Maui dive shops

[Charlie99]

Has anyone done the three-tanker with Ed Robinson's? According to the web site, it is geared toward more advanced divers and lets divers dive their computers and tanks, rather than an arbitrary dive time. We'll be staying in Wailea for a week in August. Since we'll have just come off the Kona Aggressor, we only want to do a day or two of diviing in Maui.

Having done several of both trips, I didn't find all that much difference between the trips, other than the addtional tank on the 3 tank trip. The only ERDA dive I've done with a different "feel" to it is the Wednesday "Adventure Dive" (That's their name -- I think of it more as the "Dive with Ed" trip). It's more freeform and they don't insist that you stay with the group.

Dives are generally limited by air on the multilevel dives such as Molokini, and by decompression limits on the square profile dives (such as St. Anthony's, 85' Pinnacle/Hawaiian Reef, 110' Battleship and Apartments). Even with 1 hour SI's, staying within (or nearly so) NDL limits ends up being the limit on dive time on most 2nd dives and definitely on 3rd dives on the 3 tank trips.

The 3 tank trips do tend to be a bit deeper and they will often go to 130' for a while at Molokini, and then work back up to the shallows. On the 2 tank trips it is common for the more experienced group to splash in before the other group, to go a bit deeper, and then to end the dive after the 2nd group.

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Here's the data from my last 3 tank and last couple of 2 tank trips with ERDA:

3 tanker, Sunday 3/9/2008. #1 Reef’s End Drift. 127' 0:44 runtime. IIRC, this was air limited, with the DM and me being the last up.
#2 Taupe Reef. SI of 1:19, then 82' 0:36. NDL limited. Lots of air left.
#3 Backwall from cove CCW past the lighthouse. SI 1:06, then 69' 1:00 runtime. I don't recall the reason for ending the dive. Probably not my air. Most likely because everyone else had surfaced.

2 tank Sunday 3/23/08 #1 Molokini sand channel, center reef, inside of reef’s end. 118’, 0:56
#2 Red Hill drift. 0:56SI, 51’ 1:07. Ascended because we had reached the end of the reef system.

2 tank, Sunday 3/30/08 #1 Reef’s End drift. 123’ 0:57. The rest of the group had swum off into the blue to do safety stop, and although I had enough air to hang out in shallows on the wall for quite a while, the DM was having a hard time splitting the distance to keep both me and the rest of the group in sight, so I came out out to join him.
#2 Landing Craft. 1:13 SI, 64’ 0:46. NDL limited.

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Several other Maui dive ops pretty much let you dive your tank and computer, but most DMs start getting restless 5 or 10 minutes after all the other divers except me have gone up. The most notable exception is Pauline of Mike Severns. Several times I've started to ascend after an hour or so and she'll be excitedly calling me back down to show me something like a chocolate dip damsel fish showing the mating colors of white eye/white eye ring. She just never wants to go back up.

 

[AevnsGrandpa]

I'll keep it mind, snorkeling Molokini vs. diving it.

I'm leaning toward a Lahaina dive op so I don't have to get up to early. B&B sounds great, but 5:45a check it plus driving from Kaanapali on top.....

What are the general thoughts on Extended Horizons trips to Lana'i? I have read good things in the thread about them and they are in Lahaina and check in at 6:45a.

So many choices and really just one day, or morning that is, to plan a dive trip in. Wish the wife dove so diving would not be a issue.....

46 days and counting!

Jeff

 

[DiveMaven]

We've done Molokini with Lahaina Divers and have always enjoyed the boat ride to the crater from Lahaina. It's a very scenic and relaxing trip because of the size of the Newton dive boats. If you're not familiar with a Newton boat, they have 3 main areas to sit/hang out during transit, and because Lahaina Divers boats are handicapped accessable, their boats have a huge head that's very convenient for those of us who don't pee in our wetsuits.

You'll have to compromise slightly on a dive with them since they use AL72s and will limit your depth to 65', but you will get 2 dives at the crater and the crew is extremely safety conscious and usually a lot of fun to dive with. I'm thinking since you're going to Maui in May, the boat won't be as crowded as during busier months, so you may wind up with lots of room on the boat to yourself.

 

[KrisB]

Since you only have one day of diving and want to leave from Lahaina, I'd really suggest hitting up Lanai.

Molokini is nice because of the water clarity and decent amount of marine life. But you'll get at least part of that when you do your snorkel trip. Then again, if you travel to other regions to dive, you'll probably experience this at some point, too.

Lanai has formations that are incredible -- both the Cathedrals sites are amazing, and you're not likely to find too many dives like them.

Both Extended Horizons and Hawaiian Rafting Adventures run great ops. The pros/cons between the two:

XH: pro - boat has a head; con - the ride isn't all that "cushy" if the trades have picked up.

HRA: pro - the RIB seems to handle the waves much better than any of the others I've used in that channel (including XH, MDS's Maka Koa, the Expeditions Ferry and the Molokai Ferry). con - there's no head on the boat.

Both ops feed you well, take good care of your gear and good care of you. They also both have great crews. XH seems to give a more in-depth marine life briefing, though HRA seems a little more free with letting experienced divers do their thing. HRA has a later check-in time (8am) than most (at their shop near Mala Ramp in Lahaina), though I don't remember exactly when the check-in for XH is.

 

[DiveMaven]

With all due respect to Kris' opinion, after having done a lot of white water rafting in my life, and having done the crossing to Lanai on a 32' Munson and a 46' Newton, I simply can never be convinced that an inflatable would be a smooth ride in that channel.

For us, we'll continue to enjoy the comfortable ride and amenities that Lahaina Divers' big 46' Newton has proven to us she can deliver. The small compromises are worth the comfort of having 3 different places to sit or stand, the roominess of the boat, and the convenient head, but everyone has to make their own decision....gee, which could be why there's more than one dive operator to choose from.

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

With all due respect to Kris' opinion, after having done a lot of white water rafting in my life, and having done the crossing to Lanai on a 32' Munson and a 46' Newton, I simply can never be convinced that an inflatable would be a smooth ride in that channel.

For us, we'll continue to enjoy the comfortable ride and amenities that Lahaina Divers' big 46' Newton has proven to us she can deliver. The small compromises are worth the comfort of having 3 different places to sit or stand, the roominess of the boat, and the convenient head, but everyone has to make their own decision....gee, which could be why there's more than one dive operator to choose from.

It's obvious Kris hasn't done the trip when it's bumpy out there. We spent more time in the air that on the water and the landings were rough on that RIB. We'll never do it again.

 

[KrisB]

It's obvious Kris hasn't done the trip when it's bumpy out there. We spent more time in the air that on the water and the landings were rough on that RIB. We'll never do it again.

I've done the trip several times... and yes, in the 32' Munsons, it has been spine-jarring (not to mention a "vomit comet" for several) every time.

Now, all I can compare it to (since the ride was most definitely smoother) is what I saw for waves around us. And they looked similar in size and period between the times I've done it on the various vessels.

For the record, the Maka Koa is a 48' V-Hull. And it was rough, too -- not to mention a long trip from Maalaea.

The bottom line is that this channel is a challenging at the best of times. If you don't have the right captain or the right vessel, some people on the boat are going to be feeling a little queasy.

I'd love to compare the 46' Newton, but it's really tough to justify going out on a charter with 10% less air than is standard, especially when the rates are the same...

 

[DiveMaven]

I'd love to compare the 46' Newton, but it's really tough to justify going out on a charter with 10% less air than is standard, especially when the rates are the same...

Well, to be 100% fair....Lahaina Divers actually charges $20 less than EH and HRA for a Lanai charter.

But again, everyone has different priorities and opinions, hence more than one operator. For me, I'll stick to the Lahaina Divers boat where I've been able to enjoy the return crossing many times sitting on the bow in the sunshine. :blinking:

 

[Charlie99]

It's obvious Kris hasn't done the trip when it's bumpy out there. We spent more time in the air that on the water and the landings were rough on that RIB. We'll never do it again.

I've been out on Hawaiian Rafting with a couple different Captains. (I mean two different people, not the two very different personas of their main captain.) One was skilled enough to quickly back off the throttle just before going airborne, and the landings were merely rough. The other Captain just kept going and we managed to get some pretty good air and hang times, with the landings being rather violent.
IMO, it isn't just a case of very rough seas, but instead seems to be greatly aggravated by "confused seas" such as when a swell from one direction is mixing with wind waves or a swell from another direction.

The Extended Horizons boat has been in my experience a much better ride.

Neither of course, can compare to the ride of the much larger boats that Lahaina Divers uses. They are my recommendation for Lanai for newer divers since they won't be as affected by their various restrictions such as 45 minutes max bottom time. I have a very personal dislike of AL72 (or AL50) tanks because my BCD camband has a permanent kink at 7.25" diameter, and it's a real pain to get it to cinch down properly on the 6.9" diameter AL72.

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

True, my scubapro bcds are set for 7.25's and I hate adjusting them enough that the smaller tanks would be a deal breaker, not because of the volumn of air, I'm find with that, it's the equipment adjustments that are a pain.