Every few days we get very similar requests in the Hawaii Ohana; which Islands are best, what times of year are best, what dive shops are best, what boats are best, what dives are best? While the answer should vary widely for each visitor, there have been better answers and better answerers but not every inquiry gets them.
The first Sticky I'm suggesting is one I see in the computer technical forums often; How to Submit a Post / Read Before Posting. It is much easier to answer someones questions if we know a little about them. Let us know; how many are you, what are your skill levels (# & types of dives), any non-divers in group, are there specific reasons for diving in the Islands, favorite top-side activities, etc. Let them know they may be able to mostly answer or better compose their question by checking out the other Stickies.
Another Sticky could be By Island and Season. Here we could list best times for different critters and sides of each island a little more in-depthly than North is best in Summer, South is best in Winter when the Whales are here and there are less tourists in the Fall. For instance, we could point out that for some locations late January has good to great diving (barring infrequent storms), many whales and not so many tourists.
Finally and most importantly to me today, Dive Charter Overview / Recommendations. For Maui I believe Charlie99 has put forth the most balanced review of the dive charters. He seems to be one of the few that has personal experience with all the different charter companies. I would nominate that post to be the foundation for the Maui section of the Dive Charter Sticky. Then when Charlie is not posting we can refer newbies to the Sticky.
For all you B&B loyalists, contrary to how a recent thread sounded, I believe B&B is by far the reasonably priced quality charter on Maui. There price is even better if you go more than once. That said, each Kihei charter delivers a different product which works out well because each diver is unique so there could never be one charter for every diver. You don't really think every diver in the world should stay in a condo in Kihei in the Fall and dive only with B&B, do you?
These Stickies would minimize the stupid things I and others post trying to give life to the same boring questions week after week after week. I encourage all interested Ohana SB'ers to weigh in with suggestions and/or corrections. Maybe even a section on do's and don't of the 'Revealed book series. It would be nice if the answers we give here were fair and balanced, I know I wish mine were!
The first Sticky I'm suggesting is one I see in the computer technical forums often; How to Submit a Post / Read Before Posting. It is much easier to answer someones questions if we know a little about them. Let us know; how many are you, what are your skill levels (# & types of dives), any non-divers in group, are there specific reasons for diving in the Islands, favorite top-side activities, etc. Let them know they may be able to mostly answer or better compose their question by checking out the other Stickies.
Another Sticky could be By Island and Season. Here we could list best times for different critters and sides of each island a little more in-depthly than North is best in Summer, South is best in Winter when the Whales are here and there are less tourists in the Fall. For instance, we could point out that for some locations late January has good to great diving (barring infrequent storms), many whales and not so many tourists.
Finally and most importantly to me today, Dive Charter Overview / Recommendations. For Maui I believe Charlie99 has put forth the most balanced review of the dive charters. He seems to be one of the few that has personal experience with all the different charter companies. I would nominate that post to be the foundation for the Maui section of the Dive Charter Sticky. Then when Charlie is not posting we can refer newbies to the Sticky.
For all you B&B loyalists, contrary to how a recent thread sounded, I believe B&B is by far the reasonably priced quality charter on Maui. There price is even better if you go more than once. That said, each Kihei charter delivers a different product which works out well because each diver is unique so there could never be one charter for every diver. You don't really think every diver in the world should stay in a condo in Kihei in the Fall and dive only with B&B, do you?
These Stickies would minimize the stupid things I and others post trying to give life to the same boring questions week after week after week. I encourage all interested Ohana SB'ers to weigh in with suggestions and/or corrections. Maybe even a section on do's and don't of the 'Revealed book series. It would be nice if the answers we give here were fair and balanced, I know I wish mine were!
