Pelagic Blackwater Dive – Gallery

These are some of my favorite moments from a pelagic blackwater dive off the coast of Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii.

You descend hover over 3,ooo ft (900 m) into the open ocean in the middle of the night, attached to a single tether. Then you wait and see which creatures rise out of the depths.

The Salps

4-Connected Salps: These four salps were connected in this perfect little square — I sent the footage to our divemaster afterward and even he said he’d never seen a formation like this.

The Venus Girdle

Venus Girdle: And right when I was supposed to ascend, I spotted this Venus girdle drifting by — and our divemaster literally waved for me to keep filming. Caught it just before it curled into its signature spiral.

The Clapper Jelly

Clapper Jelly: This clapper jelly was one of the stars of the night. It’s much larger than most of the tiny critters we saw, so we actually got to watch it drift and pulse around us for a bit.

The Comb Jelly

Comb Jelly: This was hands-down my favorite — a comb jelly in full feeding mode, tentacles stretched way out. For once, having the wrong wide lens actually worked in my favor!

The Little Creatures

Watch the Full Adventure Below!

Blackwater Diving in Hawaii: The Most Alien Creatures I’ve Ever Seen

On this trip, my husband and I went on a pelagic blackwater dive in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii – floating over 3,000 feet of pitch-black ocean to see the world’s largest ocean migration. This is by far one of the most surreal dives I’ve ever done!

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