Maui Dreams Dive Company sponsors salvaging operation as part of Maui’s Earth Day celebration.Don and Rachel Domingo started with a simple dream: to make their life’s work cultivating knowledge of and respect for our oceans through scuba diving.
Researching the Maui recreational diving market 10 years ago, they discovered the ideal opportunity. South Maui needed a neighborhood dive shop catering to kama‘aina. There was a large resident population of divers and snorkelers, but no one had created the close-knit community that so many people craved.
The Domingos got to work, and Maui Dreams Dive Company sprang to life. Their goal was to provide low-cost entry to the sport, to teach people to approach the ocean safely and responsibly experience the wonders found below the waves.
“We wanted to bring people together and help them experience the magic that’s out there,” said co-owner Rachel. “If people feel that in their hearts, they can’t help but want to protect the ocean.”
Today their dream has been realized with even more success than they could have imagined. More than half of the people they train and guide live and work on Maui. They drop in to Maui Dreams’ shop in Kihei’s Island Surf Building and are greeted like regulars on Cheers.
“Debbie!” veteran employee Teri Leonard shouts from behind the counter. “How was the visibility out at Ulua this morning?” Leonard, grinning like a giddy schoolgirl, meets this weekly customer halfway across the room with arms open wide. She shares the unmistakable aloha of a warm hug and peck on the cheek before reaching for the dive tank being returned.
Family first, business second. It’s a natural and common occurrence here.
The bond with these customers—the lifeblood of their business—runs deep. From ‘Ohana Appreciation events to community service projects, the team at Maui Dreams honors their local clients at every turn.
“They’re our family,” said co-owner Don. “We get to do what we love every day thanks to their overwhelming support. How many people can say that?”
Grateful to the island and its people for keeping their dream alive, the Domingos and their employees have found lots of ways to give back through service.
Leonard volunteers her time organizing frequent fish counts for Reef.org. She trains divers to identify fish and track changes in our precious marine life populations. Each year, Maui Dreams partners with the local Boy Scout troops to provide free introductory dive training to the scouts at Camp Maluhia.
Don has spent most of his time, though, offshore, repairing and installing public moorings for the Department of Land & Natural Resources (DLNR). He was awarded the DLNR’s 2007 Hawai‘i Living Reef Award for his work across Maui County.
“He’d never admit it,” said his wife, “but Don is very proud of that award, and that they recognized how important safe, responsible ocean stewardship is.”
But Don is most proud of the impactful work he’s done lately with the Maui Reef Fund.
“It’s an organization whose sole purpose is to protect Maui’s coral reefs and fish population,” he said.
In 2005, The Maui Reef Fund gathered Maui’s leading dive, snorkel and kayak operators; marine educators; scientists; conservationists; scuba diving professionals; and coastal community members to foster a collaborative force for reef preservation around Maui County.
As charter members, the Domingos support the fund with donations from customers. They also sponsor cleanup events on South Maui beaches and underwater. One of those is coming up the weekend after Earth Day. As part of celebrations, Maui Dreams is sponsoring an underwater cleanup on Saturday, April 26.
“We’re very excited about the April 26 event,” said Rachel.
Maui Dreams, in an unprecedented partnership with Octopus Reef, Maui Diamond II and Maui Sporting Goods, will host an abandoned fishing gear salvaging operation along the delicate shallow reefs that border the Pali.
“We’ve done successful underwater cleanups before,” said Event Coordinator Rene Umberger of Octopus Reef. “But this time, we’ll have twice the divers on the boat and expect to collect double the gear—at least 400 pounds of weights, hooks, leaders and snagged fishing line.”
The group is turning to Brian Yoshikawa of Maui Sporting Goods for cleanup site recommendations. He said there are several popular fishing spots in need of care. The group said this collaboration as a step towards a closer relationship between the fishing and diving communities.
Perhaps most revolutionary, though, is what will happen to all that debris.
“We’re recycling all of it,” said Umberger. “Maui Sporting Goods can take the clean fishing line, and we’re donating the rest of the materials for reuse by a Ha‘iku youth program.”
“Separating and cleaning the gear will make the job harder and the day longer,” said Rachel, “but it’ll be even more worthwhile and rewarding than we could have dreamed.”
Dreams are an ever-present theme for the Domingos. Their ability to exceed them is an inspiration.
To join the Maui Dreams team for their Earth Day Underwater Cleanup on April 26, contact Rachel Domingo at 874-5332.