The Maui diving experience

[WVDiver]

We just got back from spending a week on Maui and a week on the Big Island. On Maui we dove with B&B Scuba. Brad and Blesi, owners of the shop, were both gracious and informative.

http://www.bbscuba.com/contactus

I have been out with a fair number of shops over the years and I can honestly say that I have never had a better experience in regards to personal care and attention. Brad was always looking out for everyone on his boat at all times and making sure everyone was attended to and their every need met. He really went out of his way for everyone on the boat.

He led our group on the Molokini Crater Dive which is certainly a "must do" if you are ever in Maui. We saw many firsts for us as this was our first dives in Pacific water. We saw White Tip Reef Sharks, Undulated Eels, Gray sharks and coral that you just don't see in the Atlantic. We also experienced some of the things we have seen before like garden eels and all the little tropical fish, though they were different colors and different species.

Between dives we were followed by wild dolphins, another first for us, though the snorkelers ran the dolphins off before we could get in the water with them.

The second dive we went to a wreck called the St Anthony and got some good shots of Green Sea Turtles. I will get some pictures posted when I get a chance.

Brad also set us up with tanks and weights for shore diving and made everything really easy by setting us up with a "tab" so that we didn't have to worry about paying till we left.

A south swell kept us from doing a lot of shore diving though we did dive two sites, Makena Landing and Ulua Beach

The Maui reefs were nice but they do not encircle the island like you are used to if you have been to Bonaire or even the Big Island. The reefs are small and scattered, usually near to and hugging the shoreline. Get a guide to show you around it will be well worth your time and money.

I will let Clear Blue, my other half, tell the story of our dive at Makena Landing and the "Toilet Bowl".

 

[caymaniac]

You've now been to some of the best of Hawaii underwater. Were you able to dive with the Mantas on the Big?

Molokini

Point of refuge

St. Anthonys wreck

 

[WVDiver]

Oh yes we did both Manta Ray Night Dive and the Black Water Night Dive. That is a separate thread.

 

[CLEAR BLUE]

I don't know if I want to post about Makena Landing or not. It was our "near death" dive experience.

 

[Shaka Doug]

I don't know if I want to post about Makena Landing or not. It was our "near death" dive experience.

Please do post about your experience. It will most likely provide support for our cause here on Maui that visitors really benefit from professional guides. I'm certain that I have more dives at Makena Landing than 99.9% of the people on this island. I've dove there for over twelve years and it is one of my favorite sites. I know it inside and out, backwards and forwards, day time, night time, upside down, right side up, you name it; I have dove there in all conditons from 100' viz down to 2 inches. It's a great dive but there are certainly places there that are not always accessible....like "The Toilet Bowl". Last year the 'supposed new owner' (Everett Dowling / Makena Resort) kicked all the 'Pros' out of that place. More recently, he was foreclosed upon by the bank for not making the payments on his 'new property' and now it's anyones guess as to our accessibilty.

We want that site back. We want to keep it safe for everyone too. Please tell us what happened. If anyone wants to dive there with a guide, feel free to 'invite' me to come along with you. Thank you very much!

 

[muddiver]

That blows, because I did some free diving there last year off one of the Trilogy vessels. It was some of the best shallow water diving I have done around Maui.

 

[CLEAR BLUE]

Hi Shaka Doug. Actually....it was our original intention that we have a guide. For some reason, we thought you were on the Big Island. Another fellow we had planned on diving with was on the mainland that week. In any event....there was a series of events that led up to things. There were some divers there that had dove this site many times and they tried to give us an approximation of where the reef was. We decided that WV would lead (there were 4 of us) and we would take a 210 degree heading out with 30 degrees bringing us home. When we started out, the surge was pretty strong but the dive certainly seemed doable. We went on our way and we never did run into the reef. It was mostly sand but there were fish, urchins, etc. One of the others signaled that she had 1500 pounds so we turned the dive. The 4th member surfaced to see where we were and took a compass reading and started heading back on a 0 degree heading. Well...we should have stuck with our original plan. In any event...I remember looking at my computer and it said 8 feet. The next thing I knew, I had been thrown to the surface and was churning around upside down, sideways, being thrown into rocks etc. Of course I didn't know where WV or anybody else was during this time. Each time I tried to cling to a rock, another wave would come and rip me off. Well, WV and I had both washed into this area. To make a long story short....the only way out of this area was to climb up and over the rocks and get back into open water which we did. I lost a weight pouch in the process....so if you ever find one....it may even be on top of the rock! Anyway...we got back in. When speaking with people, we learned that there was a "south swell" and conditions were not the usual for this location. In any event, we learned several lessons and would be happy to see this area another time with a guide.

 

[Shaka Doug]

Thanks Clear Blue! Glad to hear that you're OK in the long run. Must have been scary for a while though. Sounds like you went too far to the south to begin with...straight into the waves. I'm trying to figure out where you ended up on the rocks and had to climb over, especially if you weren't seeing reef. (Did you end up to the left of the old boat landing (as seen from land)? That dive starts out West (270) for about 5-10 minutes then you turn NW for up to 20-30 minutes more or so and reverse to come home (ESE the E). It finally gets about 30' deep after fifteen or 20 minutes but you are leaving the reef and entering the open sand. I get the feeling that the folks who gave you advice that day really didn't know where to go either.

Viz must have been pretty poor which doesn't help matters. It gets quite surgey on South Swell days because of the shallowness and sometimes it's just not divable. Next time you guys come back try to see it on a good day. You will love the dive there.

 

[KrisB]

Hey Doug... I've heard some people say that the south side of the ramp is actually some really nice diving, though I never got around to exploring it. Have you looked at all over there (it sounds like that's where they were, given the 210 degree departure heading).

Though, it also almost sounds like they were at the "turning" point (where you go from due W to NW on the "normal" Makena Landing dive)... I could picture that being an "up and over the rocks" to find open water again.

 

[CLEAR BLUE]

If you stand on the shore and look to the right, I think we were about 3 rock outcrops over. I may even have a picture which I will try to post later (have to go to work now). The shore was only about 20 feet away but the rocks were straight up and there was a house above us. We would not have been able to climb up nor would we have been able to get there through the white water.