Very disappointed!!!!

[pensacolaracer]

To be bluntly honest about it...it's Hawaii. A new group of tourists will arrive tomorrow and 95 percent of them will be happy to go dive a 40 foot reef and a 30 foot reef.

If you find an outfit that listens to and does what the regular divers want, they are gold.

To be fair, if I operated a charter here to make money, I would probably do the same thing.


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[Gunrock]

I think everything has already been said regarding the shop and how the situation was handled... However for the benefit of anyone who has not been diving in Hawaii I would just like to say Pensacolaracer is very right... If you're a tourist with 25 lifetime dives and you haven't been diving since 2005 then diving here probably seems really nice. If you are an avid diver and you've already been to places like Bonaire or the Red Sea, well, the truth is the reefs here are going to seem downright lifeless by comparison. Even the other islands of Hawai'i are a lot better than Oahu. You'd be disappointed if you paid full price for two shallow reef dives here. Probably more so if you were diving a spot like the pipe and saw me diving the same spot....from shore. The wrecks are quite enjoyable and a lot more interesting.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

I am glad to say i do not know what a "boring as h** reef" is. I have hundreds of Hawaii dives, and can tell Irnbear that weather is always a factor. If you are looking for adventure in scuba in Hawaii, you also go to Maui or Kona, where there is more scuba going on, and locations can found depending upon any conditions. No one should expect a guarantee on making any particular dive site. Remember, the Hawaiian islands are the most remote in the world. They are in the middle of the Pacific. Stuff happens. Debbie and I have had days when we planned to dive with hammerhead shrks on Molokai, but due to conditions, dove with turtles and other creatures in sheltered coves and shallow reefs. There are things to see everywhere- we are particularly into reef animal behaviors. So you didn't get a wreck dive in- what did you miss? I'll bet a lot of creatures watched you- octopus, snowflake moray, things you could have seen if you took your time. On our last "disappointing dive" due to weather,on Maui, we spent half the dive watching a Parrot fish bashing a white tip reef shark in the side with head butts, because the 4 ft shark was in the parrot fish's "spot." I(t was one of the best dives of the trip. ( We also entertained the passengers on the Atlantis submarine on that dive, as it passed near us. ) I sence there were more issues involved in Irnbear's bad day than the weather and conditions. An attitude check may have improved the day for everyone on the boat.
DivemasterDennnis

 

[TSandM]

There was a big mismatch of what the OP wanted and what the dive op could deliver here, and if in fact the operator rarely does the sites the OP wanted to visit, it does seem as though that should have been communicated. But weather will often change what operators can do, and I for one would rather miss a great site (and this has definitely happened to me!) than have a miserable experience (which I have also had, as a result of an operator trying too hard to put divers where they didn't belong).

But my overall reaction to the thread is a bit of sadness for someone who got so fixed on what he wanted to dive that it sounds as though he couldn't enjoy the dives he got to do. My friend Ben Messinger (airsix here) says, "You will never have a bad dive in Puget Sound, if you look at what's there, and not what isn't." The concept extends well to other environments . . . although I don't find Hawaiian diving to be the best diving I have ever done, I still enjoy doing it, and patience, a slow pace, and a great deal of curiosity has resulted in me finding a lot of interesting reef life over the years. I think it works best to approach diving in a rather Zen fashion -- when you start trying too hard to shape it into what you want, you get disappointed too often.

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

Here is some free advice based on a few less than perfect trips I have had. I have had some disasters, being blown completely or having the boat turn for mechanical issues. Sometimes it just sucks.

1) Read SB for dive ops recommendations. Not just who is good, but who is the best match. You have a lot of choices on HI.
2) If you are hitting some distant place, schedule multiple dive days spread across your stay. At least one may get blown out.
3) Keep a plan B in your pocket. That island had 4 coastal exposures, you can in fact find a dive on the other side of the weather fairly often.
4) When all else fails, a shallow reef or snorkel dive is still better than sitting in a hotel room or shopping.

 

[cbm32]

"Remember, the Hawaiian islands are the most remote in the world".............What??? I have no idea what criteria you used to come up with statement but the Hawaiian Islands do not appear on any list of the most remote islands that I can find anywhere. Not even as an honorable mention. Not even CLOSE to being on such a list. There is no consensus most remote island or islands in the world but Tristan da Cunha, Pitcairn, and Easter Island seem to find their way onto the lists of most remote islands more often than any others it seems.

It doesn't matter what the rest of us enjoy or what the OP missed on the reef. The fact is he wanted, asked for, and expected to dive a wreck. He was assured he would be diving a wreck. He did not get a chance to dive a wreck and, apparently, was not given the opportunity to simply not do the dives he did not want to do. After the fact, he was told that they could have done the dive he wanted to do but someone decided for him that he shouldn't have to work hard enough to do the dive.

Given the facts as we know them someone at some point prior to the boat leaving the dock should have told the OP that the weather was not conducive to doing a wreck dive. That either they would not be doing the dive he wanted OR there was a good chance that they would not be doing the dive he wanted. At that point he should have been given a chance to opt out of the trip.

I have dove in places that are exponentially more remote than any of the Hawaiian Islands and been given such an option. The diving in the area I am referring to is only so so inside the reef but if you can get outside the reef it is spectacular. When the weather was such that getting outside the reef was in serious doubt, I was told that and had the choice of going out and maybe getting outside the reef but more likely diving inside, or waiting for another day when the weather was more cooperative. That is good customer service. That is the kind of service one should expect.

Now I am sure that some other posters will jump in and tell me just how a particular dive site can not be guaranteed etc etc etc. All true and all things I already know, as do most divers. We all know that you can head out to a dive site and upon arrival the DM checks currents and viz and things like that and then determines if we dive there or head to another site. This is NOT a case of a diver wanting to do Devil's Throat or any other specific site. The OP wanted and asked for a wreck dive. If all of the wrecks in the area require the same weather to dive them, the dive op should have had a good idea if the weather was right for a wreck dive or not before leaving the dock and should have advised the OP that a wreck dive was doubtful. From what has been posted, there was not any attempt to find a wreck where conditions would allow a dive that day.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

In diving the sites are not always guaranteed. This could be weather related, or related to other factors that are as legitimate as the weather (such as experience of the crew on board etc). I dive with Discovery Diving in North Carolina and those are not easy waters. What I love about that place is that they are extremely upfront and communicative about how far they can accommodate you and they go to great extremes to ensure that you get what you want.

I once called the store wanting to do a shark dive and I was told that while they have spots available on that weekends charter, the wreck they are diving is not known for sharks. They then told me that the week after however they will be diving Papoose which is a major shark dive. Finally I was told that in case of weather preventing them to reach Papoose they would then look for another shark dive because no one else on the charter has expressed any preference and everyone loves to see sharks. The next weekend we dove Papoose and the weather was perfect but had it not been then the crew had already been given instructions to look for an alternative shark dive.

As divers we all understand that weather plays a big role but this sounds more like a case of taking the money and "not giving a damn!"

 

[IrnBear]

Hello All,

Thank you very much for the reply's, the Good and the Not So Good.
I know, I know..... The guy must be a cry baby is what most of you have been thinking.
This guy should just be damn lucky he got to dive. In Hawaii of all places.
If only this cry baby knew what I (put your name here) have to dive or get to dive.... He should just be damn happy.

This thread did extract some great info from some very Hawaii knowledgable divers.
Now, when others divers are searching the threads for diving opportunities in Hawaii, may they will come across this and gain much needed knowledge for their planning.
I never knew what harbors had the best opportunity for the best possibility to make it to a wreck.

I will say: Reef Pirates did tell me that with the weather we may not make it out to the wrecks. But we will still find you some great diving. My response was something like do what you can.
I was not offered a refund to pull from the dive. Nor would I have taken such an offer. I understand fully the risk of the weather when it comes to diving.

I greatly appreciate the responses with Educated info about the Diving Geography of the Honolulu area. I will surely take that info into my planning of my next trip.
For those who really had nothing to say but, shut up and stop your cry babying. Ignore my post, ignore the info that the other more knowledgeable posters on here have given and book your dive.

Enjoy,

irnBear

 

[gcarter]

I find it hard to bring myself to fault a company on a forum like this.
I just can't fathom the idea of someone else's vacation dive trip being as much of a bummer as mine.

I chose REEF PIRATES for my dive morning on Oahu, out of Waikiki.

I was in email contact with Sean for at least a Month about how important it was to me to do something exciting. I was adamant about wanting to do a wreck dive of some sort.
I was assured that this would happen.

I was picked up at my hotel as arranged. Justin or to be DM was very friendly. Arrived to the Shop/Boat and off we went. It was myself and an Aussie couple. Boat, Captain and Justin were very nice. Meet Sean at the shop before departing and he too was very nice.

I will admit, it was a windy maybe more breezy day and a decent amount of chop.

Due to the Wind, Chop and what was explained to me The Current we were going to stay in at the reefs and not pursue anything else.

Well, two Dives, max 45ft on first dive and max 35ft on second dive. Both on some boring as **** Reef.....
That was my wonderful adventure in Honolulu Diving....
$130.00 crapped right into the Ocean. A big waste.

Again, I was in contact for a good month with the shop.

I understand weather might have had a factor in this.

After further conversation with Justin, turns out he has only been in Hawaii for 6months. His diving has been in the Florida Keys (much more simple diving).
I feel this result was more due to an inexperienced DM as opposed to the weather.
He told me we could have dove some wreaks, I just didn't want you folks to have to work to hard. Humm.

Well, just wanted to explain my trip.
Take it for what you will.

I went with a Shop due to the name.. Shame on Me..
I would have taken the advice so greatly given on this site and went with the more recommended shop.

Thanks for reading,

Bradley

My opinion? High maintenance individual.

---------- Post added September 8th, 2013 at 12:48 AM ----------

Sad that you didnt get a single dive....on the other hand at least you didnt end up paying to do dives you didnt really want to do.

Of course the Captain has the final say...except in this case, per the OP, he was told afterwards that they could have dove a wreck but they didnt want to make the divers work that hard. Which is it people?

NO you can not guarantee anything when working with mother nature....but when you get ready to head out to do dives that you KNOW a customer doesnt want to do, good customer services says you tell them that up front and give them a chance to take a pass and not end up paying for something the know they dont want.

I dont know the OP and I have never heard of the dive op before. I am just saying that from a customer service perspective someone dropped the ball badly. Perhaps the shop needs better communications between the different divisions of labor in the operation.

He says he was told that by the DM, not the Captain. Not the DMs call.

---------- Post added September 8th, 2013 at 12:53 AM ----------

Hello All,

Thank you very much for the reply's, the Good and the Not So Good.
I know, I know..... The guy must be a cry baby is what most of you have been thinking.
This guy should just be damn lucky he got to dive. In Hawaii of all places.
If only this cry baby knew what I (put your name here) have to dive or get to dive.... He should just be damn happy.

This thread did extract some great info from some very Hawaii knowledgable divers.
Now, when others divers are searching the threads for diving opportunities in Hawaii, may they will come across this and gain much needed knowledge for their planning.
I never knew what harbors had the best opportunity for the best possibility to make it to a wreck.

I will say: Reef Pirates did tell me that with the weather we may not make it out to the wrecks. But we will still find you some great diving. My response was something like do what you can.
I was not offered a refund to pull from the dive. Nor would I have taken such an offer. I understand fully the risk of the weather when it comes to diving.

I greatly appreciate the responses with Educated info about the Diving Geography of the Honolulu area. I will surely take that info into my planning of my next trip.
For those who really had nothing to say but, shut up and stop your cry babying. Ignore my post, ignore the info that the other more knowledgeable posters on here have given and book your dive.

Enjoy,

irnBear

What I take from this is that you are unhappy because the DM told you it could have been different. Not the Captain, not his call.

 

[Wingy]

LOL CBM i read the most remote islands and wondered who failed geography??????

Just a Q to the OP - when you research a dive shop do you check the dive sites an operator has on their list of dive sites?

That often plays a big factor in who I dive with.