Professional Dive Boat - EPIC FAIL

[stanky1]

just because you see a boat diving a site doesn't mean it's safe or good (vis current ect) to dive, sometimes we have to think about our customers limitations. Not every diver is superdiver

I'm learning a lot about Hawaii here:

(1) The Back Wall is just a hoax used to attract advanced divers onto boats that are very unlikely to take you to the Back Wall. Is that so the hoax can be perpetuated?

(2) If they tell you that you won't dive the Back Wall today because of a snorkeler on your advanced dive trip, it could mean anything from (a) we have to think about our customers' limitations because not every diver is a super diver, to (b) the conditions don't support a dive at that site, and (c) it probably has nothing to do with the snorkeler on your boat.

I didn't realize that diving Hawaii was so complex. Please, tell me more....

 

[rgbmatt]

The question is, did you specifically ask to dive the back wall when you booked your trip? And, if so, did they tell you that they'd take you there?

If not, it's OK to be disappointed but the dive shop might be getting a bad rap. There are plenty of great dive spots in Hawaii, and no boat can go to all of them in one day.

There are plenty of reasons why a boat would decide not to do the back wall, ranging from bad conditions to a crew who didn't think it was all that special and thought the inside was more interesting. In the latter case, they probably thought "well, the inside of the crater is a great dive so we'll take this snorkeler along and everyone will enjoy it".

The reason why the dive industry people in this thread are skeptical is that it's never possible to make everyone happy all of the time, and there are always people who misunderstand the situation and are upset, even though they're trying their best. So, don't take it personally.

 

[acooper]

Any outfit can have a bad day. It could be the fault of the staff, other customers, or the conditions. The test is how it is handled during and afterwards.

Thursday we dove the YO-257, a dive we island hopped to Oahu to do. Conditions turned out to be a mite troublesome. Big swell and a current that went from moderate to screaming as we started into the dive. We did get down, and we went right back up again, hand over hand up the mooring line. No attempt at the second dive. The staff was fantastic and handled the trouble very well indeed.

I will mention names... Gabe and Kaimana Divers! Drew was the divemaster handling the disaster, very competent. He got us all back safely, including one badly shaken diver, that took real work on his part. We were all laughing afterwards at what Drew could only sum up as a "confidence building dive"!

Would I dive again with the Drew? Yes. We need to mention the good and the bad in these conversations to allow this forum any value.

 

[grandizer52]

]Any outfit can have a bad day. It could be the fault of the staff, other customers, or the conditions. The test is how it is handled during and afterwards.

Thursday we dove the YO-257, a dive we island hopped to Oahu to do. Conditions turned out to be a mite troublesome. Big swell and a current that went from moderate to screaming as we started into the dive. We did get down, and we went right back up again, hand over hand up the mooring line. No attempt at the second dive. The staff was fantastic and handled the trouble very well indeed.

I will mention names... Gabe and Kaimana Divers! Drew was the divemaster handling the disaster, very competent. He got us all back safely, including one badly shaken diver, that took real work on his part. We were all laughing afterwards at what Drew could only sum up as a "confidence building dive"!

Would I dive again with the Drew? Yes. We need to mention the good and the bad in these conversations to allow this forum any value.[/COLOR]

think you should post this several more times...and on other forms...
great shot Mr. Cooper

 

[djtimmy77]

We did the back wall on our (only) boat dive in Maui. It was a lot of fun, and a spectacular topography. We went on Ed Robinsons 3-tank dive, and while they said that the back wall was a strong possibility, they did say it depended on conditions.

I can understand your frustration. I too, would have been pretty upset if I was sold an "advanced" dive and was limited by a snorkeler. Especially for the exorbitant prices that the boat dives there command.

 

[grandizer52]

I'm learning a lot about Hawaii here:

(1) The Back Wall is just a hoax used to attract advanced divers onto boats that are very unlikely to take you to the Back Wall. Is that so the hoax can be perpetuated?

(2) If they tell you that you won't dive the Back Wall today because of a snorkeler on your advanced dive trip, it could mean anything from (a) we have to think about our customers' limitations because not every diver is a super diver, to (b) the conditions don't support a dive at that site, and (c) it probably has nothing to do with the snorkeler on your boat.

I didn't realize that diving Hawaii was so complex. Please, tell me more....

WTF??? I wouldn't bring a snorkeler back there, maybe an experienced freediver...but conditions on that side get evil with no warning...it gets deep enough on the inside....you "may see a submarine periscope sticking out" if you look

 

[stanky1]

(1) The Back Wall is just a hoax used to attract advanced divers onto boats that are very unlikely to take you to the Back Wall. Is that so the hoax can be perpetuated?

Now, where in those two sentences does it suggest to you that I would bring a snorkeler to the Back Wall?
For what it's worth, I wouldn't bring a snorkeler on an advanced dive trip. Period.

The above quote was intended to be sarcastic. The Back Wall gets great press everywhere, yet from what I read here, my chances of ever seeing it are rather small. Is this Hawaii's version of Big Foot??? And many of you who claim to have seen the Back Wall say it's just a guy in a gorilla suit anyway.

Yes, some of your excuses not to dive the Back Wall may be legitimate, but bringing and then catering to a snorkeler on what is sold as an advanced dive trip is NOT one of them. Can I be any more clear on this???

 

[rgbmatt]

The above quote was intended to be sarcastic. The Back Wall gets great press everywhere, yet from what I read here, my chances of ever seeing it are rather small. Is this Hawaii's version of Big Foot??? And many of you who claim to have seen the Back Wall say it's just a guy in a gorilla suit anyway.

No, the back wall is real, and it's an amazing dive. The best thing about it is its monumental scale - it goes straight down from the surface to 300+ feet, with big chunks sticking out, cracks with critters inside, etc. There are other places in Hawaii where you can dive on similar structures that are just as good if not better, but most aren't accessible to commercial dive tours and those that are are much more difficult to visit than Molokini (believe it or not).

That said, the time I went I was a little underwhelmed with the coral and amount of fish, which wasn't very impressive (to me) compared with what I'm used to seeing on Oahu, especially since it's in a marine preserve. You'll see a lot more of this kind of stuff inside the crater, which is why many people prefer it to the back wall. If you were to ask me (and I'm apparently not alone here) I'd say that it's a toss-up as to which is the best dive spot overall. The bottom line is, Molokini is a great place to dive no matter what, and you shouldn't feel ripped off unless you were purposely misled by the dive shop.

 

[grandizer52]

no, the back wall is real, and it's an amazing dive. The best thing about it is its monumental scale - it goes straight down from the surface to 300+ feet, with big chunks sticking out, cracks with critters inside, etc. There are other places in hawaii where you can dive on similar structures that are just as good if not better, but most aren't accessible to commercial dive tours and those that are are much more difficult to visit than molokini (believe it or not).

That said, the time i went i was a little underwhelmed with the coral and amount of fish, which wasn't very impressive (to me) compared with what i'm used to seeing on oahu, especially since it's in a marine preserve. You'll see a lot more of this kind of stuff inside the crater, which is why many people prefer it to the back wall. if you were to ask me (and i'm apparently not alone here) i'd say that it's a toss-up as to which is the best dive spot overall. The bottom line is, molokini is a great place to dive no matter what, and you shouldn't feel ripped off unless you were purposely misled by the dive shop.

woo-yah matt

 

[ChrisM]

I'd be bummed about being limited by a snorkeler on a dive boat... But I've read that one year the readers of Scuba Diving mag voted molokini backside as the best North American wall dive... I think that says more about North American wall diving than Molokini. Yes, the topography is dramatic, and I've heard stories from DMs of face to face humpback enounters back there, but I've done the wall from one end to the other in various iterations between B&B and Robinson's and, well, it's a wall. There's the occasional shark on a ledge. It drops way down deep. But it's not like you've missed the holy grail if you didn't get there. It is impressive when the current is flowing, just sailing along the backside, then heading out into the blue for the SS.