Scuba diving in Hilo, Hawaii with Hilo Ocean Adventures

Which Star Wars film was it? A couple of years ago. They didn’t have light sabers. Anyway, there was a moment when the woman (I forget her name) is hanging off a ledge and manages to pull herself up. I think she’s being shot at in an aircraft hanger. But those laser bullets, you know? After watching the film at the cinema (Christmas family outing, bit of a tradition now I guess) I was chatting with my mum and was like “I couldn’t do that. What if there was a rebellion or some kind of apocalyptic situation and I needed to do something like that?” Since then me and my mum have had this running theme that doing something hard or unpleasant but that makes you stronger is rebellion training. Walking the dog in the pouring rain = rebellion training. Walking around an Indian city waiting for the train with heavy bag = rebellion training. Giving your not-so-little-anymore nephew a piggyback for ages while your trousers are nearly falling down= you get the idea.


Thus was my mindset when gearing up for my dives at Hilo Ocean Adventures dive shop. It was raining. And windy. Michelle, Leif and I were in the capable hands of instructor Tyler and Captain Kimo but there was only so much they could do towards making us more comfortable. It was entirely necessary to have our wetsuits on against the rain and spray as we bounced over the grey ocean and tried to learn about the reef we were about the visit. I now feel confident I can assemble my scuba equipment whilst not falling off a small, plunging boat.

This is Hilo bay, but in better weather - not on the day of the dive.

I’m a new diver and it was the first time I’d rolled backwards into the water. My mask came lose as I entered the salty sea. And due to my stress levels I needed more weight to descend. Once down there, the busy life of the reef soon distracted me. Comical trumpet fish and bustling white spotted toby fish darted in and out. Focusing on my buoyancy and my buddies whilst the current bobbed us around meant the time passed quickly. As we attempted our safety stop in the turbulent water Michelle wasn’t feeling too great. My next rebellion training - boarding a bucking boat whilst wearing 14lbs of weight and a scuba tank. I wrapped one arm around the tiny ladder in order to remove my fins whilst being tossed up and down in the water. One of them was jammed on my boot too tightly resulting in some minor gymnastics to let Kimo on the boat wrench it off before being helped upwards and out of the water.


After some snacks and our surface interval we repeated the exercise at a different location. The great thing with two tank dives is the chance to have another crack. Roll backwards and keep mask on = check. Calm descent with right amount of weight = check. Improved buoyancy = check. Green sea turtles? Not this time. I felt very lucky to have made it out with Tyler and Kimo. It was off season and the weather had been bad meaning they hadn’t run many trips and all the sea life I see is still majorly exciting and the thrill of breathing underwater is still incredible.


Thanks to Tyler’s calm instruction and Kimo’s expert boat handling and fin-pulling skills we had a safe and fun time. I can’t recommend HOA enough. The kit I used was the best rental gear I’ve had and I learnt a lot about diving in less than favourable conditions. They have an on-site pool for you to complete all aspects of your scuba certification and you’ll get access to the amazing wonders of Hawaii’s oceans. Book with them and tell them I sent you. Not into diving? Try whale watching or snorkelling. Or even swimming lessons, and fingers crossed for the weather. Visit them at hilooceanadventures.com


Anyone know the name of the film?!