Maui resort diving?

[RonDawg]

Remember, Hawaii Ohana SB'ers are not all authorities on Hawaii, or Maui. Only one previous poster answers any part of your origional question and that one calls Maui Undersea Adventures very professional. Eduardo also has a similar number of posts in the Ohana to his dives in Hawaii, which I find very refreshing.

As with the other posters above, mine is just advice and opinion. The difference is full time residency and years of full time guiding here.

I don't see where anybody, full-time Hawaii resident or not, is trying to imply that they are "authorities" on anything.

While I may not have strictly adhered to the original thread (and there aren't many on SB that do, especially the popular ones), he was offered an alternative to diving with a resort operator. I simply offered yet another alternative. In no way was I discouraging him from using his resort's own operator, or any resort operator for that matter.

I am not a paid spokesman for B&B. I recommend them because I enjoyed my experience with them.

 

[DiveMaven]

We were certified on Maui. Our confined water portion was off the beach in the ocean and our 4 certification dives were off a boat. We never felt weird or uncomfortable during the boat dives. However, I have seen folks who were certified in quarries and never dove from a boat freak out a little before and after their first splash from a boat (including a woman who had over 50 dives and her AOW....all in a quarry in Indiana!).

I don't necessarily think that it's just divers doing their certification dives who may be uncomfortable stepping off a boat in the ocean, it's anyone who isn't familiar and has anxiety about it.

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

Since B&B has checked out thousands of open water students on their boat I wouldn't concern yourself with the safety of that operation doing owd checkouts. With the the large number of dive leaders on their boat they are able to do checkouts with open water students while also doing more advanced dives with certifed divers at the same time.

If the shops you mentioned owned a boat don't you think they'd do checkouts oof boats themselves? Since they don't own a boat we'll never really know.

 

[raviepoo]

BUT, having seen numerous people get freaked out in 2' of water, I can only imagine the panic attack they would have experienced after a giant stride.

Wow! I just can't imagine anyone getting freaked out in 2' of warm, clear, tropical water. In a cold, murky quarry, maybe. Off the coast of NJ, definitely. But Molokini? You have to be pretty D@mned hydrophobic to freak out at Molokini.

Why do OW instructors sign off on students who are so freaked out in the water? (Rhetorical question. I know why they do it.)

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

Why do OW instructors sign off on students who are so freaked out in the water? (Rhetorical question. I know why they do it.)

I have never ever signed one of those off. I make sure they get a lot more attention in confined water before we ever head off to checkouts.

 

[KrisB]

raviepoo: they get special attention in water they can stand up in, until they become comfortable. These are generally people that have built up an apprehension towards breathing underwater, and once they realize their regulator works and the instructor will be inches away the whole dive, they loosen up and enjoy themselves. I've seen several become complete "naturals" in the span of a dive or two.

Al: you might want to ask around -- the shops I mentioned have (or have had, in Maui Sun Divers' case) a boat, but have chosen not to use it for commercial dive operations at this time. When the dollars and cents are balanced at the end of the day, the boat ops are not big money makers around here, and simply booking space on another boat when a customer requests it is far more "practical".

 

[jeffrey-c]

Seems the gist of the OP's original question has been lost: are they expensive to dive with and would they be a good operator to take Rescue with? Doesn't sound like a beginner!

FWIW, I'll echo Kris' original recommendation of Maui Dreams for training. I did my AOW with them and ended up with private instruction for a price less than groups are here on the mainland. The quality of the instruction was top-notch, and I think their shore diving expertise would lend itself perfectly to the Rescue class.

 

[KrisB]

For perspective, I just talked to someone who answers the "Maui Undersea Adventures" phone. Rescue wasn't listed on their pricelist, but AOW was $549.

That same cert is $295 from Maui Dreams.

That difference is a heck of a lot of "walking or taxi rides" in my book.

 

[frenchmonkee]

This is the first i have heard about prices at Maui Under Sea... I have tried emailing them and phoning, with no responses to both. I am assuming that if the cost of the OW was high, that their Rescue diver would be high as well.
Thanks for all the posts.

Does anyone recommend a dive group to go to Molokini with? I know that the rescue diver course will be done from the shore, and i am looking to get some fun dives in as well. What is an average price that i should be looking for.

What sort of marine life am i looking to see in early Jan at Molokini?

Thanks for all posts! I really appreciate it!

 

[KrisB]

As mentioned, B&B Scuba is highly recommended for boat excursions to Molokini, as is Mike Severn's. I have dove with Dive & Sea Maui and Scuba Shack and enjoyed those experiences as well.

Prices for boat dives typically range from $100 to $130 for a two-tank dive, with at least one of the tanks at Molokini.

I'm not aware of anything "special" as far as timing is concerned -- is there something you're hoping to see? The list of marine creatures out there is long... and I don't know that anyone could list it completely!