Schlafmanko
Registered
FengShui and I just got back from Kauai, and let me say, the Niihau trip with Bubbles Below was fantastic, just really fantastic. Good food, too. Slight caveat: One of the two engines in their boat broke while we were out there. They had the spare part on hand but were having trouble fixing it. It wasn't much of a problem because the ocean was pancake flat, but I got the impression that this happened every few months and it could've been a long ride back if it hadn't been flat.
The shallower closer-to-Kauai dives with Bubbles Below were not so good. The problem is that our dive master was really green and swam really fast. If you wanted to stop and look at something for a second, or heaven forbid, take a few pictures of it, you had to race to catch up. I had the impression that we weren't allowed to see anything except what the DM saw. On the second dive, the DM got lost, went up to the surface to look around, and then swam off with half the group when she came back down. The other 4 of us saw her go up, stayed where we were and proceeded to look at the reef rather than at her, and failed to notice her coming down and swimming off. On the plus side, we got a good look at a big white-tipped reef shark while we were searching for the other half of the group. We had to send a diver up to the surface twice to see which direction their bubbles had gone, but eventually the groups were reunited. After most of the other guests left, we heard the captain chewing out the DM because a couple sailboats had flown past in the area between the spots where she and our diver were ascending. Not the best place to be surfacing. The dive master seemed like a genuinely nice person; I just wouldn't want to dive with her again until she gets more experience. I should also mention that Fengshui wasn't nearly as annoyed as I was about her general style -- but everyone has different personal peeves. (hey Fengshui, any other quibbles?)
Fathom Five was a lot better for diving near Kauai. On our last day of diving -- we hadn't been planning on any more boat dives, but it was my birthday
-- we jumped ship to Fathom Five and got two very good dives out of it. BTW, one of the dives was Sheraton Caverns, just offshore from Koloa Landing -- ask for it by name! The DM (Paul? I have to check my log) was excellent, too.
Conclusion: Going to Niihau with Bubbles Below is a pretty good bet, because they're probably not going to send a DM who doesn't know what he's doing out on that trip. I wouldn't book any other dives with them.
Oh, what thickness of wet suit do you think we should be renting this time of year? What would the water temp be down around 30ft?
I wore a 3 mm and found myself shivering on several occasions, but only enough to be minorly uncomfortable. I wouldn't want to dive in anything less than a 3 mm, but then again, I weigh 50% less than a lot of the guy divers and may also be a wuss.
The shallower closer-to-Kauai dives with Bubbles Below were not so good. The problem is that our dive master was really green and swam really fast. If you wanted to stop and look at something for a second, or heaven forbid, take a few pictures of it, you had to race to catch up. I had the impression that we weren't allowed to see anything except what the DM saw. On the second dive, the DM got lost, went up to the surface to look around, and then swam off with half the group when she came back down. The other 4 of us saw her go up, stayed where we were and proceeded to look at the reef rather than at her, and failed to notice her coming down and swimming off. On the plus side, we got a good look at a big white-tipped reef shark while we were searching for the other half of the group. We had to send a diver up to the surface twice to see which direction their bubbles had gone, but eventually the groups were reunited. After most of the other guests left, we heard the captain chewing out the DM because a couple sailboats had flown past in the area between the spots where she and our diver were ascending. Not the best place to be surfacing. The dive master seemed like a genuinely nice person; I just wouldn't want to dive with her again until she gets more experience. I should also mention that Fengshui wasn't nearly as annoyed as I was about her general style -- but everyone has different personal peeves. (hey Fengshui, any other quibbles?)
Fathom Five was a lot better for diving near Kauai. On our last day of diving -- we hadn't been planning on any more boat dives, but it was my birthday
-- we jumped ship to Fathom Five and got two very good dives out of it. BTW, one of the dives was Sheraton Caverns, just offshore from Koloa Landing -- ask for it by name! The DM (Paul? I have to check my log) was excellent, too. Conclusion: Going to Niihau with Bubbles Below is a pretty good bet, because they're probably not going to send a DM who doesn't know what he's doing out on that trip. I wouldn't book any other dives with them.
Oh, what thickness of wet suit do you think we should be renting this time of year? What would the water temp be down around 30ft?
I wore a 3 mm and found myself shivering on several occasions, but only enough to be minorly uncomfortable. I wouldn't want to dive in anything less than a 3 mm, but then again, I weigh 50% less than a lot of the guy divers and may also be a wuss.
