Trip Report for Kona, Hawaii and Jacks Diving Locker

[sharksdelight]

You're correct. Both of us had rented 2 tanks a piece so I guess the price, which I wasn't contesting but just reported, stands as being correct. Sorry, when you mentioned Bob I thought you were referring to someone at the shop and not Bob G.
I would go back again, but just be more scrutinizing regarding what sites and with whom I was going to. No problems, it was an honest report of our experiences there. The two dives we did with Bob G. were excellent and we had plenty of mantas around.
Steve

 

[klp5]

Well, I for one, read your report and thought it was unfortunate that you had a bad experience. I did not email you privately, not sure why I would do that. My positive review of Jack's is on here in a couple of responses I have made.
We did have a good experience, including our three kids getting certified through Jack's. Since you were paraphrasing, is it possible that the kid was just happy that he no longer 'had' to set up his own gear? I know my kids joked around about our gear being set up for us, while they had to do theirs while they were doing their certification. If the kid was on the boat with a parent, perhaps he was joking and you just did not get the joke. Don't know, wasn't there.
The other thing that struck me, was your comment on the idea that you could shore dive one of the sites. Possibly, again- no expert here. But, some areas on the Big Island may look accessible and may be accessible only if you are of a certain heritage. Also, some sites may look shore doable, but you may not realize from the boat that there might be a long hike over sharp lava.
It seems a bit unusual for Jack's to send in a group without the guide. Our experience was that everyone went in and waited on the surface until the whole group was in the water, and yes, that sometimes took 5 or more minutes. Were you supposed to drop to the bottom and wait?
Jack's also uses integrated weights, not as hard to drop as a weight belt...but it is doable. I have seen posts here at SB about that.
It would be interesting to know what your friend, Bob, thought of your experiences.
Any links to your articles? Always interested in reading about other people's experiences!
kristy

 

[sharksdelight]

Hi klp5, You are possibly correct that a site that is 20 feet from shore may not be easily accessible. I agree with you on that. No, the kid wasn't joking, he really didn't know how to attach his regulator but, never the less, he was far more interested in lunch. It was cute in some ways. Yes, I don't recall seeing even one weight belt tho there may have been a couple. The 'advanced' diver had dropped one of his integrated weights. Guess he didn't put it in correctly. The divemaster for my group never got in the water within five minutes. As I said, after waiting for him at the shallow bottom for 15 minutes we just gave up and moved on on our own. During the first dive he really wasn't attempting to be a spotter anyway. Last night I was looking at some of the footage shot at the sand chute, and the amount of dead coral was just as shocking. As I said, good for students and those having just received their certifications maybe.
While I used to write for Asian Diver magazine, most of my articles are either reviews of hardware and editing software which are published on the kenstone.net , lafcpug.org or wetpixel.com There are over 200 of them so hope you will find some of them useful.
Steve

 

[klp5]

Will go look! Always interested in more info! I need editing software info as well, still learning about the photography part of things!
kristy

 

[Chocoholic]

I loved diving Kona. My first day of diving was with Jack's Diving Locker, I was shocked to see how many people were boarding the boat with me, and it was a bit disorganized. The DMs were nice, the boat was comfy, the rental gear looked well maintained and the sites were good, BUT, my dive time was cut short by the schedule and the site was overcrowded. The lunch was what has been described and I was supposed to be on the 'advanced boat' but I think most of the divers were very new. I dove with the owner as DM and he was very nice, but I like a smaller group.

I chose to dive with Wanna Dive for the next several days and I was very happy with the small 6pack boat, the dive sites and the DM. We were getting 75+ minutes out of the aluminum 80s and it could've been longer. One of the days there were only three of us. We stopped for a good 15 minutes watching dolphins, no problems with keeping on a schedule.

I would choose to go with Jack's again for the Manta night dive since they seem to have more times available, but other than that I will be diving with Wanna Dive.

 

[stanky1]

I recently got back from Kona and had a great time diving some very cool sites. I figured that dive charters would have issues like those pointed out here. So I rented a 21 ft center console from Kona Boat Rentals for a day. My family and I got to dive at our own pace and go through lava tubes without the long line of divers. Anyone who is an advanced diver probably knows how to operate a boat. They give you a good prep anyway before sending you out. The people at the boat rental were experienced Kona divers so they gave us great tips on places to go. There was a book on the boat that listed dive sites with GPS coordinates to find the underwater mooring balls. I highly recommend it. We had a great day on and under the water, multiple dives, and did it for less $$$.

 

[spoolin01]

I haven't been out with Jacks, but a few times with one of the other main shops, Big Island Divers. They have at least two boats, one smaller than the other - I bet Jack's does too. Anyway, given the need to accommodate the least capable divers on any trip, you can up your odds of a better dive by holding out for a trip on the smaller boat, and asking the shop staff about the skill levels of the other divers individually. We usually ask about upcoming trips but don't make a reservation until some specifics of the trip objective and other divers can at least be estimated. It sounds like you tried that approach but maybe weren't stubborn enough about it! I'm surprised the shop didn't bring it up with you beforehand if they understood you expected something different than they were going to be able to provide. Not because that would be all that unusual in the dive world, but because I've seen and heard that the Kona operations are pretty good with customer relations.

I don't worry about the night manta dives, those have all been great no matter who is along - even if no mantas show.

I also recommend the Kona Boat Rental at Honokohau harbor if you pick a good day - diving just like you'd do it if YOU ran the dive boat!

 

[sharksdelight]

It just goes to show that no matter how experienced one may be, you are always learning. I learned from this.
Steve

 

[BSOD]

Regarding the advanced vs. cattle boat, they (JDL) do have a specific "advanced" charter (costing quite a bit more IMO) that goes out on a separate boat from the normal 2 tanker, visiting different sites (though I think it's only when there's enough requests/divers for it - I wanna say they needed at least 4?). When I went, there were 9 folks aboard the advanced boat (one group of 4, plus one group of 5, with a DM/guide for each group). From your listed price, it sounds like you were on the regular/standard/whatever-you-want-to-call-it 2 tanker, so you're bound to have less experienced folks aboard.

Not sure if there was a miscommunication/misunderstanding at some point when booking, and/or if they only had the one big boat going out that day, or some other factor, but just thought I might (hopefully) shed some light on this point. (realizing I'm still quite the noob diver myself)

 

[LiquidDivingAdventure]

I too am sorry to hear you had a marginal experience with Jack's. I got certified there back in the late 80's when I lived in Kona and it was one of the top flight operations in town. Catered to some fun folks. Used to dive with Jerry Garcia and band who frequented Jack's. Ahhh, those were the days!