Mala Pier - Maui

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Scotttyd

Contributor
Messages
795
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Location
Raleigh, NC
# of dives
500 - 999
So I want to dive this - I have plenty of experience, but don't want to drag my gear all the way from NC for two days of diving (on vacation with non-diving wife - so can only sneak out a couple of times :) Is there any one who will provide a guided dive/equipment rental to this site?
 
or a local who wants to take me out? (with appropriate compensation)
 
He doesn't list it but Scuba Mike dives everything on either side of it so probably does.
Maui Dive Sites - Maui Scuba Diving

I'd bet Tiny Bubbles does also since they're located in Lahaina technically (Ka'anapali beach) All they do is guided shore diving.
Scuba Dive Maui Ka'anapali Lahaina Hawaii Snorkel | 808.870.0878 |

Check with Extended Horizons also - their land location is practically across the street from Mala - . It's listed as a shore dive on their website - Scuba Dive Maui with Extended Horizons - Top Eco Dive Copany - Lahaina, Hawaii
Tanks also at the Maui Dive Shop in Kahana Gateway mall but that's a couple? miles north.
 
I would also recommend Tiny Bubbles. I've done Mala Pier with Tim many times and it's definitely worth it. He has all the equipment you need and he can pick you up if needed.
 
Can't say enough good things about Extended Horizons. Did two great dives at Mala Wharf last month, one as a shore dive and one as a boat dive. Saw some cool stuff on the shore dive, but definitely saw much more on the boat dive with the assistance of a DM who knew where to find the really good critters.
 
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thanks all - I dove with extended horizons last year at Lanai - great op - love the eco-friendly aspect. @Sushi Boy - this may be a dumb question- did you see more with the boat dive simply because of the DM you were with? (can't think of another reason why shore vs boat would make a difference unless for some reason you can't get to part of it from shore?). Did you shore dive on your own or with a guide?
 
Not dumb at all. We did the shore dive on our own and I think there were several factors that played a role. First off, the walk in and out is pretty extensive, so we were probably breathing heavier than we were from the boat entry. Plus, not knowing exactly how long the shore exit would take led us to be somewhat conservative with our air supply to have reserves for contingencies. Both of those combined for a shorter dive time. (And we were hungry too, so we traded some bottom time for lunchtime. :D)

From the shore, we started on the shallower part of the pier. None of it's deep, but we did burn a little time on the shallower portions going in and out. Also, because of the time/air considerations already mentioned, we didn't make it out to the very end of the pier. If I had to guess, we got 3/4 of the way down on the shore dive.

Part of it was luck too. On the shore dive, we did get to see turtles, imperial nudi trains, and lots of reef fish, but we didn't come across the sharks we had hoped for.

With a guide from the boat, we had much longer bottom time, plus we started from the deepest parts of the wharf and the guide knew the highest probability areas to take us. We still got turtles and nudis, plus we got some great shark encounters and through a combination of the guide having the experience to know to take us out across the sand flats a bit and simply being in the right place at the right time, got to see one of the coolest things I've seen in my 17 years of diving, two huge frogfish sashaying across the sand a couple of feet away from us. :cool:

Here's a video of that. Fair warning, it's shot with ambient light and no filters and is completely unedited, so a tad long, but it's easy enough to click forward now and then so you don't have to watch the whole thing:



Sorry for the essay answer there, lol. Either way you're going to have a great dive. I'm very glad I did it both ways. IMO, if you're going all of the way to HI and want to see Mala Pier, spend a little extra and maximize your experience there by doing a guided boat dive.
 
At one time - maybe they still do? - Lahaina Divers did it as a night boat dive.
 
The Mala Wharf dive can be done guided from shore without to much difficulty especially for an experienced diver WITH a guide. You without question should get a guide in my opinion for this one. Dive flag is a must. Critter-wise it's hard to match. I've probably done this dive about 100 times. The boat aspect certainly adds the element of ease as mentioned. Any of the guides will provide you with gear I am sure. Try to go on a day with little to no swell to maximize vis. It is a shallow (35ft and less) dive that is impacted greatly if swell is present.
 

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