Lanai Dive Boat Suggestions

[DiveMaven]

Lahaina Divers serves continental breakfast in their shop before you leave, then during your SI you get sandwiches, chips, and pineapple, and on the way back to the harbor, fresh baked cookies. Yum!!

 

[cozcharlie]

Is there much difference in the various Lahaina ops in terms of the sites visited/type of dives. I am looking for an op that is geared more towards experienced divers as opposed to newbies/infrequent divers. I am hoping to avoid situations where the group (including me) is going to have to come up while I still have half a tank or more of air.


Sorry to hop on to this thread, but since I am also asking about Lahaina area ops it seemed like it made sense. I am going to a wedding at the Ritz-Kapalua. I gather Lahaina is where I am going to need to depart from.

 

[runway1]

Sounds good, thanks!

Any other outfits folks have dived with??

 

[runway1]

Is there much difference in the various Lahaina ops in terms of the sites visited/type of dives. I am looking for an op that is geared more towards experienced divers as opposed to newbies/infrequent divers. I am hoping to avoid situations where the group (including me) is going to have to come up while I still have half a tank or more of air.


Sorry to hop on to this thread, but since I am also asking about Lahaina area ops it seemed like it made sense. I am going to a wedding at the Ritz-Kapalua. I gather Lahaina is where I am going to need to depart from.

Not a problem. I have the same feeling. After several years diving socal waters, I can hit the tropic dives like I'm on the couch. I usually come up with too much air.

At the blue hole in the Bahamas, we were pulled up with almost 2k psi after 20 minutes because somebody had hit the 700 psi limit. Yes, can be a bit aggravating.

 

[KrisB]

Lahaina Divers serves continental breakfast in their shop before you leave, then during your SI you get sandwiches, chips, and pineapple, and on the way back to the harbor, fresh baked cookies. Yum!!

Sorry, forgot to mention that part of the Hawaiian Rafting experience. They also offer a "continental breakfast" and coffee at the shop and post-second-dive cookies.

Is there much difference in the various Lahaina ops in terms of the sites visited/type of dives. I am looking for an op that is geared more towards experienced divers as opposed to newbies/infrequent divers. I am hoping to avoid situations where the group (including me) is going to have to come up while I still have half a tank or more of air.

Sorry to hop on to this thread, but since I am also asking about Lahaina area ops it seemed like it made sense. I am going to a wedding at the Ritz-Kapalua. I gather Lahaina is where I am going to need to depart from.

You'd be best diving with Hawaiian Rafting Adventures or Extended Horizons and avoiding Lahaina Divers. They are *not* keyed towards the "experienced diver" group.

Not a problem. I have the same feeling. After several years diving socal waters, I can hit the tropic dives like I'm on the couch. I usually come up with too much air.

At the blue hole in the Bahamas, we were pulled up with almost 2k psi after 20 minutes because somebody had hit the 700 psi limit. Yes, can be a bit aggravating.

You *definitely* don't want to be part of the group diving that the declared policy of Lahaina Divers suggests.

You will get to dive your air (within no-deco limits) with Hawaiian Rafting.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

With Extended Horizons there is fresh bagels, cream cheese, peanut butter, lot's of fruit and juice between dives and cookies on the trip back. A funny thing about Lanai "meals" is that even Catalina and Channel Island veterans often spend a lot of time "just" looking at Lanai, especially if they Luau the night before. I have discussed this with the other boat's crew and even though Lahaina Divers is "more stable" taking less seaworthy guests means the queezy factor is about the same on all boats

With a completely full boat, on EH there would be a group of 6 divers and a group of 7 divers. The first dive is a set profile; 60 feet max for 40 minutes, 70-80 for 35 min, 90-100 for 30, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. Second dive is UP to 60 foot max for UP to 60 minutes. Divers return to the boat as needed; air, computer, cold.

Suunto computers are used by every guide that I know of, are included with each set of rental gear and are available for rental by guests with their own gear but no computer. If you chose to dive without computer the Captain will work out a tables profile for your second dive. The profiles are set so the most aggressive divers in each group might get below 5 minutes remaining no deco time on the second dive. The briefing proscribes diving shallower if/when that happens.

With regards to sites visited; conditions often make the decision for every company, and with most guests wanting to do the "famous" sites, those are the most dove by all companies. It would be very, very rare to do both Cathedrals on one trip. The best guides could show you cool different stuff even if you went to the same site two days in a row, except perhaps for Monolith. That site would not be done two days in a row if a guest was there yesterday, unless that guest requested that site.

 

[merxlin]

With Extended Horizons there is fresh bagels, cream cheese, peanut butter, lot's of fruit and juice between dives and cookies on the trip back. A funny thing about Lanai "meals" is that even Catalina and Channel Island veterans often spend a lot of time "just" looking at Lanai, especially if they Luau the night before. I have discussed this with the other boats crew and even though Lahaina Divers is "more stable" taking less seaworthy guests means the queezy factor is about the same on all boats >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I'm not sure what you are saying here. Are you saying that people tend to get seasick on the crossing to Lanai? I will agree with you that many divers on the Lahaina Divers boats may not have much open water experience, so may not fair as well. In fact, one of their videographers, who rides with them very frequently, chums almost every ride. But I would have to disagree with you on the Catalina divers. The one's I've been with have all done better than most other divers. Many of our crossings are 2 to 2-1/2 hours in 3-4 ft diagonal swells. I've been "warned" on the crossing to Lanai several times that it was going to be rough, yet found the conditions more like what we see inside the islands shadow, and certainly not worse than some of our open water crossings. Now the ride to Molokai when the trades were up, now THAT was a different story.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

I've been "warned" on the crossing to Lanai several times that it was going to be rough, yet found the conditions more like what we see inside the islands shadow, and certainly not worse than some of our open water crossings. Now the ride to Molokai when the trades were up, now THAT was a different story.

If you take a close look at the words I typed, I did not say how many Catalina veterans spend a lot of time looking at Lanai; 2 would be enough for my statement to be accurate. How many trips to Lanai have you made? What I describe is what I have seen, in nearly a hundred trips to Lanai. Your Molokai comment is great testimony to why Extended Horizons only goes to Molokai when the conditions are predicted to be nice; not on a set schedule. Did you see Hammerheads?

 

[merxlin]

If you take a close look at the words I typed, I did not say how many Catalina veterans spend a lot of time looking at Lanai; 2 would be enough for my statement to be accurate.

true enough. Not arguing semantics. My point was that sometimes you are told it will be "rough" when by comparison it is not, to you. But for someone who dives lakes and quarries, 2ft swells can feel awful.

Your Molokai comment is great testimony to why Extended Horizons only goes to Molokai when the conditions are predicted to be nice; not on a set schedule. Did you see Hammerheads?

I did see hammerheads. But only 2, and 20-30 ft below us. The viz was awful (by Hawaii standards) because of the winds and 6 to 8 ft swells. This was not a trip for an inexperienced diver. I watched a lady take a tank to the face because she was too close the the diver in front of her, and the swell pushed her forward. All that said, I'd go back again in the same conditions But would appreciate it more if it was nicer.