Maui dive report

[deeper thoughts]

Thnx for the report

 

[merxlin]

I've done that dive and was out in 6-8 ft seas as they were described to me. That seemed appropriate for the size of the swells (while looking up, sitting below them as they approached) and compared to the swells we get here in So Cal. I can't imagine anyone, regardless of experience, getting back on board in swells at double that height.

I'm also curious where you were that had a current ripping that hard, yet brought you back to your starting point:

But this dive is a drift dive so you feel nothing unless you hold onto the one ledge there, which we did , the current ripped my mask off and I could barely hold my reg in my mouth, we would hold on until everyone gathered together then let go and get shot out in the open ocean where the bottom is about 140 feet the water is so blue and then you see them, maybe a fifty to a hundred hammerhead sharks schooling above and below you, you ride the current around and then swim back to that ledge and do it again in giant circles.

Was this at Mokuho’oniki Rock?

 

[beepbird]

I can't wait! Flying over there on Sunday for 5 days of diving as well. We plan on using ERD and Hawaiian Rafting adventures and some shore dives. Thanks for the info. It's just what I need!

 

[AquaTec]

I agree with you about Molokini. Even in the five years I've been diving, the decrease in fish there has been depressing. We really don't bother to go boat diving on Maui much any more, although your report has me inspired again to try the Molokai trip. We keep trying to get out with North Shore Explorers, to see something different, but their boat has been laid up the three times now that we have tried.

The guy who runs / Owns North Shore Explorer is now working for Lahaina Divers on the Molokaii trip. He is a bit of a neandrathol, and happy to tell everyone how great of a diver he is and that no one else could measure up....but hey maybe he can back it up.
He was our dive guide.

 

[AquaTec]

I don't know about wave height other than surfing over head, double over head, and your nuts to go out.

here is what I do know we where diving at Mokuho’oniki Rock off of Molokai'i, next time it will be the only charter diving I do.
When we where in the leward side of the island...maybe just south of the lea' and I surfaced after the dive I could not see the boat at all, then I wose up on top of the swell and there was the about about 15 feet away and I was now above the bridge looking down on the Captain, in this area there wasn't a lot of chop or wave action since it was relativley proteced from the wind, getting back on the boat was challanging but because these guys are doing this often it went very smoothly.

The ripping current, I will try to describe as best as possible
I belleive we where by the area called fish rain, on the south side of the rock at about 40 feet deep there is a long natural forming jetty that runs straight out towards sea maybe a 100 feet or more in an easterly direction. we dropped down close to this and followed it to a depth of about 100 feet and out towards sea, we then drifted with the current in the open ocean in a westward direction checking for sharks. just blue water all around us. then we swam north across the current until we hit the reef / rock, at this point we would be about 40 feet deep, then we would swim close to the bottom in an eastward direction against the current which wasn't to difficult until we got close to the "jetty" at that point we would grab onto the rocks and pull ourselves hand over hand up to the jetty staying low, we would then climb up to the top of the jetty and look over the top, this is where the current picks up speed as it comes from out in the ocean and hits this jetty and rips up and over the top of it. as you look over the top this is where your mask will be removed from your face. when everyone arrives to that spot you pop up and get pushed out to sea again, then repeat.

 

[StuartT]

Nice report.

 

[Shaka Doug]

....
Next I wanted to go to an old favorite dive site Five graves. I didn’t remember how to get there or where to go underwater once I was there so I hired a guy who does shore dives. Shaka Dive..His name is Doug. You meet him and he is driving an old school bus and then follows him to the dive site. I am not sure how to comment on Shaka he’s been diving the same shore dive sites on South Maui for 13 years, he know the sites inside and out, and will take you right to the resident eel, or turtle or whatever, I want to go to the caves and he was happy to take me there even when I passed by one he called me over and pointed it out. He knew where the frog fish was going to be, which I had never seen one so big it was the cool fish of the trip…well except for the schooling hammer heads on another dive, but that’s later. We had two kids about 10 years old and he was fantastic with them, if you want to just drop your kids off and leaving them to go diving, Shaka is the guy to do it with. On the down side, the whole thing is slow slow slow, tow beach dive was going to involve almost six hours. Upon hearing this I opted to do just the one dive. His gear well every piece of gear had a problem maybe even a major problem it was stuff that was being used on Maui in the 80’s as rental gear ever since with no maintenance. I got in the water and found my BCD would not hold air he did offer to switch with his gear but I figured it looked to be the same condition so what was the point. The diving was only 40 feet to the bottom so I went like the good old days without a BCD kind of like using the old Hawaiian back pack. The diving was pretty good, lots of turtles, lots of reef fish, a dive guide who knew the reef, the history of the dive site, was a lot of fun, great with kids and cheap. I would recommend the dive site and Shaka diver for shore dives with the following caveats. Bring your own gear and plan to spend the whole day to do two dives.

Hey Doug (AquaTec),

Thanks for the Maui trip report. I'm glad you got a chance to do so many cool dives. Here's a shot of that crazy frogfish you mentioned. He really was hard to spot, huh? I had no idea he was gonna be there. I just got lucky and spotted him.

So I just read your post and to paraphrase you "I'm not sure how to comment on AquaTec...". You made a few interesting comments about my operation and I think I should address them so as not to confuse the nice readers here at SB.

Let's see, where shall I begin... My company is called Shaka Divers. Most people know me by my nickname 'Shaka Doug' (my name is Doug Corbin). My bus is a reconditioned 1985 handicapped kids school bus. I recycled it from Maui's school system and refitted it myself for diving about 12 years ago. It is fully customized and actually in really good shape with new paint (last year). Even though it's an 'old school bus' it looks clean. I've made close to 3,800 dives from the SCUBABUS and I plan on making thousands more if the good Lord lets me.

Pics of my old bus:

The two 10 year old kids you mentioned on the trip that day were a little bit older than you thought. The youngest (Cole) is almost 13 (his b-day is in about a week) the older one (Parker) is 14. They were both decent little divers, the older one has an advanced C-card and had his own Canon G10 or G11 with an U/W housing. He's taking his diving pretty seriously for being just a kid. Despite this, his Dad was apprehensive and wanted special care to be taken with the boys. They dove with me just a couple days before and this Five Caves dive was only their 2nd outing with me. I had a lot of fun with them. I enjoy showing younger people about diving.

You mentioned how slow the day was. Well, except for a late start, we were pretty much on schedule. When you booked the dives with me I told you we would meet at 9 and finish around 2-2:30. I've tried things over the years to speed things up and for me it just doesn't work to rush dives. When I take folks out for a dive excursion they get my full attention. I don't rush them, I don't cut corners and we make sure the bases are covered before we get in the water to minimze any problems and maximze our enjoyment.

You asked for Five Caves and I was happy to accommodate you. It's one of my favorite sites and I've logged about 750 dives there. The site is remote, parking is a few minutes walk away across the street. It has a rocky entry that has to be carefully negotiated. There are no lifeguards, restrooms. emergency facilities, etc. This makes for a slightly longer than normal pre-dive briefing which you may have interpreted as a waste of time but the lady that was with us (and you), had never dove with me before so I was trying to be thorough and yet keep it fun, safe and interesting. I also wanted to make sure the Dad and kids were comfortable and ready for this.

Here's a shot of you and the group before we splashed:

Five Caves 4/1/10

So let's get to the part of your post that bugged me the most. Your comments on my equipment.

You said: "His gear well every piece of gear had a problem maybe even a major problem it was stuff that was being used on Maui in the 80’s as rental gear ever since with no maintenance. I got in the water and found my BCD would not hold air he did offer to switch with his gear but I figured it looked to be the same condition so what was the point. The diving was only 40 feet to the bottom so I went like the good old days without a BCD kind of like using the old Hawaiian back pack."

You care to explain this? Every piece of gear had a problem?? Major problem? 80's rental gear with no maintenance? You're kidding, right? What are you trying to do? Scare people away from diving with me? I had a good time diving with you and I frankly do not appreciate this statement.

Let's have a look at the pic of you on shore. Look closely. You used all my equipment. The mask I supplied you is almost brand new. It's a nice tri-view mask, less than 1 month old. The Deep Sea booties are less than a month old. The fins were Mor-Fin Deltas. I got these March 2nd! They had less then 10 dives on them. They were basically brand new! Your tank was VIP'd 3/10 by B&B Scuba. You wore a very decent full body, XXL 3mm wetsuit of mine too. This suit has no tears, holes, or rips. It's an older suit but it is in very good shape if you ask me. I certainly am not embarrased giving it to my clients. It sounds to me that it was a lot better than the one they gave you at Ed Robinsons. The regulator is a Sherwood and although it has some years on it, it is in very good condition too. The SPG, depth guage and compass are all in good working order. The Seaquest BCD you were wearing is one of my newest X-L BCD's. I got it in recently and it has less than 40 dives, tops. The inflator hose did get a crack in it. Something about these BC's (I think it's because they have the pull dump feature) is that the hoses do get holes sometimes. The hole you had was a tiny one and although air did leak out, the BC was able to hold a lot of air and when you are in the diving position and are properly weighted you really don't have any air in the BC to worry about leaking out anyway. The air being used to maintain neutral is riding on your back, not anywhere near the leak in the hose. By your comments I think you may have not understood me but I offered to switch inflator hoses with you, not BC's. (It would have taken only a minute to remove the one from my BC and put it on your BC and vice versa). My BC is a medium large and wouldn't have fit you anyway so I wasn't offering to switch complete gear with you. The hoses are interchangeable. Although my personal BC is well worn and looks rough, it works perfectly fine. If you hadn't been in such a hurry to get in the water that day we would have discovered the problem with your BC on land at the bus. I said "you were gearing up first" (you were the largest person in the group). We always put the gear on in the side door of the bus, I suit you up, run through a pre-dive check, then get the next person geared up. Instead, you didn't follow my procedure, got geared up by yourself and then walked across the street and waited for the rest of the group to gather. Not my normal way of doing things and there you go, something got by me. I wasn't too concerned about you gearing yourself up because you had told me a few times about your prior experience as a dive guide here on Maui in the 80's. Did you do an equipment check? How come you missed this hose issue? Well you found out once you were in the water that it leaked. A little late but what can you do? We had 2 choices. You could switch hoses with me or you could just use the BC and refill as necessary if you were on the surface. It's not like you say "so I went like the good old days without a BCD". You had a BC, you had the ability to control your buoyancy U/W and would have had to keep refilling it repeatedly only on the surface had you found yourself up there. It was only a tiny hole, not a complete blowout.

Here's a couple pics of you diving with the broken BC. Looks like you're doing pretty good down there to me. Had you not insisted that it was OK that you dive with it despite the problem, I would have insisted that we just switch the hoses. I guess I figured since you had done 5 years worth of daily dives at Molokini that this wouldn't be an issue for a guy like you. I won't give the next guy the same chance to make me look bad. This is a lesson for me. Thank you!

What other problems did you have with your gear? I don't see any leaks anywhere in these pics. Everything seems to be working perfectly. Does anyone else notice anything wrong? Maybe I am missing something.

We did have a pressure guage leak on the Dad's gear that we discovered when we got in the water. Anyone who has dove professionally has seen this problem. It's probably the most common leak you will find in scuba besides an o-ring leak at the tank to regulator connection. I shut his air off, twisted the guage a couple times, turned the air back on and voila! The leak was pretty much eliminated. He made the dive without any other problems.

The boys had no problems. Here are pics of them U/W. Do you see any major leaks or problems?

Parker

Cole

If you look very closely, you can see tiny air bubbles coming from the swivel fittings of the secondary regulator on one boy and the primary regulator on the other. These are minimal issues and I certainly wouldn't consider them dangerous. I know of no other major or minor equipment problems with my gear that we encountered on this dive. The lady who came along was using all her own gear. She had lots of mask leakage and didn't appear to know how to work her gear all that well. She also ran her tank down faster than anyone else in the group and I supplied her with air from my secondary regulator on the way back to shore. That's the only trouble I remember.

So how can you say my gear has had no maintainence since the 80's?? For this statement to even be close to being true, 1st, the gear would have to be from the 80's (it's not). Secondly, I would have to be very, very lucky that it is still working. I mean. come on, 20 plus years with no maintainence? Get real Dude!

So, that said, I'm glad you had fun and realize I know what I'm doing. I have made over 3,900 dives here on Maui and never once had to cancel a dive due to an equipment failure. That's not to say nothing has failed, but I have spare gear close by and we always find a way to make things work. My 2 tank dive is typically from 9am to 2-2:30pm. That's not a whole day, it's 5 -5 and a half hours. Each dive is about an hour long, we have about an hour break in between dives. It usually takes over an hour or so to get to the site after we meet, get briefed, get geared and get in. The shore sites involve walking, we don't just plop off the boat then climb up the ladder when we're done. I don't have a crew of DM's helping with gear setup, breakdown, storytelling, etc. It's just me. Thanks to the ridiculous changes in our Maui County permits, we are being forced to more remote locations than years ago, and unfortunately, this adds more time to our day. I would welcome your suggestions as to how to make things go faster. What could you have done that day to have sped things up Doug? I'd love to know. As it was, the father and son team were 20 minutes late leaving the Four Seasons hotel. I called them to tell them we were coming but they were still late, I guess that 's how it goes when you have kids. It didn't help but what can I do about that? They're my clients and they're on vacation. I try not to stress about it. I had nothing else to do that day except take you guys diving.

So to anyone who cared to read my response, please don't feel like you have to bring your own dive gear or risk your life with mine. Yes, I use older model Sherwood regulators. I love those older regs. They're workhorses. They're reliable, they breathe awesome, they're simple and easy to clean. I haven't found a newer regulator that I like better and I've been around diving for a long time. I've been a Sherwood repair technician since 1986 and I can practically rebuild them with my eyes closed! I personally test each regulator when I rebuild it and it doesn't go into the ocean unless I am happy with it. I also do a thorough pre-dive safety check before each dive with each diver to try to prevent problems in the water. (This is where we went wrong on this dive.) If we find a problem, we change the gear out and then we go when we're happy.

Here's a shot of our group after the dive. This is how I remember it. We had a great dive that day despite a few gear issues. Who's next?

Thank You!

 

[BUGBAGGER]

Halemano,

I stand corrected. See what can happen when oyu live Hawaii for 10 years then go mainland and get polluted. I completely reversed the way it was with the way it is now as you clearly explained.

Needless to say, the we who live here nkow the channel waves between Maui and Molokai are usually BIG and BAD no matter how you measure them.

Mahalo.

 

[AquaTec]

Shaka Doug
My apologies for any insulting comments I may have made.
My day diving with you was a good one; I did request the dive site and you where happy to accommodate. And you knew the site very well.
Your pre dive briefing was very complete, entertaining, and made it fun. And more importantly made the kids and their dad comfortable diving with you. As I said in my post when I bring my kids there I would love to have them dive with you because of your care, consideration to them, your detailed briefing.
As for the gear, I don't think I ever said it was life threatening, and I mentioned that my wet suit was just fine, I didn't mention but would agree that the booties, and mask where fine. And my BCD was fairly recent model and except that it did not hold air was fine, I also agreed that knowing my own diving style I would be able to maintain a flat profile or use no air at all which would be fine on this dive.
In reference with the age of the dive gear I was thinking more of the gear you supplied the kids. But I will drop this issue.
I did misunderstand your suggestion of switching gear, but either way was fine with the choices made.
When I got to Maui I choose the dive sites I wanted to dive and then shopped the companies that would take me there, I knew that you would be the best dive guide for south shore beach diving, and still believe this. I was not disappointed in your guiding abilities; I think I mentioned this originally. As a matter of fact I would say everything was excellent except for the gear issues and maybe I did think it took a little long but after thinking about the latter issue the time taken to prep the kids and their dad was perfect,
I will definitely complement you on not being in a hurry, you took the time needed to make sure everyone was ready.

I don't agree with all the statements you made about me, but I am not looking to get into a pissing match. I think overall you did a great job.

I would highly recommend Shaka Divers for South Maui shore dives especially if you have kids. I would just bring my own gear (sorry about the last part) When we are back in July I will have my two kids with me and would be happy to go with you again, if I didn't piss you off to much

 

[AquaTec]

Oh and by the way
Your van is cool; I didn't mean an insult by saying an old school bus. But that’s what it is
The bus is very set up for diving, and looks clean tidy and well maintained. You have a great portable operation.