going to be any less scared of a diver with a ten-foot pole spear… Ok ok ok… so I had to put on my game face and get into character.

The first thing I had to “learn” was that this kind of hunting is actually more challenging than the usual hunting big game with a big gun… well… different anyway. These reef fish have obviously encountered MANY humans with similar intent as was mine on this fine stormy winter day. I noticed myself concentrating on all the same factors as when hunting the largest pelagic fish species. It just seems strange to me for some reason that these “little” reef fish can be just as challenging as ANY other game. I guess it goes to show that the more you know, the more you know you don’t know. You know?

Many fish became a bit smarter this day after my “custom” spear tip would bounce off of them because it was WAY too big. During one breath I laid on the bottom and attempted to spear four separate fish. The spear tip actually pushed them out of the way without even penetrating the skin. I had to rethink my approach to this application. My original intention was to use this pole spear for “large(r)” fish than what I was “practicing” with so I started looking around with a slightly different eye.

I spied a Roi (Peacock Grouper) peaking the end of his snout out of a small cave directly below me and a few feet in front. I cranked the custom pole spear half way, slowly descended and carefully landed my left hand on a rock a few feet behind the cave. Slowly I peaked over the mouth of the cave just enough to see the Roi’s fish-lips and let instinct take over. I was actually surprised when my hand let the spear go, like we were two separate entities. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

I lost sight of the fish as soon as I let the spear go so I figured I completely air-balled the Roi especially after my brain wasn’t communicating with my hand very well. I lifted the pole spear up so I could swim to the surface and there he was, stuck, as if I just took a picture of him and instantly developed it. How did that happen, I thought to myself? … I can’t believe I just admitted that out loud…

I managed to spear a couple more Roi with what I’m now calling my Roi Toy, considering Roi was the only thing I could land with it this first-time “experimental” equipment. The spear tip was too damn big to spear anything less in size.

Back at the shop I changed to a “aftermarket” custom three prong tip designed for a larger variety of fish. Just wait until I hook up my tag line and floater to this ten-foot pole spear rigged with a slip tip… Until next time…

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