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Dive Review of Kona Aggressor II in
Hawaii

Kona Aggressor II, Sep, 2007,

by Russ Battisto, MN, USA (Sr. Reviewer Sr. Reviewer 9 reports with 4 Helpful votes). Report 3615.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 4 stars Food 5 stars
Service and Attitude 4 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 4 stars Shore Diving 3 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments Flew in the night before and stayed at the King Kam's Kona Beach Hotel near the pier. Next time we'll research alternatives as the hotel is in need of a remodel job. Clean though so not a BAD experience just felt we could do better. Stayed there because of the proximity but turns out the Aggressor van will pick you up from any of the nearby hotels in Kailua, Kona. The boat was wonderful although they were experiencing engine problems (running with only one). And no nitrox available on this trip but the profiles were easy enough that it wasn't a huge issue. Very little current if any and some moderate surge near shore which made picture taking a challenge at times. The crew tried to make up for the equipment failure and for the most part did although you could tell they were frustrated at times because of their limitations. Great crew and excellent food made the trip well worth it. The diving was easy and fun. At first I was surprised at the lack of BIG coral until I realized that the lava flows we were diving on were only about 50 years old which in coral time is nothing. There is a lack of big fish which hints at overfishing in the area. But the little stuff was plentiful and colorful against the lava or black sand. Dolpins were around as well as Eagle Rays and the Mantas. The highlight was the Manta Ray Night Dive. Two words, sensory overload! My only complaint would be the lack of dive sites we went to. Again, the engine problems limited us so we stayed at the same site for the 2 morning dives and went to another site for the 2 afternoon dives AND the night dive. This tended to make me less interested in doing both the 2nd afternoon and/or the night dive as it would be 3 times on the same site. In our previous liveaboard experiences, we moved to many more sites for a much wider variety of diving. Not a normal problem I'll wager if we had both engines. Rooms were clean and nice. Mary & I got lucky and had the quad to ourselves upstairs behind the bridge. Very nice! Weather cooperated and water temp was tolerable but I did switch from my shorty to my 5mm in the afternoon/night dives.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving Mainly the Caribbean (many times to Cozumel), Fiji, Africa, Bahamas.
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, dry Seas choppy, surge
Water Temp 77-80°F / 25-27°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 40-100 Ft/ 12-30 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Bottom limit on this Aggressor was 110ft.
Liveaboard? yes Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas Squadrons
Dolphins Schools Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 2 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters 4 stars Large Fish 1 stars
Large Pelagics 2 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter 3 stars Boat Facilities 4 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments As with most liveaboards, the camera table is well suited, equipped and big enough to handle all of the activity. Clean conditions and helpful staff made my photo & video setup and cleanup experiences very enjoyable.
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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