Maui Dive Ops

[Brandon]

Going to go with B&B for 2 or 3 days... will post a review when I get home.


-Brandon.

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

Charlie I find your comments about the MDS interesting and it just goes to show you how we all have a different perspective.

I went with them twice last year and both trips were given to us. So I appreciate the MDS trying to "make things right" by offering the trips, we accepted their offers. We were residents of the Maui dive lodge.

At any rate I did not like either of the trips with the MDS and won't go with them again, unless it's free again. If any of the dive leaders had worked half as hard during the dive as they did smoozing you for a tip once the boat was tied up I would have been much happier. They couldn't find one dive spot and dropped us off into an area they had never dove before and trust me, it showed because the site really sucked.

I'm pretty easy to please and I still had a good time but, I won't go with them again. They showed me how to not run a dive boat.

 

[Charlie99]

Charlie I find your comments about the MDS interesting and it just goes to show you how we all have a different perspective. .

I'm not sure which comments you are referring to. MDS definitely isn't near the top of my recommendations for an experienced diver. OTOH, I did go out with them in late January (after calling Mike Severns, ERDA, ProDiver Maui, B&B, Scuba Shack, and Maui Dive& Sea; in that priority sequence, and finding them all full).

The MDS DM noted that at 400 lifetime dives, I had done nearly twice as many lifetime dives as the next most experienced diver on the boat, and that guy had in turn had done more dives than the total dives done by the other 8 divers onboard. Having divers onboard that had done less than 10 dives, and several that had not been diving for a year limited what sites were suitable. We did both dives inside Molokini crater ... no drift dives, no backwall. The DM was pretty good and managed to be swinging back past the mooring line as the various people hit their ascent pressures. Then the two of us went off for another 20-25 minute dive by ourselves until he called the dive on ascent pressure. I used the time to look at an area (inside edge of Center Reef) that I hadn't looked at before. The 2nd dive was pretty much the same sort of routine, except that I splashed in early and puttered around the reef about 10 minutes while the rest of the group geared up and finally got in. Again I had quite a while at the end of the dive to explore as I desired, until he called the dive on time at 60 minutes.

The DMs weren't the world's most experienced guys, and during the SI I ended up pulling out Hoover's and ID'ing some fish for other divers after the DM was stumped. But it was still a beautiful day on the water, with a crew that had great attitudes, if not experience, they worked hard to make it an enjoyable trip for all.

 

[DiveMaven]

Our experiences with MDS have been somewhere between Al's and Charlie's. I can't say that our crew was as accommodating as Charlie's, but at least they worked harder when it counted than Al's. One thing that drove me crazy about them was their pushiness to handle my gear. Even when I told them twice that I would handle my own gear, one guy continuously came over to try to do it for me. Interesting that they didn't bug my husband after he said to leave him alone....maybe it was because I was the only female on the boat? Either way, it was annoying.

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

They also insisted to put my gear together, I insisted that I do it, they insisted harder, I allowed them to and then my tank fell out when they tried to help me put it on. I have a different type of tightener and I knew they hadn't seen that before. I haven't got postitive things to say about them I guess.

 

[Charlie99]

They also insisted to put my gear together, I insisted that I do it, they insisted harder, I allowed them to and then my tank fell out when they tried to help me put it on. I have a different type of tightener and I knew they hadn't seen that before. I haven't got postitive things to say about them I guess.

A large dive ops with multiple boats, high crew turnover, and an absentee owner will have a lot wider variation in quality that owner/operator boats. It's not all that surprising that we saw big differences.

In addition to that, a lot depends on how the various personalities onboard mesh or don't. Particularly when the crew is young, and somewhat inexperienced, the "don't touch my gear" issue can easily lead to an atmosphere of conflict. Not an excuse or justification, just an observation.

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

In addition to that, a lot depends on how the various personalities onboard mesh or don't. Particularly when the crew is young, and somewhat inexperienced, the "don't touch my gear" issue can easily lead to an atmosphere of conflict. Not an excuse or justification, just an observation.

You've got that right. As I age I find that I'm more willing to let stuff go than I used to. I also do work a boat here in Oregon and we have customers who want us to keep our hands off and others who expect to be catered to.

I read my previous posts and I feel that I need to say something postiive about the MDS because I think it comes off as though I can't stand them and that certainly isn't true.

On one of my trips there was a young (pretty) female instructor who was doing a deep checkout. I watched her in action and felt that she was very competent and that the student got an excellent class. As we left the boat I told her that I was very impressed with her ability. She had no idea if I were an instructor or not and I didn't say I was.

If someone wanted to be take a speciality from her I certainly think they'd be in good hands.

 

[SoCalOffshore]

We just bot back from a week in Coz diving for 5 days. We are heading to Maui in May, are there enough good dive sites for 5 full days of diving? Trying to decide if we should dive 3 or 5 days. Thinking about using Ed Robinsons. Thanks for any insight.

 

[SoCalOffshore]

Oh yeah, what are the dive sites not to miss?

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

We love Maui and dive it daily, our trips usually last more than a month each time.

Check out this link

Shore Diving