Upon writing this, I’ve realized that my favorite thing to do is dive blackwater. After just two experiences in two very different ocean locations, it's safe to say that blackwater is in fact the coolest and most thrilling type of scuba diving I’ve done to date. This has the potential to change, especially as the team and I make our way into some of the other more obscure niches of the diving world—I’m talking ice, altitude, cavern and cave diving. But today, it’s all about blackwater!
My first experience diving blackwater was in Anilao, in the Philippines, with the legend himself, Gutsy Tuason. This is a man who put blackwater on the map in this region after a visit to the one-and-only Big Island, Hawaiʻi. It was here that Gutsy learned everything he knew from the locals who were already immersed in the art of diving at night—surrounded by nothing but the vertical migration that takes place twice a day, every day.
Gutsy told us that, aside from Anilao, there’s no better place to experience blackwater diving than in Hawaii. So, we took his advice. If Gutsy says it's great, then it surely is, given how much blackwater this guy has seen. The first time I dove blackwater I experienced an adrenaline rush so intense, that it nearly put me out for a moment. I was sitting on the surface composing myself as massive swell went over my head, pressuring me to go under. It’s just that exciting and unusual.
Instead of moving around trying to see as much as possible in this weird, weightless world, with thousands of feet of water between the seafloor and me, my approach was to stay perfectly still. Accepting the feeling of “limbo”, hanging by a rope, attached to a boat, and working towards zero movement for an hour, if not longer. This time I wanted to let the vertical migration come to me versus trying to blindly move towards it. In Hawaiʻi’s wintery cold water, this meant that I needed to conserve as much energy as possible, stay warm, and be as patient as I possibly could (not my strong suit!)
The thing about blackwater is that you’re not looking for big things. You’re looking for the macro organisms that appear otherworldly. If you have your hopes up on seeing something big, it’s very unlikely to happen, at least not here. You must be ok with looking for the tiniest of creatures, and letting their weird and wild forms captivate you. Blackwater is a moment to embrace the ultimate chill and let your inner zen take the wheel and steer.
And so, as the clock struck 7pm, we put on our kits, shoved heat warmers into our wetsuits, assembled our lights as well as a tether line from our bodies to the boat, and down we went. We were diving in the presence of yet another one of the men who put blackwater diving on the map, Jeff Leicher—the owner and managing partner of Jack’s Diving Locker. He’s been running this shop since 1982, alongside his wife, Teri Leicher.
When Jeff first heard about blackwater diving, he was skeptical and concerned for the safety of his friend Chris Newbert, who embarked on these dives solo. To frame this up a little better, the Chris Newbert that Jeff was referring to, is one of the first people in the world to put blackwater into the vocabulary of the diving community. The photographer even dropped two award-winning books that illustrate what life is like from a blackwater point of view back in 1984 and 1994.
Eventually, he gathered the courage to pursue this kind of diving and was astonished by the unique marine life visible only in the dark. This experience convinced him of the need to continue diving to discover more about the ocean's mysteries and witness the vertical migration as much as he possibly could. With help from a couple of other blackwater enthusiasts, such as Bonnie Carini, Jeff learned more about the mysterious pelagic Critters he would see. Jeff understood the increased risks of blackwater diving, requiring divers to have higher skill levels and a willingness to be tethered to a line for safety.
He found that tethering could make night dives safer than those during the day and wished it could be applied more broadly to even diurnal dives due to some divers' over-confidence and over-eagerness. And with time and a lot more trial and error, Jeff was the one to put what he called “pelagic magic” diving out there for recreational purposes. Soon enough, people from all corners of the world came to witness Jeff’s now favorite sport. And here we were, following in Chris and Jeff’s footsteps. Now there is even a Pelagic Magic Specialty Course that Jeff has written.
“During these dives, observing larvae and other fish all at their unique life stages, is the best and most exciting part,” Jeff shared with us while we chatted before our very own pelagic magic moment. “Diving in 5,000 feet of water, left with nothing but your gear, light and curiosity: there’s nothing better.”
Our guide, Ross Bronzan, who has completed 280 blackwater dives, introduced us to the diverse and fascinating creatures of Hawaiʻi’s waters. For example, the comb jelly, or ctenophore, dazzles with light effects from cilia, showcasing a natural light show across its 100 species. On the other hand, siphonophores, colonies of cnidarians, cast nets of tentacles to capture plankton, shrinking to a smaller size when prey is near, with some reaching lengths up to 35 feet. The heteropod, a pelagic snail, has returned to the sea from land, becoming one of the ocean's most efficient plankton hunters.
Then there’s also the famed larval shrimp and lobsters that find refuge and food among jellyfish, the latter resembling tiny spiders in their early stages. The pelagic seahorse is a favorite, unique to Hawaiʻi. Pairing for life, it’s known for its slow movement and vivid orange color. Squids, like the purple back flying squid, dart through the water, occasionally inking when startled. Pyrosomes bioluminesce creates their own light and hosts various marine hitchhikers. All while chains of salps and the venus girdle jelly add to the primordial sea-soup, each playing a vital role in the ocean's ecosystem and offering a glimpse into the complexity of marine life.
So there we were, dangling around the 50 foot mark on a Wednesday night, engulfed in the mesopelagic zone's nightly vertical migration. Trillions of organisms were ascending toward the surface, while each one of us were situated 10 feet apart, focusing solely on what was illuminated by our lights. Nearly perfectly still for 90 minutes (an all-time first), I lost myself in the darkness. Ten bottlenose dolphins swam in every direction communicating so loudly that we could hear them, which was a shock even to Ross given how rare this type of encounter is on a blackwater dive! Tiny squid inked at the sight of us. Strange salps carried small shrimps up and down the water column. And of course, jellies of all shapes and sizes moved from the depths to the surface. For me, this pelagic magic was as good as it gets.
And that’s a dive where we didn’t even witness the crowned jewels of blackwater, such as the paper nautilus. But what really did it for me was not only the magic we experienced in that pitch black water, but also the magic that happened on the top-side. When you have the chance to learn and dive with the icons of the sport, it puts things in perspective. These renegades, such as Jeff and Chris, have seen and experienced so much. It’s only natural to hope one day, I could have the same level of story to share.
While on expedition we often feel humbled being around these living legends. It’s one of the most rewarding feelings, as divers aspiring to rise in the experience ranks. It leaves us inspired and motivated to not only see more, but to contribute in whatever way we can to the diving, scientific and conservation communities. Because one day, we hope to be in Jeff’s shoes, passing down our wisdom and knowledge to the next generation of ocean explorers, ready and willing to dive to whatever depths to further what we know about our natural world.
%201.jpg)
If you’re on the fence about blackwater, I can tell you with full certainty to get off it as soon as possible. Beneath the surface lies a universe brimming with so much mystery, even despite this sport’s constantly increasing popularity. And when ready to give it a go, show up on the Big Island to dive with the pros—and be sure to arrive with a curious mind yet holding no expectations too closely. They will surely be shattered! This Kona blackwater crew has the capacity to open your eyes to a whole new, life-altering world.
To be continued …
The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.
A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!
Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.
