Kohala Coast Dive Buds: Steve Smith

Who: Steve Smith (not the drummer)

I have been around the ocean all my life, and the assemblage of life therein is made up of many old friends. In that space I touch the past, the present, and I feel my place in the universe. In one sense, it's an alien world there, yet our origins trace back there in the distant past. I can't get enough of immersing into that world and discovering the unknown. Anything can happen, any animal can show up.

I have been known on occasion to get two hour dives out of a standard 80 cylinder.

Also, I am driven to spend extended periods of time in the water (maybe 6 hours a day). Persistence offers rewards to the attentive observer. You can't see stuff if you aren't in the water.

Brood pouch with babies in female ornate ghost pipefish. Fun fact- unlike other seahorses and pipefish, females carry the babies in the ornate ghost pipefish species.

Bizarre, not funny at all, but: On a dive in Philippines a fisherman hooked one of my rubber fins and yanked. A little more proximal and it would have been bad.

1. Underwater volcanic seamount North of Sulawesi. Beautiful coral reef abruptly transitions into a sulphurous bubbling field of bacterial mats. Amazing place.

2. Darwin island- whale sharks, schooling hammerheads, dolphins- all at the same time.

3. Orcas in Galapagos

A group of spinner dolphin followed on us on a DPV dive for about 25 min. They just hung with us as we traveled south. It might have been the first time they encountered divers on scooters. I think they may have been impressed and surprised? They kept coming back- close, then farther away, then back to us.

Poor navigation in low visibility in a place I was not familiar with. I became one with a wave that smashed me against the rocks on the outer rocky break at Sharks Cove on Oahu. Lost my mask and second stage while smashing and twirling on the rocks under water. In the mix I retrieved my second stage, shielded my head with one arm and tried not to breathe too much water through my unmasked nose, while tumbling in the wave over the rocky pahoehoe. I had lacerations, bruises and swollen limbs. Among the lessons learned- always seek out local experience when diving new areas. And just don't be in the wrong place at the wrong time. This cannot be overstated.

Basket stars. These have to be one of the most underrated echinoderms.

Also, sponges don't get enough love. They are among the oldest animals on the reef, dating back far beyond corals and fish.

Banning of shark finning, and banning of shark fin soup in general.

Restrictions and better management of deep sea trawling.

Locally, when people place lights to attract plankton for mantas, I would like to see effort for the placement to be in sandy areas far from coral and rocks. It is dark, and collisions are probable. When I see abrasions on some local mantas, it pains me greatly. Are we in part responsible? Can we do better?

A compass.