| Night Dive Puts Spotlight on Hawai'i’s Gentle Giants |
| Written by Mark E. Ward |
| October 01, 2008 |
Diving with giant manta rays is one of the rarest and most sought-after of undersea encounters, but off Hawaii’s Big Island it is almost a nightly experience as scuba divers and mantas come together in a thrilling ballet. The divers are drawn by the mantas, which are enticed by millions of plankton, which are attracted to the divers’ lights after riding the upward surge of nutrient-rich seawater from thousands of feet below.
The thrills begin almost from the time we set foot on the 46-foot dive boat “Honu One.” We load gear and receive a preview of the adventure to come from our captain and two divemasters. Then we slip out of Kona’s Honokohau Harbor for the 30-minute journey north along the coast as the sun sinks towards the sea. Our vessel heads toward a spot where the ocean floor rises sharply to the surface from a depth of 14,000 feet, helping to funnel upsurges of plankton-laden seawater. The site is just a few dozen yards offshore from the Kailua-Kona Airport, which seems a fitting place for the mantas to show off their aquatic flying skills. Upon arrival we receive a briefing on the first of our two dives. T he site for our daylight dive is called Garden Eel Cove, so named for the resident field of swaying garden eels. As darkness descends, the site’s name will change to Manta Heaven. For now, our daylight dive offers the chance to orient ourselves to the surroundings and test out our equipment. The site has depths down to 100 feet before the dramatic drop off to thousands of feet -- but our night dive takes place at a depth of just 35 feet. Briefed and geared up, we jump off the stern “giant stride” style and sink to the bottom, clearing our ears and adjusting fittings along the way. Within minutes we’re stunned and delighted to see two giant Mantas flap into view, then hover just a few yards away. In my 600-plus dives I’ve only seen mantas a few times and then only caught fleeting glimpses as they sped by, but here two giant mantas hang just yards in front of us in broad daylight and in very clear water. They have arrived early to an impromptu cleaning station where wrasses perform the favor of eating tiny microbes and parasites off their skins. The scene is reminiscent of teenagers grooming before a big party. The mantas=2 0 appear to know there will be some good eating tonight and they seem to accept our presence and role in the coming ritual, much like the patience they’re showing those cleaner wrasses. Our first dive lasts an hour, during which time we also encounter garden eels, morays and even a playful octopus. Then we return to the boat and climb aboard for the prescribed surface interval. Our lunchtime conversation is bubbly and the divers are growing more excited about the nighttime encounter that lies ahead. As the sun sets, the divemasters lay out the choreography for our night dive, highlighting the dos and don’ts. Divers are instructed to stay down at the bottom with their lights pointed up. Snorkelers are to stay at the top with their lights pointing down. This provides excellent illumination for both groups and ensures an open water column for the mantas to maneuver. All participants are admonished to not pet, grab, ride, chase or harass the mantas or other marine life.
We swim to the campfire and get settled. Then the mantas appear like a flock of huge, hungry bats. Nearly a dozen mantas fill the darkened sea around us while we sit motionless on the bottom, mesmerized by their “aquabatic” feeding techniques. They soar, swoop and even somersault through the beams of our dive lights, which are teeming with tiny planktonic crustaceans – the stuff of a manta’s meal. Their excitement (and ours) is palpable. The mantas dive, dart and do loops through the plankton-filled shafts of light, trying to maximize their mouthfuls. They come so close to my light that one bumps my head, then rams another manta. They rush in and out, fins flapping and mouths agape, sucking in as much plankton as possible, almost oblivious to the dozen or so divers and snorkelers surrounding them. Each manta sports a distinctive, fingerprint-like pattern on its stomach, which enables identification. So far 61 individual mantas have been photographed, identified and cataloged in this area and they’ve even been given names.
Amidst the watery fiesta, Scott shoots Hi Def video of each participant – man and manta. This will help researchers later identify the mantas and provide divers with precious proof of the almost unbelievable adventure. After 40 minutes of feasting, the mantas are still cavorting – but Scott signals us that it’s time to surface. Reluctantly, we make our way back to the boat. Back on board, we dry off and head for port, amaze d by what we have just witnessed. It seems almost impossible to have been so close to so many mantas, but Haut later assures me, “Our mantas are here all year so there really is no month that is better than another for seeing them. We average one or more animals on 80% of our night dives and we identified a record number of 36 mantas on May 19, 2008.” For sea lovers the world over, there’s perhaps no greater thrill than witnessing the flight of a manta. These gentle giants obviously enjoy their plankton buffet off Kona. Small wonder then that mantas and man both throng to the Big Island in a symbiotic quest for food and fun. Contact info: KonaHonuDivers Scott Blain Manta info: |
The island’s volcanic geology, oceanic topography and marine biology have all combined to make the waters off Kona the perfect home for mantas. It’s also the driving force behind Kona Honu Divers, which was launched by Glenn and Maggie Anderson in 2002. John Haut, partner and operations manager, delights in the nature of their business. “People who never envisioned themselves in the ocean at night with 10-foot-plus animals swimming around them get the thrill of a lifetime!” he exclaims.
We gear up, take the plunge and gather on the surface to descend as a group. As we drop into the inky darkness we can see a=2 0faint glow about 50 yards away. This is where our divemaster Scott had earlier placed a crate full of dive lights on the bottom, all pointed up and switched on. The lights sit within a circle of lava rocks, fittingly dubbed “The Manta Campfire.” It’s a great beacon for us to follow, but its main purpose is to attract the plankton that will draw the mantas.
Females are largest, often boasting wingspans of 13 feet while males are smaller. In some oceans, manta wingspans have measured 20 feet or more. Even the 10-footers seem huge when they fly over inches from your face.Web Exclusive Articles
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