Maui in February

[MauiScubaSteve]

My wife and I are experienced divers with over 1000 dives each. We have to go to Maui in February for a wedding and wanted to do a week of diving while there. We are interested in operaters who do not run cattle boat operations, cater to more experienced divers and who head out to the best dive sites on the west. The wedding is on the west side so we were thinking of staying in Kawai.

Who would you go out diving with?

Just to clear up a few points:

West Maui sort of includes the "towns" of Lahaina, Ka'anapali, Honokowai, Mahinahina, Kahana, Napili and Kapalua; although it is all 96791 zip so all addresses are Lahaina I believe.

Kauai is the Western-most Island of the Main Hawaiian Islands.

The best dive sites off West Maui are shore dive sites for the most part, except for the Carthaginian artificial wreck and Rainbow Rock, which is a summer only site. The shore dives on the West Side are often not great in Feb due to large Winter Swells, the reason Hawaii is famous for surfing.

West Maui's best diving is across the channel to Lanai for the most part, or across the other channel to Molokai, but Molokai's sites are also more negatively affected by the previously mentioned Winter Swells.

Extended Horizon's is my favorite Lanai operator, and with no more than 11 or 12 customers even a full boat is not really a Cattle Boat.

There are only 4 or 5 boats larger than 12-ish divers; Maui Dive Shop may have two, Lahaina Divers has two and Maui Dreams has one.

Also correcting another post; ProDiver only takes 6 divers, and Dive & Sea only takes 6, both working South Maui.

 

[joewr]

Hi,
We have always found Ed Robinson's outfit more than satisfactory...but, as all have mentioned, you need to be a "morning person". One thing that is nice is that they use what I call the "loose buddy" system: if you have good bottom times, the DM will stay down with you and let you roam. Some folks do not like live boat drift diving, but we were weaned in Cozumel and it is second nature to us.

Some of the most memorable dives with them were on the backside of Molikini: if you have good bottom times, you can get a great tour with all sorts of sea life. If you are not Nitrox certed, it would be worth the effort before you go: they really do cater to divers with good bottom times and Nitrox will be very helpful. We tend to use it on just one dive, but they will happily ($$$$$) supply it (32%) for 1, 2, or three dives.

One more thing...Hawaiian waters can be a little cold in Feb. (less than 78 deg F). You might consider a 5 mil wet suit...or a vest if you are diving 3 mils...just a thought...

joewr...I dive, therefore I am....

 

[ve6raj]

Yeah, one of the slogans I was working on for my services was "Sleep In With Shaka Divers!".

(My girl says there's some kind of potential double meaning there but....hey, it's only a sentence. So far she has Vetoed it!)

Like Dive Maven said, I start at 9 am. I figure bankers and lawyers start at 9, why shouldn't I?

I like that - I guess I will see you next February then when I break away from the Canadian winter.

 

[DiveMaven]

In February the water is closer to 74-76 degrees. Definitely at least a full 5mm is in order IMO.

 

[iluvcozumel]

+ 1 for B & B Scuba, I enjoyed diving with them, and I too am accustomed to the Cozumel style of diving and they were good in that respect. Lahaina Divers is a cattle boat operator in my opinion and would not allow the use of nitrox on the back wall at Molokini, why I don't know although I suspect they just didn't want to deal with it that day. B & B will do nitrox on the back wall. I heard a rumor that B & B has a new boat coming that will be fast and they are considering going to Lanai and Molokai with it......I hope so as that will provide another option for those sites and they are definitely a superior op compared to Lahaina Divers. Just my opinion......YMMV.

And I definitely suggest a guide for the 5 Caves shore dive......my wife and I did it on our own and really enjoyed it, but having someone who knew the area would have made it much more enjoyable.....

 

[ve6raj]

Thanks for the heads-up Dive Maven. A full 5 mm wet suit is on it's way.

Iluvcozumel, can you explain what you mean by the Cozumel style of diving. Is it simply the fact that they take fewer divers or is there some other aspect that I didn't grasp. I am totally new at this and really want to make my first dives effective in terms of learning. I have just finished my PADI open water and don't feel very confident. I need to get better at it so that I am not a burden to my dive buddy and can become a better dive buddy myself.
Thanks

 

[DiveMaven]

ve6raj, B&B is an excellent choice for your first ocean dives post-certification. They're really great with newer divers and look out for you. Ed Robinson's regular 2-tank charter is also a good option, but regardless of whom you choose, make sure you tell the crew that you're brand new and not very confident. For shore diving, you really can't go wrong with either Shaka Doug or Maui Dreams.

Since you're a newer diver and haven't been diving in Hawaii before, I'll suggest that you stick pretty close to your DM. They'll be able to show you all that is unique and special about diving in Hawaii, and you'll feel a bit more comfortable and relaxed knowing you have a bit of extra supervision for your first dives.

 

[ve6raj]

Thanks DiveMaven for the info. I really appreciate it. I do need to get a dozen or so dives under my belt to build up my confidence level. It sounds like the guys you recommended are ideal choices. Shaka Doug was already on my list.