Oahu Diving Charters - I need advice!

[Warby]

I'm off to Oahu in November and will be staying on the West Side of the island about half way up. Can anyone recommend a charter to use or some must see dive spots? I'm keen on boat dives rather than shore diving. I have found one charter company called Captain Bruce and they seem on the ball in their emails but theres nothing like a review from a fellow diver!
I am prepared to drive to the south if I need to but it will take about 40mins each way so it will have to be worth it.

Looking forward to your tips!

Joel

[MEL-DC Diver]

I dove with Captain Bruce's just a little over 2 weeks ago. Any issues I had were minor and personality oriented, not really any professional issues. I'll elaborate later, but as you'll see these issues were pretty minor and the op was pretty good overall. Also, I think you'll find that pretty much every boat dive in HI is a DM led guided dive. Normally I don't like this, but on every dive I did except the ones I did in Kona I thought it was a great benefit b/c these guys and gals took us places and showed us stuff I never would have found on my own.

The "Captain" is Randy. He is a nice guy who has a few jokes to tell and, based on my experience, a helpful and competent captain. The DM I had was Kevin. Kevin is a bit of a talker. He never stops, but he does have a good bit of information and if you are in the right frame of mind or are a talker yourself you'll really enjoy his personality. I am not a talker. On a boat I like to receive enough information, but also like to enjoy silence. Basically, this was one of my issues. I liked the guy, but just wanted quiet half the time. The other issue I had was that he liked to pick up and play with the octopi (the animal, not the reg). Granted, this was for our benefit, but it irks me. I am a don't touch the sealife kind of guy. The other DM on the boat was Kristy, but I didn't dive with her - seemed quite competent, though.

Ok, so that was the negative and it wasn't necessarily a big deal and it all depends on your point of view. The boat can set you up with AL80s or AL100s (sweet! Gotta love that extra bottom time). They can also get you nitrox. Let 'em know what you want before dive day. A nitrox AL100 is perfect for the Mahi.

Our dives: Mahi-This is a nice wreck in about 90'. It was the first dive of the day and we spotted 2 groups of about a dozen spotted eagle rays and an octopus or two. FYI - the Mahi was an old Navy mine sweeper and converted oceanic cable layer that got scuttled. In my opinion (which is limited at best, this is the best wreck dive on the island). Dive 2 - was a nice bunch of lava tubes and turtle cleaning station not far from the Mahi (I cannot remember the name of the site off hand). Tons of swim-throughs, tons of turtles, tons of varied sea life in general. This was the dive that Kevin earned his pay on. He knew those lava tubes like the back of his hand and I never would have found half the stuff on my own.

I think the boat holds about 16 divers, give or take. I normally like smaller boats with fewer divers, but the dive sites were so big and I only dove with the DM and two other divers on the first dive and just the DM on the second that I didn't mind this at all.

Would I use this op again - Yes. Do they fit all of my personal criteria - no, but they were compentent and nice and the diving was good. Really, that's all you need.

[Warby]

Thanks for taking the time to write such a comprehensive review. It sounds like an overall thumbs up but I would definitely agree with you on the dont touch the sealife rule, I will have a word with him upfront about that.
Great piece buddy, much appreciated.

Warby

[BuzzGA]

I found a great guide when I was there in January, Dave Sanford. He is top notch! My wife was a new diver at the time and he was able to keep her relaxed and confident by listening to her concerns and then working with her/us to come up with dives that made everyone happy. We did 4 dives over 2 days...2 shore and 2 off a boat...and had so much fun and such a great experience that we are diving with him again in the first week of November. Here's his website, http://www.divewithdave.com/index.html

[moondog]

I'll be going to hawaii in Sept. i dive with wwwcoolbluescuba.com .i have been diving with Roger Smith for 5 years now .i go for a month he's great has 36 ' sailboat and you will love the turtles off Waikiki beach his phone # is 808-277-7195 this is no cattle boat-if you send me your email i'll send you some pictures -Pete

[grasshopper]

Captain Bruse is one of the better dive shops on the island. Island Divers Hawaii, South Seas Aquatics and Dive Oahu also have very good operations. With the exception of South Seas all have their own dive boats and Island Divers has a brand new boat.
All are very professional. Caption Bruce is out of the west side of the island (about 30-60 minute drive depending on traffic), South Seas and Dive Oahu are out of Keawalo which is about 10 mins from Waikiki. And Island Divers is out of the East side of the island. They usually specialize in that respective area of the island but all will usually take requests and do dive all over the island. I have dove with all these shops.
Boat diving is year round on the south shore for the most part, swells are still out of the south then. There might still be trips up to the country (north shore) in Sept. Well worth it if you can get them and they are going.
There are a ton of other shops here on the island. Some better than others. Let me know if you want info on any others.

[vtswezey]

I will be on Oahu in November also. After checking many dive shops www.coolbluescuba.com sounds like the best choice.

[meesier42]

where on the leeward coast are you staying. Its just that their aren't many hotels over that way. Just the southern end down by the Ko Olina.

The closest dive operator is Ocean Concepts, they run out of the Waianae boat harbor. I know a bunch of people are going to bash OC, but I have had good expiriences with them, they are safety conscience and lead the dives, which I know a bunch of people don't like. But when Jo or Jennifer is leading you around its not so bad

[shari75202]

I'll be diving in Oahu next month !! Thanks for the advice. I think I'm going with www.coolbluescuba.com

[lcdrsjones]

Best advice, see what the surf is at a location. North shore is bad during the winter, so, dive off Hawaii Kai. Summer is better for North shore as surf is bad on the Honolulu side.

Kailua side has about nothing to offer.

All diving is basically off North Shore or Hawaii Kai