Hawaii |
Kona Aggressor ll, July 1996, Paul Faber, White River Junction, VT. "Water: 82 degrees. Vis: 75100 feet. Good: Diving conditions and site. Wonderful manta ballet (3 simultaneously) Food disappointing, mediocre for a liveaboard; way too much deep fried food for divers; poorly timed meals right before dives. Little healthy food (fruit) was available." Kona Aggressor II, October 1996, Bill Lande, San Diego, CA. "Vis: 80 to 120 feet. Fabulous week of diving with critters large and small; dive at Black Coral Forest true to its name replete with rare endemic banded angel and Tinkers butterfly." Kona Aggressor II, March 1997, Alex D. Lee, Mckinney, TX. "Excellent boat crew/service; diving disappointing. vis: 100-150 ft. water: 84-90 degrees. Not many pelagics, but many turtles. Made night dive off Kona. Excellent crew/service . Enjoyable." Kona Aggressor II, April 1997, Beverly Tisnower, Chicago, IL. "Great boat. Clean, attractively furnished, adequate storage, private showers and bathrooms in only 5 guest cabins. I was lucky to not be assigned a roommate. Six staff friendly, accommodating. Jim, the captain made everyone feel at home. Meals and snacks fresh, flavorful, and healthfully prepared. 2 dives/morning, 2 afternoon, 1 night dive. Detailed briefings. Guided small groups (especially at cave sites) or buddy pairs, or wander off alone. vis: 50-120 ft. water: 72-77 degrees. . . . Wish they were more flexible about diving when you wanted, like dawn or dusk; and allowed a later breakfast or dinner. Varied and beautiful fish life, especially butterfly family. A few manta rays; incredible manta ray night dive. Snorkeled with 20-30 Spinner dolphins. They chased our boat often. Saw whitetip shark, two turtles, coral unspectacular. Wish I had more than 2 days on island. Helicopter island tour great. Crater spewing huge chunks." Kona Aggressor II, May 1997, Andrew & Susan Smith, Missouri City, TX. "Dive camera table little crowded with 9 photographers. Camera equipment free when own equipment failed. Cabins and common area fabulous. Crew friendly and helpful. Nitrox available. Great at describing what fish to be seen and pointing them out or leaving you alone with buddy. vis: 30100+ ft. water: 7678 degrees." Kona Aggressor II, August 1997, Ms. Mary K. Wicksten, Bryan, TX. "Takes you away from over-dived areas close to harbors, silt and disturbance. Corals not as diverse as elsewhere, few below 100 ft., but many unique Hawaiian fishes. vis: 30-70 ft. water: 80-85 degrees. Suggested depth and time limits. Guides took us directly to see cleaner shrimp, conger eels, black butterfly fish, black coral trees, turtles. Except for one site, no current; easy diving day or night. Saw mantas at night, but no big fishes except morays by day. Dolphins passed over some divers. Boat is comfortable, food wonderful. Enjoyed hot tub. Great for close-up or macro-photographer, easy divers; no "high-voltage" pelagic action in wild currents. Nitrox and close-circuit instruction available, also short course on Hawaiian endemic fishes and marine life." Copyright 1998 by DSDL, Inc. All rights reserved. No portions of this report may be reproduced in any way, including photocopying and electronic data storage, without prior written permission from the publisher. For more information, contact Elephant Socks Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 1658, Sausalito, CA 94966. |