geraldp
Contributor
I just got back from Kapalua earlier this month. After reading advice on Scubaboard.com I thought I might go with B&B Scuba, even though they are down in Kihei. However through email correspondence with them I found they don't go to Lanai, and the forums said that the Cathedrals off of Lanai and Molokini crater were the two must-dive sites in Maui. I went over to Maui without an appointment, and ended up going with Maui Dive Shop, as they chartered to both Molokini and Lanai. Maui Dive Shop is hard to miss, as they have 8 or 9 shops up and down the West Coast of Maui. I visited 3 of them during the week, along with Lahaina Divers, Pacific Dive Shop, and B&B down in Kihei just to stop in and say hi.
My wife, Carolyn and I arrived in Maui with no hassles the afternoon of Sunday February 24. Got to our condo in Kapalua, then bopped out to purchase some (wildly expensive) groceries in Napili. Monday was a snorkeling day, so we headed South to Kaanapali and to Black Rock. Water was very turbid: visibility was about 10 feet with strong surge and undertow. The guide book recommended this place, but apparently a storm had blown in the day before and we were still reaping the effects. Im glad Carolyn had a snorkel vest on. We both wore ourselves out getting back to the beach. The body surfers were really enjoying the big waves, though.
We went home for a quick shower and came back for a great dinner at the Hula Grill restaurant on the beach, and watched the sunset over Lanai as we ate our seafood.
Maui Dive Shop told me I had to go to Pacific Dive in Lahaina to get my 13 cu. ft. pony bottle filled. I stopped in on Tuesday, but found that they only fill tanks once a day (no exceptions, apparently), and I couldnt get my tank back in time for the next mornings dive. So I went across the street to Lahaina Divers, and they filled it in less than an hour. I really liked Lahaina Divers (friendly folks), but I had already reserved with Maui Dive Shop.
Wednesday Carolyn and I headed out with Maui Dive Shop to Molokini on the Maka Koa, a 48 foot boat that will take up to 24 divers. We had about a 45 minute drive South down to Maalaea Harbor, where we needed to check in by 6:15am.
There were about 15-18 divers on board, along with two snorkellers (which included Carolyn). We divided into 3 groups of 5-6 for our dive briefing Mark was my DM. We went to Enenue dive site for our first dive.
Its been a long time since Ive been in water that clear that was very nice over 100 feet visibility. I heard whale song which was really cool. 3 divers from the boat allegedly saw a whale on the left side of the crater. Our little group stopped just short of the left ridge, unfortunately. Saw several morays.
The water temperature was right at 75 degrees both on the surface and at depth. The current in the crater was almost non-existent.
The 2nd dive was on the Orange Grove/Reefs End (on the right side of the crater). Saw several more morays (including a 4-5 footer who appeared to be fascinated with my pony regulator I had bungied around my neck) and a small white-tip shark under a rock.
That was pretty neat. Maui Dive Shop had a professional photographer on board, Trey Akin. He dove back and forth between the 3 dive groups taking still and video photography of the marine life and divers. I purchased both his still shot CD and his video DVD, and was impressed with his work. (all the underwater shots here are his, reprinted here with his permission). My Dive Master/Guide, Mark, and Captain Joe were also great people, the food was good, and Carolyn and I both had a great time. Even though my wife wasnt a diver, (and this was obviously a divers boat) Joe and the crew treated her well.
Thursday I went alone back down to Maalea Harbor for another day at diving with Maui Dive Shop, this time to Lanai.
Same dive master/guide, but different crew, photographer, and captain. The storm swells were pretty fierce, and we had a few seasick divers on the ride. Im used to smaller (6-pack) size dive boats, but this time I was glad I was on a boat as big as the Maka Koa a smaller boat would have had quite a few of us feeding the whales on the ride out to Lanai and back
.
First dive was at the Cathedrals II. Awesome dive a large cavern as big as a living room with a black coral chandelier on the ceiling. Visibility wasnt quite as good as Molokini, but still very nice (~80ft). The water temperature was a little colder (73 degrees at depth, 75 at surface). I was wearing a 3-5-3 mill full suit w/booties and did just fine. When I got back on board from the 1st dive the captain grabbed my gear to swap out my tank. Maybe it was his different sense of humor, but he kind of rubbed me the wrong way. He complained like heck about having to lift my weight integrated BC (too old for this #&$! - grumble grumble), and made disparaging remarks about my gear and 13 cu. ft. pony bottle. Maui Dive Shop insists on setting up your gear, and frankly Id rather do it myself. They had initially set it up incorrectly for the first dive (the BC wasnt connected to my low pressure hose), then they gave me all kinds of grief when they went to exchange out my tank for the 2nd dive. After the captain finally connected my regulator I observed a bad air leak, so I asked them to replace the O-ring. They wiggled the connection, and told me it was OK. It wasnt, so I asked again. They wiggled it again, and told me that I would lose no more than a half-breath of air with that leak, and if I could try to not be such an air hog I wouldnt even notice. Now I like to think Im a pretty easy going guy, but at this point I had lost more than 200 psi, and was starting to get a little edgy. So I asked a 3rd time and said that if they would just tell me where the extra tanks were I could swap it out myself. At that point my Dive Master, Mark, came over and observed what was going on. He stepped in and quietly replaced the O-ring. I appreciated Mark taking care of what should have been done in the first place.
2nd dive was on Wash Rock. There was a very strong current, and it seemed like we were diving against it for almost the entire dive (it was uphill both ways. The visibility was still very good, however, and we again saw more morays, and the photographer (didnt get his name) found a good size octopus to use as a prop for photos with divers. Although I would have liked to have some pictures of the Cathedrals, I did not purchase any photos on this trip. I got a handful of (terrible) photos with my cheap-o film underwater camera instead. As soon as I got home and got my pictures developed I gave the camera away . After the 2nd dive we headed back to Maalaea Harbor, and I went into the head to change out of my wetsuit. I had to laugh I felt like I was in a shake-and-bake bag, and got thoroughly trashed bouncing around inside there while I was trying to get out of wet clothes. We were going through some very rough water. The whales were out in force on both legs of the trip, and we were almost 2 hours late getting back because all the stops we made for photo-ops. I got some excellent whale picture shots with my digital P&S (Canon A650IS). Next warm water dive trip I hope to have an underwater housing and strobe for my Canon.
Overall I had great time with my first day of diving with Maui Dive Shop, and the second day was mostly OK. My Dive Master/guide who was with me for both days was great. Most of the crew were great and fun to talk to, informative and helpful.
Carolyn and I got a little more snorkeling in on Sunday March 2nd at Kapalua Bay Beach. That was an excellent little beach, good for both snorkeling and swimming. Topside we toured the Maui Pineapple operation,
did lots of shopping in Lahaina and Kihei and Kahului (gotta hit up Costco and Wal-Mart whenever you go to Hawaii. We had some incredible lunches and dinners, and absolutely fabulous sunsets.
Topside temperatures ranged from 79-82 degrees everyday. We headed back to Portland on Monday the 3rd. Cant wait to go back.
Jerry Page
My wife, Carolyn and I arrived in Maui with no hassles the afternoon of Sunday February 24. Got to our condo in Kapalua, then bopped out to purchase some (wildly expensive) groceries in Napili. Monday was a snorkeling day, so we headed South to Kaanapali and to Black Rock. Water was very turbid: visibility was about 10 feet with strong surge and undertow. The guide book recommended this place, but apparently a storm had blown in the day before and we were still reaping the effects. Im glad Carolyn had a snorkel vest on. We both wore ourselves out getting back to the beach. The body surfers were really enjoying the big waves, though.
We went home for a quick shower and came back for a great dinner at the Hula Grill restaurant on the beach, and watched the sunset over Lanai as we ate our seafood.
Maui Dive Shop told me I had to go to Pacific Dive in Lahaina to get my 13 cu. ft. pony bottle filled. I stopped in on Tuesday, but found that they only fill tanks once a day (no exceptions, apparently), and I couldnt get my tank back in time for the next mornings dive. So I went across the street to Lahaina Divers, and they filled it in less than an hour. I really liked Lahaina Divers (friendly folks), but I had already reserved with Maui Dive Shop.
Wednesday Carolyn and I headed out with Maui Dive Shop to Molokini on the Maka Koa, a 48 foot boat that will take up to 24 divers. We had about a 45 minute drive South down to Maalaea Harbor, where we needed to check in by 6:15am.
There were about 15-18 divers on board, along with two snorkellers (which included Carolyn). We divided into 3 groups of 5-6 for our dive briefing Mark was my DM. We went to Enenue dive site for our first dive.
Its been a long time since Ive been in water that clear that was very nice over 100 feet visibility. I heard whale song which was really cool. 3 divers from the boat allegedly saw a whale on the left side of the crater. Our little group stopped just short of the left ridge, unfortunately. Saw several morays.
The water temperature was right at 75 degrees both on the surface and at depth. The current in the crater was almost non-existent.
The 2nd dive was on the Orange Grove/Reefs End (on the right side of the crater). Saw several more morays (including a 4-5 footer who appeared to be fascinated with my pony regulator I had bungied around my neck) and a small white-tip shark under a rock.
That was pretty neat. Maui Dive Shop had a professional photographer on board, Trey Akin. He dove back and forth between the 3 dive groups taking still and video photography of the marine life and divers. I purchased both his still shot CD and his video DVD, and was impressed with his work. (all the underwater shots here are his, reprinted here with his permission). My Dive Master/Guide, Mark, and Captain Joe were also great people, the food was good, and Carolyn and I both had a great time. Even though my wife wasnt a diver, (and this was obviously a divers boat) Joe and the crew treated her well.
Thursday I went alone back down to Maalea Harbor for another day at diving with Maui Dive Shop, this time to Lanai.
Same dive master/guide, but different crew, photographer, and captain. The storm swells were pretty fierce, and we had a few seasick divers on the ride. Im used to smaller (6-pack) size dive boats, but this time I was glad I was on a boat as big as the Maka Koa a smaller boat would have had quite a few of us feeding the whales on the ride out to Lanai and back
.First dive was at the Cathedrals II. Awesome dive a large cavern as big as a living room with a black coral chandelier on the ceiling. Visibility wasnt quite as good as Molokini, but still very nice (~80ft). The water temperature was a little colder (73 degrees at depth, 75 at surface). I was wearing a 3-5-3 mill full suit w/booties and did just fine. When I got back on board from the 1st dive the captain grabbed my gear to swap out my tank. Maybe it was his different sense of humor, but he kind of rubbed me the wrong way. He complained like heck about having to lift my weight integrated BC (too old for this #&$! - grumble grumble), and made disparaging remarks about my gear and 13 cu. ft. pony bottle. Maui Dive Shop insists on setting up your gear, and frankly Id rather do it myself. They had initially set it up incorrectly for the first dive (the BC wasnt connected to my low pressure hose), then they gave me all kinds of grief when they went to exchange out my tank for the 2nd dive. After the captain finally connected my regulator I observed a bad air leak, so I asked them to replace the O-ring. They wiggled the connection, and told me it was OK. It wasnt, so I asked again. They wiggled it again, and told me that I would lose no more than a half-breath of air with that leak, and if I could try to not be such an air hog I wouldnt even notice. Now I like to think Im a pretty easy going guy, but at this point I had lost more than 200 psi, and was starting to get a little edgy. So I asked a 3rd time and said that if they would just tell me where the extra tanks were I could swap it out myself. At that point my Dive Master, Mark, came over and observed what was going on. He stepped in and quietly replaced the O-ring. I appreciated Mark taking care of what should have been done in the first place.
2nd dive was on Wash Rock. There was a very strong current, and it seemed like we were diving against it for almost the entire dive (it was uphill both ways
. The visibility was still very good, however, and we again saw more morays, and the photographer (didnt get his name) found a good size octopus to use as a prop for photos with divers. Although I would have liked to have some pictures of the Cathedrals, I did not purchase any photos on this trip. I got a handful of (terrible) photos with my cheap-o film underwater camera instead. As soon as I got home and got my pictures developed I gave the camera away . After the 2nd dive we headed back to Maalaea Harbor, and I went into the head to change out of my wetsuit. I had to laugh I felt like I was in a shake-and-bake bag, and got thoroughly trashed bouncing around inside there while I was trying to get out of wet clothes. We were going through some very rough water. The whales were out in force on both legs of the trip, and we were almost 2 hours late getting back because all the stops we made for photo-ops. I got some excellent whale picture shots with my digital P&S (Canon A650IS). Next warm water dive trip I hope to have an underwater housing and strobe for my Canon.Overall I had great time with my first day of diving with Maui Dive Shop, and the second day was mostly OK. My Dive Master/guide who was with me for both days was great. Most of the crew were great and fun to talk to, informative and helpful.
Carolyn and I got a little more snorkeling in on Sunday March 2nd at Kapalua Bay Beach. That was an excellent little beach, good for both snorkeling and swimming. Topside we toured the Maui Pineapple operation,
did lots of shopping in Lahaina and Kihei and Kahului (gotta hit up Costco and Wal-Mart whenever you go to Hawaii
. We had some incredible lunches and dinners, and absolutely fabulous sunsets. Topside temperatures ranged from 79-82 degrees everyday. We headed back to Portland on Monday the 3rd. Cant wait to go back.
Jerry Page
