A Big Shout Out To Scotti The Duck (Gabe Scotti of Kaimana Divers)

[Downing]

Just got back from my 10-day 19-dive Honolulu housesitting vacation.

Did six west-side dives waiting for Gabe to get back from vacation so we could do...

Thirteen dives in four days, including wreck dives, boat dives, shore dives and even a couple of night dives: Nautilus, Turtle Canyon, Ewa Reef, China Wall, Fish Curtains, Corner Pocket, Koko Craters, Corasair (night), Koko Craters (night), YO257 Wreck, Horsehoe Reef, Sharks Cove Right and Shark's Cove Left.

Gabe, that was fantastic!

I just gave you an awesome write-up over on Undercurrent, my friend.

Best Dive Master I've ever had the pleasure of diving with. May the current always be at your back.

Thanks for the rockin' good time, bro.

Mahalo,

Downing

[justleesa]

Moderator's Comments:

Thanks for the info! Your post was added to our recommendations thread

[scottitheduck]

What up D!?!?!

Thanks for the review.... hopefully things are cooling off in Portland. Didn't anyone ever tell you Dive INSTRUCTORS are way more important the Dive Masters? Either way, it was a blast bro.... come back next year!

G

[Black_3000psi]

thats a matter of opinion.DMs do all the hard work and instructors take the credit.

[scottitheduck]

Well you may have a point there but then again, we were all DM's at some point too...... I rarely have the luxury of having a DM so I guess I'm both!

Oh and what happened to your fin at the cove the other day?

G

[Downing]

Oops. My bad.

To me, "Dive Master" should be top dog, as it sounds much more important than mere "Instructor." But what do I know. How about "Dive Instructor Master"?

The folks we housesat for want us back, so you just never know...

[Downing]

It occurred to me that I should post my Undercurrent report here in case anyone wanted more details about my diving with Gabe. Here it is:

This is my second report from our 10-day 19-dive housesitting vacation in
Honolulu. The first report covered my experience with Captain Bruce's
Extreme Comfort Diving, with whom I did my first six dives while waiting
for Gabe Scotti of Kaimana Divers to return from his vacation on the
mainland. This report will cover my remaining 13-dive experience with
Gabe.

I found him through another scuba board, where he enjoys a well-deserved
solid reputation as a dive master and instructor. He runs a one-person
show at Kaimana, which I liked because there was never a middleman to
confuse communications. I booked with him about two months in advance of
the trip, which gave me complete flexibility in choosing when and where to
dive since I was the first booking. This was important to me because I was
interested in variety, looking to do boat diving, shore diving, wreck
diving and night diving at various sites around the island. Once we
settled on the schedule and price, Gabe took care of the rest and made all
the arrangements. All I had to do was show up and dive.

I don't know that I can say enough good things about Gabe without sounding
like a paid advertisement. He was completely professional, competent and
meticulous plus a lot of fun just to kick it with. He even took care of my
gear until the end of the last dive and gave me the occasional ride when
needed.

We did some pretty serious diving over a four-day period, starting with a
wreck dive off Waikkiki and ending with a shore dive off the North Shore.
I loved every minute of it.

I highly recommend Gabe if you're planning to do some diving around Oahu.

As per my other report, the lack of reef fish around the island is
alarming--with the exception of the North Shore where the numbers were
pretty good. Whatever the cause(s), something needs to be done about it
right away.

The water temperature in late July was a consistent 79 to 81 degrees. I
dived in my 2mm shorty with no problems. There were a few other people in
shorties but most were in 3mm full wetsuits, some with hoods. A couple
from Phoenix dived the night dive with us, and they were both really cold
after the second dive, although I should note that was the one night it had
rained and the air temperature had dipped into the high 70's. Viz was
almost always outstanding at 100+ feet and never less than 60 feet.

End of report.

[scottitheduck]

Thanks for the report Downing..... when you guys planning a return trip?

G

[Downing]

No plans but hopefully sooner rather than later.

And I'll definitely look you up. There's still a lot of water around Oahu I'd like to see.

[ewatchorn]

I was in on a couple of Downing's dives with Gabe (Turtle Canyons and Ewa Reef) and I too was super happy about the experience! Gabe is lots of fun, with a great sense of humour and a laidback style, but he's serious about safety and making sure all his divers are enjoying themselves. He was knowledgeable about the biota we saw and great at finding the more camoflaged critters. I would definitely dive with him again!