Scuba Diving Lanai - Sergeant Major

Overall Rating 3.3 out of 5

Sergeant Major lies off the northwestern side of Lanai about a 40 minute boat ride out of Lahaina harbor. This scuba diving site makes a great second dive after diving on one of the other Lanai dive sites such as First Cathedral. This dive site has a nice variety of marine life, some interesting volcanic features, hard corals and a couple of small arches. As with any scuba diving site in Maui county if it is in "whale" season make sure you listen when you are underwater for the song of the Humpback whale.

Access - Moderate; boat only and 45 minutes from Lahaina. If you tend to get sea sick take your Bonine or ginger before this trip.
Depth up to 50 ft
Visibility - good to very good
Current - variable, minimal to strong
Marine Species variety - Good to very good; sometimes larger pelagics
Reef health - Good

As you descend from the boat on this dive site you will notice a couple of small arches which you can swim through. You will see a large number of Starfishes and also nudibranchs. So as you are swimming over the hard corals, make sure you look closely. You can also find Commerson Frogfish and a variety of endemic fish, such as the Regal Parrotfish. I have seen a Commerson Frogfish several times not too far from the first small archway that you will probably swim through on the center lava ridge. These fish are very difficult to spot as they tend to blend in with their surroundings so make sure you keep your eyes open.

The visibility on this scuba diving site is usually good to very good depending upon the currents. The depth on the dive site is up to about 50 feet making it perfect for a second dive. The site has three parallel lava ridges running perpendicular to the shoreline with a sand channel off to the west. The center lava ridge or finger has two swim throughs that are fairly narrow and a high number of hiding places for various and habitat for a wide variety of marine species. This is usually a good spot for underwater photography whether you are looking for pictures of fish, such as schools of Bluestripe Snappers or various Moray Eels or if you are looking to shoot macro of shrimps and nudibranchs.

Current can be an issue here at times, so listen carefully at your dive briefing and to your boat captains instructions as you get ready to enter the water. You will sometimes find pods of dolphin in the area, or sharks but they are fairly rare. Vist my website or blog for more underwather photographs and information. The pool is open.....