My first trip report. That is because I just concluded a 26-year surface interval! Reactivated my PADI AOW cert in preparation for a family vacation to West Maui. All new gear including SW Peregrine, SP reg and SP BCD.
We flew Southwest nonstop from Long Beach to Kahului on points. Smooth flight, 5 hours. Rented an SUV through Turo and 3 BR condo in Kahana (north of Kaanapali) through VRBO. Both were good choices. No Covid nonsense of any kind.
I had read good reports on Dive With Harmony here:
Trip Report - Best shore diving outfit in West Maui
scubaboard.com
Shore diving in Maui appealed to me, as a returning diver with shore diving experience in SoCal back in the day. I called and talked with Harmony. We arranged in advance for three 2-tank dives, two mornings and one twilight/night dive. Very reasonable price, especially for Hawaii, and they limit each group to 4 divers max. DWH provides weights and tanks, and would have provided all necessary gear had I needed it. They use aluminum 80s, which are filled to > 3000 PSI with air. VIPs and hydros were all current. Some O-rings were a little crusty, but no issues. They have smaller tanks available for smaller divers too.
Harmony is getting ready to open a shop in Lahaina soon. Her compressor just arrived! For now, it is a boutique operation focused on shore diving and great service. Sadly, local politics has them frozen out of the Mala Pier site for now. Yet there are plenty of other fine spots for diving in West Maui.
Do give thought to how you will secure your belongings while shore diving -- especially your rental car key fob, driver's license, and cash. Reportedly, there are occasional car burglaries. The DM will lock your dry stuff in the camper shell, yet... And bring hard-soled booties. I used some Maui Jim aqua shoes that I brought from home. Perfect.
Honolua Bay. First day's dives were 1:1 with DM Dillon, Harmony's partner. A bit of luck for me. Dillon is a chill and endlessly patient guy who inspires confidence. He had selected Honalua Bay, a marine preserve, to the north of Kahana. The site is accessed from a tiny roadside parking area with porta-potties (arrive before 7:30 am) via a rustic 1/4-mile trail. Rocky shore. Favorite site of the many snorkel boats, though we beat them to the water. We geared up at Dillon's truck, which was much nearer the site than "normal" people get to park. I wore a 1 mm skin, which was perfect for the 79 degree water and my natural insulation. Dillon is skinny so he wore a 3 mm wetsuit. He explained later that the water here is a couple of degrees cooler than elsewhere due to freshwater springs that percolate though the bottom. We loaded weights into my BC based on my calculations from the reactivation pool session and Dillon's experience, briefed the dive, then walked over smooth rocks to the water. Waded in, kicked out and dropped down. Like riding a bike, underwater. We went toward the right on the first dive. No camera -- I wanted to focus on skills. Nice patch reef and coral mounds. Max depth 36', visibility 40-50', time 58 minutes. Turtles, schooling fish, pairs of butterflies of various species, solitary triggers including Humuhumu, Hawaiian cleaner wrasses and bigger wrasses, Moorish idols, several species of tangs, Potter's angelfish, the endemic Maui Dascyllus damsels, and so on. Lovely, no drama, and so great to be back in the water. Second dive was to the left. Different and more interesting topography, including a lava rock wall encrusted with coral. Overall, better coral formations. Many fish and more turtles. Saw a pretty juvenile Hawaiian hogfish - wish I'd had a camera! Max depth 38', viz 40-50', time 60 minutes. Delightful.
Kehekili (AKA Airport Beach). This sandy beach in Kaanapali, south of Kahana and north of Lahaina, is the former site of Maui's airport (until 1986). It is also a marine preserve and a favored site for snorkelers and OW dive students. There is ample free parking adjacent to the Westin hotel until 8:00 am on weekends, even later on weekdays, in the "beach access" lot. With shade! And nice, well maintained bathrooms!! There is a grassy area above the beach where you can minimize the acquisition of sand if you decide to go hang out there. Met Dillon at 7:30, joined by a couple from Chicago who were repeat clients -- a good sign. Reduced weight by 2 pounds from the first day. We dove the inner reef first, mostly flats and patch reefs, with so many fish it felt like swimming in an aquarium. Viz was 50-70', temp 81, max depth 43', time 56 minutes. Various reef fish, morays, turtles. We considered driving to another site, and then Dillon suggested that since we three were all AOW divers, we could stay there and go deeper at the same site. Works for me. We kicked out and dropped down in 40' of water, finned along the seagrass and sand on the bottom to the "Mermaid" -- a little statue at about 80'. Some different species of fish, and one of the 300 remaining hawkbill turtles, with her shell-mounted transmitter. We heard dolphins singing but did not see them. Many eels. I missed seeing the one octopus. There is no thermocline; temp at the deep end was the same as in the surf. Viz 50-70', temp 81, max depth 79', time 32 minutes. A really nice dive, and different from the shallow end. Happy happy.
Black Rock twilight and night dives. Black Rock is located at the Sheraton Kaanapali, about a mile south of Kehekili. There are a few free "beach access" parking spots in the structure about 100 yards from the staging area. Many have to pay to park in the hotel self-parking. I got lucky. Dave was our divemaster. Cool dude and very knowledgeable about critters. He knew the couple (same folks) from before. There is a bit of a hike wearing full gear from the traffic circle down to the sandy entry at the north end of Black Rock. The usual plan is to dive north to south around the point and exit on the hotel beach. That is what we did for the twilight dive. It is pretty shallow for much of the dive, say 15-20' as you go around the wall, so your buoyancy control must be sharp. Current is variable and can switch at the point. Dave is not nannyish -- once he saw we were OK in the water, he led the dive yet let us do our thing. We were greeted right away by an eagle ray and some turtles, then a dense school of ulua who were swimming opposite a similar-sized school of striped goatfish. So Cousteau! Some morays, Dascyllus damsels, wrasses, triggers, butterflies, and so on. Very rugged topography, though shallow. Mild current. The longnose butterflies were getting ready for bed, cozying upside down under ledges with dorsal spines exposed, and darkening from their daytime yellow to nighttime brown. We took a side trip across the sand and seagrass to a really cool coral pinnacle at 35'. Idyllic, with many happy fish. Some different species including Heniochus butterflies and a tiny lionfish. We cruised back over the coral structures and on to the beach, where we surfaced among some very surprised hotel guests. Viz 50-70', temp 81, max depth 36', time 53 minutes. Preparing for the night dive, we had some gear issues related to a blown O-ring on one diver's AI transmitter. Dave made a call. Harmony brought a spare O-ring and an HP port plug in about 15 minutes, which saved his dive. Extraordinary service and really nice to meet her in person. The night dive was fabulous. Pitch black, punctuated only by our lights. Same terrain, different critters. We saw a big and somewhat annoyed octopus, free-swimming squid, spiny lobsters, a big conger eel with the catch of the day in his mouth. Big crab feasting on an urchin. Sleepy turtles. Many prowling eels! Slipper lobster, sponge crab, nudibranchs, sleeping reef fish. Much more, too much to process. We reversed course at the point due to current, enjoyed the sights, and exited to the north right where we had started. Best dive of the week and a worthy culmination to my re-entry into the sport. Max depth 33', time 59 minutes. Love love love. Biggest issue post-dive is where to rinse off the very clingy Maui coral sand. There is a shower at the hotel scuba shack that is useful for that purpose. Staying in a condo rather than a hotel was a smart move -- no one says a word when you haul your rig inside.
All in all, perfect for getting my sea legs back. Next time, I'll do a mix of shore and boat diving. I was very pleased with Harmony's small operation. They care about divers and the marine environment, and it shows.
Here's the site I didn't get to dive --- Mala pier (photo is copyright 2022):
We flew Southwest nonstop from Long Beach to Kahului on points. Smooth flight, 5 hours. Rented an SUV through Turo and 3 BR condo in Kahana (north of Kaanapali) through VRBO. Both were good choices. No Covid nonsense of any kind.
I had read good reports on Dive With Harmony here:
Trip Report - Best shore diving outfit in West Maui
Dive with Harmony - MAUI (report)
Just got back from 2 weeks in Hawaii with 1 week in Kauai and the 2nd in Maui. Unfortuneately the weather was not good the first week which made the Kauai diving tedious and difficult. I can however, speak highly of Seasport Divers in Koloa. I didn't do any guided or boat dives with them, but...
Shore diving in Maui appealed to me, as a returning diver with shore diving experience in SoCal back in the day. I called and talked with Harmony. We arranged in advance for three 2-tank dives, two mornings and one twilight/night dive. Very reasonable price, especially for Hawaii, and they limit each group to 4 divers max. DWH provides weights and tanks, and would have provided all necessary gear had I needed it. They use aluminum 80s, which are filled to > 3000 PSI with air. VIPs and hydros were all current. Some O-rings were a little crusty, but no issues. They have smaller tanks available for smaller divers too.
Harmony is getting ready to open a shop in Lahaina soon. Her compressor just arrived! For now, it is a boutique operation focused on shore diving and great service. Sadly, local politics has them frozen out of the Mala Pier site for now. Yet there are plenty of other fine spots for diving in West Maui.
Do give thought to how you will secure your belongings while shore diving -- especially your rental car key fob, driver's license, and cash. Reportedly, there are occasional car burglaries. The DM will lock your dry stuff in the camper shell, yet... And bring hard-soled booties. I used some Maui Jim aqua shoes that I brought from home. Perfect.
Honolua Bay. First day's dives were 1:1 with DM Dillon, Harmony's partner. A bit of luck for me. Dillon is a chill and endlessly patient guy who inspires confidence. He had selected Honalua Bay, a marine preserve, to the north of Kahana. The site is accessed from a tiny roadside parking area with porta-potties (arrive before 7:30 am) via a rustic 1/4-mile trail. Rocky shore. Favorite site of the many snorkel boats, though we beat them to the water. We geared up at Dillon's truck, which was much nearer the site than "normal" people get to park. I wore a 1 mm skin, which was perfect for the 79 degree water and my natural insulation. Dillon is skinny so he wore a 3 mm wetsuit. He explained later that the water here is a couple of degrees cooler than elsewhere due to freshwater springs that percolate though the bottom. We loaded weights into my BC based on my calculations from the reactivation pool session and Dillon's experience, briefed the dive, then walked over smooth rocks to the water. Waded in, kicked out and dropped down. Like riding a bike, underwater. We went toward the right on the first dive. No camera -- I wanted to focus on skills. Nice patch reef and coral mounds. Max depth 36', visibility 40-50', time 58 minutes. Turtles, schooling fish, pairs of butterflies of various species, solitary triggers including Humuhumu, Hawaiian cleaner wrasses and bigger wrasses, Moorish idols, several species of tangs, Potter's angelfish, the endemic Maui Dascyllus damsels, and so on. Lovely, no drama, and so great to be back in the water. Second dive was to the left. Different and more interesting topography, including a lava rock wall encrusted with coral. Overall, better coral formations. Many fish and more turtles. Saw a pretty juvenile Hawaiian hogfish - wish I'd had a camera! Max depth 38', viz 40-50', time 60 minutes. Delightful.
Kehekili (AKA Airport Beach). This sandy beach in Kaanapali, south of Kahana and north of Lahaina, is the former site of Maui's airport (until 1986). It is also a marine preserve and a favored site for snorkelers and OW dive students. There is ample free parking adjacent to the Westin hotel until 8:00 am on weekends, even later on weekdays, in the "beach access" lot. With shade! And nice, well maintained bathrooms!! There is a grassy area above the beach where you can minimize the acquisition of sand if you decide to go hang out there. Met Dillon at 7:30, joined by a couple from Chicago who were repeat clients -- a good sign. Reduced weight by 2 pounds from the first day. We dove the inner reef first, mostly flats and patch reefs, with so many fish it felt like swimming in an aquarium. Viz was 50-70', temp 81, max depth 43', time 56 minutes. Various reef fish, morays, turtles. We considered driving to another site, and then Dillon suggested that since we three were all AOW divers, we could stay there and go deeper at the same site. Works for me. We kicked out and dropped down in 40' of water, finned along the seagrass and sand on the bottom to the "Mermaid" -- a little statue at about 80'. Some different species of fish, and one of the 300 remaining hawkbill turtles, with her shell-mounted transmitter. We heard dolphins singing but did not see them. Many eels. I missed seeing the one octopus. There is no thermocline; temp at the deep end was the same as in the surf. Viz 50-70', temp 81, max depth 79', time 32 minutes. A really nice dive, and different from the shallow end. Happy happy.
Black Rock twilight and night dives. Black Rock is located at the Sheraton Kaanapali, about a mile south of Kehekili. There are a few free "beach access" parking spots in the structure about 100 yards from the staging area. Many have to pay to park in the hotel self-parking. I got lucky. Dave was our divemaster. Cool dude and very knowledgeable about critters. He knew the couple (same folks) from before. There is a bit of a hike wearing full gear from the traffic circle down to the sandy entry at the north end of Black Rock. The usual plan is to dive north to south around the point and exit on the hotel beach. That is what we did for the twilight dive. It is pretty shallow for much of the dive, say 15-20' as you go around the wall, so your buoyancy control must be sharp. Current is variable and can switch at the point. Dave is not nannyish -- once he saw we were OK in the water, he led the dive yet let us do our thing. We were greeted right away by an eagle ray and some turtles, then a dense school of ulua who were swimming opposite a similar-sized school of striped goatfish. So Cousteau! Some morays, Dascyllus damsels, wrasses, triggers, butterflies, and so on. Very rugged topography, though shallow. Mild current. The longnose butterflies were getting ready for bed, cozying upside down under ledges with dorsal spines exposed, and darkening from their daytime yellow to nighttime brown. We took a side trip across the sand and seagrass to a really cool coral pinnacle at 35'. Idyllic, with many happy fish. Some different species including Heniochus butterflies and a tiny lionfish. We cruised back over the coral structures and on to the beach, where we surfaced among some very surprised hotel guests. Viz 50-70', temp 81, max depth 36', time 53 minutes. Preparing for the night dive, we had some gear issues related to a blown O-ring on one diver's AI transmitter. Dave made a call. Harmony brought a spare O-ring and an HP port plug in about 15 minutes, which saved his dive. Extraordinary service and really nice to meet her in person. The night dive was fabulous. Pitch black, punctuated only by our lights. Same terrain, different critters. We saw a big and somewhat annoyed octopus, free-swimming squid, spiny lobsters, a big conger eel with the catch of the day in his mouth. Big crab feasting on an urchin. Sleepy turtles. Many prowling eels! Slipper lobster, sponge crab, nudibranchs, sleeping reef fish. Much more, too much to process. We reversed course at the point due to current, enjoyed the sights, and exited to the north right where we had started. Best dive of the week and a worthy culmination to my re-entry into the sport. Max depth 33', time 59 minutes. Love love love. Biggest issue post-dive is where to rinse off the very clingy Maui coral sand. There is a shower at the hotel scuba shack that is useful for that purpose. Staying in a condo rather than a hotel was a smart move -- no one says a word when you haul your rig inside.
All in all, perfect for getting my sea legs back. Next time, I'll do a mix of shore and boat diving. I was very pleased with Harmony's small operation. They care about divers and the marine environment, and it shows.
Here's the site I didn't get to dive --- Mala pier (photo is copyright 2022):
