The Polynesian adventure

CATHEDRAL BLUE

Lahaina Divers

The last time I was in Lahaina, the streets were closed and crowded with ghosts, goblins, vampires and the undead. Hey, it happens — especially when it seems like the entire island of Maui crowds into this historic whaling village for the Halloween parade. Lahaina (also home to the largest Buddha statue outside China) draws more tourists than any Maui attraction other than the beaches. It’s also where you’ll find PADI Gold Palm IDC Resort Lahaina Divers, which has explored Maui waters for more than 25 years. In an ironic twist, after my night of canoodling with the devil’s minions, I was heading off to church. Well, sort of.

Lahaina Divers is a relatively short run from the island of Lanai, which has some of Hawaii’s best diving just offshore. Two of its most famous sites are caverns believed to have been formed by giant bubbles in the lava. At First Cathedral, you enter into a dome at about 55 feet. The sensation once you enter is of being in a place of worship. Shafts of blue light pierce the shadows through the collapsed ceiling. All that’s missing are a manger and angels. Seeing a whitetip reef shark meander in and out of the light is like watching a ghost.

Once I got over my initial sense of awe and actually began to explore the 100-foot-long room, I found loads of interesting, shadow-loving critters. A pair of lobsters dashed into a crevice — they must’ve heard my stomach growl. When I found a little enclave of squirrelfish I thought to myself that it must be the choir, dressed in holiday red. Later I discovered the deacon, a whitetip reef shark snoozing beneath a ledge. Just outside, a swirl of pyramid butterflyfish seemed to be holding vigil, and though I didn’t see them, I heard the distant clicks of passing dolphins.

Lahaina Divers heads off to Lanai every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so you’ll have plenty of opportunity to explore the full spectrum of experiences that await off what is commonly referred to as “Hawaii’s most enticing island.”

SOCIAL SCENE

Dive Maui

I felt like a party crasher, and I wasn’t even dressed for the occasion — everybody else had a shell. I was off the east side of Lanai in Turtle Haven (known as Coral Garden when no turtles are in residence). Six green sea turtles lolled along the reef, some wearing looks of bliss as yellow tangs picked parasites from their skin and shells.

It was a good day off Lanai. Earlier, while diving a site called Armchair, I’d been mobbed by what seemed like the most vain butterflyfish in Hawaii. I could almost hear them saying, “Look at me, look at me!” Pennantfish and snapper seemed quite plentiful, too. Just when I’d begun to think I’d become an undersea pied piper, I discovered why these fish were so friendly: A group of snorkelers had brought tidbits for the inhabitants. About 30 species of marine life, including black durgon and surgeonfish, immediately swarmed in. I was caught in a tempest of color and fins, making my fish-finder gene pretty happy and enthralling my fellow divers.

PADI dive center Dive Maui, which overlooks Front Street in Lahaina, heads off to Lanai several times a week. Besides Molokini and anything after dark, Lanai has some of my favorite dives in Maui County, with abundant endemic fish, the opportunity to spot dolphin and eagle rays and a better-than-average chance of encountering green sea turtles. It’s the marine version of a lively social scene. I, for one, never tire of the company.

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