Diving Hana

Hana is on the East side of Maui and gets the winds, surf, and rain so we very rarely get to dive it. But when the conditions are calm with no wind for a few days, we can get a completely different type of diving than on West and South Maui. We had a great dive in among the lava flows and boulders.

We found a bubble cave. When the swell comes in the water rises, compressing the air.  When the swell goes out, the air pressure goes down.  Because the air is saturated with water vapor, the pressure swings cause the air to be alternately over-saturated then under-saturated about every 20 seconds or so.  As we look around in the cave, the air becomes foggy for about 10 seconds, then it becomes crystal clear for about 10 seconds, over and over again.  Here's a question for the scientists among you: at which extreme, high pressure (compression) or low pressure (decompression), does the mist appear??

Amazing reflection!Mist in the bubble cave
The visibility was fantastic. The fish would just hover around the openings of the caves.
And this turtle is hanging out close to the surf pounding on the rocks.
Variety of SurgenfishHawaiian Green Sea Turtle
Speaking of hovering, there were a few other creatures down there.
NanNeil
Spiny Lobsters live in the among the rocks and ledgesSpiny Lobsters
Some fish like the bottom for camouflage:
Peacock Flounder and the Titan Scorpionfish
Peacock FlounderTitan Scorpionfish
Bandit AngelfishBandit Angelfish are rare and only found in Hawaii.
What a great dive!
Nan finishing the dive

Photos by Nanette Harter and Neil Rhoads
Written January 2001
Nan's Home Page
revised 1/11/00