Question 1st Time to Bonaire / Theft from vehicles while shore diving / Dive Buddies
- Thread starter Dan V
- Start date
-
- Tags
- dive buddies bonaire
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
mbs
Contributor
I have a few of those, and I'd prefer not to lose them because they're sort of mementos--printed with logos from various events. Instead, I take a couple of those metallized bubble wrap-like bags. This kind of thing: Thermal Bags - 15 x 12 x 6
I wear contact lenses diving and leave my glasses in my room. I might have mentioned this upthread, but if I had to bring glasses or a phone or anything else and didn't want to go to the trouble of taking a waterproof canister on the dive, I might get a "safe" of some type that locks to the truck. On my last trip, one person in our group had something like this: His thinking was that it may be enough to deter casual thieves (though not determined thieves). He hid it under the seat of the truck. If a safe is visible, it might give a message that there is something valuable inside.
SixtyFeetUnder
Registered
drrich2
Contributor
Got back from Bonaire last night. When I was in Bonaire in 2019, my Joto Universal Waterproof Pouch did fine all week. This trip, it flooded. I don't know why; maybe some sort of user error. Anyway, since it came as a set of 2, I switched to the other and it did fine the rest of the week. My VISA credit card with the microchip continued to work after its sea water bath.
Ah, but what about the truck key fob? Well, thankfully, before this trip, in the grip of fob flood danger paranoid, I ordered one of those DryFobs off Amazon. $50 Is expensive, and I had to provide my own lanyard, plus it didn't have space for much else...but it worked well, conveniently and was easy to use. And it's cheaper than that key/fob that didn't flood because I was using it.
Ah, but what about the truck key fob? Well, thankfully, before this trip, in the grip of fob flood danger paranoid, I ordered one of those DryFobs off Amazon. $50 Is expensive, and I had to provide my own lanyard, plus it didn't have space for much else...but it worked well, conveniently and was easy to use. And it's cheaper than that key/fob that didn't flood because I was using it.
Jersey
Contributor
When in Bonaire, wife and I both bring cheap sunglasses and just store in our BC pockets.... Gotta have some shades......and they are also real nice to wear while we are leisurely kicking out on our backs at some of the longer swim outs in the south.... Once at the drop zone just BC pocket the shades and go!
It's actually too bad that new trucks all have FOB's now..... It was so much easier to just keep a good ole fashioned key on a neck chain.
As for leaving items in the truck, we don't leave anything in the truck and just leave it unlocked with the windows down. In the back (bed) by the tanks we keep a cheap soft sided cooler packed with ice, a couple of frozen water bottles and a few ice cold beers.... and a dirty towel loosly on top and kinda "hiding it" in the open. Usually Amstel Brights when on Bonaire!!! .... Nothing like kicking back on Bonaire with a cold one right after nice long shore dive...
Oh.... And don't forget to play some beach rock Jenga while you're there!
It's actually too bad that new trucks all have FOB's now..... It was so much easier to just keep a good ole fashioned key on a neck chain.
As for leaving items in the truck, we don't leave anything in the truck and just leave it unlocked with the windows down. In the back (bed) by the tanks we keep a cheap soft sided cooler packed with ice, a couple of frozen water bottles and a few ice cold beers.... and a dirty towel loosly on top and kinda "hiding it" in the open. Usually Amstel Brights when on Bonaire!!! .... Nothing like kicking back on Bonaire with a cold one right after nice long shore dive...
Oh.... And don't forget to play some beach rock Jenga while you're there!
drrich2
Contributor
Loved it. Sometime when I get settled and various things worked out, I plan to post more details. To summarize in a nutshell:
1.) Stayed at Aqua Viva Suites, located right behind V.I.P. Divers, which had 100-cf nitrox (and pretty good fills, not the near-3,000 PSI that only gives you about 90-cf often seen with 100-cf AL tanks (rated for 3,300 PSI fill pressure to get 100-cf) elsewhere.
2.) V.I.P. Divers is not oceanfront; there's a row of buildings between it and the sea. Good people, good dive op., I was happy with them. This is at the south end of Kralendijk; drive up the road past Bruce Bowker's Carib Inn and Divi Flamingo, and when you see Flamingo Casino's sign, take a right, that's the road with Warehouse Bonaire, Bonaco (gas station) and Van den Tweel Supermarket.
3.) I stayed 14 days, had a 13 day shore diving package, took the last day off to pack, get tested for COVID-19 (at Bon Bida near Sand Dollar Condo.s), etc..., so I did 4 dives/day x 12 days - 48 dives total, most close to an hour, all shore dives, mostly solo. Hit a bunch of sites, from Karpata down to Red Slave. No night dives, east coast, etc...
4.) The trekking pole for falls prevention recommended by @USC8791 and his wife in their YouTube videos was transforming. I zip tied a couple of bolt snaps (the kind with a ring at one end) to it and clipped to my upper left D-ring and crotch strap D-ring to stow during the dive, worked well (poked me in the thigh occasionally during back finning swim outs). Also used a fin keeper for the first time. These things made shore diving Bonaire much nicer.
5.) Fan of the DryFob.
6.) Blessed to found a frog fish for the first time, at Salt Pier. It was gone when I went back. Photographed 1 pork fish and 1 small black grouper, neither of which I've seen on Bonaire before. Plenty of barracuda; saw a number of green moray eels. Lots of porcupine fish.
7.) 4 Dives/day was plenty; in the past I've dove 5/day, but I suggest staying oceanfront with a convenient pier and good house reef if you want to do that.
8.) At the big fueling pier at the Windsock dive site, there was a big boat of some sort (mostly a big tug boat, I think) docked there perpendicular at the end) the whole 12 days I dove. I like Windsock for night diving, but didn't want to get around that boat.
9.) The kite boarders don't just use Atlantis; you may see one or two venture up to Margate Bay or down to Vista Blue. The Reef Smart Guide Bonaire suggested for Red Beryl, consider some morning or evening hours for this reason; I took their advice. I continue to be impressed with this book.
10.) While the island seems less 'sleepy' than it used to be (often 1 or 2 cruise ships in, tourists cruising the roads on golf carts, etc...), I didn't find the actual underwater experience crowded. Temp. lows were around 77 or 78, IIRC, and viz. varied from about 50-70 feet. Not consistently up there with Cozumel or Grand Cayman, but plenty good for me.
11.) Not a lot of big stuff - several green morays and tarpon, some probably Cubera snapper (they don't like me), barracuda, one hawksbill and maybe 4 (?) small green sea turtles.
1.) Stayed at Aqua Viva Suites, located right behind V.I.P. Divers, which had 100-cf nitrox (and pretty good fills, not the near-3,000 PSI that only gives you about 90-cf often seen with 100-cf AL tanks (rated for 3,300 PSI fill pressure to get 100-cf) elsewhere.
2.) V.I.P. Divers is not oceanfront; there's a row of buildings between it and the sea. Good people, good dive op., I was happy with them. This is at the south end of Kralendijk; drive up the road past Bruce Bowker's Carib Inn and Divi Flamingo, and when you see Flamingo Casino's sign, take a right, that's the road with Warehouse Bonaire, Bonaco (gas station) and Van den Tweel Supermarket.
3.) I stayed 14 days, had a 13 day shore diving package, took the last day off to pack, get tested for COVID-19 (at Bon Bida near Sand Dollar Condo.s), etc..., so I did 4 dives/day x 12 days - 48 dives total, most close to an hour, all shore dives, mostly solo. Hit a bunch of sites, from Karpata down to Red Slave. No night dives, east coast, etc...
4.) The trekking pole for falls prevention recommended by @USC8791 and his wife in their YouTube videos was transforming. I zip tied a couple of bolt snaps (the kind with a ring at one end) to it and clipped to my upper left D-ring and crotch strap D-ring to stow during the dive, worked well (poked me in the thigh occasionally during back finning swim outs). Also used a fin keeper for the first time. These things made shore diving Bonaire much nicer.
5.) Fan of the DryFob.
6.) Blessed to found a frog fish for the first time, at Salt Pier. It was gone when I went back. Photographed 1 pork fish and 1 small black grouper, neither of which I've seen on Bonaire before. Plenty of barracuda; saw a number of green moray eels. Lots of porcupine fish.
7.) 4 Dives/day was plenty; in the past I've dove 5/day, but I suggest staying oceanfront with a convenient pier and good house reef if you want to do that.
8.) At the big fueling pier at the Windsock dive site, there was a big boat of some sort (mostly a big tug boat, I think) docked there perpendicular at the end) the whole 12 days I dove. I like Windsock for night diving, but didn't want to get around that boat.
9.) The kite boarders don't just use Atlantis; you may see one or two venture up to Margate Bay or down to Vista Blue. The Reef Smart Guide Bonaire suggested for Red Beryl, consider some morning or evening hours for this reason; I took their advice. I continue to be impressed with this book.
10.) While the island seems less 'sleepy' than it used to be (often 1 or 2 cruise ships in, tourists cruising the roads on golf carts, etc...), I didn't find the actual underwater experience crowded. Temp. lows were around 77 or 78, IIRC, and viz. varied from about 50-70 feet. Not consistently up there with Cozumel or Grand Cayman, but plenty good for me.
11.) Not a lot of big stuff - several green morays and tarpon, some probably Cubera snapper (they don't like me), barracuda, one hawksbill and maybe 4 (?) small green sea turtles.
Similar threads
Trip Report
Bonaire 21-26 Feb 2024
