Molokini Crater, any experiences snorkeling w/ 5yo

[szubieta]

Has anyone taken a 5 yr old to Molokini Carter for snorkeling? Before anyone gets started on anything...you need some history: He has been taking swimming lessons since he was 2, has been swimming pool trained for last 2 years using snorkel, mask & has used fins since he was 2. He is so relaxed and rarely surfaces, He knows how to dive in and float on his back. We make pretend waves ,dive for rings and mechanical Nemo & Dory are big helps to dive for too. He has a life vest (no floaties) we are taking and did I mention that he loves the water. We are going to try out off the beach and hopefully it will graduate to the crater soon.

[scubamargie]

You should know that the water level in Molokini Crater is deep. Unlike shore snorkeling (which is excellent in Maui), the waves can get rough and the snorkel operators tend to continue with the excursion regardless of the conditions. I say this as a scuba diver who has dove Molokini Crater many times. There have been times I have seriously wondered about the wisdom of taking snorkelers out in such rough sea. One other note, there are sharks, and I mean BIG sharks, in Molokini. As a diver I love that, but as a snorkeler I'd be a bit cautious. Here's one report of tiger sharks recently seen in the crater...

http://www.mauiscuba.com/articles/tigershark-arnold.html

 

I don't mean to scare anyone, but I really don't think this is a good site for a child snorkeling, no matter how good they are in the water, especially when there are so many excellent snorkel sites close to shore (try Honolua Bay).

[JABTPS]

I dove at Molokini while my family snorkeled. Try pride of Maui for your snorkel trip. Ship anchors in about 15 ft of water so the snorkelers can reach the bottom while the diver go off to deep water. Usually very clear conditions (we had 120ft visibility). There we lots of snorkelers of all ages and they do snuba.