Thursday, Black Rock, Night Dive

[Al Mialkovsky]

You can leave one in the car or just stash it on the beach. Instructors here leave many extra tanks on the beach when they're off diving with a class.

Don't leave wallets or cameras or anything you'd like to keep in your car though, there are many thieves here. We just bring car keys, a few bucks and a credit card when we leave the condo and take them with us diving. It isn't a huge problem but it's something to consider.

Check out Shorediving for a start to find out where to dive. Where on the island are you staying?

 

[kidspot]

Ditto what Al said,

While Maui is a pretty safe place as far as violent crime goes, petty theft is quite common (It's paradise, not heaven) but who wants to steal tanks? They have no resale value... I leave mine in the back of my pickup all the time (pressure rises about 300-500psi) and as Al said, many instructors just leave several sitting on the beach between dives. The cheapest place to rent tanks is usually Pacific Dive off Dickenson st. if you are staying in the Lahaina/Kaanapali area. If you are staying in Kihei check out B&B for renting (tanks from Pacific Dive are usually $5/tank or less if you rent a bunch... $2/tank if you buy 100 fills - lol) Have fun and let me know if you're interested in getting together for some shore dives, I always enjoy meeting other Scubaboard members.

Aloha, Tim

 

[Charlie99]

I know we have to rent/tow a dive flag, but what I really need to know is how you manage extra tanks? If we rent 2 tanks each, can we leave one in the car while we dive the first tank? What do we do with the extra tanks while we dive?

I'd leave both your 2nd tanks and a picnic lunch in the car Most of the shore dives are less than 30' avg depth, so your dives will probably be long ones. Even if you don't have lunch between dives, you might want to check out another divesite for your second dive.

In addition to Pacific Dive and B&B, another source for rental tanks is Maui Dive Shop. They have the advantage of having multiple outlets with long hours. A 10 tank rental card is $40. I think single tank rental is $7.

Although dive flags are legally required, I generally don't bother hauling one except when doing Kamaole III, which is right next to the Kihei boat ramp. YMMV. I think it's a $50 fine, and DNLR has issued tickets a few times at the Makena Landing aka 5 Caves aka Turtletown aka 5 Graves divesite.

 

[DiveMaven]

THANK you guys soooo much for all the information!! This is exactly what I was looking for. We planned on just taking our dive gear when we shore dive and stashing our credit card/license/cash in our little otter box in my DH's BC.

Great info about the dive flag too...I've seen quite a few divers off the beaches over the years, but rarely see a flag, so maybe I'll just plead ignorance if we get caught and hope not to get a ticket.

We're staying at the Marriott on Kaanapali Beach, so we've looked at renting tanks at Maui Dive Shop.. But now we'll definitely look at Pacific Dive too...Thanks Tim!! Since we're going to dive around Kaanapali mostly, we like that Maui Dive Shop has a location in Kahana that we can easily hit on our way to the dive sites.

Tim, I don't know how much advance planning we're going to do for our beach dives, but I'll definitely fire off a post if we make plans the day/night before going. Hopefully we'll hit a time when you can join us.

 

[kidspot]

If you're staying in Kaanapali, then Maui Dive Shop has an outlet in whaler's village - and like Charlie99 pointed out, a 10 tank card is only $40. I keep one in my wallet, just because they are convenient in case I run out of tanks, etc..

Aloha, Tim

 

[KrisB]

While not as convenient as Maui Dive Shop, there is a cheaper source (and likely higher quality source) available in Kihei -- Maui Dreams only charges $30 for 10 fills... and they don't make you buy the card to start with, so if the diving sucks for whatever reason, or your buddy gets sick, you only pay for what you use at $4/tank, until you hit $30.

At least that's what they did for me...

Also, you will probably find the Kahana location of Maui Dive Shop least convenient in most of your dive travels -- there are a couple sites up north, but for the most part you will be sticking to around Kaanapali and likely the Kihei/Wailea/Makena areas for shore diving.

 

[kidspot]

Well I ended up doing a twilight/night dive at Honolua Bay tonight... it was nice, but COLD... at least for Maui 77* and I was shivering after only 30 minutes, so we picked up the pace (didn't warm up though) and finished up after only 50 minutes... we were both quite cold... still the water was nice and wet and I saw my first large crab - about the size of a basketball (don't know what they are called - red and white shell though and looked delicious ) it was quite calm, with good vis all the way up to the shore.

Hope everyone else had a good day of diving too ...

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

Wasn't Honolua great? We did two dives up there this morning totalling 3 hours and 24 minutes. I was cold by the end of that second dive. It's shallow stuff but today on the second dive Jill hauled out 3 octopusses. The last one was the king of inkers

 

[bobmaggi]

Tim, you guys crack me up! We would love to be in Maui right now diving the "chilly" 77* water!!! These days here in Michigan, we are lucky to hit 55-60*water temps! Dry suit water temps!
Luckily we are going to be in the Bahamas on a live-a-board in July, provided a hurricane doesn't come along. . Take care and enjoy Maui! Maggi

 

[kidspot]

Hey Maggi,

A friend of mine got married on Saturday and the groom came out of the water to the ceremony in a drysuit... took it off and had his tux on underneath as she was being carried down the beach on a surf board... see drysuits do come in handy even over here

Say hi to Bob for me

Aloha, Tim