MacWet
New
As a new diver with little experience in diving on O'ahu, Hawaii I didn't know what to expect from Honolulu Scuba Company when I called to arrange for a dive the next day, Sunday, January 20, 2008. "Captain Mac" was friendly and informative and provided information about the trip, places where I could be picked up by his van and the route to his shop where I could park without paying the exorbitant rates charged by parking garage operators. I drove to the Honolulu Scuba Company store at 670 Auahi Street, Honolulu and rode with "Jeff" to pick up other divers from the Hilton Hotel after which he drove us to the boat. The boat is about 38 feet long and was adequate for the 20 divers on the trip. It was clean, in good condition and had rubber anti-slip mats on the floor which helped with the footing in the mild seas we encountered. Seven divers were Americans who are certified. There were about about 10 Korean speaking divers of whose certification status I was unaware. Additionally, there were about 5 divemasters so that each divemaster had a relatively small number of divers to shepherd. We arrived at the dive site over the wrecks "Caroline" and "San Pedro" in 99 feet of water. Jeff, the driver, was also Jeff, a divemaster, and he gave the 3 members of his "flock" a preview of what we'd encounter in terms of currents, locations of the wrecks and a review of the standard hand signals he'd be using. After some initial problems with equalizing pressure and regulating my breathing, the dive went well except for the fact that I got hit in the back by a 30 foot tourist submarine. Neither the submarine nor I was injured and my buddy pulled me out of the way so that the encounter was terminated without further problems. But, those things are big (about 30 feet) and don't give you any warning of their presence - at least this one didn't! Our second dive was off the Waikiki area in 30 - 50 feet of water as we followed a large pipeline a distance of about 150 yards. It has become an attachment point for coral and marine growth with lots of fishes and other animals. Upon reaching the end of the pipeline we circled back to the tether point for the boat and covered some coral beds. Between dives, I saw a whale breaching. A pod of dolphins also showed up. Everything considered, it was a good dive for a beginning diver and I'd recommend Captain Mac and his crew. They were helpful, friendly and courteous and solved my weight belt slippage problem by fashioning a bandoleer type of support that completely eliminated an annoying problem. The equipment they provided was adequate and the wet suit and BC were properly sized for me.
