Moving your gear around on Bonaire

[Dimitri M.]

Hello Everybody,

My girlfriend and I are going on a diving holiday to Bonaire this November. We will be staying at the Divehut and we are renting tanks and a truck trough them.

We have some questions about how to manage our gear efficiently and safely on the island. At home we keep our gear in large open top tubs, these tubs stay in the back of our car during our, single- or multi-day, dive excursions. We sometimes take some gear out if it is cold and we want to dry-out our wetsuit or Sharkskin before putting it on again. Most of the time our gear is nice and safe in the back of our locked car.

I've never driven a Pick Up Truck with an open back before, but I'm a bit worried about leaving our gear in the back unattended. What do you do with your gear when you stop somewhere to get something to eat, drink, at a shop or de some short site seeing? I don't like the idea of leaving it there out in the open where anybody could get to it.

I know that there is a gear room at the other side of the road of the Divehut were we can rinse and dry our gear overnight. I also know that the this room is locked at night but that anybody how is staying at the Divehut (or knows how to get the key) can access the gear room. We bought all our gear brand new this year and I don't think I will feel comfortable with leaving our wings and regulators (from a well know pricey brand) alone in the room. I would rather take those things back to our room. Where do you keep your gear if you do that? In the shower I guess? But how do you use the shower then I am not worried about leaving our wetsuits and shoes there we bought some pretty cheap 3mm longs just for this trip, they were just a little bit more expensive to buy new then the rental price and they will come in handy later.

Should we get some mesh bags to keep our gear together when we move it around? What's a good size for a mesh bag? I've never used them and actually don't know anybody how has ever used them. All our dive friends use tubs or do live-aboard when they are not near their car.

We do know about the tips of not leaving anything in the car when your diving and you need to leave the windows open and the doors unlocked. (I'm going to check with the Divehut about there policy on this, before we go). So we will probably be taking the key with us when we are diving. Does anybody have a tip on how you can take a cellphone with you in case of an emergency? I've read here that some cash can go with you underwater, but where do you put it?

Maybe I'm a bit paranoid about getting our gear stolen, but I would hate to have it get stolen, that would really ruin the holiday. The questions about what to do with the gear might also sound strange, but we do not have any experience with stuff like that and do not want to appear clumsy or waste a lot of time figuring everything out as we go. Any other general tips are also really appreciated

Regards,
Dimitri

 

[tursiops]

I'd ask these question of Divehut and then take their advice.

Meanwhile....
If you are afraid for your gear, take it into your room. There is no standard answer.
Mesh bags can be too small but rarely too big. I like one for gear, none for BCD.
No problem with gear in the back while eating.
Depending on the car key, just put it in your pocket. If it can't get wet, use an old divelight case.
Wet money is no problem; you can try one of the little pouches or boxes but it will still likely get wet.

 

[H2Andy]

I kept my gear in my room. taking showers just meant moving stuff out of the way if needed.

i did use a mesh bag to haul my stuff around. just get a standard size one, enough to hold your wetsuit, regs, fins, mask, and bc. you don't need a huge one.

i did not leave any gear on the truck at any time, unless I could keep an eye on it. mostly I just returned to my room, dropped gear off, and then went sightseeing. my cellphone had no coverage, so it stayed in my room.

unfortunately, burglaries and break-ins have become more common of late (per the U.S. State Department). it's good to be cautious, but you're not flying into a nest of thieves waiting to rob you =)

 

[Lorenzoid]

I don't have any knowledge of Divehut. We stay in a condo or villa.

When we have stayed in a condo with a gear locker, we have used that. Sure, everyone who is staying there has a key and can access the locker room, but weighing the risk of theft by another guest against the burden of lugging gear to our room, I choose the locker room.

When we have stayed at a villa with no communal gear locker, we have washed our gear outside, let it dry for a while, and then brought it into the room for the night, leaving it in a pile on the floor. It may still be damp, but it's dry enough that it doesn't need to hang in the shower. On those evenings when we do a night dive, well, the gear is a bit wetter but still not shower-worthy. As for it getting stolen, I think break-ins are rare, and when there is one, the thieves are more interested in valuables like jewelry and cash than dive gear.

As for gear in the truck bed, we usually bring a sandwich for lunch and eat at a dive site, so we don't need to leave the truck unattended with gear in the back. On the few occasions when we have stopped at a restaurant for lunch, we make sure the truck is parked within our view from our table. Since there are usually four or more in our group, there's likely no time when none of us are glancing over at it. If we stop at a grocery or something like that on the way home, one of us stays with the truck. Not leaving gear in the bed of an unattended pickup truck is just a fact of life, I'm afraid.

 

[redacted]

I would not leave anything in your truck at dive sites that you are not willing to lose. In town, we leave gear in the back of our open truck while we stop for lunch or at the market with no problem yet. In towns, I'm sure you could lock it up in a well trafficked area if you would prefer.

 

[wwguy]

I don't have any knowledge of Divehut. We stay in a condo or villa.

When we have stayed in a condo with a gear locker, we have used that. Sure, everyone who is staying there has a key and can access the locker room, but I weighing the risk of theft by another guest against the burden of lugging gear to our room, I choose the locker room.

When we have stayed at a villa with no communal gear locker, we have washed our gear outside, let it dry for a while, and then brought it into the room for the night, leaving it in a pile on the floor. It may still be damp, but it's dry enough that it doesn't need to hang in the shower. On those evenings when we do a night dive, well, the gear is a bit wetter but still not shower-worthy. As for it getting stolen, I think break-ins are rare, and when there is one, the thieves are more interested in valuables like jewelry and cash than dive gear.

As for gear in the truck bed, we usually bring a sandwich for lunch and eat at a dive site, so we don't need to leave the truck unattended with gear in the back. On the few occasions when we have stopped at a restaurant for lunch, we make sure the truck is parked within our view from our table. Since there are usually four or more in our group, there's likely no time when none of us are glancing over at it. If we stop at a grocery or something like that on the way home, one of us stays with the truck. Not leaving gear in the bed of an unattended pickup truck is just a fact of life, I'm afraid.

This is what we do also. We keep 2 sets of mesh bags in diving rotation. We use the good ones at home in the USA and on dive boats, and rotate them into 2nd string for Bonaire shore diving as they get older and less attractive. We use something about this size, available from several manufacturers. Search Amazon for "mesh dive bag" and you'll see what I mean.

Some properties on Bonaire, like Happy Holiday Homes, have tubs for personal rinse tanks and gear storage. Sometimes I see divers driving around with them full of gear in the back of the trucks. Some folks stick their mask in the fin foot pocket, then wrap fins, wetsuit, and regulator in the BC like a big burrito, securing with weigh belt or BC cummerbund, and just put that in the back of the truck. The main reason we don't do that is because I'm lazy and the mesh bag makes it easy and fast to move gear between the various stages between room, truck, rinse tank, truck, room, repeat, etc.

After rinsing we leave our wetsuits and BCs hanging around to drip for a bit then move them into private lockers or our rooms depending where we're staying. Regulators, computers, and cameras never leave our sight until locked back in our room or private locker.

Your instincts are spot on. Never leave anything of value unattended in a public or semi-public location on Bonaire. Ever.

 

[oldschoolto]

I stay at a private house and the gear stays in the bed of the pick-up the whole time we are in bonaire... Hell, I rinse the gear right in the bed... I do have a blue tarp I leave in Bonaire to keep the sun off the gear and less visible... Go into the markets and don't worry.. I wouldn't leave the gear in the truck if we are going to park on the street and go walking, Then I remove it..

Dive friends leave gear out all night in the open at their pier site... Have a good time....

Jim...

 

[gypsyjim]

Once we have set up our gear on the first day on Bonaire, that set up is all that I carry in the truck, besides tanks, water bottle(s)and maybe an old looking towel. My mask goes into a fin, and my fins clip to a D ring, as do my computers, etc, so I can carry everything on one shoulder, to and from the truck. Carry it all to the rinse tank, then carry it to the room, or back to the truck for the next dive. All the more important gear comes into the room at night, although we may hang out skins, boots, wet suits (if using them) to dry.

We keep it simple. If I do not need it on the dive it stays in the resort, or rental. Some $, keys, my glasses, all come with me on the dive, in a pocket or small dry pouch.

On boats I used to bring my mesh bag, but I will never leave a good mesh bag in the truck. These days though, I have realized that my habit of clipping everything together has eliminated any need for a mesh bag on Bonaire dive boats too. If I do bring a mesh bag onto a Bonaire boat it is because I am bringing something besides my gear set up (book, hat, shirt, towel, tools, etc) Things that I would NEVER leave in a truck.

My way, when using the trucks for shore diving, I find it easy to follow the suggestions of leaving nothing of value in the truck, and for 10 years straight this has resulted in no losses, or unexpected hassles.

 

[Dimitri M.]

Thanks everybody for the advice! I think I have a good idea about what we are going to do with the gear.

We will probably rinse it out in the gear room and maybe let it drip out there for some time (when we have a shower maybe ) before taking it to our room. We will probably not be leaving our gear unattended in the truck bed, but that's something we wouldn't anywhere, not even were we live. We are planning on bringing lunch and snacks with us most of the time and else we will just drive back to the hotel.

We just bought to mesh bags from Decathlon with a capacity of 70L, they appear to be of good quality and did cost where 19 EUR a piece, this comes close to the cheapest price I've found on the net. When we were there we also got some inexpensive towels.

We are not planning on leaving anything of value in the car when we are under, this seems to be the one bit of advice we read everywhere, so we are really going to stick with this one!

I still have to contact the Divehut about there locking / not locking policy.

We know Bonaire is a save place to go to, but theft can happen anywhere to you. So we are rather save than sorry so we can enjoy our holiday with peace of heart.

Thanks!

 

[gypsyjim]

Enjoy!