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

May 8, 2006

I am writing this journal with a demented smirk on my face. This weekend was fun for one main reason, I was able to catch, on my still camera, a White Tip Oceanic shark scare the @^%$ out of a “guy” I took diving. It’s fun to see where I use to be and where I am now with sharks. But I’m sure their teeth feel the same regardless if the shark approaches you or if you approach the shark.

The “guy,” his name shall be “guy” to protect his innocence, speared a nice Mahi at VV buoy first jump this morning but lost it just before he could grab it. But for his first time Blue Water diving he did ok. We checked all the other buoys within a days range but were only able to attract bait fish… a lot of bait fish but still only little guys. At the end of the day we decided to throw all the chum at VV buoy before heading into the harbor.

The usual bait fish enjoyed the afternoon snack, but nothing came up worth spearing. I looked up to notice one of the two guys with me this day, standing back on the boat. I couldn’t figure it out because I thought he was enjoying himself…? I look underwater to find the other “guy” when something caught my attention, I thought it was a dolphin because he, actually a she, was swimming straight up from the depths toward my red floater. But it wasn’t a dolphin, it was a girthy Oceanic shark.

I was excited because I happened to have my still camera in my hand already and I’ve wanted to get some still shots of the local tooth critters. I glanced over to make sure the “guy” was ok with a shark in the water and noticed “he” was making a bee-line straight for me for protection. I told him to just be mellow and everything will be fine. I also said, and don’t worry, I’ll protect you with my camera.

At the surface, the shark made an abrupt turn and was coming straight at us. I used the opportunity to dive about ten feet down and intersect her for a photo-op. This is where the humor began… well, for me anyway… terror for the “guy.” My first shot/picture was of her approach, the next was taken three inches from her head. Now you would naturally think the shark would take notice of me and react in some way, right? Being three inches from her eye. Like it would look at me, or turn away from me, or turn toward me, or flinch, or something… but it didn’t make any sort of gesture at all. All it did was pick up speed and go straight at the “guy.”

Poor “guy,” I could see his eyes bulging through his mask. He was backpedaling as fast as he could which caused his snorkel to fill up with water AND it eventually came off all together so he had to hold it with his hand, which you can see in the picture. He’s holding my gun in his hand, which is over six feet long, but you may sense the only thing he would call safe is the couch in his living room watching this action on TV.

Well, the shark ran right into the tip of the spear and she didn’t like it very much. She gave a big splash and kick but did a big circle and came right back for round-two, like sharks often do. I think the “guy” thought I was nuts when I told him not to poke her so hard because, I don’t want to hurt her. Ok, maybe it was stupid to say at the time but the reason still stands.

The “guy” finally made it back to the boat and I thought I noticed a tear in his eye when he took off his mask… but it could have been the ocean water. It was the baby-diaper smell coming from his shorts that threw me off the whole ride home. Man, did someone step in something?!?

Ok, so I’ll tell you this much… the “guy’s” name… is Guy.

April 17, 2006

I haven’t kept up with my journal entries and I’m very sorry for that. I have been a bit busy and distracted away from what I like to do second best… first would be spearing fish myself. After last journal’s Whale of an Experience, I have a fishy one this time. And for me… it was worth waiting for.

I rarely have chance to dive with my old, I mean long time, dive partner Bruce Ayau. Bruce and I go back a ways so it’s tons-o-fun when we both have time to dive together. I, of course, took my video camera to capture this rare occurrence to dive with master Ayau, and I’m glad I did.

We were doing a “shore dive” but swimming out to the Blue Water, which isn’t that hard to do here on the Big Island. With a billion pounds of chum on Bruce’s floater, I seem to swim comparatively easily with my usual heavy-laden camera and housing. Reaching a random destination he began to chum as I filmed the fish-sludge erupting around him.

The first toss of chum did little to bring any brands of fish around. So we moved a little ways and tried again. This time we saw some bait fish. So we moved again, through some more chum and this time we had the same bait fish and some other larger bait fish… Ok, so you might see a pattern here… Not much action but the little action we had grew every time we moved. Eventually, we had what looked like every bait fish in the Pacific ocean but still nothing worthy of impaling. Suddenly, in the blink of an eye ALL the bait left in the same direction. Ooooooooo, something’s coming, I thought to myself as I look around frantically. I see Bruce concentrating on something closer to him but deep. I try to focus my eyes where Bruce is looking when I see a GOOD SIZE Ahi, I might even call BIG, but not GIANT, and definitely not HUGE, anyway, he was coming up to the chum to have a bite.

For the next hour or so this Ahi took Bruce and I to school as we unloaded most of the chum to keep him around, but to no avail. Within that one-hour time numerous other GOOD SIZE fish, I might even call BIG, but not GIANT, and definitely not HUGE, came up into the chum line to feast on Bruce’s sloppy-joe of fish-guts, fish you would normally be happy to spear like Ulua and Uku’s, but logically you don’t want to miss your opportunity on the Ahi while you’re messing around with a minnow.

As the day went on the Ahi gained brain cells and stayed deeper and deeper to eat the fish-guts at his leisure rather than have us chase him around the upper column of water. My summer wetsuit was starting to feel very thin after the first ten minutes so now after two hours or so my upper and lower jaw became one. At this point all I was thinking about was Starbucks and a Lemon bar. Every time the Ahi would swim by deep in the distance I would imagine it to be trailing steam out of the perforated lid where the froth of a fresh brewed cup-a-joe was poured and the powdered sugar wafting in the air like an off-shore wind on a massive wave from the top of the lemon bar as I walked to the table to make passionate love to what seems like the last food on earth…

Bruce distributes the last of the chum as we both watch with indifference. Some bait fish show up but they to appear to have had enough as well. The chum has fallen to about 80 feet, which is about 75 feet deeper than I am willing to dive at this point, when I take two kicks toward shore and look at Bruce to let him know I’m done when I see him diving! What the…! I look down and see a squadron of 6-8 Ono circling up in our direction. I follow Bruce down as the cautious Ono keep a bit of distance but are attracted by Bruces “antics.” I don’t know how Bruce does it but he does the funniest things underwater to attract the fish… and it works! I can’t tell you what he did because children might be reading this.

The biggest Ono in the group, he was GOOD SIZE, I might even call BIG, but not GIANT, and definitely not HUGE, turned just right and Bruce shot. As Bruce was heading toward the surface he had to catch his Rob Allen floater as it was pulled about 20 feet under the surface. Bruce said his 75 foot Riffe bungee tag line made all the difference while fighting it.

The Ono weighted in at 55 pounds, which as I said, it is a GOOD SIZE fish, I might even call it BIG, but not GIANT, and definitely not HUGE. Keep your eyes out for the video(s)… coming sooooon.

Peace out,

January 22, 2006

You could say I had a Whale of a time. Yes, Whale season is here and MY GOD are these animals HUGE!!! It’s been a while since I’ve seen, let alone swam with, the Humpbacks and I have forgotten about their “attributes.” I have been telling myself lately, I need something to scare me a little… I’m glad it was “only” a Whale.

It’s a strange sensation when you take a sip of your friends Sprite when you think you’re drinking water… It’s not a bad surprise per say but it’s just not what you expected. Similarly, when you're out diving and you expect to see some fish or maybe a shark when all the sudden the entire bottom of the ocean is moving and it seems to be moving in your direction! Five relatively small Humpback Whales swim briskly by while I’m sitting on the surface. Stunned, I know what I just saw, but did I…? What the…? Who the…? Why were they…? Did I just…?

Ok, I floated there for a minute studying my thoughts, when I heard the sound of wind briskly escaping a huge balloon. I lifted my head to see two more Humpbacks taking a breath on the surface and heading straight for me about 100 yards away… and they were moving fast! I asked myself, Whales are smart enough to know that I’m here, right? They won’t just run into me, will they? And than nothing… Nothing at all. Complete silence.

I swam in the direction I last saw them when I see a slight difference in color before me. I slowed my pace and tried to move silently so as to not appear intimidating, as if I could intimidate a Humpback, but I also wanted to let them know that I’m here just incase they decide to breach. As I approached I noticed they were nose-to-nose and sitting perfectly still. They were HUGE! Not like big fish huge, not like big shark huge, not even like big Whale huge, I mean these things were HUGE, huge!

Maybe because they were nose to nose where one’s tail was at the tip of visibility on one side and the other’s tail was at the tip of visibility on the other side making them appear like a 200 foot-long two-headed, 10 billion ton Mammoth Whale with big tusks… What I mean is the imagination started going as far as what this/these beast(s) could do to me if it wanted to…

Like a napping infant the two massive mammals sat motionless, nestled against one another for about five minutes. Hanging about forty feet below the surface when one Whale began to move. I just kept my position. Than the strangest thing happened. The Whale that was moving began to drop its tail while its nose was more or less pointing straight at me. This made me slightly uncomfortable. Than, once again, without any usual or visible means, like the swishing of it’s tail or pectoral fins, the Whale began to rise… straight for me! Brings a whole new meaning to bladder control. Ok, but now I’m very uncomfortable.

I started rolling my video camera so at the very least people would know what ate me and to show that Baleen Whales can be man-eaters also. I can only thank the Whale for turning at the last second because I just sat there like a piece of plankton floating in the current. But I did have to move my legs a bit because the Humpbacks over-sized rudders, they call pectoral fins, almost clipped my twigs (legs) a bit shorter.

I kept the camera rolling as this incredible creature rolled on the surface to take a breath and than dropped right back down nose-to-nose with the other Whale. Amazing! What can I say??? I survived an interaction with one of earth’s largest creatures. I feel pretty good right now.

January 2, 2006

I can’t emphasize enough the importance and significance that pure and simplistic interaction with the marine animals plays in the role of a “successful” spearfisherperson and freediver. Imagine if the only “device” you needed to defend yourself from all dangers one may encounter while diving was your brain. Let’s look at some real world examples we are given and decide for yourself…

The critic will instantly discount what I have said and what I’m about to say but try and consider this… Since I have been on this planet I have naturally been drawn to all sorts of animals and environmental issues. For as long as I can remember I have watched any programming including Discovery, Animal Planet etc. any and all of the Jacque Cousteau series, read books and periodicals. More recently I have become not only a student but an active seeker of new information… Let me point out some of my findings:

Have you noticed that a growing number people are not only seeing but actually interacting with dangerous animals? Going backwards, but in no particular order, most recent was a cameraman in Hawaii who filmed a HUGE Great White shark while Freediving without the protection of a “shark cage.” That cameraman must have watched the same shows I have, where only a few years ago a brave cameraman dared to venture out of the cage for the first time ever… the footage was INCREDIBLE! Many freediving spearfisherpeople have filmed sharks attacking their speared fish but to film the Great White shark… it was always in a different class of insanity to interact with.

This next example is a great example of how stupidity and arrogance can get a person in some serious trouble. Did you ever hear about or see the footage of the two guys in waste deep water baiting in Bull Sharks? Well, the one guy was the host of this show and the other guy was the idiot who claimed the Bull Sharks, which have been know to attack and eat humans and are on the top of the “man eater” list along with Tiger, White Tip Oceanic, Zambezi and Great White Sharks are relatively harmless!!! So this guy and the host stood perfectly still wearing only swim trunks for “protection.” Well, surprise-surprise when finally one of the sharks removed his calf muscle with a single bite… Lucky for the host it wasn’t himself.

Another form of interaction, and one that I don’t necessarily agree with, is the guy Manny that likes to wrestle Alligators and sharks etc. for TV. I give him credit for “taking the plunge” literally and pushing the envelope to see how far sharks and other dangerous creatures can be manipulated and manhandled without loosing a limb. All these things desensitize us in a good way from the “horrible eating machines” the tabloids have labeled the shark in the media and allowed the general public and divers alike to enjoy or at least not loose sleep over the sight or even the word SHARK.

This weekend I went out with one of my dive partners Garrett to find some fish, but all we saw were some random sharks. The water was kinda murky possibly due to the lack of current and cloudy weather so even filming the somewhat shy sharks was fruitless… until we went to “C” buoy. There, we found one shark and the conditions were ideal. Garrett helped out watching my back while I got some great footage. I pulled out my still camera to snap some shots for this journal but I couldn’t figure out how to turn the internal flash off while it was in the housing. I guess I should read the instructions... but I’m a guy… guys don’t read instructions!

Anyway, I finally positively identified these sharks we’ve been seeing a lot lately as Silky Sharks. They don’t seem to be particularly aggressive but I’m still learning. We have speared fish while several Silky’s were in the area and they came close to investigate but never made any serious runs at us like the White Tip Oceanic have and will. I enjoyed the fact this Silky stayed around and would come right up to the camera and give a nice smile. He “twitched” a couple times for whatever reason and boy could that thing move FAST when he wanted to! He was relatively small, only about 5-6 foot, but definitely capable of taking off a hand or a foot so plenty of respect was given.

Peace out,

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