A Naked Lady in Kona
The Big Island of Hawaii draws divers from around the world for its famous mantas, sharks, whales, sea turtles and eclectic variety of tropical and uniquely endemic marine life but one thing it's not known for is wrecks. But every diver who heads out to the reef to experience the more well-known inhabitants passes over one of Kailua-Kona's top sites. It rests on the seafloor right in the harbor in Kailua Bay, on the sand at about 110 feet. A 60-foot sailboat with a story to tell, no one really knows the original name of the boat or remembers the name of its owner. remembers who its owner was.
The way the story goes, the lady who was moored in the bay on this particular sailboat deemed it necessary to rid her vessel of little green men. The only means of exorcising the little buggers was through the purging mechanism of fire (of course, we've all seen the movies). Generally, fire and sailboats don't mix; soon the lady found herself on a sinking ship as the fire burned uncontrollably, and she had to abandon ship. She made it to shore, but her clothes didn't. Hence the name of one of Kona's best dives and one heck of a story for your logbook.
The sailboat sits on the sand like a lost ghost. There's always a halo of yellowtail snapper hovering and flowing over and around the wreck. The shadow under the bright blue keel is a favorite hiding place. Additionally, bannerfish flit over the burned hull like striped confetti caught in an autumn breeze. The water is so clear, you can flatten yourself on the sandy bottom and read the name of the dive boat tied to the mooring ball at the surface. Usually dived in the early morning due to harbor traffic, some downtime on the completely intact Naked Lady is a great way to start the day's blue adventures while in Kona.
