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Dive Review of Jack's Diving Locker in
Hawaii/Big Island

Jack's Diving Locker, Mar, 2009,

by Eric Eckes, CA, United States (Contributor Contributor 18 reports with 11 Helpful votes). Report 5208.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations N/A Food N/A
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling 5 stars
Value for $$ 4 stars
Beginners 5 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments This was my first dive trip to the Big Island of Hawaii. My girlfriend, Margi, and I scored big by diving with Jack’s Diving Locker, owned by Jeff and Teri Leicher. They run the consummate dive operation: large retail center, pool, training facilities, and several well-maintained dive boats. Their staff is second to none.

We signed up for virtually every boat trip available. During the day we were taken to a number of divesites, most with some form of lava tube structures. We encountered a variety of sealife. The boat crew, captains and divemasters, were exceptional. On one boat trip, during our surface interval, we encountered three pilot whales followed by an oceanic whitetip shark. Jeff invited us to jump in and snorkel with them, our best surface interval ever!

The signature dive of the Big Island is the night-time manta dive. We loved the mantas so much that we booked three night dives to see and photograph them. The manta dives were even more special with Keller as divemaster. Keller founded the Manta Pacific Research Foundation which is dedicated to studying and protecting the manta ray population. It was fun listening to Keller describe the mantas as if they were his own children.

My favorite dive was Jack’s Thursday night dive, Pelagic Magic. This dive is limited to six divers and takes place three miles off-shore in the deep blue. Each diver is tethered to a fifty foot line which they can ascend and descend. The boat is “anchored” with an under-sea parachute. Our Pelagic Magic dive outing included five divers with two safety divers in the water. Shining our lights into the abyss we saw a variety of small life forms with a pyrosome being my favorite.

As previously mentioned, their dive operation is first class. All staff members are knowledgable, courteous, and helpful. We were made to feel like extended family during the week spent with Jacks. They rinsed our gear after each boat trip. At the end of each day they would store our gear for us and have it waiting for us the next day. Each boat trip included gourmet sandwiches, although on a couple occasions there were not enough for all divers. Jacks’ staff also produced high quality videos of our dives.

Diving Hawaii is pricy. However, Jack’s is the place to dive with if you want to be pampered.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving Cozumel, La Paz, Fiji, Galapagos, Hawaii (Oahu, Maui and Lanai), Philippines, Palau, Yap, Bahamas
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm
Water Temp 72-74°F / 22-23°C Wetsuit Thickness 5
Water Visibility 50-100 Ft/ 15-30 M

Dive Policy

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

What I Saw

Sharks Lots Mantas Squadrons
Dolphins Schools Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales > 2
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters 3 stars Large Fish 3 stars
Large Pelagics 5 stars

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

Subject Matter 3 stars Boat Facilities 4 stars
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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