Chris in Woodstock's Dive Log

I dove two tanks at this beach. Unfortunately, the surf was up a little due to some southerly winds so visibility was less than average (which is still way better than the quarries and lakes where I'm used to diving). There was a little surge but nothing unmanageable. Even with the less-than-optimal weather, I still really enjoyed diving this site. Even though we had to enter through some surf, entry/exit was relatively easy on the beach. There are two reefs off of this beach, an inner and outer reef, separated by about 100-200ft. Of sandy bottom. Visibility was limited at the first reef so my buddy and I continued to the second reef where we saw a variety of fish and eels. We even saw a difficult-to-spot leaf fish swaying in the surge. Midway through our dive we saw three HUGE green sea turtles, two of which were mating! There were also fish cleaning their shells. As we headed back to the beach, the water was somewhat silty. Just as we were passing the inner reef, I saw the silhouette of a 6-8 ft Manta Ray glide past us about 25 feet away. Though the conditions weren't great the day I dove, I could definitely be convinced to come back to this site for further exploration.

My 10-year-old daughter and I did a dive at this site when we were island-hopping to Oahu, Kauai, the Big Island and Maui in late November/early December 2006. This was by far the best shore dive we did on any of the islands. The water was crystal clear with a visibility of at least 100 ft. The coral was very colorful and we saw a wide variety of fish including various types of butterfly fish, Blue Cravalle, Moorish Idols, tangs, triggerfish, puffers, wrasse, Trumpetfish, needlefish, Unicornfish, Parrotfish, blue boxfish, Yellowtail Coris (even the juveniles which resemble a Clownfish i.e. Nemo), Bluestripped Snapper, Surgeonfish, and eels. My daughter had to be especially careful not to get knocked over by the surf as we entered and exited the water. With my wife on shore to assist my daughter, entry and exit was reasonably easy. The conditions under the water were spectacular with absolutely no surge or currents. If I had to choose a single shore dive to do again on any of the Hawaiian Islands, it would undoubtedly be Two Step (Place of Refuge).