Molokini Crater - Back Wall Dive

[DocVikingo]

Hey happydiver,

You hit pay dirt. Good for you.

Welcome back to balmy NJ.

Best regards.

DocVikingo

 

[Jonathan Starr]

I've been waiting for the right weather to correspond with some time off and the availability of a dive buddy & someone to stay on my boat to do the back wall at Molokini. I've been inside the crater 4 times in the past month, but always the trades were romping and didn't want to risk the exposed back side.

It's interesting to be getting my experience here at these great sites, and exploring them on my own boat (Glacier Bay 22 Cat with Honda 90's) so that their wonders are always a discovery. I've read more on this board about the back wall of Molokini than I've been able to pick up locally from scuttlebutt. Lanai, too, we explore and end up stumbling onto great places, and later someone says, "oh, that's the Cathedral 2" or whatever.

My knowledge of these waters comes from years of trolling for fish and freediving/spearfishing from the shore. I'm having a great time exploring below the surface.

Aloha,

JOnathan
kalepa@maui.net

 

[sactomags]

We dove the back wall of Molokini in December 2000 and it was wonderful. We dove w/ProDiver, which has a nice boat that only accommodates 5-6 divers. Pierre gives incredibly thorough briefing ... saw a cowrie "live" for the first time. Got some super pics, which I have yet to scan in and share with anyone. Our first dive -- and we were the only divers in the water -- was in the crater and I got a super shot of a white tip.

We also dove Cathedral 1 in Lanai and it was lovely. To go into the "chamber" and have the back wall of lava cut out that resembles a large stained glass window, shafts of light wafting through the water. Absolutely incredible and well worth the dive. We did Extended Horizons, which I won't do again (a cattle boat, altho the DMs were very nice and gave a good briefing -- they were also hot to sell their photographic services). Unfortunately, my camera didn't work on this one ... which I wish it had as that was my first show to overcome my underwater claustrophobia. I did it and didn't suck air and only got a little bit apprehensive in one swim-through.

Also spent time on Molokai -- a TRUE vacation -- and was fortunate enough to have two days worth of fair diving. On our last day of diving there, we saw two mantas with a span of probably close to 10 feet. Then, during surface, we got to see humpbacks pass about 100 yards from the boat. We were the only two divers that day.

Aloha!!!
Sactomags