Has anyone dove the Cathedrals?

Tikkagirl · #1 04/05/2005, 07:10 PM

I am going to Maui on the 14th of April and plan to dive the Cathedrals. I have not spoken to anyone who has experienced that dive and wanted to know if it's as amazing as it looks. Is there anyone on this forum who has gone there? And do you have any advice as to the best spot in or around Maui to dive? I would appreciate the input.
Also, I am looking for an Aeris 300 G dive computer. If someone is looking to sell theirs I would love to get a pm letting me know.

Thanks,

Andrea

NwG · #2 04/05/2005, 07:13 PM

It is a great dive!!! Some other great spots in the area too, go on a 2 or 3 tank dive and you will get to see some of them too!!!!!

GW Shark · #3 04/05/2005, 07:26 PM

Yea, great dive site. My wife and I went there with "Lahaina Divers" out of (you guessed it) Lahaina. They have 2 nice big boats. We had a blast. Go on the 2 or 3 tank dive if you have the time, highly recommended.

Also if you want to go diving from the beach, I have done Black Rock at Kaanapali, Kapalua Bay (out to the right side), and Honolua Bay (a nature preserve) north of Kapalua. Of the three I would recommend Honolua Bay as long as it hasn't been raining (run-off will cloud the water). It is a bit of a hike with the gear to the dive site but really cool reefs with tons of fish (you will be blown away by the size of the Potters Angels) on both side of a long, narrow bay.

When you get there, check with any dive shop and they can give you great pamphlets/books/info about the local sites. Have fun, wish I was going!

Tikkagirl · #4 04/06/2005, 10:40 AM

I got certified with Lahaina Divers. They do have some nice boats and equipment but the instructors that I dealt with for my boat dives during my open water cert were somewhat rude and didn't seem like they wanted to be there. Hopefully they will have better temperments when they aren't having to run classes. I do like most of the people in the shop, though it has been 2 years since I was last there and I doubt a lot of them are still there.

GW Shark · #5 04/06/2005, 11:05 PM

It's been a few years for me, also. I had only good experience with them (although I didn't take any classes). Went out on two separate days with the same captain & crew on the larger of the boats. Everybody was very accomodating, helpful, and friendly.

dascott · #6 04/08/2005, 08:43 PM

I have been diving and photographing u/w Maui for about 10 years about 300 dives. The Cathedrals are amazing for the light that is cast. The critters in the Cathedrals are the most amazing part of the dive. Outside the entrance the fish life is very dense with rare species often out among the schools of common Hawaiian fish.
The Cath. are occassionally obscured if there is a south swell. Dive with Ed Robinson Diving out of Kihei. If the water is real rough they may not go since it is a long boat ride. I don't care for the dive operators out of Lahaina.

The back wall of Molokini is a must see. 300 ft wall with 150+ vis.
Use Mike Severns diving out of Kihei they are by far the best.

Tikkagirl · #7 04/09/2005, 12:05 AM

Thanks dascott, I really appreciate the information. I am going to be staying in Kihei so this is really helpful. It will save me some time while trying to find a guide and boat.
Thanks again

dascott · #8 04/12/2005, 01:53 PM

P.S. Robinson only goes to Lanai on Wed. Reserve well in advance, they usually sell out the trip.

Tikkagirl · #9 04/12/2005, 03:04 PM

I found his web site and checked his trip schedule. I don't think that I am going to be able to use his service since I am going to be leaving on Thursday and can't dive really deep on the day before I fly home

but thanks again for the information.

zahner · #10 04/15/2005, 01:24 PM

I second the Ed Robinson recommendation. Went diving three days in a row with them in January and Lanai was def the best of the three. Cathedrals and all the swim-thru's in area were really neat.

Tikkagirl · #11 04/23/2005, 12:34 AM

Well, we just got back yesterday from Maui and ended up going out to Lanai with Maui Dive Shop. They were really great and they took small groups to make it easier to see everything and not get crowded out. It was a fantastic 2 tank dive and we ended up going to both cathedrals instead of having to book 2 separate dive trips. We also went to Molokini and 5 graves with them (they turned out to be the closest to us and the easiest to deal with) and I would recommend going out with them. The dive masters were very nice and truely enjoy their jobs which made the dives a lot of fun. We couldn't use Ed Robinson because the only time he had a trip going out was either on the day we arrived or the day we were leaving. Maybe next time...

zahner · #12 04/23/2005, 08:36 AM

cool, glad that you had a good time! did you take any underwater pictures?

Tikkagirl · #13 04/23/2005, 07:05 PM

Just 3 rolls.

I will try to post some of the better pics if I can figure out how to do it.

Tikkagirl · #14 04/24/2005, 08:05 PM

Doesn't look like I am going to be able to put up any photos, they are all too big to download onto this sites gallery. Too bad, there are some neat shots of the Cathedrals and of an octopus that we got.

zahner · #15 04/24/2005, 09:43 PM

darn, was looking fwd to some nice pics of that area. i used a cheapo disposable camera and none of my pics came out.

Tikkagirl · #16 04/25/2005, 02:02 AM

If I can figure out how to make the photos small enough to post I will put them up, but I am limited to the size of the files because I am not a preferred member (or what ever they call it) on this site. The photos I have are from the Cathedrals, Molokini crater and 5 Graves and some of them are really pretty good. We used what we thought was a throw away camera as well but it turned out to be a reloadable that we were able to get 3 rolls out of and almost all of the photos came out.