Maui Shore Dives

[MermaidVanessa]

I've been trying to find the data to shore dive the WW2 wrecks off Makena, alas no luck. My buddies and I will be there for a week 5/7-5/14 and in addition to some boat trips we also plan to do a ton of shore dives. Being cold water shore divers out of San Diego we are looking forward to some warm clearer water. Any tips you have would be greatly appreciated.

 

[bperc]

Mala Pier is a really good shore dive. I also like Old Airport because of the ease of entry and exit. Make sure you have a dive flag for shore dives. I bought an inexpensive inflateable and a reel online.

 

[MermaidVanessa]

Thanks Bperc I've heard great things about the pier as well.

 

[diversteve]

You're probably not going to find anyone to give you numbers for the wrecks - divers have sadly stripped them so the operators that know don't share. Ed Robinson is one of them although he does give some general info here: Ed Robinson's Diving Adventures - Wreck Dives of Maui With your dive count you should do one of their Adventure dives during the day as a boat dive.

I believe the PB4Y is in 190' also. I doubt that's shore accessible since to get that depth you'd have to be pretty far off Maui. Some general info also: Maui World War II Legacy - Results and Site Interpretations

Ask about the legal entry to Mala at Lahaina Divers. Otherwise you might find a nice DLNR agent waiting for you to give you a piece of paper with your name and his signature on it.. Lahaina Divers also does it from their boat on Thursday night: Scuba Dive Maui: Night Scuba Diving

Generally - although there are exceptions - the better diving off any of the beaches is just past the lava you see at either point of the bay. Some of these sites even mention a left/right entry: Scuba Shore Diving Site Listing for: Maui, Hawaiian Islands

 

[MermaidVanessa]

Ya I saw a shop doing scooter tours out that way. We're used to long a 1/2 mile surface swim, heck one spot is 3/4 mi off the coast. Guess we'll just do a bunch of exploratory dives.

 

[diversteve]

a buddy put together this description once of how to get to the St. Anthony wreck from shore. swim or scooter.

St. Anthony Wreck

Location: Located 1/3 mile off Ulua beach park is the the 65' fishing vessel St. Anthony. It was sunk in 1997 as an artificial reef and is surrounded by a large submerged tire reef.

Facilities: Restrooms, showers
Entry: Ulua beach has one of the easiest entry points on the island with a shallow sloping sand entry, after rough weather watch out for submerged rocks in the shallows (tripping hazard).
From Ulua beach this is a very long surface swim or a perfect scooter dive. From the end of the rocky point at Ulua beach follow a compass heading of 285°
If leaving from Keawakapu (little shorter distance) follow a compass heading of 270° from the south end of the beach.
After a 10-15 minute scooter ride you should begin seeing the "tire reef" in about 60fsw.

Maui Dreams Dive Co. has scooters. Doug at Shaka Divers also
Also Maui Scooter Divers - that's all they do. All guided though afaik.

 

[MermaidVanessa]

Thank

a buddy put together this description once of how to get to the St. Anthony wreck from shore. swim or scooter.

Maui Dreams Dive Co. has scooters. Doug at Shaka Divers also
Also Maui Scooter Divers - that's all they do. All guided though afaik.

thank you!!

 

[Montana Diver]

Off the north edge of Kihei, there is a Hellcat in about 40". The dive has very little to offer in terms of coral, but the hellcat is a nice dive. It was discovered only 4-5 years ago.
Guessing it is a mile offshore. Best off a boat, I am not certain of the DPV range of Maui Scooter Dives. Greg will chime in let you know if he can do the dive. Best dive times are early, before the tradewinds get gnarly.

 

[MermaidVanessa]

Off the north edge of Kihei, there is a Hellcat in about 40". The dive has very little to offer in terms of coral, but the hellcat is a nice dive. It was discovered only 4-5 years ago.
Guessing it is a mile offshore. Best off a boat, I am not certain of the DPV range of Maui Scooter Dives. Greg will chime in let you know if he can do the dive. Best dive times are early, before the tradewinds get gnarly.

Thanks, any idea of the specific beach north edge of Kihei covers a large area.

 

[diversteve]

Hellcat? Hell, yeah! (an adventure to the F6F Hellcat off Kihei, Maui)

The numbers put it where I've read it is also - have not dove it.
Position: N 20.74623, W 156.46385 (main wreck)