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Dive Review of Lahaina Divers/Napili Kai in
Hawaii/Maui, Lanai, Molokai

Lahaina Divers/Napili Kai: "Hammerheads in Molokai, whales on the way, dolphins too? NO way!", Mar, 2016,

by Mark Etter, PA, US (Sr. Reviewer Sr. Reviewer 11 reports with 1 Helpful vote). Report 8852.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 4 stars Food N/A
Service and Attitude 4 stars Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation 4 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 5 stars
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments OK, so I just went diving in Socorro and Raja Ampat in the last 6 months, so how could I possibly enjoy going to Maui to dive? One word: Hammerheads. (Or is that 2 words?) Anyways, twice a week Lahaina Divers schedules trips to Eastern Molokai to a site called Fish Rain where we actually did see scalloped hammerhead sharks on both dives. Pretty cool considering how hard these buggers are to find around the world. The 5 sharks that we saw were >8 feet long and at depths of 80-95' so plan on conserving air until you see them. They were shy but did hang around for 5-10 minutes. No great "money shots" though, i.e. they don't like bubbles and won't approach you if you have a camera and want to breath.

Lahaina Divers organizes this trip for experienced divers. The conditions can be rough but that's always where the cool stuff is anyways. The drop off is a "live" drop off close to the rocks requiring all 8 divers to jump in almost together. The pick up is even more fun. Since there can be current and surge, the boat comes to the divers with a drag line. Reminds me of North Carolina. This is real diving with all of the rewards. The coral at Fish Rain is great for Hawian standards and the fish life was great.

LH does a great job for this excursion. The guides are experienced and fun. I had the pleasure of meeting "Bob" Hartman on this trip who has been diving in Hawaii since the 1950's and discovered cathedral #2 in 1959. He owns a really cool store in Lahaina where he shows his hammerhead video. Bob of course is truly a real diver, using a rebreather, Gates housing, twin Keldane lights, multiple SMB's, etc.

Captain JB was professional yet approachable. The guides including Dave were great. The boat was much less full for this trip. Earlier that week we went to Lanai with >20 on board. They do a good job of separating divers.

On the way to Molokai and Lanai we had several close encounters with whales and dolphins. On most dives we could hear the whales singing but they were not visible. Too bad as there are so many nearby in March.

My only complaint is that Lahaina Divers uses 72's for tanks. They are a great outfit suitable for most experienced divers and have wonderful itineraries. The boat and crew were splendid too. The sites are sometimes as deep as 95' and they really should offer 80's (100-120 would be great but we do need to surface some time for lunch)

Overall, I really thought the experience was a fun and i will use them next time I'm in Maui.
Websites Lahaina Divers   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving Raja Amat, Gangga, Lembeh, Bunaken, Komodo, Maldives, Red Sea, Socorro, North & South Carolina, Fiji, Australia, Chuuk, Kona, Caymans, St Lucia, Belize, Bonaire, etc.
Closest Airport Maui Getting There i would fly, it's faster

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm
Water Temp 77-78°F / 25-26°C Wetsuit Thickness 5
Water Visibility 70-90 Ft/ 21-27 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions No deco (oops! I spent too much time with the hammerheads), stay within site of the guides, esp when at Molokai
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks Lots Mantas None
Dolphins Schools Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales > 2
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters 3 stars Large Fish 2 stars
Large Pelagics 4 stars

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

Subject Matter 4 stars Boat Facilities 3 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 3 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments Really I have no complaints. Not many serious UWP on the boat so it was easy to accommodate a few without problems. However, >10 SLR's would be difficult.
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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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