If you only do one thing on Hawaii, this should be it. It had been a couple of VERY rough days on the ocean so we weren’t sure what to expect. We were greeted on time and sized for our wetsuits, which are provided. We were given a good safety and information briefing from Bill and Tanner. No shoes on the boat; you will leave them locked up dockside. We were provided with fresh sweet pineapple on the ride out. There was plenty of comfortable seating and they passed around great information on manta rays. The restroom was spotless and spacious for an on-board head.
This boat seems to leave earlier than the others, which is good for getting the best spot. Because of the very rough seas, we could not find the normal buoys to which they usually tie. In fact, we meet a boat of divers which was going back because they’d had the same problem. The captain offered an alternative plan but as it was being executed, we all continued to look for the buoys. We moved into some clearer water and suddenly a buoy was spotted. Tanner took a dive to connect us. Later, other boats came out and connected to our boat because they had the same problem finding a buoy.
Once we were tied up, we settled in to watch the sunset. The idea is to put a board with lights into the water after dark, which attracts plankton, which then attracts the manta rays which feed on the plankton. We all hold on to the board with heads/snorkeling gear in the water. And it worked fantastically. The manta rays in this area are the only in the world known to have taught themselves a different way of feeding, where they do full barrel rolls. So you will see them swimming along down below, and then they circle up directly under the board, mere inches from your nose. Again and again, the huge, harmless creatures swoop up, face-to-face with you. This night, we encountered four of them and it was just magical—hard to leave when the time came. There were a couple of people that got sick and had snorkeling issues. Tanner jumped into action right away, getting them back to the boat and continuing to make sure they were okay later.
I will say that I was a bit chilly in the water—no sun to warm things up. But as soon as you get back on the boat, you are doused with a hot shower from the Captain which fixes that problem. For the ride back, we were offered home-baked chocolate chip cookies. Great ending to a truly magical experience. Highly recommend!