Hawaii (Big island) guides have developed great skills in finding the unique - Spanish Dancers, rare juveniles, lionfish. Kailua-Kona filled with trendy shops to extract dollars from tourists in tacky hula shirts. . . . Major bill-fishing industry, with dead marlin and sailfish as scenery du jour in the harbor. Mostly lava flow diving, relatively low coral cover. Sea turtles belly-up to boats of snorkelers to be fed lettuce, dogfood, or "turtle chow". . . . Excellent access to good shore diving at City of Refuge and at Puako, at the northern end of the bicycle route for the Iron Man competition; still, the right guides provide fish fanciers a great experience. . . . Kauai has special trips available only in the summer); Maui diving not much - take day boats to the backside of Molokini or Lanai; Oahu diving is pretty burned out because of the population and development in Honolulu. . . . Limited fish diversity compared to farther west in the Indo-Pacific. Some reefs barren due to commercial collection for aquariums. Not many soft corals, dull hard corals, but colorful, plentiful and unusual fish make it interesting. . . . Expect clear water, visibility often above 100', and air temperatures in the low 80s; Water temperatures from 73 in January and February to 80 in August and September; visibility is usually better than Caribbean - around 100 feet. . . . December through February, squalls can last several days; otherwise climate pleasant and unoppressive year-round. . . . Plenty of condos available everywhere (many with cars, which you need since dive boat are not at hotels; ask your dive shop to find you a place; they often have good prices. . . .

Kauai

Bubbles Below, February 1997, John and Betsy Robinson, New Vernon, NJ. "Linda Bail, co-owner of Bubbles Below, combines an encyclopedic knowledge of marine life, superb group-management skills and, a downright fun attitude. Nicki also believes in service with a capital "S". After comprehensive briefing, boat leaves before 8:00 A.M. Bottom times on both dives are as long as your air or no-decompression time lasts, with 60 minutes surface interval. All dives are loosely guided, with DM's finding lots of critters. vis: 30-50 ft. water: 70 degrees . Huge turtles abundant, 20 on one dive. White-tipped reef sharks often seen, and fish a pleasure. Computers provided free."

Bubbles Below, April 1997, Greg Dyer, Mill Valley, CA. "I dove three trips with Linda and Ken Bail. (also dove with them in April 1996). Fast boat, well run operation. Both are knowledgeable and enthusiastic. They know the area and they know the marine life. They give a critter briefing with photos from books both before and after the dive. Both years I found the twilight dive the most interesting. Saw turtles on all six dives. Lots of morays (including free swimming). Lots of lobsters. Great operation for serious divers. Expensive, but worth it. Saw humpback whales and dolphins during surface interval. They will lend you a computer. vis: 30­50 ft. water: 72­75 degrees. Sometimes had current cloudy. Most of the time clear at night. Air temp. 70­75 degrees."

Bubbles Below/Outrigger Kauai, May 1997, Dr. Terrence W. Dunlop, Annapolis, MD. "Typical Hawaii diving. Rocky bottom, few corals, no sponges, cool water, modest vis and lots of fish life. Bubbles Below is a super operation geared for divers with a naturalist bent. They take only small groups and accommodate group desires. Did long, shallow dives. Linda is the most enthusiastic divemaster I've ever encountered. Taught me more about marine life than others from 100 previous dives. Showed us boarfish, Hawaiian morwong, dwarf moray eel, leaf scorpion fish, Titan scorpion fish, hairy yellow hermit crab and much more. Good green turtle action and snorkeled with pod of spinner dolphin. vis: 30­50 ft. water: 74­78 degrees. Head, radio, first aid and oxygen on board. Fills to 3000+. Had 100 cu tanks for air hogs. Kauai is one of the most beautiful places on earth. Plenty to do for families and non­divers."

Sea Sports/Prince Kalelo Condo, February 1997, Bill Troyer, Shoreline, WA. "Dove three days in Poipu. Dive operation ranged from scary to good. First dive with one divemaster in windy and choppy seas, missed reef on anchor and started dropping experienced and novice divers into strong current in 100 ft. vis: 50­70 ft. water: 78 degrees. We were first in and last out and had divers scattered half mile apart. Novice divers were quite scared back on boat. . . . Another dive, Sheraton Canyons was great, with a different guide "Rob". He showed the area to us then we did own thing, while he stayed with the novices. Turtles everywhere in caverns, caves, open water and in flight. Also frog fish and lots of tropicals. Shore diving is quite good if you want to explore."

Kona Coast

Dive Makai, September 1996, John Crossley, Midvale, UT. "Best dive briefings and the best underwater guiding I've ever seen. Masters at finding rare eels and small critters and interpreting the behaviors. On the three tank dive down south of Kailua we spotted several pods of pilot whales trailed by three Oceanic white tip sharks. Also saw dolphins. Night dive; 6 mantas, some 8­10 wing span. vis: 80­100 ft. water: 80­81 degrees. On Kiwi dive saw two eels hunt and eat an octopus and a trigger fish. Dive boat have camera table, water, juice, cookies, popcorn and fish ID books."

Dive Makai, October 1996, Lynn Crandall, Farmington, NM. "Top notch operation across the board. Normally don't like guided diving, but these people were so good that we frequently participated. Lisa, Kendra, Alexa, Amy and Kathy (new) taught us an awful lot about diving and the underwater world. Snorkeling with pilot whales and oceanic white tips pretty nervy for us, but we're glad we did it. Swam with a 20 foot whale shark for a minute. Loved the underwater volcanic terrain and all the tropicals. We saw far more marine life than Turks and Caicos. vis: 40­120 ft. water: 78­79 degrees. Diving restrictions enforced were depth limits of 130 feet".

Dive Makai, December 1996, Bill & Cathy Fulbright, Issaquah, WA. "Tom and Lisa's operation is simply the best shore based dive boat operation any of us have ever been on! Super guides, great but gentle "hints" to divers to help maximize boat space and view critters. Extra boat travel used each time we saw whales or porpoises; staff went overboard to make sure we saw everything available. Highlight: we were in the water with Oceanic White Tips and Pilot Whales! During the week we did a night Manta Ray dive ­ 4 mantas for over an hour! Our group has been in Tahiti, Baha, several Caribbean sites, and all four corners of the US. Dive Makai is the best we've seen anywhere!"

Dive Maki, January 1997, Barbara Reed, Redwood Valley, CA. "Water 75 degrees. Saw one Manta from the boat on the way back from diving; unfortunately saw it too late and ran over it. Went back to take a look and there were big chunks of it floating in the water. Saw none diving. Saw several schools of dolphins from the boat. Lots of whales - but far from the boat, 4 - 5 blowing one day and saw a couple of their flukes. The crew was nice. Water had a pretty strong serge, and the for the most part we dove fairly protected areas. Briefings were long, with hand signals for all the little fish, and because of the shallow profile the dives were sometimes over an hour. . . . more like a snorkel trip. Left dock at 7:30 and not get back until 1:30 or 2. No third dive or night dive, but said we could book with Jack's Diving Locker, but we said we could book with Jack's. Day trip to the south area; did one dive I thought was great - over a lava canyon. Our second dive Tom tried to get in a cave. The surge was so bad we got thrown around and we were grateful to get back on the boat in one piece."

Dive Makai/Jack's Diving Locker/Sea Village, January 1997, Carl Rutherford, Redmond, WA. "Makai had excellent briefings. Made the dives more interesting by showing us the rare fish we would be looking for and then pointing them out during the dives. I loved their steel tanks. They prepared your gear, switched tanks. Sit down on the platform both going in and coming out and they brought you and took away your gear. Rough weather made vis; 45 feet and gave us surge. Limited our dive choices. Crew of Dive Makai excellent especially Amy. Many humpbacks, one breached fifty yards directly in front of us. Swam with some pilot whales. Unusual fish spotted: Tinker's butterflyfish, Whitley Box fish, Bandit angel fish, many frogfish, several leaf scorpion fish, ocelot nudibranch, flame angel fish, dragon wrasse, oval butterfish, psychedelic wrasse, caves at pine trees were great fun. One cave spit you out the back. . . . My computer went on the blink. Keller at Jack's made calls on Martin Luther King day to the Oceanic rep. By the next afternoon I had a brand new Data Max Pro. Did not even wait to get my computer before over-nighting a new one. Did two dives with Jack's, one at night. Too rough to go where mantas were supposed to be; boat was only 23 feet. Had an OK dive. Fair visibility and lots of surge. Keller spotted a lot of critters: red stripe pipe fish, leaf scorpion fish, titan scorpion fish and lots of turtles. We did see two rays back at best shore dive, Honaunau Bay: Spinner dolphins, many turtles, lots of fish, good coral, leopard ray. There is easy access. vis: 40­80 ft. water: 77­78 degrees."

Dive Makai, January 1997, Kathryn Loudin, Mundelein, IL. "Model dive operation. Extensive briefings were excellent, and included well researched fish and critter info. Leisurely trip to best site included hanging out with whales and huge schools of dolphins. vis: 50-60 feet. water: 77- 79 degrees. Diving restrictions: maximum depth 90 feet on first dive and 60 feet on second. Captain Tom let us snorkel with the spinners, and we had the best whale watching boat out there! Divemasters Kendra and Kathy were fabulous. Don t go to Hawaii to dive (fair to lousy), but to dive with Dive Makai."

Dive Makai, June 1997, Don Fraser, Orange Park, FL. "Their Kona Notes & Tips booklet very handy. Send for this ahead of your trip! Set up our accommodations at Hole Kona Kai. Got a corner condo; superb, easy walk to town and everything provided right down to a corkscrew and a spaghetti serving utensil. Best dives: Turtle Towers, half dozen turtles with one being cleaned by tangs. Treasure Islands, Hawaiian lionfish and zebra striped cowries. One all day south run provided snorkeling with pilot whale pod. Dolphins everywhere. Lisa and Kendra excel as dive briefers and guides. Entire staff friendly and helpful. Dive Makai very popular with little advertising. Boat was full (crowded) on every one of our trips. Divers divided into 2 groups, apparently along skill or air-use ability. Computers provided for those without. vis: 60-100 ft. water: 74-76 degrees. Dive restrictions enforced were computer required or provided. No head aboard Lio Kai III, so all day trip south requires planning! Save time to see the island above water. Had tough time adjusting to six time zone changes from Florida."

Dive Makai, July 1997, Patrick Howarth, Mount Sinai, NY. "Water 80 degrees, 50 to 100 feet visibility. This is great! We have been here an number of times for diving."

Dive Makai/Kona Seaside, July 1997, Ronald Bailey, Roanoke, VA. "Water 78-81 degrees vis 40-100 feet. Due to large swells and surges the diving was restricted to coast just off the air port. briefings and slow diving. Maybe a little too slow."

Dive Makai, August 1997, Bob Greaves, Bonita, CA. "Water 79 degrees, 70-80 feet visibility. Well set up to nine divers. Crew helpful. Strongly suggested computers. Minimum control of dive profile. Pre-dive briefings long. Can't remember all those fin shapes, colors and adult vs. juvenile. Very nice folks."

Eco-Adventures/Kona Coast Divers/Kona Coast Resort, November 1996, Ralph M. Wilkins, Newport Beach, CA. "Booked package with Eco-Adventures/Kona Coast Resort, a bit dated but adequate. Hawaiian Diving gets old quick/most dive sites substantially similar/ Lava Tube City. Switched to Kona Coast Divers for Manta Ray Madness; dove with the originator of Manta Ray Night Dives, excellent dive. Every other boat at the site follows their lead. if you go for day dives, better hit the whale/large pelagic season or you might as well tack on 5 more hours to the So. Pacific. vis: 70-100 ft. water: 80-85 degrees."

Eco-Adventures, May 1997, Thomas K. Lippert, Los Alamos, NM. "Boat had a lot of space, hot shower, toilet, snack and drinks between the dives. vis: 30­60 ft. water: 65­75 degrees. Many turtles and other small fish. Mike was great in pointing out species. Interesting lava formations, tubes. Night dive with mantas is fantastic, like outer space show. 17 mantas came to feet on the plankton. UW video available, professional quality."

Eco-Adventures/Kona Seaside, July 1997, Ronald Bailey, Roanoke, VA. "Large boat fix your own sandwiches. They canceled on me the second pre-paid dive day. Would not split cost of two day dive."

Eco-Adventures/King Kamehameha, August 1997, Karen and Craig Lange, Yakima, WA. "Water 80-82: visibility 80-100 feet. No dives deeper than 90 feet. Lots of fish and turtles. The Manta Madness dive is awesome. We saw 8 large mantas. They swim right over your head. Eco Adventures well run. Large dive boat, but never group you with more than one divemaster to 4 or five divers. They clean and store your gear over night. When Craig's regulator started free flowing, it was fixed the next day."

Jack's Diving Locker, June 1997, Michael Bray, Mission Viego, CA. "Fifth and best trip to Kona. Jack's has excellent staff, very comfortable dive boat, and diving is leisurely and safe. Depth limits are usually 60 ft. or less, allowing maximum bottom times. The boat leaves at 9 AM for a two tank dive and usually returns about 2:30. Sandwiches are served and all the gear is handled by the crew. Coral is bland compared to Caribbean, lots of sea life. vis: 50­80 ft. water: 78­80 degrees. Computer divers allowed to dive own profile and could go deeper. Saw 2 white tips, manta rays on a night dive (spectacular!), turtles, dozens of eels, frogfish, stonefish, turkeyfish, turtles, leaf scorpion fish, lobster, crab."

Jack's Diving Locker/Hi Hon Waikoloa, June 1997, Angela Marley, Newtowm, PA. "Water 70-75 degrees; visibility 60 to 70 feet. Best diving experience I've had. Went out of their way to make sure we saw interesting sights. Spent extra time with our kids (12 an 15 years old) too. Didn't feel rushed and their excitement over certain dives like the manta rays, was contagious."

Jack's Diving Locker, July 1997, Ronald Bailey, Roanoke, VA. "Water temp 78-81 degrees; visibility 40-100 feet. Was impressed with this operation. Because of south swells was unable to dive representative spots on Kona. Based on what I saw I would recommend diving Hawaii as a stop over spot rather than a primary place like Fiji."

Jack's Dive Locker, July 1997, Kate & Paul Kraus, Chesterfield, MO. "Amazing and awe inspiring night manta dive. Staff was excellent. Dive briefings thorough without being long winded. Staff set up all equipment or do your own. Guides good at finding the unusual. vis: 50-100 ft. water: 80-82 degrees. Keller video taped our dives so we ended up with a beautiful momento."

Jack's Diving Locker, September 1997, Jacque Flecklin, Auburn, CA. "Water 82 degrees. Primo organization owned by Jeff and Teri Leichor. Store fully stocked. I bought fish books and my buddy a new mask. The boat was at various times staffed by Jeff, Joe McCord, Rich Dutton. Drover Jeans, a photographer with zest and Kavika, who took care of our equipment: stored it, cleaned it and never complained about our Zeagles. Truly a man of substance. . . . Great dives, lots of time for exploring, looking and hanging. An hour plus on most dives. Excellent briefings. Night manta dive was worth the trip alone. It has to be experienced to appreciate the unreal, reality of what you see. Our last dive with B.G and Dave was replete with "flower pot" critters. (Cleaner wrasse attached to the shells) and much more. Dave was most vociferous about his enjoyment of the dive and we can only reply in kind. We've seen many places and have enjoyed many fine dives and the group at Jack's is outstanding in enthusiasm for the sport, knowledge, experience and just plain diver courtesy and respect."

Kona Coast Divers, December 1996, Bill & Cathy Fulbright, Issaquah, WA. "Three of us did the night Manta Ray Bay dive with Kona Coast Divers, a total waste of money and time. No organization on the boat (40 minutes late leaving the dock), no mantas, no crew control of divers who disregarded the "suggestions" for behavior that would and would not encourage the mantas to visit our group. No lights on boat after dive to stow gear and change clothes, snacks in small cabin with crew and a couple of young females, gear rinse hogged by staff members so that we were excluded from the rinse. Between the three of us were about 700 dives spread between Tahiti to St. Lucia. Kona Coast Divers was the worst operation we have seen."

Kona Coast Divers, April 1997, Jim Anderson, Burlington, Canada. "vis: 100 ft. water: 76­78 degrees. Restrictions enforced for diving were 100 ft. For computer dives."

Kona Coast Divers, April 1997, Brain Gibson, Burlington, ON. "Good: Manta Ray Madness. An unforgettable experience. Dive r staff were always helpful. Excellent dive shop. Has everything. Not a lot of variety in dives. Limited to Kona coast. vis: 80­120 ft. water: 74­78 degrees."

Kona Coast Divers, May 1997, James Cadwallader, Racine, WI. "The dive shop is well equipped. The personnel are experienced and care about your having an excellent experience, safely. vis: 50­80 ft. water: 78­82 degrees."

Kona Coast Divers, Hilton Waikoloa Village Resort, June 1997, Dan & Dana Harrell, Salt Lake City, UT. "First rate dive operation. The divemasters, Bob, Larry, Jeff and Mike, thoroughly covered the safety briefings, including emergency equipment on the boat, without sounding negative. Pre­dive briefs were thorough, covering site topography, depths and types of sea life that inhabit each area (including photos!). They encourage anyone diving tables to check allowed safe bottom times, yet allowed everyone to dive their own profiles. They also dropped a line for anyone to hang on for safety stops, although it wasn't absolutely necessary, as there was no current. vis: 100­150 ft. water: 79­81 degrees. Jeff or Bob quietly took head counts at the end of the dives and checked the roster to ensure that no one got left behind. One of the highlights was the manta madness dive. We had three mantas hang out with us during the entire dive! Kona Coast Divers are the best."

Kona Coast Divers/Sea Village Condo, June 1997, Esther Mena, Antioch, CA. "Boats designed for divers and not converted fishing boats like many other operations in Kona. Efficient dive operation. Excellent customer service!"

Kona Coast Divers, June 1997, George R. Thurston, Portland, OR. "When more than 15 divers are on Divers Two boat, things become pretty tight, the classic "cattle boat"! No facilities at dive operation to store equipment, see equipment must be taken back to room after each dive. vis: 75-120 ft. water: 79-80 degrees."

Kona Coast Divers/Kona Bali Kai, June 1997, Bill Johnson, Golden, CO. "the best experience that I could have hoped for. We did our classroom class at Underwater Phanataseas in Lakewood, CO and completed our open water though Kona Coast Divers. Dive shop provided for our every need and made us feel welcome and safe! Underwater Phanataseas recommended Ecoadventures for our open water cert. But after asking locals they all said that Kona Coast was better and less expensive. Very happy we made the decision that we did. Top notch shop and top notch personnel. A special "Mahalo" to Larry Braden. Watched mantas feed on night dive."

Kona Coast Divers, August 1997, Joe Belew, Washington, D.C. "Terrific, thorough, professional, not too jolly and not to militaristic. Vis 60-70 ft. water: 70-80."

Ocean Sports Waikoloa, April 1997, Lydia H. Klein, Long Beach, NY. "Water temperature 77 degrees. Big Island looks like the moon (this is the island with active volcanoes), but has lush green mountains with cascading waterfalls on the other side of the island - it's two islands in one! Claire, Gary . . . . are knowledgeable, helpful and fun. Once they know you are and experienced diver, you can join them as a group or go off as a buddy pair. They strive to do their best and in the four years I've gone with them, they've succeeded. Turner and Jorinne at Kohala Divers (base for Ocean Sports Waikoloa) are great also."

Mauna Kea Divers, May 1997, Neil Sager, Williams, OR. "Visibility was 100 ft and waters like a billowing blue tie­dyed broomstick silk skirt. The Manta Ray dive at night is as spectacular as ever (snorkelers can enjoy them close up). For a shore dive on your own, there's a great spot at the end of the road at Puako with easy access. Go straight out and a little to the right and you'll find the "grotto" and a pinnacle. Turtle cleaning station; half a dozen BIG turtles get their backs cleaned by the reef fish. Swam into a school of barracuda and tagged along with a nice sized manta in daylight. . . . We went out with Mauna Kea Divers from Kawaihae Harbor on the Kohala Coast and had two of the best dives ever! Jim, the divemaster is outgoing, entertaining and knowledgeable: a young man working hard to get his business going. His boat, the Island Voyager isn't fancy but is seaworthy, there's fresh water for rinsing gear but "snacks" where cans of soda. Took us up the north coast with spinner dolphins surfing along (later on as we finished a dive and we were able to swim near for a close look before they swam away). We explored lava tubes and gorgeous yellow, pink, purple, green corals (mushroom) like we imagined used to be all along the Kona coast. Went into a cave with a tight entrance that opened up into shallow water and air that you could stand up in with a sand beach! Jim found a small octopus and we had fun with the "talking glove. Heavy surge in tubes). If a diver felt uncomfortable entering a cave or lava tube, there was a divemaster to stay out with them. Beautiful large coral formations. vis: 100+, water 70's .Lots of reef fish; a well spent $75."

Sandwich Isle Divers, March 1997, Bruce D. Praet, Santa Ana, CA. "Despite hundreds of dives, this is the first time I have felt compelled to single out a dive operation as the best. Steve Myklebust's Sandwich Isle Divers in Kailua­Kona is outstanding. Prior trips to various Hawaiian Islands produced average to good diving. Friends recommended Steve and not only is Steve quite personable, he has a degree in marine biology and 10,000 dives under his belt. He knows the Kona Coast like the back of his hand. Limiting his boats to six divers, it was like a private charter. There was not a single dive in which Steve failed to locate and describe unique ocean habitats. He predicted and located what were likely the only two lionfish in Hawaii. When we asked for manta rays, turtles, octopus, eels, frogfish and other specific requests, Steve delivered. The lava tubes and other Hawaiian diving took on a whole new meaning. Thanks for your great publication and thanks to Steve and his staff for one of the best dive trips we have had."

Sandwich Isle Divers, August 1997, Bob Greaves, Bonita, CA. "Water 79 degrees, 70-80 feet visibility. Small boat for six divers. Boat can be cluttered but it all works well. Predive briefings to the point and dives have a minimum of control. Nice and easy."

Oahu

Aloha Dive Co., August 1997, Bob Greaves, Bonita, CA. "Water 79 degrees, visibility 70-80 feet. Good boat for six divers. Adequate pre-dive briefings, minimum of control underwater. A pleasure to dive with. Went to out of way sites."

Maui

Ed Robinson's Adventures, December 1996, Bill & Cathy Fulbright, Issaquah, WA. "Great diving, good boats, very organized and prompt. Guides did a great job of finding critters and working with our videographer, boat captains were competent and listened to divers' requests. Captain on one dive did give a lecture about "all diving computers: "now, remember, this is your second dive and the bottom is 50 feet: the tables say 50 feet 50 minutes, so I want everyone back on board after 50 minutes, and don't forget your 3 minute safety stop!" Excuse us? Why talk about multi level computer diving if you're going to end by saying "50 feet, 50 minutes on the tables?" Most of the experienced divers ignored this nonsense and dove by their computers, back on the boat and nothing was said. This only happened on one dive out of 10, so a definite "thumbs up". Drift diving Molokini's back wall in their small boat was fantastic; captain was more than competent. We felt better about his methods and skills than on any other live boat drift dive we've ever done."

Ed Robinson's/Kamaole Sands, Kihei, Pamela Peters Arms, Narberth, PA. "First- class operation. Asked us what we wanted to see and where we wanted to go, didn't tell us. Had a dive guide for every four divers. You could pay attention to them or not. Excellent dive briefings. vis: 100-150 ft. water: 78-80 degrees. Only restriction enforced was they asked you what your planned dive was. Worth every penny! Had bad shore diving day, terrible vis. Pacific Dive Shop in Kihei, did not charge us for tanks, wts. when we decided to abort shore dives. We'll be back."

Ed Robinson's Adventures, January 1997, Kathryn Loudin, Mundelein, IL. "Rent a condo in Maui. Hotel rooms are grossly expensive. Ed Robinson's got great advanced billing: small groups, decent sites, fresh fruit at surface, etc. Divemaster was horrid; harassed octopus to point of sadism, disrupted live coral colonies to get at critters, let divers grasp coral in handfuls. Never mentioned coral conservation in dive briefing and broke every rule during dive. When questioned at surface interval, he said some divers are like that and did nothing to correct malicious behavior. Sad day for the reef and us conscientious divers. vis: 60-80 feet. water: 77-79 degrees. Diving restrictions enforced were 65 ft. (but on the side the divemaster said I could go deep (as an instructor)."

Extended Horizons/Royal Lahaina, April 1997, Lydia H. Klein, Long Beach, NY. "Water 70 degrees. Whale season incredible - they're as thick as flies! Eric runs a good boat. His staff is always knowledgeable and helpful and courteous. Diving in Hawaii is like no where else, especially around the island of Lanai - you never know what you'll encounter - mantas or even a whale shark!"

Lahaina Divers, June 1997, Frank Bennett, Mesa, AZ. Water 70 degrees. "First class, caring, quality operation. We had a great time with those folks. We are mid-50's, semi-experienced recreational divers. Others with us were more independent and were allowed to roam."

Lahaina Divers, July 1997, Harold Kemble, Warwick, RI. Dives were time restricted. "Volcanic wall, lava boulders and tubes offer a lot of drama. Viz was plenty good, tropicals were a delight. Shore dives easy and abundant; snorkeling rewarding and easy. A couple of Lanai dive sites were badly silted. Dive operation has the best boat I've ever stepped off but they are geared to families and guppies - next time I'll look for an op more attuned to experienced old salts."

Lahaina Divers/Maui Islander, July 1997, Kendall Botello, Phoenix, AZ. "Water 74-78 with visibility 20-40 feet. Lack of customer service at the hotel, dive shop and restaurants and shops we went to. Everyone seems too busy to care. Lots of things to do on land, but everything is expensive. 14 people in our group, the beginners really enjoyed the diving. Rest of us were disappointed."

Maui Dive Shop/Maui Vista, September 1997, Joan Hersheowitz, Saratoga, CA. "Maui Vista ok moderately priced complex. Pretty basic but conveniently located in Kihei. . . . Maui Dive Shop is a good operation for beginning and intermediate dives. One divemaster for every 6 divers. Profiles set before the dive (70 feet for 40 minutes for first dive; 45 feet for 50 minutes for second) and are adhered to. Water 80-82 degrees, 30-40 foot visibility. Dove Lanai. Not much to see at Cathedral, but Fish Rock lived up to its name. Molikini disappointing but at 5 Graves; 8 - 10 turtles, a pair of rays and lots of fish."

Mike Severns Diving, August 1996, Andy Marias, Encino, CA. "I have dived with Mike and Pauline for 10 years. Two tank day boat from Kihei (along with Ed Robinson and lots of others). They are just great, nice to be with, funny, knowledgeable and safe. Marine biologists, excellent photographers, very caring and make sure everyone has a good time. Good knowledge of dive sites and conditions. vis: good. water: 78­80 degrees."

Mike Severns Diving, April 1997, Dyanne Zykwa, Hacienda Heights, CA. "Fantastic trip with Pauline Fine­Severns in Kihei Hawaii. My seventeen year old son and I are "newly" (October'96) advanced open water divers. Made arrangements with Pauline over the phone; she asked concerned, professional questions about our experience, our arrival time. Met the Mike Severns Diving team led by Pauline on at 6:30 a.m. We would like you to know that dollar for dollar, the Mike Severns Diving experience was incomparable to others on Maui. Group was small, experience and on­board instructions by Pauline (after the normal safety review) was the best. She and her team were caring and thoughtful, but the knowledge shared before our dive was invaluable. Pauline had numerous books on board to show us what we could expect to see underwater and gave us the choice of staying close for more detailed exploration with her or diving with our partners. Stayed close at the tip of Molikini crater and were mesmerized by garden eels, nudibranch egg "rosettes" sacs, pencil fish, mystery walls. On board during surface interval we reviewed what we saw and learn about what we might see next dive. Heard the damsel fish "burring" in the branch coral, huge moray eel who was a ten year resident and listened to the whales; would have missed these without Pauline's knowledge and coaching. Mike Severns Diving will become our exclusive dive team when we return to Maui. Purchased book called Molokini written by Pauline and Mike Severns. Cannot recommend this operation highly enough for their humble professionalism, genuine care as well as the superb, unpretentious instruction."

ProDiver Maui, Fall 1996, Gordon & Sandi Little, Albuquerque, NM. "Australian born owner/instructor Pierre Rosier and Captain Marty operate from Kihei boat ramp. Take only certified divers (no retail shop, no lessons) on clean and maintained 34 ft. custom dive boat. Rated for 15 divers, he takes no more than 6-7 (our trip had 4). Spacious, shade, fresh coffee, pastry and fruit on the morning dive. Does no advertising, relies on word-of-mouth and repeat customers. Leaves early, gets back early to avoid wind and rough water later in the day. Pierre is soft spoken and knowledgeable about local dive sites and marine life. Ideal for photographers with his space and dedication to quality diving."

Copyright 1998 by DSDL, Inc., publishers of Undercurrent. All rights reserved. No portions of this report may be reproduced in any way, including photocopying and electronic data storage, without prior written permission from the publisher. For more information, contact DSDL, Inc., P.O. Box 1658, Sausalito, CA 94966.