Some of you may have been following the progress of the Big Adventure trip that was originally planned for plus size women -- and was enlarged (no pun intended) to include any size women who were supportive of plus size women learning to dive.
Well! I'm pleased to announce that the first BIG ADVENTURE SCUBA TRIP was a great success!!!! Five women participated. Four of the women were plus sized, and one was a slender ally.
Two of the women had never dived before; but in just a few short (well... okay... loooong) days they were certified open water divers! The other three women were certified divers.
We were in Maui from January 31 to February 10. Apparently there had been a serious off shore swell about a week prior to our arrival and visibility has been significantly impacted. In the early part of the week visibility was typically in the 40 foot range. By the end of the week, conditions were improving. (But, frankly, 40 feet in warm water is still pretty good when compared to some of the alternatives!)
We did shore dives at Ulua Beach, Makena Landing, Five Graves, and Ahihi Bay.
Our shore dives and training were supported by Maui Dreams Dive Co.; and as usual, they were fabulous!
We were able to explore alot of territory in the Five Graves - Makena Landing site -- getting into the bubble cave, the 'toilet bowl', and checking out the turtle cleaning station. We saw lots of the typical tropical fish, some small reef sharks, lots of turtles, various nudibranchs, and an assortment of eels.
On one of our night dives at Ulua we saw two huge Squid, and watched a videographer shooting them. We also saw two pleurobranchs -- a first for me -- they were just exquisite! A number of different crabs, shrimp, slipper lobsters and sea cucumbers kept it interesting.
Our group went to Molokini with B&B Scuba. They have a boat that holds 12 or 13 and leaves early from the Kihei Boat ramp. Their operation seemed straight forward, and ran smoothly. We visited the Garden Eels and saw a few sharks and all the usual tropicals. Our second dive was a drift dive at Pu'u Olai. Very cool! A turtle, several different eels... and a Titan Scorpion Fish. Because B&B leaves early, they also return early, allowing plenty of time for a cozy midday nap!
We went with Ed Robinson on their Wednesday Lanai Trip. Visibility was still very poor at Lanai. We did get to visit Cathedrals I and explore a number of coral arches. We saw a viper eel and many Gold Lace Sea Slugs. The highlight was stopping the boat on the return trip to have lunch with Humpback Whales jumping all around us.
I did a couple of photo dives off the beach at the Grand Wailea. There is a nice shallow reef just off the north end of their beach. I had a great time stalking a pair of Moorish Idols for portraits.
Finally, the absolute highlight of my trip was the 3 tank advanced dive with Ed Robinson's crew. We started at the ' apartments', ventured south to La Perouse (rare to get weather that allows boat access here) , and ended up at Makena Landing from the outside. This was just AWESOME. The attitude was relaxed, the discussion was excellent, the briefings included discussions about the technical elements of each dive -- the first being deep (112 feet), the second being drift, and the third being drop off and pick up at different locations. And the sights were just amazing -- a banded angel fish, a spiny hawk fish, a bush of black coral - gorgeous! Then, some great coral heads -- punctuated by a baby Manta Ray crusing over our heads. And, finally... a HAWAIIAN MONK SEAL -- I almost had a stroke, I was so excited -- (I was quite the sight, jumping up and down, pointing, screaming into my regulator "SEAL!!!!" -- unfortunately, everyone thought I was saying "eel" -- finally, I calmed down enough to get my slate....)
At the end of the week, all five women were sad to leave, and were trying to figure out how they could get their next "fix"! The next Big Adventure trip will return to Maui in June. June 21-28, 2002.
Awesome!!!
I also had the chance to visit the SCUBA operation at the Grand Wailea. They have a custom built, artistically designed pool to learn and practice dive skills and a gorgeous beach. They have a very upbeat, resort oriented attitude. I saw a sign that advertised Open Water certification for $499. (I believe that Maui Dreams charges $225.) I met Charlie Dolfun (I kid you not) who I think is the director of the SCUBA program. He has a very exuberant, playful personality. A great location, and wonderful, though apparently expensive, service -- though if you are staying at the Grand Wailea, cost is probably not your first concern.
Well! I'm pleased to announce that the first BIG ADVENTURE SCUBA TRIP was a great success!!!! Five women participated. Four of the women were plus sized, and one was a slender ally.
Two of the women had never dived before; but in just a few short (well... okay... loooong) days they were certified open water divers! The other three women were certified divers.
We were in Maui from January 31 to February 10. Apparently there had been a serious off shore swell about a week prior to our arrival and visibility has been significantly impacted. In the early part of the week visibility was typically in the 40 foot range. By the end of the week, conditions were improving. (But, frankly, 40 feet in warm water is still pretty good when compared to some of the alternatives!)
We did shore dives at Ulua Beach, Makena Landing, Five Graves, and Ahihi Bay.
Our shore dives and training were supported by Maui Dreams Dive Co.; and as usual, they were fabulous!
We were able to explore alot of territory in the Five Graves - Makena Landing site -- getting into the bubble cave, the 'toilet bowl', and checking out the turtle cleaning station. We saw lots of the typical tropical fish, some small reef sharks, lots of turtles, various nudibranchs, and an assortment of eels.
On one of our night dives at Ulua we saw two huge Squid, and watched a videographer shooting them. We also saw two pleurobranchs -- a first for me -- they were just exquisite! A number of different crabs, shrimp, slipper lobsters and sea cucumbers kept it interesting.
Our group went to Molokini with B&B Scuba. They have a boat that holds 12 or 13 and leaves early from the Kihei Boat ramp. Their operation seemed straight forward, and ran smoothly. We visited the Garden Eels and saw a few sharks and all the usual tropicals. Our second dive was a drift dive at Pu'u Olai. Very cool! A turtle, several different eels... and a Titan Scorpion Fish. Because B&B leaves early, they also return early, allowing plenty of time for a cozy midday nap!
We went with Ed Robinson on their Wednesday Lanai Trip. Visibility was still very poor at Lanai. We did get to visit Cathedrals I and explore a number of coral arches. We saw a viper eel and many Gold Lace Sea Slugs. The highlight was stopping the boat on the return trip to have lunch with Humpback Whales jumping all around us.
I did a couple of photo dives off the beach at the Grand Wailea. There is a nice shallow reef just off the north end of their beach. I had a great time stalking a pair of Moorish Idols for portraits.
Finally, the absolute highlight of my trip was the 3 tank advanced dive with Ed Robinson's crew. We started at the ' apartments', ventured south to La Perouse (rare to get weather that allows boat access here) , and ended up at Makena Landing from the outside. This was just AWESOME. The attitude was relaxed, the discussion was excellent, the briefings included discussions about the technical elements of each dive -- the first being deep (112 feet), the second being drift, and the third being drop off and pick up at different locations. And the sights were just amazing -- a banded angel fish, a spiny hawk fish, a bush of black coral - gorgeous! Then, some great coral heads -- punctuated by a baby Manta Ray crusing over our heads. And, finally... a HAWAIIAN MONK SEAL -- I almost had a stroke, I was so excited -- (I was quite the sight, jumping up and down, pointing, screaming into my regulator "SEAL!!!!" -- unfortunately, everyone thought I was saying "eel" -- finally, I calmed down enough to get my slate....)
At the end of the week, all five women were sad to leave, and were trying to figure out how they could get their next "fix"! The next Big Adventure trip will return to Maui in June. June 21-28, 2002.
Awesome!!!
I also had the chance to visit the SCUBA operation at the Grand Wailea. They have a custom built, artistically designed pool to learn and practice dive skills and a gorgeous beach. They have a very upbeat, resort oriented attitude. I saw a sign that advertised Open Water certification for $499. (I believe that Maui Dreams charges $225.) I met Charlie Dolfun (I kid you not) who I think is the director of the SCUBA program. He has a very exuberant, playful personality. A great location, and wonderful, though apparently expensive, service -- though if you are staying at the Grand Wailea, cost is probably not your first concern.
