Bonaire first timer - few questions

[donnad]

hi all. going to bonaire in 3 weeks now!! can't wait!!! i have a few questions...... 1) i'm taking my underwater camera/will have strobe attached.........in between dives........easy suggestions for keeping camera wet/rinsed.........bring 2 liter bottle of water in the truck and rinse it off? if i didn't have the strobe attached it would fit in a small bucket of water or something, but i don't want to have to be taking the strobe on and off all the time. 2) i understand the electricity current runs hotter there, and so for example if you bring your own hairdryer, be careful not to overheat it, etc. but what about our chargers for our dive light batteries and such? ok to use? do i need some sort of adapter?? and 3) for night diving.........we have primary and backup lights of course, and tank lights. do we need to bring a little strobe to use as a marker for our entry/exit point? or what do you find to be handy/useful for night dives there? and any other excellent tips you have are greatly appreciated. we did purchase hard sole boots for this trip. am starting to get excited now that it's almost time! thanks in advance everyone.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

For keeping a small P&S camera wet in-between dives, I filled up a mask case with fresh water and put the lid on it. A rubber band kept the lid shut quite nicely. You'll have to figure out something else for your attached strobe. I know of some UW photogs who have fashioned a custom neoprene case for their rig. They fill up the case with water and then store their camera in it in-between dives.

I never had any problems using my battery chargers and laptop power adapter on Bonaire. YMMV. The apartment that we rented had regular US plug electrical outlets running 110V 50cycles. This cannot be said about all buildings on the island. I would ask about this specifically at your hotel/condo/apartment prior to getting there.
For night dives, just bring your regular primary and secondary lights. I've always found that I can very readily identify divers in my group based on their primary light pattern or distinctively marked dive gear (e.g., paint marker initials on fins), so I've never found a use for tank lights.

I did not think that strobes were necessary to mark entry/exit points. However, I always dive a particular site during the day BEFORE doing it as a night dive. That's just me. If you aren't an experienced night diver, I would recommend that you do your first night dive from the dock at Buddy Dive. It's very well lit...with steps. If you aren't a guest at Buddy's, just ask for permission beforehand as a courtesy.

Rainy season is Nov - Jan. We were on the island shortly after Christmas a couple of years ago and the mosquitoes were horrendous. We were very glad we brought some mosquito repellent. This probably won't be an issue for you, though.

For dinner, I recommend a small Colombian restaurant called El Fogon Latino.

Have fun on your trip.

 

[DiveMaven]

We specifically bought 15 minute battery chargers for Bonaire and that worked great last year for our camera and strobe. All of Bonaire runs 110v/50cycles, with the lower cycles making for the problem with things running hot and burning out. Also we experienced a couple of power outages (which I guess aren't uncommon) so it was recommended not to leave things plugged in and charging because of the potential surge when the power came back on.

For night diving, we pretty much stick with our house reef which we know well from doing day dives, so definitely agree with the recommendation to dive a site in the day before doing it at night.

As far as your camera staying wet, you can take a wet towel in a ziptop bag and wrap your equipment between dives. We found a collapsable bucket that fits our camera and strobe, so we're going to give that a go this year, but last year simply rinsed with clean water and didn't worry about a soak/clean until we got back to our condo mid-day and in the evening.

We've since bought a product called Salt-X that is supposed to neutralize salt and prevent crystals from forming. We used it on our gear after our trip to Maui in January and this is the first time we haven't noticed a few salt crystals forming on the outside of our masks about 2 weeks later. We'll be taking some to Bonaire with us and using it a couple of times on the camera and strobe this year.

 

[pdive]

for night diving.........we have primary and backup lights of course, and tank lights. do we need to bring a little strobe to use as a marker for our entry/exit point? .

if you do your night dives in town you won't have to worry about leaving a light on the shore. as for tank lights, if you have those chemical glow sticks I don't think those are allowed.

 

[donnad]

thanks everyone! i really appreciate the info. 22 more days!!!

 

[RJP]

My main advice to folks going to Bonaire is to be sure to dive the park! But bring 3-4 tanks each as the long, one-way, dirt road makes the trip fairly long and you can't just zip back to your hotel for some fresh tanks.

 

[gypsyjim]

45 days, and counting every minute.........

 

[BonaireDan]

Donnad:

Jealous - have to wait until Oct to get back to BON. I have never rinsed my camera between shore dives and no problems for years. I use both a P&S and a DSLR in Ikelite with strobe setup. I should however and folks do suggest a bottle of water to rinse it off with after each dive.

Electricty - never an issue BUT use a surge suppressor in which to plug your devices.

Night - no chemical sticks allowed. No need to mark entry point with strobe besides to what would you attach it - not coral/sponge. Maybe a turtle's tail?

 

[RJP]

No need to mark entry point with strobe besides to what would you attach it - not coral/sponge. Maybe a turtle's tail?

We always mount a strobe on to the back of our truck or a tree or something at the more remote sites. Very useful to ensure you're exiting at the right spot.

 

[DiveMaven]

14 days and counting to 2 glorious weeks on Bonaire!!