Dive Review of Fathom Five in
Hawaii/Kauai & Niihau

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Fathom Five, May, 2008, by Bob DeFeo, ca, USA ( Contributor 19 reports with 7 Helpful votes). Report 4088 has 1 Helpful vote.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Fathom Five & the shore-diving arm of the company are five stars all the way. Did a two-tank boat dive one day on the south coast of Kauai and a 3-tank trip to Niihau with them on another. Nitrox 32 used on all dives and accurate fills to 3100-2900 psi with tanks in excellent condition. The boat dives took a maximum of eight on coastal runs and maximum of six on Niihau runs. On both coast dives saw more green turtles than I could count and several grey reef sharks. DM Anthony was terrific. Perfect safety and dive spot briefs, great attitude and knowledge. Helpful but not overbearing...just right for all. Fathom Five runs a top-shelf operation. From the second you walk into their shop in Koloa, Kauai until the time you wave goodbye, these folks make you feel appreciated and most welcome...unlike Seasport down the street in Popui who basically ignored me and gave only the briefest answers to questions while returning to their own bull session in the shop ignoring a customer. Hence the reason I went to Fathom Five plus the fact they are recommended in the Kauai Ultimate Guide (blue books on all the Hawaiian Islands). The trip to Niihau was terrific and we lucked out with calm seas with a run time of 1 1/2hours there and 1 3/4 hours back. Niihau visibility 150 feet easily, saw over a dozen grey and white-tip reef sharks, spotted rays, eels, butterfly fish of varied types, trevally, several monk seals, pods of dolphins, baracuda, damsel fish, parrotfish, the list is endless and their were large schools of them. A truly wonderful place to dive but no for the beginner. Strong currents are always a possibility and some spots were not diveable on our trip due the fast currents. The water is a beautiful dark indigo blue with remarkable underwater topography. Morning Kauai coastal dive spots were great with turtle after turtle sometimes seeing as many as four to six in one spot! Large and healthy turtles at cleaning stations getting spruced up and not very timid of divers. They allowed us to approach and watch. I had two turtles on two separate occasions come up and check me out from two feet away! Wonderful. Fathom five dive boats and the rental equipment I saw were on top shape with happy and great crew. These folks know how to show you a good time. Niihau trip show time was 615 am with return scheduled for 6 pm...we arrived early due to the exceptionally calm seas since the trades were not blowing and the swell was very low...Very lucky since the ride back from Niihau can be a bone crusher--according to the crew. Take your seasickness meds for this trip! Food provided on both trips and great sandwiches and snacks on Niihau run with variety of drinks available. Cost was $366 for Niihau with 3 Nitrox tanks in that cost or it would have been about $320. Pricey but well worth it for the diving with a great dive operation and people. Shop will transport, rinse, and store your equipment for you if doing repetitive diving during your stay. Make a point of going to Niihau---only available usually May to September due to presence of large swell and rough seas at other times of the year.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	101-250 dives
Where else diving	Big Island, Roatan, Caymans, Philippines, Monterey, Puget Sound, Channel Islands, Sonoma Coast, Texas lakes
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm, surge, currents
Water Temp	81-75°F / 27-24°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	150-200 Ft/ 46-61 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Use of Safety Sausage on Niihau dives
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	None
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter	N/A	Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	[None]

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

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Dive Review of Fathom Five in Hawaii/Kauai & Niihau

Fathom Five, May, 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 Fathom Five in
Hawaii/Kauai & Niihau