beir:
As the subject reads - I am going to be in Oahu in the middle of August for business and Id like to hit a few of the best (I know this is subjective) dive spots on my down time. My time will be fairly limited so I want to make the best of it.
I have been to Oahu before and heres where Ive done so far
1.) The Sea Tiger
2.) 3 Tables near the North Shore (Day & Night)
3.) Blow Hole
4.) Turtle Canyon
5.) Port Lock
TIA,
Matt
Matt,
Just back from Oahu yesterday. Dove the Mahi wreck on the west side of the island as part of a two tank boat dive with Ocean Concepts (
www.oceanconcepts.com, 808-677-7975) last Friday. They dive here three or four times a week. They pick you up at hotels in Waikiki and the Marriott resort at Ko Olina and transport you to their boat site in Waianae if this is of any help (or you can just join the group there at the Waianae harbor). The boat is large and can take 27 from what I understand although there were only 12 of us last Friday. It was one dive master per six divers which seemed a bit crowded when everyone was trying to see the things the DM was pointing out. They had lunch for us on the boat and set up all equipment, loaded it on and off the boat (I can do it, but boy it was nice to be waited on!).
The Mahi was my first big time wreck so I can't comment of course on its condition, it seemed good to me! Lots of reef fish, eagle rays, etc. Maximum depth was 85 feet. Pretty good current down there swimming around on top of the wreck! The second shallower dive was at the Makaha Caverns also on the west shore. I liked this one also and saw lots of turtles, eels, and of course reef fish. Did some reef swim throughs, etc.
You mentioned Three Tables on the North Shore. Have you considered the shore dive site almost right next door, Sharks Cove? We did a two tank dive there last week also and a night dive there last Saturday night. It would probably be similar to Three Tables, but I am not sure. I think Sharks Cove may be more extensive. Lots of caverns, lava tube swim throughs, etc. Tons of turtles, several eels, no sharks!
Diving here would qualify as shallow diving I guess, my max depth for all three dives at Sharks Cove was only 43 feet (avg about 25 feet).
We had a guide for our three shore dives at Sharks Cove from Deep Ecology which is based out of Haleiwa on the North Shore (
www.deepecologyhawaii.com or 800-578-3992, local 808-637-7946). They also do boat dives with 6 people maximum on the boat. They only take the boat the North Shore dive sites in the summer and do the west coast dives like the Mahi during the winter when North Shore is not divable. We had two different dive masters, both named Steve! They were great, we had extensive pre-dive briefings on ecology, marine life, etc. We met at the shop in Haleiwa and they transported us for the daytime dives approximately ten minutes to Sharks Cove. For the night dive we met the guide there.
I highly recommend Deep Ecology as they were much cheaper and willing to work to accommodate our schedules as much as possible (of course there was no free lunch, no pickup at hotel, no set up of our gear unless we asked). The customer service from their owner Pat was magnificent. Ask for her if you call!
They also gave us a discount for multiple dives with them. The ratio of divers to DM was more reasonable too, we had two dives with a total of four divers and one with just three. We weren't able to take advantage of any of their boat dives but they report that they go out and scout out new dive sites off the North Shore and often dive whether other boats either don't know about or don't go. One site was called Car Wash and is supposedly a turtle clearning station and the other was called Atlantis. Wish we hadn't run out of time and could have tried these also.
Hope this is helpful. Haven't been to the big island yet.
Lauren
There's a bit of a hike from the entry/exit back to your car - whereas at Three Tables it's just across the beach. Besides, if I'm going to topple, I'd rather do it on sand than on rocks. 
