Adaptive Liveaboard Diving in Hawaii
Upon arriving at Kailua-Kona Airport one of the first things you realize is you are still in the USA with all of the requisite ADA accommodations. The airport is fully ramped, the airlines are adept at assistance, and taxi vans with lifts and the knowledge to use them are available from GIO Taxi.
If you are arriving prior to the week of spectacular diving or staying over to savor the beautiful town of Kailua-Kona, the hotels recommended by the Aggressor staff are ADA compliant and very convenient to the town and the pier. Most businesses on the main strip are barrier-free.
Arriving at the pier for departure is simple, as vehicles have access to the ship’s pier. The crew is there to welcome you with an easy transfer to the ship directly onto the main deck. You will notice immediately how flexible and accommodating both the boat and the staff are.
Right on the main deck through an extra wide (30 inch) doorway is the main salon, and the 6 primary double cabins open into the salon, which is the central point for meetings, meals, and entertainment. You will quickly realize you can spend your entire week on the main deck and in the water, as it is also the gearing deck and dive platform. The door on cabin #4 is lightly wider (24 inch vs 20 inch) which will more easily accommodate any mobility equipment. In the cabins, the bottom bunks are double with uppers the smaller singles, allowing plenty of headroom to sit up and transfer from the bottom bunk.
Heads in the cabins offer somewhat limited accessibility as you might expect on a small ship, but are doable. Plenty of room in the showers for a seat. All storage, sinks, etc. are at an accessible height and there is sufficient open space in the center of the room for turning. There is a more easily accessible head and hot shower right on the dive deck, which really helps to warm up immediately post dive.
The food may be among the best in town and it goes with you! Any dietary requirements are easily and deliciously prepared from fresh ingredients, provided you give enough notice for them to provision.
All dive operations are from a large staging area with only 3 steps down to a huge dive platform. Staff are willing and able to assist here, and once on the dive platform, entry is simple. The platform can even be lowered in to the water and raised up to facilitate the most demanding entries and exits. The dive staff is experienced with adaptive divers and are well versed in how to make it work for everyone.
The Kona Aggressor offers the opportunity for up to 5 dives each day, allowing the Iron Men all they can handle while also providing for a relaxing week. Dive conditions are very conducive to mobility adaptive diving as the dive sights are on the western side of the Big Island and are sheltered from more extreme elements, leading to light currents, small swells, light winds, and plenty of light underwater. Water temps were 75° – 79° F and any chills you get are melted away by the hot showers and fresh warm towels on the dive platform.
Dives sites can seem slightly repetitive, but the terrain is always varying due to the volcanic activity which created the island and is still ongoing, obvious from the black lava flows through the green verdant land. The prevalence of the majestic mantas and the resident spinner and bottlenose dolphin will keep you on the lookout both above and below the surface. An additional bonus is most dive sites have sandy patches for easy in-water equipment adjustments and for training opportunities. Special treats are the night dives which are also easily accommodating for the adaptive diver – manta dance dives along with a truly special “blackwater” night dive.
With all of this, the Kona Aggressor is clearly the leader when it comes to adaptive diving liveaboards. It offers all of the accommodations for the adaptive diver and has all of the ingredients for a very special dive trip that the entire group will treasure forever… and all at a very reasonable cost.
