Hubby and I just returned from Oahu, Hawaii. We used Oahu Dive Center. Because of my long break since my last dives and my husband's new certification, we went with other new divers on four 30-45 foot dives. Matching our experience level to those dives and other divers was perfect.
Our divemaster was Bob. I would recommend him, especially if you are new to diving or rusty like I was. He was extremely patient with my husband who was anxious and having trouble clearing on the dives, and was great at pointing out various things on the reef. Out of all my previous dive guides, Bob is one of my favorites. He did an excellent job keeping an eye on everyone and was quick to stop any unsafe practices (such as my way-too-fast ascent). Briefings on the dive sites were short, but information was sufficient.
On the second day of diving we were out on a boat with various other dive centers (I think there were 4 groups total), each one with an instructor taking his/her students out. Looking around at the other dive center's equipment, I am glad I picked ODC- their stuff was pretty new and well maintained; the intergrated weight system was a big plus.
I was not as impressed with the reef. Perhaps I was expecting too much (my last diving was Roatan and Belize), but the reef looked practically dead (IMO). Fish were plentiful, but I was expecting larger corals and sponges like on my caribbean dives. I now understand what people mean when they say diving is better in some places than others. Time to research the differences in Pacific and Caribbean reefs. I was also hoping for better vis, but it just didn't happen.
What I wish I had asked PRIOR to the dives: How big is the boat we are taking, where are we going, and do people normally get seasick going to that area? Day One was horrible in that 4 divers sat out dive #2 and spent the time puking over the side of the boat. My husband actually never even made it in the water that day he was so sick. If the dive site we are going to involves big waves and a small boat that is fine- but I didn't remember to ask prior and my husband didn't know to ask since he had never been on a boat dive. Lesson learned. Day Two we loaded up on Bonine and were good to go.
We plan on using ODC again when we return to Oahu later this year. Hopefully Bob will still be there.
Our divemaster was Bob. I would recommend him, especially if you are new to diving or rusty like I was. He was extremely patient with my husband who was anxious and having trouble clearing on the dives, and was great at pointing out various things on the reef. Out of all my previous dive guides, Bob is one of my favorites. He did an excellent job keeping an eye on everyone and was quick to stop any unsafe practices (such as my way-too-fast ascent). Briefings on the dive sites were short, but information was sufficient.
On the second day of diving we were out on a boat with various other dive centers (I think there were 4 groups total), each one with an instructor taking his/her students out. Looking around at the other dive center's equipment, I am glad I picked ODC- their stuff was pretty new and well maintained; the intergrated weight system was a big plus.
I was not as impressed with the reef. Perhaps I was expecting too much (my last diving was Roatan and Belize), but the reef looked practically dead (IMO). Fish were plentiful, but I was expecting larger corals and sponges like on my caribbean dives. I now understand what people mean when they say diving is better in some places than others. Time to research the differences in Pacific and Caribbean reefs. I was also hoping for better vis, but it just didn't happen.
What I wish I had asked PRIOR to the dives: How big is the boat we are taking, where are we going, and do people normally get seasick going to that area? Day One was horrible in that 4 divers sat out dive #2 and spent the time puking over the side of the boat. My husband actually never even made it in the water that day he was so sick. If the dive site we are going to involves big waves and a small boat that is fine- but I didn't remember to ask prior and my husband didn't know to ask since he had never been on a boat dive. Lesson learned. Day Two we loaded up on Bonine and were good to go.
We plan on using ODC again when we return to Oahu later this year. Hopefully Bob will still be there.
