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Dive Review of Hawaiian Rafting Adventures in
Hawaii/Maui

Hawaiian Rafting Adventures, Oct, 2005,

by Ed Strange, CA, United States . Report 2131.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 3 stars Food 2 stars
Service and Attitude 4 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 4 stars Shore Diving 3 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 2 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments Having dove at the Cathedrals on Lanai, most decent beach entry points on West Maui, and Molokini's back wall unaccessible due to strong surge and currents, we decided to do a "manta dive" with Hawaiian Rafting Adventures, based at Mala Wharf, Front St., Lahaina, Maui. The dive site is a location about 500 yards off the West Maui coast, 10 Mi. South of Lahaina, better accessible by boat beacause of the strong surf in this area. The dive is over lava formations with moderate reef growth in 30'-50' where mantas regularly congregate in the late afternoon/early evening to be "cleaned" of parasites by wrasses. Visibility was low (35'-50') due to recent rain and runoff from land, but the dive gave what it promised, and within 3 minutes of entering the water, two mantas were spotted 25' from us, lazily cruising the reef. Both had wingspans of 12'-15'! We spotted other pairs intermittently through the dive, but finally found the "sweet spot" with about 5-min. of air left. 18-20 mantas circling overhead at about 25', while we watched in awe from 50'. Some good pictures from the photographer on the trip, even with the low visibility. Hawaiian Rafting Adventures uses RIB diveboats, taking 12 divers max. on their excursions (ours had 10). You must drive to their facility, check in, load your gear on the boat, and then walk to the dock (300 yards) while they launch the boat. Crew has excellent knowledge of the area, pointing out the good and not-so-good beach dive areas that we passed, with entry points and reef locations at each. We saw quality rental gear on other divers and NITROX is available. As we all know, there are not a lot of accomodations on a 25' RIB, but the trip to the dive sites are fun, also, riding the afternoon swells in the Maui/Lanai channel. All-in-all a good trip and a quality dive operation.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 0-25 dives
Where else diving Jamaica, Maui, No. CA coast & lakes.
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, windy Seas surge
Water Temp 79-80°F / 26-27°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 35-50 Ft/ 11-15 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile ?
Enforced diving restrictions [Unspecified]
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas Squadrons
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles None Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 3 stars Large Fish 1 stars
Large Pelagics 1 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter 3 stars Boat Facilities 3 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 3 stars Shore Facilities 3 stars
UW Photo Comments Setup at the shop consists of a few tables in the back for customer use. Limited gear and accessories are available. Boat storage consists of a filled marine cooler due to space limitations. The crew will download and burn a disc from your digital camera back at the shop.
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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