Kaimana Divers/Marriott's Ko 'Olina Beach club, Apr, 2013,by Ms Lynda Durfee, VA, US (![]() |
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No photos available at this time | |||
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best): |
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Accommodations | N/A | Food | N/A |
Service and Attitude | N/A | Environmental Sensitivity | ![]() |
Dive Operation | ![]() |
Shore Diving | N/A |
Snorkeling | N/A | ||
Overall Rating |
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Value for $$ | ![]() |
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Beginners | ![]() |
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Advanced | ![]() |
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Comments | Gabe Scotti runs the show and provides custom-tailored dive weeks, depending on your requests. He uses boat charters, so he can get you diving anywhere on the island and with other divers of similar experience. I requested the "advanced diver" package, which included 5 2-tank dive days, 2 days on the west side out of Wainae (deep wreck and reef dives), one day off Hawaii Kai (Corsair airplace wreck and reef dive) and two days out of Honolulu. Unfortunately, I got bad congestion in my right ear tube starting on day 3, but Gabe graciously refunded my prorated payment for cancelling day 5 after returning from the day 4 charters. DMs are knowledgeable and safety minded. Did the Mahi wreck off Wainae two days in a row because a majority of us on the boat wanted to do it again. Heard whales "singing" on day 1. Both days we saw squadrons of spotted eagle rays; about a dozen on day 1 and two squadrons of 12-15 each on day 2. They swam around the wreck the entire dive. Awesome! Also were in the middle of a large school of spinner dolphins on day 2 during the surface interval. The corsair airplane was interesting, and the dive was led by Gabe, who knew that a large green moray eel inhabited the cockpit and and large brown frogfish on the tail. Saw both. Surprisingly, didn't seen any sharks this week! The San Pedro & YO wrecks were day 4; lots of fish, and we had the Atlantis submarine watching us and the fish. I've done most of my Hawaiian diving on Kauai, and only once before off Oahu, so it was interesting to dive wrecks and compare the types of fish seen more or less frequently on the two islands. I'd recommend Kaimana Divers if you really want to have variety in your Oahu diving, and not be limited to one boat from one harbor. Didn't do a shore dive on the North Shore due to high swells. Definitely recommend a 5mm wetsuit this time of the year. I had all my own gear, but you can rent anything you need. Also, a computer is a must if you're going to do deep dives; the wrecks were at 90-110 feet, and N2 was the limiting time factor, not remaining air. | ||
Websites | Kaimana Divers | ||
Reporter and Travel |
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Dive Experience | 501-1000 dives | ||
Where else diving | Caribbean, Palau, Lake Tahoe, other Hawaiian islands | ||
Closest Airport | Getting There | ||
Dive Conditions |
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Weather | sunny, dry | Seas | calm |
Water Temp | 73-75°F / 23-24°C | Wetsuit Thickness | 5 |
Water Visibility | 60-80 Ft/ 18-24 M | ||
Dive Policy |
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Dive own profile | yes | ||
Enforced diving restrictions | Not to exceed recreational limits; watch no-deco time, especially on deep dives | ||
Liveaboard? | no | Nitrox Available? | yes |
What I Saw |
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Sharks | None | Mantas | None |
Dolphins | Schools | Whale Sharks | None |
Turtles | 1 or 2 | Whales | None |
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best): |
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Corals | ![]() |
Tropical Fish | ![]() |
Small Critters | ![]() |
Large Fish | N/A |
Large Pelagics | N/A | ||
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best): |
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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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