My wife and I have kayaked and canoed before but never with this much success. We spent a bit more time on the shore than the other boats but the extra bit of instruction on land made kayaking a lot more fun.
Once in the water, we spend about 15 minutes paddling out to the edge of the reef where we saw a moray eel along with a lot of other fish. John Hess will point out the fish, diving 10 to 20 feet below to point them out without disturbing them. He is very knowledgeable and will tell you both the Hawaiian and English names, along with their relationship to life on the island. He even got through each syllable of the Humuhumunukunukuapua while we were on the water.
We didn't see any nurse sharks but were really lucky to see 4 or 5 turtles up close, one of which was close to 70 years old according to John. After John guided us around the reef, we had a 30 minutes to snorkel and dive on our own before we paddled back to the launch.
Also! If you read this and opt to not book this tour, make sure you don't book the Calypso. We passed it on the way back and it had 6 lanes of stairs to get in and out of the boat and 220 of your closest friends. 6 lanes belong back in LA or Houston.
Back on land, we got to meet John's colleague, John S. They had a good banter, John S had more jokes than John Hess, but Hess' landed better! Bring cash to give them a tip, the trip was so much fun. They gave us a few tips to snorkel off the beaches and those spots were great too!