bonaire night diving?

[diversteve]

Interestingly enough, Bonaire (and/or the Netherland Antilles) don't appear to be "contracting members" of SOLAS, in which case they aren't required to comply. This doesn't mean that there wouldn't be repercussions if they failed to do so - just that they have done so voluntarily and that whatever measures they have chosen to adopt were done so because it made sense to them.

I know less than nothing about this, but I thought that non members still participate so that they don't lose their rights to enter member ports, i.e. a ship could be refused entry if it originated at a non-participating location.

That's how it was explained when the Salt Pier was placed under restriction last year.

 

[Tom Smedley]

Uncle Ricky and I have long thought that the two best times to be in the ocean are dawn and dusk. Here the night creatures are coming out for their first meal and the day creatures are still trying to get their last before retiring for the night. What a magnificent show - shift change - got to love it!

The alarm clock wakes us at 5 am - time to get from the room to the dock - open the gear locker with sleepy eyes and assemble our stuff. By the time we hit the water - make that aircraft carrier run down the dock at Buddy's - fly off the edge and land not so gracefully in the water - slip on fins and start the dive - it's 30 minutes before sunrise.

You all know what I feel about sunrise - Mother Nature's way of signaling the start of a new day - another chance for a new adventure - freshness - The best gift God has to offer. At mine and Uncle Ricky's age - we know that we're still alive because we couldn't hurt that bad if we weren't - funny thing - being in the water relieves all those aged joints of their burden - weightlessness - ahh what a marvelous feeling!

We start the dive in total darkness - left toward Capt Don's and the tug that lies upside down on the reef - hoping to see Mister Rogers the green moray. Wishing to see most anything of interest - then remembering that all things in the ocean are of interest.

Eels out roaming the reef - basket stars - parrotfish in their cocoons - noctaluca - octopi - the occasional but elusive squid - Oh man - I want to be there now!

Anyway - back to the subject of dawn dives - you're swimming along - still dark where you are - shining your light - wanting to see something good and suddenly you look up. Weird - it's dark where you are but the water's surface is brightly lit. Some sort of twilight zone. Then it happens - you reach the tug and the sun reaches critical angle at the same time - lights come on - your night dive turns to day. The night creatures are elated - they made it without becoming someone's dinner - the day creatures feel hunger - the cycle starts over - few things in the ocean die of old age.

The hardest part of a dawn dive is ending it - got to climb those steps - re-enter gravity - give it all up - you resist with all your might - then remember you have five dives to go before day it done - got to hurry - got to get them all in - got to live another day in paradise - wondering what the poor people are doing - not really caring.


Your head breaks the surface - regulator falls from mouth - mask comes off nose and then it hits - full bore - smell of bacon cooking at the Lion's Den Restaurant - curse you Kirk - instant hunger.

 

[SDAnderson]

I know less than nothing about this, but I thought that non members still participate so that they don't lose their rights to enter member ports, i.e. a ship could be refused entry if it originated at a non-participating location.

That's how it was explained when the Salt Pier was placed under restriction last year.

Yep - this is my understanding, too. Essentially, whether a nation is a signatory or not, the treaty has a coercive affect, since the signatories will block vessels coming from non-compliant ports. The big trading partner that represents the 800 lb gorilla in this situation isn't the U.S., but Venezuela, which not only receives ships from Bonaire but trans-ships to other ports through Bonaire. Which is not to say to paint Venezuela as the bad guy - I think the restrictions are fairly reasonable and not particularly onerous.

 

[H2Andy]

just today the US announced that all ships from seven nations (all in Africa except
for Albania) will be boarded and searched before they enter US ports due to
their failure to live up to the treaty.

now, here's the kicker: any ship from ANY nation that has docked in any of those
nations for the past five dockings will be stopped and searched.

it means delays to these merchants, which means lost profits. hence, most
nations in the world have tried to cooperate.

and starting May 23, all those ships will be prohibitted from reaching the US unless
their owners can show they took special security precations while docked at
the banned nations (such as armed guards at all access points to the ship)

now... where is that story?

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...20050505/wl_nm/security_shipping_blacklist_dc

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

Bonaire night diving can be fun but don't do it alone as a shore dive. I would not recommend the Town Pier in Boniare, unless you like discarded tires of all descriptions. You might get lucky and see an octopus among the radials but not much else is worth this 20 ft dive? To me it was a yawn. I hear it was a great dive 10, 15 years ago but since they scraped the pilings not much there. Salt Pier would be better.

Wow - we had completely different experiences. One of my wife's favorite pics from our Town Pier night dive is the small (juvenile) Hawksbill turtle we saw snoozing amongst the orange cup corals and sponges near the upper end of the supports, near the waterline, but the seahorses, tires filled with tiny juvenile spotted drum, mud box crabs, starfish scooting along (never seen ones move that fast), hermit crab with hitchiking anemones, juvenile angelfish, and others were all great sights for us there, as well as the encrustation of the pilings. It was just us 2 and the DM, entered about 9 PM, and had the place to ourselves until about 5 minutes before we ended the dive, when a herd of 8 to 10 'rototillers' is the affectionate term I've seen used here, came through and against (bump, bump, kick, sorry!, thrash) and past us - enough, go home, we had our fun while it lasted.

If it wasn't so late in my time zone, I'd try to figure out how to upload a few of the pics, but off to bed. Maybe over the weekend I'll figure it out.

We always had the reef for shore night dive and day dive at our accomodations to ourselves, and the deck / dock was well lit at night. We were the only divers staying at the Bellafonte Chateau de la Mer all week when we were there, although there were other guests - mainly ambulatory Dutch fossils it seemed - drying room / gear and tank storage area, rinse tank, etc. to ourselves. I'd say we got a bit spoiled on our Bonaire trip, and would go again, but want to get some Pacific trips in under our belts in 2006 and 2007.

 

[cra2]

Uncle Ricky and I have long thought that the two best times to be in the ocean are dawn and dusk. Here the night creatures are coming out for their first meal and the day creatures are still trying to get their last before retiring for the night. What a magnificent show -

Where do I nominate this for "Best Reply Ever" ?

 

[cra2]

just today the US announced that all ships from seven nations (all in Africa except
for Albania) will be boarded and searched before they enter US ports due to
their failure to live up to the treaty.

Ok guys... speaking of terrorists.. I'm calling 'Hijacking Hijinx' on you!
It's good to know the pier dives require guides.
But now let's get back to the logistics of unguided night dives on Bonaire.
Not the logistics of search & seizure or whatever. lol.

 

[H2Andy]

hehehe...

you've gotten lots of good advice already

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

Here's a Giant Basket Star and a Bearded Fire Worm on Fire Coral, and even orange cup corals that were underneath the deck / dock in 3 FSW from a night dive at our accomodations on Bonaire.

We did see quite a bit of night divers at Windsock, and at the beach at North Belnem, both of which were just north of where we stayed.

The pics from our Town Pier night dive each exceed the file size limit to post here.

 

[DeputyDan]

Tom:

That was an exceptional post.

Mr. Rogers was the first Moray I ever met underwater.

One of those look back and grin stories. I had not expected an eel quite so big.

DD