maui or o'ahu in late march for best diving conditions? late may?

[waitingaroundtodive]

hey all. i've had a great time diving on maui, kaua'i, lana'i, and the big island...but have never dived o'ahu, although i've always been really excited about the various wrecks there...

i've recently been fortunate enough to be able to head to o'ahu and maui, one island in late march and the other in late may. is there any difference in diving conditions as to which island i head to next month and which in late may? almost all of my trips to the hawaiian islands have been during mid to late summer and fall, so i'm not too acquainted with the marine conditions during early to late spring. keep in mind that i will most likely be diving in south and west maui (splitting time between wailea and kaanapali) and west oahu (or south, if the shipwrecks around waikiki are ok the time of year i go).

obviously, i'm looking forward to diving the wrecks in o'ahu. any recommendations for dive ops there? i'd assume that during spring i should look for a boat that leaves from waianae, but please correct me if i'm wrong (i've heard mixed imput). the three ops i've been told are the best are dive oahu, rainbow divers, and ocean concepts. any suggestions?

 

[smellzlikefish]

The Oahu wrecks are a blast and mostly diveable at any time of year. The big ones (YO-257, San Pedro, Sea Tiger, Corsair and Mahi) are mostly off the south shore, with the Mahi being the only exception. There are a lot of other wrecks down there, but I'd focus on those 5 first. During the summer we do tend to get a south swell, but never large enough to close out the channels and usually not so bad that you feel significant surge at 100+ feet. The effect you might see is a slight reduction in visibility.

As for Oahu dive ops, I usually recommend Kaimana Divers (ScubaBoard's Scottitheduck). Have fun!

 

[DiveMaven]

I don't think you'll see that much of a difference between late March and May in conditions. If it were me, I'd choose Maui for March and Oahu for May for a couple of reasons. First, the whales are still in Hawaii and they run pretty thick in the channel between Maui, Lanai, and Molokai. You're likely to have a great topside whale watching experience and will probably hear them underwater as well. Secondly, the end of March is spring break and Oahu being a busier island, it may feel even more crowded.

Realistically, there are whales all over the islands and spring break will hit all the islands, so ultimately it doesn't matter which island you go to at which time. Make a choice and have a great time.

 

[lonebrave]

Another recommendation for Gabe and crew at Kaimana Divers...a great crew that is a lot of fun to dive with and very professional. Scuba Diving in Hawaii with Kaimana Divers | Dive Oahu with the pros

 

[scottitheduck]

Wow..... Thanks guys!

Lots of fun to be had on the wrecks no doubt and as Dive Maven mentioned...... not much of a condition difference between the two months. We have several other options for the die hard diver too including our all day Shark Dive (no cage : ) and our black water night dive. Let me know what you think and again guys, thanks for the kind words.

ALOHA!

G

 

[SlicerDicer]

I still do not understand the whole cage diving bit? In the sense that those sharks are regular customers at Molokai?

 

[smellzlikefish]

Slicerdicer-the cage diving tours on Oahu cater a lot to people who want to be awed by lots of big, potentially aggressive sharks but don't necessarily have the experience in the water to swim with the animals and not hurt themselves. The cage dive can be done safely sans cage with the knowledge that Galapagos and sandbar sharks can get dicey from time to time. I wouldn't suggest that most of the people who pay to do the shark cage expedition try it without the cage.

The sharks that are seen at Molokai are completely different animals. I think you are talking about the hammerheads of Molokai that are wary of divers and generally very peaceful. As opposed to the Galapagos and sandbar sharks seen off the NS Oahu that are diurnal, hammerheads don't hunt during the day. On the odd chance that a sandbar shark does show up, it is usually only one. One aggro shark is much easier to deal with than the dozen or so that hang around the shark cages.

Scottitheduck's operation visits a completely different population of sharks altogether. Basically, it boils down to the conditions dictating the dynamics of the sharks you are swimming with. Does that clear anything up for you?

 

[scottitheduck]

And here's some video from our past outing on the Shark Dive:

Latest Waikiki Scuba Dive Report from Kaimana Divers, Honolulu Hawaii: Dive Oahu..... with crazy sharks!