Hawaii scuba dive the Minibarge wreck located off of Oahu Hawaii.

Mini Barge / Baby Barge wreck SCUBA Location

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Oahu scuba diving has great artificial wrecks. Located 5 miles to the west of Koko Boat Marina (Hawaii kai-southeast side of Oahu) sits the Mini Barge ( or Baby Barge, depends who you talk to) . The Mini Barge lays in 85 feet of beautiful Pacific water with average visibility in the 80 to 100 feet. This Hawaii scuba dive here is a must and most divers here on Hawaii request for this dive. The Mini Barge lies upright with a nice mooring line, similar to the yo-257 shipwreck, connected to the bow ,making it very easy for those strong current days. The barge itself is flat on the top with the deck at around 50 feet, the bottom the barge is roughly 75-80 feet. I am not sure how this barge in particular got down there however i will check around for those facts later. Honestly no one really knows, could have been planted there by the CIA or aliens. There are a few other barges in this area of Oahu however this is the most popular for obvious reasons So lets just stick to this barge, it is like I said the popular Hawaii shipwreck scuba dive.

Use the mooring line when making this dive. The currents are very erratic and can unexpectedly pick up. Some divers for some reason think that they can just drop down without holding any line, don't do it Don't even break off mid way down the line, really no use in using precious air to get back to the line. !

USE THE MOORING LINE FOR DECENT AND ACENT!

The top of the barge has lots of encrusted coral growth. This is a perfect area for a few photos of small crabs hiding out in the corals and those cool colorful hawk fish. However you are there to explore ! Get off the deck and PENETRATE !Penetrating the barge is fairly easy. With currents ripping around be very careful when entering this barge. I have been personally slammed against the "door jams" on this barge. Even had my mask moved a little from the flow of current water out of the opening to the barge. Once inside You should be ok, however next to some openings again you might feel some strong current water rushing in. The barge is pretty rough inside. Watch your scuba gear so as not to cut it on anything. Wearing gloves might be a good idea on this wreck due to the pieces of metal and steal strewn from every angle. I personally wouldn't dive this wreck without a wetsuit so wear one. Since the barge is very sharp watch those hands when putting yourself around, especially when exiting the barge for the other areas.

 ***Never enter this barge or any shipwreck with a 1500 P.S.I. tank or lower or without a proper briefing or guide*** 

Boat Dive Vis 70-100 feet Temp 75-81 F Max depth 110 Average depth 85

 Heading over to the port side of the barge runs a 20 foot ledge dropping down to roughly 85 feet -this is the deepest part of the dive. This ledge , which resembles something from the desert rocks of Sonora Arizona. Very beautiful, and even has a small like cave structure located on the bottom. A great time to snap a bunch of photos. Peak inside, there is usually a Hawaiian green sea turtle snoozing away. Take a peek and few pictures. Don't try to go deep in these small caves , it really doesn't go back that far not to mention you only t-off the turtles. They need all the rest they can get, tiger sharks like to eat turtles for dinner.

For a different plan route try starting off from the bow of the barge which is about 70 feet, you can head directly straight for about a nice 4-6 minute tour along a 5-8 foot coral ledge. Just swim along this wall until you start arriving at these cave like lava rock formations. There you will find a cool open cave, not to deep but just nice enough for white-tip reef sharks to hang out. Snap a few pictures check your air then make your return.

***Don't try this tour  to the caves with a strong current, just dive the barge ***

Remember , when your getting to that 1000 P.S.I. mark start making your return to the barge. Don't be foolish and burn your tanks down to 500 P.S.I. This area is not a good place to play dummy diver.

In the end the Mini Barge is a great dive. It gives a feeling of a deep advanced dive with a touch of a shallow reef dive experience. Inexperienced divers can do this dive under the right conditions. Strong currents do sometimes make this dive a gnarly adventure. Again though, Oahu scuba diving wouldn't be complete without a cool Hawaii style visit to the mini barge or baby barge.

Thanks for visiting Oahudiving.Com scuba diving Oahu, Hawaii.

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