Dive Review of Dive Makai Charters in
Hawaii/Kailua-Kona

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Dive Makai Charters, May, 2006, by Michael J Sare, NM, USA . Report 2457.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	the good": Two 2-tank dives with Dive Makai Charters (DMC) ([divemakai.com link] ownership late 2005, but the same standard of excellence has been maintained. Very competently run, thorough site and naturalist pre-dive briefs. All divers experienced, competent. Many repeat customers onboard (like me). Morning two-tank routine: meet at 0730 at Honokohau Harbor (2 miles N of Kailua-Kona); in water by 0900, back at harbor by 1300-1330. Boat is 31’ custom built Radon, Lio Kai III (translates to “Seahorse” in Hawaiian); 12 divers max. I brought minimal personal gear and rented equipment from DMC. Their rental gear was in very good condition. DMC uses LP steel 80’s; boat crew accurately did math to recompute weights. I had requested a rental 3mm full wetsuit, but on first day of diving, boat crew readily admitted they pulled the wrong size by mistake. Acknowledging thier error, crew divers Todd and Mark literally gave me "the shirt (wetsuit) off their backs" by lending me their personal wetsuits for two dives. Can't beat THAT for service! As the wetsuits were 7mm and 5mm, and then the correct 3mm for the following day, boat crew rigged the correct weights for me without adjustment, every time. All four dives averaged an hour or slightly more with max depth on deepest dive 93’. Snacks, water, juice between and after dives. Thorough knowledge of dive sites by Jan, Todd, Mark, and Dave. Very, very competent at detecting underwater creatures, including: many different types of eels, juvenile and mature rock movers, frog fish, banded shrimp, octopus (including one free-swimming who gave us a color-change demo every time it settled), lobster, nudibranches galore, barracuda, “lion’s paw” sea cucumber (rare daytime find) . . . and a “swim by” by ~25 spinner dolphins while we were at a safety stop. "the bad": None. "what you wish you had known before you left home": Within minutes of sending DMC an email requesting updated information, Tom Shockley called me on the phone, introduced himself, provided immediate answers to my several questions, and within 2 hours had backed all that up with a more comprehensive email, and then a "snail mail" package. Tom filled in all the blanks so that there were no surprises and nothing "I wished I knew." Bottom line: Site and operator continue to be tops in my book.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	101-250 dives
Where else diving	Many Caribbean Islands, Roatan, Belize, Cozumel, Tobago, North Carolina, Delaware, Key West, Hawaiian Islands, French Polynesia, Great Barrier Reef
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm
Water Temp	75-76°F / 24-24°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	75-100 Ft/ 23-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Computer no deco dive.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
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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Dive Review of Dive Makai Charters in Hawaii/Kailua-Kona

Dive Makai Charters, May, 2006,

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

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

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

Dive Review of Dive Makai Charters in
Hawaii/Kailua-Kona