Makena Coast Dive Charters

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The review dated 4/14/13 is unfair, inaccurate, incomplete and unrelated to the service that we provide. Our captain has a perfect 30-year safety record and according to all witnesses on our boat, this man was unreasonable, and inaccurate in his assessment of the situation. First, this disgruntled sailor says we didn’t give him right of way, which means he didn’t get to go first, but he then clearly states that we passed at his stern—which means we gave him right of way. We did not cut him off, nor did we leave only a “25-yard distance” between us. We were at least 250-300 feet away from him, however, even if we had only passed 25-yards to his stern as he claims, 75 feet away is no where close to a “near miss” nor “jeopardizing the safety” of anyone involved. He states we were “near Makena Landing” with divers and snorkelers in the water and under full throttle, which is absolutely not true. This encounter happened a mile off shore in open ocean….or he himself would be admitting to trolling through an area populated by divers and snorkelers—clearly an unsafe practice, and not where either of us were. He says we “destroyed his fishing lines,” and if that were true, his lines would have been wrapped around our props. Upon inspection of all outdrives, there was no fishing line or tackle in our machinery. Our vessel did cause a wake, which caused his vessel to experience a small wave, however, we were in open ocean, not in a harbor or no-wake zone. We did not break any rules, did not cut him off, and have no evidence that we cut or damaged his lines. However, what he conveniently left out of his review is that we apologized if our wake caused him any discomfort, and offered to pay for his fishing lines in the event that there was any way that we could have damaged his lines. He refused saying he’d rather write bad reviews about us online. All witnesses on board who heard his complaints, were shocked by the way he behaved. In addition, reviews are meant to be a service to customers so that they have a fair review of the services we offer. This guy was not a customer, is not reviewing our services and even more importantly is not accurate in his complaints. His assessment of this encounter does not provide a fair review or assessment of our safe diving operations, nor our safe boating practices. Again, we have a perfect, 30-year, safety record and our captain is one of the most respected captains on the island for his skill, respect (of the ocean and other ocean activities) and experience.

This review has been submitted as a consequence of a dangerous incident with Makena Coast Dive Charters’ motorboat and a small sailing vessel. This review is not presented from the perspective of a diver/customer, but is presented from the perspective of the Captain of the small sailboat. It should be noted that the sailboat was not given the right of way by the Captain of the Makena Coast Dive Charter motorboat and resulted in a near miss, jeopardizing the safety of all concerned.



For those of you who may not be familiar with boating regulations as they pertain to the right of way concerning motorized boats and sailboats: know that all classes of sail boats/ships, when underway, have the right of way over all classes of motorized boats/ships in open water. As a consequence of not being given the right of way by Makena Coast Dive Charters’ Captain, the safety of Makena Coast Dive Charters’ customers and Captain, including the Captain of the sailboat was put in jeopardy.



The location of this incident took place near Makena Landing (a popular swimming and diving location). The time of day was approximately noon and there were several other vessels and swimmers on the water. The Captain of the sailboat was trolling under sail with at least 50 yards of line in tow. The Makena Coast Dive Charter boat was under what appeared to be full throttle traveling from the direction of Molokini to the Makena area and heading directly across the path of the sailboat.



Upon recognizing the Captain of the dive boat was not slowing his vessel, nor was he looking in the direction of his travel, the Captain of the sailboat began to frantically wave and yell in the direction of the fast approaching Makena Coast Dive boat. It should be noted here that the dive boat Captain did not decrease his speed nor did he change his direction of travel in compliance with giving the sailboat’s Captain the right of way. As a consequence, the dive boat narrowly missed the sailboat as it passed within 25 yards to the stern of the sailboat, destroying the trolling line and fishing tackle being used by the sailboat’s Captain.



It should be further noted that the sailboat’s Captain followed the dive boat to a location near shore, in the Makena area. The sailboat’s Captain maneuvered his boat in such a way as to establish verbal communication with the dive boat’s Captain. The Makena Coast Dive Charters’ Captain immediately denied not giving the right of way to the sailboat’s Captain and stated that he saw the sailboat as he was approaching it. The sailboat’s Captain explained that he was frantically waving in the direction of the dive boat and it was plain to see that he (dive boat Captain) was not looking in the direction of his travel. The Makena Coast Dive Charters’ Captain responded by saying that because he had over 35 years of experience, he knew boating regulations and he did not violate the sailboat’s right of way. However, when asked why he did not see the sailboat’s Captain waving and yelling at him, he stated that he didn’t want to argue about it. The sailboat’s Captain responded by telling the dive boat’s Captain that he had destroyed his trolling line when he sped by without slowing down. At this point, the dive boat Captain explained that he did not see the trolling line. The sailboat’s Captain immediately responded by telling the dive boat's Captain that by not noticing the trolling line and failing to slow his speed as he approached a sailing vessel speaks, directly to his level of professionalism; attention to detail, regarding boating safety, and therefore, speaks to his level of diving safety.



This incident ended when the sailboat's Captain informed the dive boat's Captain that a review of this incident would be placed on his website in hopes of shedding light on the level of professionalism/safety he is offering his customers.