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MSD FORUMS - DOMESTIC TRAVEL |
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TOPIC:
Dive Hawaii
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Larry |
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I'll be diving the Kona coast of Hawaii during the 3rd week of February with the folks at Jack's Dive Locker. Has anyone dove this area before? This is my first time to Hawaii and, while I've done a fair amount of research, I'm curious if anyone has suggestions or comments.
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bpautsch |
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Hi Larry, My wife and I were in Hawaii for our honeymoon in 2001. The diving there is amazing, but unfortuantely we didn't dive on the big island. If you get over to Maui, be sure to dive Molokini. It's a crater just off the western coast rated the #1 dive spot in the Northern Hemisphere (http://www.lahainadivers.com/dvmolo.html). As for the big island, we were there for two days and did swim with dolphins in the wild (http://www.sailhawaii.com/swim.html). The couple that runs this boat are marine biologists and only allow a max of 4 people per trip. Fortunately, it was just my wife and me. We saw dozens of dolphins...they swam right by us. Amazing. Not sure I helped at all, but have a great time anyways!
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Richard |
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Larry, I just came back from Kauai, where I dove off the South coast. Everyone was wearing 3mm full suits, which was just right. Visbility was very good (75 - 100 feet). Sorry, I don't know anything about Kona, but I wish you the best. Richard.
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Larry |
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Just returned from my trip to Hawaii. Diving in Kona (west coast, Big Island) was great. Visability was 90-100 ft and water temps were around 73 degrees. Dove in 70 ft waters; comfortable and not very difficult. 3 mm wetsuits were fine. Marine life (eels, tangs, barracudas, crabs, etc...) was very active during day dive. Night diving with the manta rays was fun and something not to be missed if you're ever in the area. Heard humpbacks underwater though we only observed them at a distance from the boat. The people at Jack's Diving Locker (www.jacksdivinglocker.com) were professional and did an excellent job. Pre-dive briefings were accurate and informative. Divemaster Keller Laros started the Manta Pacific Foundation (non-profit) for manta ray preservation and, along with Divemaster Jon Knight, was a wealth of knowledge. Jon also shot some really great photos while Keller produced nice video footage. Boats held 12 divers and were divided into 2 groups of 6 to keep them manageable. Precautions (tank lights, strobes on mooring lines, periodic air consumption checks) were taken to keep tabs on diver safety. Fresh water and sanitation tubs were on deck to clean gear. The divemasters and captain provided as much (or as little) assistance as was needed for each individual diver's level of experience. Really a top-notch operation. Overall, a very enjoyable time. I'd highly recommend diving the Kona Coast, and definitely doing so with Jack's, if you get the opportunity. Larry
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captdarrick |
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Larry its great to hear that you had a wonderful experience in Hawaii. The detailed and informative description and endorsement is greatly appreciated by our subscribers. Many people are interested to hear the experiences of other divers as they travel to different locations around the world. Often when we arrive at a location with no information we just kind of have to take a chance and then sometimes the experience is not the best. Did you take any photos or purchase a video which may be downloaded in the photo gallery on this website?
Captain Darrick Lorenzen
captdarrick@midwestscubadiving.com
www.divemaxscuba.com
773-732-8972
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Larry |
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Capt. D: Due to a lack of flood lights on my part, I couldn't take any quality photos. I did however purchase photos and will provide a link to them soon in this thread. (The photographer has asked that I provide a link to his site, rather than upload them directly in the MSD gallery.) - Larry
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Larry |
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Ok...below is the URL to the dive photos from my recent trip to Hawaii. The arrow at the top of the page will link to the second page of photos. If you pull up the main page (www.jpkphotos.com), click on the "Your Photos" tab, and then the link to the 2/22/06 dive. Here's the URL: http://www.jpkphotos.com/images/Charters/02-22-06/index.htm
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Cubfan |
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We are travelling to Maui in October and staying at the Sheraton. Does anyone have any recommendations for dive operators in Maui? I've been told Molokiini Wall is a must dive. Thanks-cubfan
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bpautsch |
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My wife and I dove the Molokini crater with Trilogy about 5 years ago on our honeymoon. We weren't certified and stayed in the inside area of the crater (stayed ~25-30 ft deep), but it was amazing. The staff was very nice and their boat/equipment was great.
From what others have told me, you have to go to the outside area of the crater and dive the walls. I have no idea how Trilogy is with certified divers looking for a better dive site (or if they even offer it).
Trilogy: http://www.sailtrilogy.com
Brian Pautsch
brian@midwestscubadiving.com
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Wiz77 |
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My wife and I were in Hawaii the beginning of June. We stayed on KanapalliBeach so we dove with the Lahaina Divers. You meet at the shop at 6:30 AM and they have coffee and sweet breads. They also serve sandwiches and snacks on the boat between dives. We had a great time and did six sets of dives. Our first dive was the Molikini Crater and we say a huge black manta ray that had two sharks trailing it trying to get the remora off of it. It was amazing to see something so large. The next day we dove Molokini Backwall which was a nice drift dive and we say a few sharks and another manta ray.
We also did a special charter over to Molokai. I knew this was going to be a good dive because everyone in the dive shop was really buzzing about the charter. It is not a spot that is a common spot because the ride across the channel can be rough. It was a rough ride about an hour or so with 10 foot swells but no one got sick. The dives were good and we say a 15 foot hammerhead shark taking a look at what we were doing out there. I wish I would have gotten a picture but my digital camera shuts off and by the time it was back on the shark was out of reach.
You will have to also dive Lanai and the First or Second Cathedrals. The cathedrals are lava domes that have holes that allow light in and resemble the light coming thru stained glass. After the second dive everyone was on the boat and we were heading back to Maui and the boat was surrounded by about 200 spinner dolphins. It was interesting to see dorsal fins everywhere you looked.
Overall we had a great trip. I hope this helps.
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ppo2_diver |
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I was in Maui four years ago for my wedding. I dove with Ed Robinson's. Very fast, comfortable boat. Molokini is a must. Have fun.
Duane A. Johnson
www.chicagoexplorers.com
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Cubfan |
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Thanks for the feedback.
Wiz 77--how large were the groups on the boat w/Lahaina?
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Wiz77 |
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Lahina Divers ran two boats, everyday. It seemed like we had between 15-18 divers a day. They split into groups of 4-6 per dive master. Most of the dives were guided except for the night dives. One day we had about 20 divers and my wife and I did our own unguided dive.
I hope this helps you out.
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