Dive Site Map

Lanai Island

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Barge Harbor - Ten minutes beyond Shark-fin Rock is Lanai's commercial harbor. Directly in front of the northern side of the harbor is a unique reef that terraces from shallow water to a shear drop-off within a a few hundred feet of shore. The base of the wall is about 110', but the most interesting part of the site is the multitude of cracks and shallow caves ripe for exploring. The most dramatic is a shelf in ten feet of water that cuts back into the island. It's close quarters inside so it is not for groups, but the adventurous diver will find lots of marine life inside. In the meantime the rest of us can enjoy the beautiful reef on the shallow plateau overlooking the drop-off.
Shark-fin Rock - Around the corner, on the "back side" of Lanai, there's a rock protruding from the sea. Yes, it does resemble a shark fin! Through the years the butterfly fish have become accustomed to divers and are tame. The wall along the north side of the rock is one of those dramatic areas a photographer can spend an entire dive working. Between 10 and 60 ft. you'll see tube corals, red sponges, jagged lava, butterfly fish, and lots of animals hiding in the cracks that keep the dive interesting from beginning to end.
Grand Canyon - Tucked tight into the coastline of Lanai, the "Grand Canyon" is a crack in the shallow inshore reef. The canyon is only part of a more extensive lava bed that can be explored without exceeding sixty feet.
White Rock - A small cove inshore from "Monolith" is a great exploration dive site. The island juts out on the eastern side, in a point that is pot marked with small caves. Most are too small to penetrate and are best exploring from the entrance with our hi-powered underwater lights. The south side of this area is bound by a broken lava ridge covered in leather corals and damsel fish. Very picturesque!
Monolith - Quarter of a mile from shore, a pinnacle rises from eighty feet to about forty feet. Directly off shore, a lava ridge extends to about 110'. The makings of a great multi-level dive. The deep ridge is home to several black coral trees, and a specie of deep water basselett fish. After exploring the depths, the dive can be extended by continuing the exploration around the upper edge of the pinnacle for a very full and interesting dive.
Wash Rock - As the name implys, with any kind of sea running, the top of this pinnacle is awash. The base is about 65'. The most dramatic area is the shallow rolling topography on the top. Much of the lava is covered with soft "moon" coral and colorful sponges.

Located about 100' from the pinnacle is a hollow lava ridge with a tunnel running through the center. Inside the darkest parts of the lava tube we usually find lobster and all the normal cave inhabitants.
Second Cathedral - It's probably a tossup between divers whether First Cathedral or Second Cathedral is most exciting. The interior of Second Cathedral is large and sectioned into numerous smaller chambers branching from a vaulted central arch---great for dramatic wide-angle diver shots and for exploring. From black coral to lobster and prawns, there is lots to find inside.
Knob Hill - The 40 to 60 ft. depth of this area gives us lots of time to explore. Acres of lava ridges, arches, and small caves make this an exciting exploratory dive. We often see rays and an occasional turtle. The "Knob" is shallow, and the hollow underside is a macro photographers dream. Brightly colored sponges, tube coral, cowry shells, and a multitude of other invertebrates inhabit the underside (see photo inside our brochure).
First Cathedral - This is probably the second most popular dive from Maui (after Molokini). As divers enter this large cavern, they are met with the feeling of entering a large (you guessed it!) cathedral. The central room has a porous ceiling; light streams around and illuminates the large alter (boulder) below. It's large enough to hold a dozen divers easily, with elbow room to spare. There are lots of openings, so no one need worry about getting lost. In the same area we also find a pinnacle covered in orange tube coral and red sponges. In the other direction from the Cathedral lies a great wall and arch lofting 60 ft. off the bottom. This is a very picturesque wide-angle or macro photography area.
Fish Rock - As the name implies, there are lots of fish. The schools surround an exposed rock just off Manele Bay. We do this as a shallow, long dive with lots of photographic opportunities. the eastern side is a 40-ft wall that breaks the surface, and the western side resembles rolling foothills in miniature. The shallows are covered with pastel-colored moon (soft) coral, dancing sunlight, and clouds of inshore tropical fish.
Sgt. Major Reef - Nine miles across the channel from Maui lies Lanai, and one of the first dive sites along the coast is Sgt. Major Reef. Named for the large schools of Sgt. Major damsel fish, the reef consists of three lava fingers, which create picturesque underwater gorges with thousands of hidden paces for fish and invertebrates. Forty feet shallow, it is appropriate for those long second dive we are known for. Sgt. Major Reef is good for wide angle and macro-photography (pg. 8 in the Underwater Guide to Hawaii was shot here).

SGT. MINOR REEF Located just north of Sgt. Major Reef is (of course) Sgt. Minor Reef. Although not quite as dramatic as Sgt Major, this reef is a good exploratory site. It is made of several lava ridges which run from about forty feet to very shallow inshore depths. With lots of lava voids throughout the area, it is a good place to explore for animals that hide from light.
Photo-Zoom Images by Randsco