The Beauty of Shark's Cove As the winter season ends, surfers pack their bags and head home. The swell has passed. Great diving conditions are here to stay on the North Shore! The place to be is Sharks Cove. Summer is the best time to scuba dive on O'ahu's North Shore. Hawaii Eco Divers is Haleiwa's local dive shop with the most expert tours on the island.  Shark’s Cove was named in honor of the butcher who lived across the street. When he would throw old meat into the water, the plac...

Anticipation for Open Water Certification I earned my Open Water Certification through Hawaii Eco Divers in my first two weeks of arriving in Hawaii. Reading my Open Water certification manual, I felt nervous. I learned to swim very young, and felt comfortable in the water, both as a swimmer and as someone who participated in recreational water sports; wake boarding, surfing, etc. But as the manual listed danger after danger, and tried to explain what seemed like complex gear, the easy familia...

The Move "Aloha! Welcome to Hawaii! We're glad your here!" This phrase has been said to me over and over, but I never get tired of hearing it. Picking up your life and moving across the country, even just for a couple months, is scary. You don't know the area or the people. The culture is different and confusing. When you step off the plane, you realize you are in a whole new land by yourself, and that can be a painfully lonely realization. Luckily, that's not the Hawaii experience. Altho...

Have concerns about diving? In this blog post, we’re going to deconstruct the biggest scuba diving worries.  1. Running out of Air One of the biggest concerns of divers, and also one of the most easily avoidable, is running out of air. Your air gauge measures how much PSI is left in your tank. Fifteen-hundred is half a tank, and 500 means you’re low on air. If you ever get to 500 PSI, signal to guide. After that, we can surface swim to wherever we need to be. Being honest when your guide ...

Safe Scuba Diving 1. Listen and Follow your Guide Whenever we take out discover scuba divers, we make sure they know this first. Your guide- whether it be an instructor, divemaster or some sort of combination, knows the dive spot, skills and techniques best. Their sole purpose of running the dive is to make sure everyone is safe and having fun. That is why the top way to stay safe while scuba diving is to be in close proximity and paying attention to your guide.  2. Have a Buddy The secon...

What is equalizing? Equalizing is one of the most important skills you learn before you dive. Holding your nose and blowing sounds easy in theory, but it’s actually one of the most often encountered problems divers face. Here at Hawaii Eco Divers, safety is our priority- especially when it comes to your ears and sinuses! We’ve compiled a list of equalizing safety tips as well as an explanation to what equalizing actually is.    Tips for when you’re having trouble equalizing  ...

Scuba Diving with Sharks and Reef Life Here in Hawaii, our oceans are filled with life. The bright colors of fish and coral bring people from all over the world to scuba dive with us. One of the most desired underwater interactions is also one of the most feared: sharks, or mano in Hawaiian. Here in Hawaii we have lots of kinds: gray reef sharks, galapagos sharks, blacktip reef sharks, sandbar sharks, tiger sharks, whitetip reef sharks, even great white sharks, whale sharks and scalloped hammer...

My experience with Monk Seals Have you ever wanted to go diving with monk seals? Whenever we’re lucky enough to see a monk seal on a dive, the whole group is so excited. The way they swim through the water with elegance in their big, shiny bodies always amazes a crowd. Amazingly, there is so much more to monk seals than just their beauty. The Hawaiian monk seal is endemic to Hawaii. You can’t find them anywhere else in the world. The ancient Hawaiian name for them is ‘Ilio holo I ka uaua,...

In my rescue diving course, we learned five ways to not run out of air, and what to do if you do run out of air scuba diving: 1: Check Your Gauge  The easiest thing you can do to not run out of air is to check your gauge- well and often.  2: Calculate your Air Consumption The formula to do this is: PSI used/actual bottom time x conversion factor = surface air consumption rate.  The chart above lists the conversion factors to help you calculate your air consumption. For example, on a 40...

In this week’s segment of diving down with Mermaid Mikena, we will be talking about a recent special encounter with two Hawaiian Monk Seals. A Hawaiian Monk Seal swims overhead at Electric Beach, showing curiosity towards our divers. A Rare Moment We were floating along our dive with Hawaii Eco Divers, admiring the rays of sun shining through the ripples of waves. Then two Hawaii Monk Seals come cruising by overhead. We instantly stopped in our path to admire their beauty.  Not only di...