3mm slippers shore diving in bonaire?

[land luber]

Any thoughts on using 3mm slippers/dive socks rather than boots in shore diving? The reason I am asking is I have a pair of full foot fins I love and would like to use if at all possible. I can wear the neoprene slippers in the fins.

They have worked for me entering a quarry. I can't say it was comfortable walking on the rocks, but it was good enough.

Any not to be missed shore dives where the ground is sharp enough to cut through neoprene?

 

[dvrliz1]

I use 3mm and have not had them cut, but I agree, it's not that comfortable, but you should be fine. At least I have been...

Liz

 

[diversteve]

Do you mean dive socks that don't have a hard sole? Like the ones people wear inside boots?

I think the ironshore could shred your feet in those. Don't they also get slippery when wet? At some of the sites, the ironshore is at the waters edge or just offshore. So it's a little slick. At some sites I've seen hard corals attached to the ironshore just underwater.

Not to mention the sea urchins, I've been told those go through even a treaded boot fairly easily.

Otoh, if you pick sites carefully there are many that have small sandy breaks in the ironshore. Some even are just coral rubble out to 3-4'. So it would be doable but you might miss out on some good dives.

Personally I'd go with a 3-5mil treaded boots and open-heel fins. That's what the vast majority of divers do there.

my .02

 

[DiveMaven]

We saw a few people at dive sites using full foot fins with either neoprene socks or bare feet. To say they were walking gingerly over the rubble is an understatement. We got 3mm boots with hard soles and I even commented once that "rock boots" wouldn't be overkill at all, though we were very fine in our boots.

Personally, I'd hesitate to walk across that shifting hard rubble with 50# of gear on my back in socks, but if Liz says it's doable, I believe her.

 

[robint]

We saw a few people at dive sites using full foot fins with either neoprene socks or bare feet. To say they were walking gingerly over the rubble is an understatement. We got 3mm boots with hard soles and I even commented once that "rock boots" wouldn't be overkill at all, though we were very fine in our boots.

Personally, I'd hesitate to walk across that shifting hard rubble with 50# of gear on my back in socks, but if Liz says it's doable, I believe her.

no way I would attempt MOST dives in Bonaire without some heavy soled booties! With 50+ lbs of gear on my back, my video rig in one hand, fins in the other, and the waves... walking over loose rubble coral which is very uneven would be dangerous. There were a few sites where it wouldn't be an issue... like the house reef at Buddy's or other resorts (stair entry/exit), Yellow Sub downtown where it is a sandy beach, and maybe a few others where the coral was crushed into a rough sand.

oh yes, and step on a sea urchin, which during the daytime live around the shallow areas and around rocks at entry points... Yikes!

just my 2 cents.

 

[Warmwater Wank]

Yeah well Liz is tough--she could probably go barefoot! Us mere mortals are better off in something w/ a sole. There are dives you can do w/out them but Bonaire is not renowned for it's sandy beaches. At quarries you don't have much of a surf to contend with--or ironshore, right? Option: buy a pair of hard soled booties (tennis shoe sole type at a minimum), spend $25-30 bucks and toss them in the bag. You can then rent fins pretty cheap from whoever you dive with after your first dive at Karpata in slipper/socks (youch). It isn't just the sharpness issue, it's also the stability of a firmer sole on uneven terrain carrying a heavy load. Happy diving--and stop in at Golden Reef Inn for Liz' BBQ on Monday's! // ww

 

[Cecil]

Hey, I dove Lai Cai barefoot once. Interesting that one of the hardest dives on Bonaire does have an easy entry/exit.

There is one other option, use water shoes with hard soles, remove when you can float and put on fins and then store somewhere on you. Reverse when getting out. My BCD actually has pockets big enough for water shoes. One word of warning, these shoes will float away given half a chance if not properly stowed.

 

[land luber]

thanks again all.

I'm okay walking on rocks/rubble wet or dry (and no, not particularly slippery in-and-of-itself) so not really looking for thoughts on that (I understand many people prefer the more comfortable hard soled boots for good reason )

Just curious about unusual aspects of bonaire shore that would make this different then any other rock/gravel entry (i.e. is the ground particularly sharp, any scrambling, etc). It sounds like some places (maybe on the non-central reefs) should be specifically looked into before heading out w/o booties but the central reefs are fine.

p.s. if there is a significant chance of stepping on a sea urchin, I dont think I would want to walk in with or without a hard sole!

 

[Cecil]

This is the difference. That is Bonaire iron stone shoreline. Now this picture is from the east coast but there are many similiar places on the west coast.

 

[diversteve]

This pictures by each site listing explain it way better than any description:

Scuba Shore Diving Site Listing for: Bonaire South, ABC Islands
Scuba Shore Diving Site Listing for: Bonaire North, ABC Islands

The darker stuff underneath the water is the ironshore that's maybe a foot below the surface. And it's deceptive, we found a really easy sandy entry at Invisibles which looks to be more difficult than some. otoh, I left a 4" strip of skin from my shin at Angel City when I slipped in my surf-walkers. Great scar though...lol.

At some of the northern sites, there's also the fact that the ironshore is several feet above the waterline in places. And the bottom off the "beach" is much more vertical. You can see it in the Jeff Davis Memorial photo.

And the coral rubble in some sites is right where the waves break onshore. It's been pounded smooth since the last big hurricane that hit there (Vince?) So it's like walking over big marbles.

Be careful what you grab at some of the south sites near Salt Pier as it could be fire coral. It's even on the mooring ropes at some of them. And gloves aren't allowed.

Seriously, what everybody is posting here and all the other Bonaire threads about the need for good treaded boots shouldn't be taken lightly. If you're insistent on using your full-foot fins/socks, do it off the resort piers and dive boats.

p.s. if there is a significant chance of stepping on a sea urchin, I dont think I would want to walk in with or without a hard sole!

Then you're going to miss a lot of good dives...a five mil boot with a treaded tennis shoe style heel and you'll go right over them. Like the Tusa Imprex.