February 2000 saw us off for a week's holiday in Maui, Hawaii, and a spot of diving. Not having heard much of the diving there I posted an enquiry to uk.rec.scuba and got a recommendation to try Ed Robinson's Diving Adventures. They sounded OK, so I decided to give them a try and booked 4 days diving with them. They cater for certified divers only and appear to be one of the few places on the island that do more 'adventurous' dives, i.e. deeper than 20m.

We flew to Maui with BA to San Francisco and then American Trans Air from there to Maui. The cost of the flights were about £580 return although lucky us, we weren't paying. We stayed for a few nights in the Sheraton, Kaanapali and then transferred to the Maui Coast Hotel, Kihei. The Maui Coast is only about 5 minutes away from the boat launch site so is the better bet. It was $135/night staying there, but there are cheaper places. We also hired a car which worked out at $280 for a week. As you can see Maui is not that cheap...

The diving day starts early, since for much of the year the NE trade winds really start blowing by lunchtime, making the sea rough. However while we were there it was calm, with only a small swell. You need to be at the Kihei boat ramp by 6:30am ready to load gear onto the boat. This being America, all the work is done for you. The divemasters load your gear onto the boat. They set up your tanks/BC/regs. They make coffee and serve snacks. In fact all you really do yourself if put on your gear and drop into the water. Sometimes I wonder what it'd be like if UK dive boats had the same attitude ;)

Maui is not blessed with many natural harbours and mooring space, so the boats are launched from trailers down a ramp, and you get on once the boat is in the water. Ed has 2 boats, both in good condition and with space for 12 divers. For the 3 tank dives, this is limited to 8 divers as there is only space for 24 tanks. There are always 2 divemasters on board who give a briefing beforehand on the conditions and the marine life likely to be encountered. These are guided dives, however we did not find this oppressive as the divemasters are relaxed and, because they know the area well, can show you rare things you might otherwise miss. The trip to the dive sites ranges from about 10 minutes to an hour and a half in the case of the Lanai Cathedrals. During the journey, we frequently encountered humpback whales as during the winter they visit the warmer waters around Hawaii to mate and give birth. The dive boat will stop and let you get a closer look - sometimes the whales are within 50m or less from the boat. The sight of a fully grown humpback whale leaping up out of the water and crashing back in is really something.

A favourite dive site is Molokini Crater, which is half submerged. Inside the cone the depths are in the 10-20m range and it is very sheltered. On the outside is a wall that plunges into the depths nearly vertically. The crystal clear water (viz was of the order of 30-50m when we were there) makes the outside an awesome drift dive. The water temperature was around 21-23C in February, a bit warmer in the summer. We had taken full-length 3mm wetsuits and hoods but it was cold. A 5mm or even 7mm suit would not be out of place that time of year. Tanks (Aluminium 80's) and weights are provided; we took our kit but it is possible to rent stuff. A good torch is useful for looking in some of the nooks and crannies. The Lanai Cathedrals are underwater caves and torches come in useful here too. The caves have openings, rather like cathedral windows to let light in, but are still a bit dark inside. The water is too warm for kelp and too cold for soft coral, so the coral is not as spectacular as say the Caribbean or the Maldives. There was black coral in the deeper water - you need to book on the 3 tank 'Adventure Dive' to do the 30-35m stuff where you tend to find the black coral, though.

Overall we enjoyed the diving in Maui, it's different and I would definitely do it again, although it's a long way to go. I'd certainly recommend Ed Robinson's as a friendly bunch with good boats and some good choice of dive sites.