altaskier
Contributor
We're just wrapping up our first trip to Maui; certainly not our last!
I went out three days with Extended Horizons in Lahaina, who run a boat powered on biodiesel. We went out to the island of Lanai on all three trips, and we saw between 3 and 8 whales on each passage of the channel - including some that showed us a nice view of their tail as they dove. On two of the three days we saw a pod of 40-50 spinner dolphins on the surface, and we caught a glimpse of them on one dive. Cool! I thought their dive operations were good and professional (and also very cheerful and fun-spirited), and by the second or third dive they were happy to let me cruise around within sight of the dive leader but somewhat on my own. Our sites included Cathedral 1, Knob Hill, Lighthouse, and Wash Rocks which was my favorite. We had a bit of current on some dives, including a lot of surge in Cathedral 1.
I went out one day with Ed Robinson out of Kihei on their Adventure-X trip. This was specifically advertised as a "keep within sight of a guide" rather than "follow the guide" dive, though in fact I felt Extended Horizons gave me just as much leeway. Anyway, our first dive was to Molokini, where we did a drift dive from inside to the start of the outer edge (thereby avoiding the dozen or so snorkel and dive groups inside the crater). It was a gorgeous slope of dense coral sweeping down. Our second dive was at Wailea Point, which was quite nice too. It was a fun bunch, though with a bit more dry wit.
Finally, i went out on one beach dive with my wife, organized by Tim Rollins of Tiny Bubbles. My wife is still not super comfortable with diving, but Tim was really great in going over the dive with her and making her feel relaxed with some fun and informative comments before the dive. We headed out within walking distance of our condo in Ka'anapali, and had a really nice beach dive where again we heard whale song, saw two turtles, and played with an octopus and an eel. It was a really pleasant and relaxing end to the diving for me, and again Tim did a great job with getting my wife happy with the dive.
Since my last dive trip was to Anilao in the Philippines, I missed seeing the greater density of fish, soft corals and anenomae, and the huge number of nudibranchs of Anilao. However, I enjoyed the diving in Maui, and we also had a great time with topside adventures including the Highway to Hana and beyond, horseback riding, beach lounging, and great restaurants.
I was also really happy with Extended Horizons, Ed Robinson, and Tim of Tiny Bubbles as dive operators. Of course I picked them all out based on positive recommendations from ScubaBoard.
I have some photos here, and an amateurish video here.
I went out three days with Extended Horizons in Lahaina, who run a boat powered on biodiesel. We went out to the island of Lanai on all three trips, and we saw between 3 and 8 whales on each passage of the channel - including some that showed us a nice view of their tail as they dove. On two of the three days we saw a pod of 40-50 spinner dolphins on the surface, and we caught a glimpse of them on one dive. Cool! I thought their dive operations were good and professional (and also very cheerful and fun-spirited), and by the second or third dive they were happy to let me cruise around within sight of the dive leader but somewhat on my own. Our sites included Cathedral 1, Knob Hill, Lighthouse, and Wash Rocks which was my favorite. We had a bit of current on some dives, including a lot of surge in Cathedral 1.
I went out one day with Ed Robinson out of Kihei on their Adventure-X trip. This was specifically advertised as a "keep within sight of a guide" rather than "follow the guide" dive, though in fact I felt Extended Horizons gave me just as much leeway. Anyway, our first dive was to Molokini, where we did a drift dive from inside to the start of the outer edge (thereby avoiding the dozen or so snorkel and dive groups inside the crater). It was a gorgeous slope of dense coral sweeping down. Our second dive was at Wailea Point, which was quite nice too. It was a fun bunch, though with a bit more dry wit.
Finally, i went out on one beach dive with my wife, organized by Tim Rollins of Tiny Bubbles. My wife is still not super comfortable with diving, but Tim was really great in going over the dive with her and making her feel relaxed with some fun and informative comments before the dive. We headed out within walking distance of our condo in Ka'anapali, and had a really nice beach dive where again we heard whale song, saw two turtles, and played with an octopus and an eel. It was a really pleasant and relaxing end to the diving for me, and again Tim did a great job with getting my wife happy with the dive.
Since my last dive trip was to Anilao in the Philippines, I missed seeing the greater density of fish, soft corals and anenomae, and the huge number of nudibranchs of Anilao. However, I enjoyed the diving in Maui, and we also had a great time with topside adventures including the Highway to Hana and beyond, horseback riding, beach lounging, and great restaurants.
I was also really happy with Extended Horizons, Ed Robinson, and Tim of Tiny Bubbles as dive operators. Of course I picked them all out based on positive recommendations from ScubaBoard.
I have some photos here, and an amateurish video here.
