Solo Dive Trip to Maui

As previously posted, our trip to Hawai’i in February (Hawai’i: Active Volcanoes, Manta Rays, Rain Forests… and a Wedding) was as intriguing as it was enlightening and fun. Everything we gleaned as we traveled the Big Island reinforced the idea that there was much more to learn and that we had only experienced “the tip of the volcano”.

The February was a great family trip which, because of my three dives there, only whetted my appetite for more. Hawai’i, it turns out, has hundreds more species of fish than I had previously known about and a revolutionary scuba diving technology had been developed on the island of Maui. I was hooked….

I made a return trip to Hawai’i in mid-May, this time landing on the island of Maui.

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I chose Maui because it is the home of the Avelo dive system and the only place where one can currently get certified to use it. It also offers some great dive sites that promised many of the fish I had hoped to see. And lots of Hawai’ian Green Sea Turtles ….

Video of Effortless Green Sea Turtle (Honu)

First Impressions

I arrived in Kahului at dusk, facing a 40 minute drive to Lahaina in the island’s northwest. Rather than a necessary travel chore, that drive gave me an indelible first impression that endeared me to the island: Thick clouds crouched between dagger-like mountains, giving them a Shangri-La quality. The roadway wound over more of these mountain-scapes, through a tunnel and down to the ocean as the sun was just setting. Magical. As I approached Lahaina, sections of road were bordered by Monkeypod Trees, whose branches formed a protective canopy.

I wondered if I would still feel this way in the light of day; I was never disappointed.

I stayed in Kahana, a beach community just north of Lahaina. Maui is known as an expensive tourist destination, but I managed to find a decent rental at a reasonable price. It was not on the beach, but I would see plenty of sand during my 5-day stay. I was in Maui to dive, and had time for little else.

As the photos below attest, I did manage to make time for a trip to the Maui Ocean Center (more fish), and on the last night, I experienced a sunset dinner sail on a catamaran.

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Diving on Maui

Diving on Maui was unlike my previous scuba experiences in the Caribbean or on the Big Island. I chose to dive with Dive With Harmony, a local scuba company that prefers to do shore dives, meaning that their divers enter the Pacific Ocean on foot, through the surf, and exit in the same way. There were no boats involved.

The entire northwest side of Maui was filled with dive sites, but we rarely dove below 60 feet and many of the best dives were 40 feet or above. Most of the dive sites required a considerable walk from the parking areas to the beach, so I was fortunate to be equipped with the Avelo system which is much lighter than the standard scuba setup. In addition to the usual 2-tank dives, we dove once at twilight and once at night, giving us the opportunity to see different fish that are active at various times. We also did two “scooter dives” using DPVs: Diver Propelled Vehicles. (Videos at the bottom of the page).

Each of the 12 dives were led by either Dillon or Harmony, who proved to be superb divemasters with a passion for their work. They would tirelessly point out fish that I might have missed, as in locating octopuses that were hiding deep in the coral.

The week’s highlights were seeing two octopuses chasing through the water column in a romantic quest; an exciting night dive that showed sleeping turtles and Parrotfish; a surprising Tiger Snake; and a well-camouflaged Slipper Lobster. Most notable was a final morning dive that threaded through a fallen wharf where Sea Turtles were still lingering in bed and White-Tipped Reef Sharks meandered amongst the ruins. There were many “firsts” on this trip, mostly having to do with fish I had never seen before. It was my best week of diving yet.

Galleries of Interesting Fish

(photos & videos)

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The Avelo System

A huge reason for my excitement about the week stems from experiencing the Avelo System. Not only did I get an Avelo certification but I was able to make 10 dives with it, learning a bit more each time we dove. Harmony and Dillon are part of the Avelo Development Team. Their knowledge about it seemed boundless and were really helpful in this regard.

Here are a few of the differences from standard scuba gear that justify the term “revolutionary”. Unlike standard scuba which requires the diver wear a vest with an internal air bladder, the Avelo system has no vest. In fact, it also does not require the weights that most regular divers carry in order to submerge, meaning the overall kit is approximately 35 pounds lighter, depending on the weight a diver would usually carry. Similar to a submarine, you simply add some water to the air tank (ballast) when you want to descend.

Not only is this system lighter but it also contains more air, meaning a diver can stay down longer.

More important to me was the feeling that I was much more in control (divers term that “neutrally buoyant) at every depth, never having to worry whether my vest had enough air or too much air. There was very little on-the-fly adjustment needed with this system, and the simplicity of its design is a huge advantage.

This system is not yet in widespread use, but one can hope. I am sure to feel the difference on my next standard dives.

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Scooter Dive Video Gallery

The scooter dives I made with Dillon were a lot of fun. I felt like I was in a “Star Wars” movie, piloting an aircraft, only underwater. When the initial thrill wore off however, I realized that I prefer to provide my own propulsion which lets me observe more and is a lot quieter. (If you watch the videos, below, make sure you turn the volume down: sensitive microphone)

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