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Dive Review of Lahaina Divers/Westin in
Hawaii/Maui

Lahaina Divers/Westin, Apr, 2006,

by Hilary, WA, USA . Report 2376.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 4 stars Food 4 stars
Service and Attitude 3 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 4 stars Shore Diving 3 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 5 stars
Advanced 3 stars
Comments We did 2 Lanai charters with Lahaina Divers on our short trip to Maui. Because of their recent rains in Hawaii (40+ straight days), nobody had taken a charter to Lanai in more than 3 weeks, and were extremely lucky to be on the first charter to Lanai since before the rain.

We dive with Lahaina Divers to Lanai whenever we're on Maui. They have big 46' Newton dive boats that are extremely roomy, wide, and provide a very comfortable crossing to Lanai (which can be rough). They do take upwards of 22 divers, but we've never been on a morning charter with them where they've had more than 18, which was the case this trip as well. Our first charter had 15 divers and our second had 18, but 2 consisted of an instructor and student from another dive operator. Dive groups were limited to 6-7 divers, and since we're repeat customers and most of the DM's know us well, we're pretty much left alone to do our own thing as long as we don't go into deco.

One of the complaints I've heard/read a lot about Lahaina Divers is that they have short SI's and AL72's. SI's are typically 45 minutes, with profiles being limited to around 60 feet for 30-35 minutes. Although I've seen other divers burn through tanks in less than 25 minutes, I've never even come close, so the smaller tanks don't bother me. They also give some latitude to divers with computers, with our dives being no less than 45 minutes each.

The dive sites we visited were 2nd Cathedral (twice), Monolith, and No Name. Our first charter out to Lanai had visibility down to 20' in some areas with a lot of silt in the water at 2nd Cathedral. Monolith was a clearer dive and we enjoyed snooping in the cracks and crevices looking for critter, which we found in abundance. There was quite a bit of silt on the corals, which provided us with a "grey/brown" color for most of the dives.

Our second charter out to Lanai 2 days later showed us much better conditions. 2nd Cathedral was clear with over 60' viz, and we were treated to excellent viewing of the hanging black coral inside the cave. No Name also had good viz, though we could really see quite a bit of silt still on the corals. It was already clearing off, so we had good color, though we've seen it far better in the past.

During the SI's, we had very yummy sandwiches, chips and salsa, and all the lemonaide you could drink. After the second dive, they brought out warm cookies that we enjoyed on the way back to Lahaina.

We will continue to dive with Lahaina Divers to Lanai when we're on Maui, as we enjoy the big boats and the DM's. It's definitely an excellent charter operation for beginner divers and vacation divers as they are very concientious of the divers in their dive groups and do an excellent job supervising them. As repeat divers with them, we get more freedom to dive our own profiles, which we definitely appreciate and take advantage of.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 51-100 dives
Where else diving Bahamas, USVI, BVI, Belize, Key Largo
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, dry Seas calm, surge
Water Temp 74-76°F / 23-24°C Wetsuit Thickness 5
Water Visibility 30-100 Ft/ 9-30 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile no
Enforced diving restrictions All dives on Maui are guided.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 3 stars Large Fish 2 stars
Large Pelagics 1 stars

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

Subject Matter N/A Boat Facilities N/A
Overall rating for UWP's N/A Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments [None]
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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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