Bonaire first visit

[thequick]

Hi All,

First post in this forum, been lurking for some time.
I just arrived in Bonaire last night from Europe. Jet lag is hitting me, so posting 5am local time .
Can't wait to dip my toes in the water.

I'm a fairly fresh diver, done lots of trial dives, last summer completed OW course, did some additional dives (10 dives in total) . Recently done some additional training in the pool.
But I still feel my buoyancy is not there yet. Booked 3 days diving (wife not a diver, but happy to snorkel), so hope this will help me to improve. I might even get some additional time with guide/instructor to improve my buoyancy - do you think it is worthy the money?
Or just better to keep diving? I will be relying on Dive Friends to pair me with someone for my booked dives.

Any suggestions are welcomed.

- Kris

 

[arew+4]

Hi All,

First post in this forum, been lurking for some time.
I just arrived in Bonaire last night from Europe. Jet lag is hitting me, so posting 5am local time .
Can't wait to dip my toes in the water.

I'm a fairly fresh diver, done lots of trial dives, last summer completed OW course, did some additional dives (10 dives in total) . Recently done some additional training in the pool.
But I still feel my buoyancy is not there yet. Booked 3 days diving (wife not a diver, but happy to snorkel), so hope this will help me to improve. I might even get some additional time with guide/instructor to improve my buoyancy - do you think it is worthy the money?
Or just better to keep diving? I will be relying on Dive Friends to pair me with someone for my booked dives.

Any suggestions are welcomed.

- Kris

Do the Peak Performance Buoyancy course your first day then practice what you learn on the rest of the days.

 

[Martijn]

Yep! Do either the PPB or make it part of your AOW Both give you time in the water with an instructor and should fast forward your buoyancy skills

 

[thequick]

Thanks guys. I actually did SSI perfect buoyancy course before coming here. Finished 2 weeks ago. It was great help and just shower me how much I do not know and have lots to learn. Today snorkeling only, but I worked on frog kick and breathing.

I guess it now best I can do is to get more experience, dive more.

 

[Outbound]

In addition to what the others have said, I'll also recommend that you work on your weighting, both amount and distribution. Most new divers are overweighted because they continue using the amount of weight they used during their training. But most instructors will overweight students because it makes things faster, and because most students haven't learned to fully exhale on descent or to stop finning. Of course, you need the amount of lead you need. But at the beginning it's almost certainly more than you actually need. Since you are in Bonaire and have access to shore diving, it's pretty easy to go out and work on weighting in shallow water. Also work on placement as well as tank adjustments in order to get you in proper trim. Once you are properly weighted, your buoyancy will become better because you won't be yo-yoying up and down the water column quite as easily.

 

[Diver Dave1]

Hi All,

First post in this forum, been lurking for some time.
I just arrived in Bonaire last night from Europe. Jet lag is hitting me, so posting 5am local time .
Can't wait to dip my toes in the water.

I'm a fairly fresh diver, done lots of trial dives, last summer completed OW course, did some additional dives (10 dives in total) . Recently done some additional training in the pool.
But I still feel my buoyancy is not there yet. Booked 3 days diving (wife not a diver, but happy to snorkel), so hope this will help me to improve. I might even get some additional time with guide/instructor to improve my buoyancy - do you think it is worthy the money?
Or just better to keep diving? I will be relying on Dive Friends to pair me with someone for my booked dives.

Any suggestions are welcomed.

- Kris

I would encourage you to dive the Salt Pier if at all possible during your time on Bonaire. Its a great dive and shallow.

 

[Charred]

Ever watch the movie Dodgeball? There is scene with a quote "if you can dodge a hammer you can dodge a ball." You can imagine what the scene includes.

At Buddy Dive they have hula hoops for you to practice your buoyancy. And they have fire coral on them for added incentive.

Dark humor aside, Bonaire is a great place for practice buoyancy because of all the sandy areas to practice.

 

[thequick]

Just done first day, 2 dives. Salt Pier was the second dive of the day. Amazing location.

On the first dive the guide helped with weights, 14lb was a good balance and BCD have back pockets to help the trim.
I feel like I'm getting there, I used lungs to control buoyancy. And just try to relax. I really enjoyed kikt, especially I feel I'm making progress.
Thanks for all the advice.

 

[Micko1974]

You are already halfway there by realising that you need to improve. Correcting weighting and placement will go a long way to making your dives more comfortable and enjoyable.