Trip Report - West Maui end of Sept 2010

[Bappelt]

I was in West Maui for two weeks recently and went shore diving and boat diving.

I did all my boat diving with Lahaina divers as I normally do when I’m there and at this time of year the boat is never crowded and we were never in a group larger than 7. We did two trips to Lanai which is becoming a favorite of mine. The first trip was on the east side and we did 2nd Cathedrals and No Name, the second trip was drift diving on the west side of the island at Barge Harbor and Lighthouse point. These were good trips and the crew is always fun and informative. The divers were for the most part experienced and they let us dive our computers. On the drift dives (Lanai and Backwall) they didn’t make the group come up when the first ones ran short on air but the rest of us did come up after our 50 min time target. The rest of dives with them were on the backwall, inside the crater (afternoon and separate night dive trip), mala wharf, and some local reef locations. Since we stay in Ka’anapali and I try to work my diving with other’s plans, Lahaina Divers works great for me and I don’t really have any complaints.

I also did some shore diving this trip which was a first for me since I’m a single diver. I hooked up with Tim Rollo at Tiny Bubbles Scuba and was very happy with Tim and the dives. Tim was great at point out stuff that I would have normally missed and he knows the shore dives in West Maui like the back of his hand. I did five dives with Tim including a night dive and two scooter dives and it was great having someone to show me around the reefs in West Maui. For someone like me, diving with Tim was a great option for shore diving and getting to know the area. We did dives up in Kapalua, Old Airport Beach, Embassy Suites Beach, and Olawalu.

It was a great two weeks and now I’m having withdrawal symptoms, I can’t wait to go back.

 

[DiveMaven]

Sounds like a fantastic trip!! Looking forward to diving some of those same sites plus many more in S. Maui in December

 

[Bappelt]

I finally downloaded my camera so here's some photos from the trip

 

[Scubaschne]

I was in West Maui for two weeks recently and went shore diving and boat diving.

I did all my boat diving with Lahaina divers as I normally do when I’m there and at this time of year the boat is never crowded and we were never in a group larger than 7. We did two trips to Lanai which is becoming a favorite of mine. The first trip was on the east side and we did 2nd Cathedrals and No Name, the second trip was drift diving on the west side of the island at Barge Harbor and Lighthouse point. These were good trips and the crew is always fun and informative. The divers were for the most part experienced and they let us dive our computers. On the drift dives (Lanai and Backwall) they didn’t make the group come up when the first ones ran short on air but the rest of us did come up after our 50 min time target. The rest of dives with them were on the backwall, inside the crater (afternoon and separate night dive trip), mala wharf, and some local reef locations. Since we stay in Ka’anapali and I try to work my diving with other’s plans, Lahaina Divers works great for me and I don’t really have any complaints.

I also did some shore diving this trip which was a first for me since I’m a single diver. I hooked up with Tim Rollo at Tiny Bubbles Scuba and was very happy with Tim and the dives. Tim was great at point out stuff that I would have normally missed and he knows the shore dives in West Maui like the back of his hand. I did five dives with Tim including a night dive and two scooter dives and it was great having someone to show me around the reefs in West Maui. For someone like me, diving with Tim was a great option for shore diving and getting to know the area. We did dives up in Kapalua, Old Airport Beach, Embassy Suites Beach, and Olawalu.

It was a great two weeks and now I’m having withdrawal symptoms, I can’t wait to go back.

I also had the opportunity to dive with Tim at Tiny Bubbles Oct 10th and 11th. He was great! We did 2 dives each am, started at 8am, he picked me up in his van, had the equipment I needed since all I brought were my mask,fins and wetsuit and since I am not fully recovered from shoulder surgery I had several months ago, he helped me gear up in the water. We dove the Mala pier which was my favorite dive, saw tons of turtles, and fish and he found a frogfish which I would never have found! Also did Olawalu, beach off Kaanapali Beach Resort and off the Hyatt. All offered something great to see, such as spotted eagle ray, morays and lots of turtles. So, if you are staying in West Maui, and dont want to do the long, early drive to the other side of the island, or arent up for a boat dive or are traveling with others who dont dive and you want to leave the car with them, Tim is a great choice! This gave me the rest of the day to spend with travel mate doing other topside activities. I have done several boat dives, shore dives etc in the past, so these were all new dive sites for me, even though I had snorkeled them in the past , diving them was a new way to see it all! Thanks Tim!

 

[Bappelt]

I'm glad to hear you had as good of a time with Tim that I did. The picking up and dropping off from the hotel was a big plus for me (and my non diving spouse). He is definitely a good choice for shore diving for those staying in West Maui.