Happy to report no PBD here...

[Trixxie]

the easiest entry/exit we found down south was Alice in Wonderland. It is exactly what the "shore diving" book says too... we dropped over the reef down to 100' depth and sat and watched a field of 100+ garden eels, then headed back over the gorgeous reef towards shore. Very nice dive!

roughest entry for me was the Hilma Hooker! Not only did I wipe out and crash and burn getting churned face down in the coral but I used my video housing to break my fall and keep me from smashing my face into the rocks... so I got some nice scratches on the red filter. Luckily, the scratches don't affect the video.

awww man would loved to have seen the garden eels, wish we would have done Alice. As a newbie Bonaire diver who was in the group with someone who had been there 4 times before. I kept asking him where were good sites to go to next. He would just sit back and let those who had never been there before decide. I was looking for direction but I guess he didn't want to feel like he was a group leader or telling us what to do - not really sure.... ???? Alice was one of the suggestions I had, simply because I liked the name but we never ended up there. drats!!

We did the hooker twice, the first time we parked on the other side of the buoys (no not in the ocean but right as you pull in the site). The 2nd time we pulled in and drove a little farther, more in line with the Radio antennas so we had less of a surface swim to get to the line leading to the wreck. We were in the water by 8 (even though we were shooting for 0730 to beat the boats) and the sea was relatively calm. The diver who had been there before said the last time they waited to do it on their last day they had 4 - 5' swells trying to get in... eghads. don't think I would have braved that.

I think I would have sacrificed my housing for my face too. Glad you *and* your video were ok.

 

[herman]

There are a lot of gardern eels in the sand at the stern of the Hooker, you just have to know how to look for them. They are very shy and slide in their holes pretty much as soon as they see divers. Reguardless of where you look for them, you need to start looking way in advance or they will be long gone before you get anywhere close to them.

 

[chauncy19]

Thanks for a lot of good information about Bonaire Shore diving. Was there this March and it was the worst surge, visibility we have run into in five tries. Thought Angel City was going to be an easy entry actually as mentioned its a bit tricky with very uneven bottom coupled with the surge. Nice dive though but as said visibility for our two weeks not great by Bonaire standards. Thousand steps good for entry/exit too.
Thanks again for good info.
We will be back again in March 2009, hoping mother nature is kinder.
Bob

 

[gert7to3]

fraserfraser, the climate from one spring to another won't change much. This why "low season" starts in late March. I generally saw better vis in the Fall. Late summer/early fall, the winds can die down. It'll be hot, but the water will be clear and some of the rarely done east side dives become accessible.

 

[Drewpy]

Trixxie-Glad you had a good time..to each hiw own I suppose?
There are lots of great,cheap places to eat on Bonaire.I find the food there oustanding! Cant even begin to compare to the CC view cafeteria..but I am picky and in the food buisness?

My Take
CC View - 1trip-1week
Bonaire-3trips- 4 weeks

I love the freedom and being able to go when and whereever you want!
I soon tired of CCviews "front yard"

Cheers,
Drew

 

[dogenia]

Freedom to go, priceless

Don

 

[EnronX]

gert7to3 (or anyone else reading here) have you done much East-Side diving? I'll be there the last week in May, and have three days booked with Bas...I've done nearly 40 dives on the lee-ward side of Bonaire, and cannot wait to finally get onto the "wild-side!"

I've heard that rays, sharks and tarpon are quite plentiful (and turtles are even fairly regularly seen)

 

[gert7to3]

EnroX, haven't been over there yet. One of these years I'll book a trip with Larry's Wildside. End of summer/early fall is supposed to be the time of decreased trade winds and the chance to shore dive on the windward side.

I was in Bonaire last week, but the winds were up and on the east side. Spray was visible above the cars driving the shore side road. I did walk out on the bar near the mouth of Lac Bay, sort of scouting the entry for White Hole. There were some folks diving at Willemstoren Lighthouse. They got in and out without getting crunched, but one of them aborted the dive. Just caught a bad wave set and got separated and backed out (smart move too).

On the southern dive sites, if the waves are too big at your intended, site moving up or down the coast can help. Much of that surge is refracting around the island. It changes focus as wind conditions change. The waves tend to be concentrated more at one spot than another.

 

[dvrliz1]

Hi All!

The winds this year have been VERY unusual, especially according to some of the locals I spoke with. Gibi tells me that it has been MANY, MANY years since Bonaire has seen such intense winds. I was not on island in March, but he said they were monsters! As you all know we are normally famous for our "trade winds", but this is a "odd year" as Gibi put it, with such strong trades.

The rain has died down, and we are in true "dry" season. The trees are now loosing their leaves, and will restart their "cycles". I cannot wait to see the flamboyant's vibrant colors again outside my living room window.

Personally, to dive my favorite time on Bonaire is June, July and August, next Sept/Oct and beginning of November. For me the coldest (believe me I know I live in the caribbean and it is really not cold...original from NJ and have peruved the waters of Dutch Springs) is Jan/Feb, but vis is also good then too.

For me (intermediate-advanced) I prefer easy entries due to balance problems. I love the following sites:

Tori's Reef - Nice inlet guarded from the surge
Oil Slick - I love the giant stride in (it is a bit of a "leap"), then the stainless ladder out
Anywhere in Playa (the road on the water that leads into town)
Andrea 1 - with the formation of the island it kind of has a pseudo cove like entry point
The Cliff and the remainder of the north resort dives.

Of course this is all IMHO....

Liz

Of course all of this is IMHO....

Liz

 

[Trixxie]

gert7to3 (or anyone else reading here) have you done much East-Side diving? I'll be there the last week in May, and have three days booked with Bas...I've done nearly 40 dives on the lee-ward side of Bonaire, and cannot wait to finally get onto the "wild-side!"

I've heard that rays, sharks and tarpon are quite plentiful (and turtles are even fairly regularly seen)

We had 8 or so folks from our group that went to the 'wild side'. They had 5' seas and one lucky fellow was nice enough to feed the fish. They said they saw a spotted eagle ray but that was about it. They had a good time but didn't see what I think they were hoping to, but that's how it is with animals in the wild, you're lucky if you get to see them.