Snorkeling at Electric Beach (Kahe Point)

There are boat tours which drop off snorkelers and scuba divers to this area. I can see why people pay to be dropped from a boat to snorkel especially here because we had to fight waves to get out to this snorkel site. And  you get to enjoy a nice boat ride. Today our effort and physical work we put into the swim out was well rewarded with great snorkeling.  

A nurse Caleb works with told him about a locals favorite snorkel spot. The picture above is looking out towards the reef area we snorkeled. We had some other friends recommend this place too. Most people call this snorkeling area Electric Beach.They told us it's clear visibility underwater and an incredible amount of sea life. It is called Kahe Point on google maps. It is right down the road from where we live! The people who recommended it to us weren't exaggerating. It was clear water all the way to the sandy bottom ocean floor at about 30 feet depth below us. We were completely surprised-amazed-shocked at the amount of fish we saw today snorkeling. If you click the Youtube button on the video below then you can open the video larger to watch.

Can you spot the bright blue fish in the middle of the picture and then the small yellow one in the bottom left? There are other ones camouflaged around the coral too.

On maps it is known as Kahe Point on the west side of Oahu. There is a power plant across the road which outflows clean warm water through pipes out into the open ocean. This warm water shooting out from the pipes is much warmer than the water around it. We could feel the warmth immediately as we got closer to coral area growing around the pipes. This warm water attracts all kinds of sea animal life. Spinner dolphins are known to frequent this area as well as sting rays. We plan to come back again and I really hope we get to see dolphins. Yes, we can pay to swim with dolphins in an aquarium area but how much more fascinating would it be to see them in the open ocean in their natural habitat. We've seen online where others have posted pictures swimming with dolphins while snorkeling or scuba diving out here. 

a school of fish swimming along the sandy bottom of the ocean

We did have a long swim to get out exactly where we wanted to snorkel. I was a little concerned because the information we read online said this was a snorkeling area for intermediate to advanced snorkelers. I definitely consider myself a beginner snorkeler but after reading information on how to get past the crashing waves on shore and with Caleb's confidence that I could make it out there, we gave it a try. And it was all so worth it!

We entered the water from a small beach area and the waves were breaking at about a 6 feet high I would guess. Good size waves. Nothing a beginner surfer would be on. It was a lot of work and a challenge for me to try swimming out with waves crashing on me. I knew I could do it, but I knew it could be exhausting. Thankfully, after we got past where the waves were coming in the ocean calmed down a lot and I got a breather while I floated. After relaxing for a little bit, I was ready to keep swimming out to the snorkel site. There was still a decent current we were swimming against to stay where we wanted to be above the coral. We were cautious and made sure we didn't stay out too long so I wouldn't get over-exhausted before the swim back into shore. It was a great experience and one we had been waiting a couple weeks to do. 

I must admit I did swallow a few mouthfuls of ocean water when the waves crashed over and I was still trying to figure out how to swim under them at the right time.  That ocean water will dry out your throat fast and it had me wondering for the rest of the day if I was going to get sick from having to much ocean bacteria filled water sloshing around in my stomach. Yes, I know that might be too much information. But I'm feeling good and healthy still and have learned I need to practice my swimming and snorkeling more to be even more prepared for next time. We both would say snorkeling has been our favorite Hawaii fun so far. Caleb dove down deep to take the picture shown below. It is a Stripebelly Pufferfish.