Dive Review of Octopus Reef/Westin in
Hawaii

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Octopus Reef/Westin, Nov, 2008, by Rodger Sleven, Oregon, USA ( 2 reports). Report 4519.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations	N/A	Food	N/A
Service and Attitude	N/A	Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	[None]I had an opportunity to dive with RENE UMBERGER in 2006 and sought her out when I arranged this trip to Hawaii. I can not recommend her with greater enthusiasm. She is a warm and sensitive person as well as an excellent guide. Because of my schedule, I was only able to arrange two shore dives on different days. Although we planned two different sites, she took time to carefully investigate surge and visibility conditions and recommended we return to Uloa beach for the second dive too. I was not disappointed. She is extremely knowledgeable, loves to share information while underwater, and remains enthusiastic about diving at all times. The term "allows you to dive your own profile" is often widely and vaguely applied. In Rene's case this can't be exaggerated. She was very skillful about guiding me to ideal spots, but then allowed me to relax and do what I wanted to do for as long as I felt interested. Specifically, during a 90 minute dive we spent 10-15 minutes just watching an octopus crawl on a wall adjacent to a trigger fish. Each time the fish darted toward the octopus, it abruptly changed colors for us. On the second dive, we spent even more time just lying above a sandy bottom adjacent to a solitary 2-3 foot coral head watching two frog fish, three leaf scorpion fish, an Hawaiian lion fish, and a myriad of Barber pole shrimp. She taught me how to allow the shrimp to clean my fingernails, and even to enter my mouth for "cleaning". She shared my rapture at watching the fish interact w/o any pressure to move on. I have had great dives with other Maui operations; especially with Pacific Divers; but will return to Rene whenever I am back in Maui for that special individual attention.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	51-100 dives
Where else diving	Carribean (multiple sites), Cozumel, California Coast
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm, choppy
Water Temp	76-79°F / 24-26°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	- Ft/ - M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	None
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish	N/A
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		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 Octopus Reef/Westin in Hawaii

Octopus Reef/Westin, Nov, 2008,

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 Octopus Reef/Westin in
Hawaii