bonaire night diving?

[Dragon2115]

Ok, I haven't been there yet but I too am planning for night diving. My plan is fairly simple. I plan to stick to sites that have mooring buoys. I figure these will make good navigation points for returning to shore.

My general dive plan is as follows:

• Locate mooring buoy and surface swim to it.
• Take a compass bearing for the exit point.
• Drop down and deploy a strobe at the mooring block and note the depth.
• Proceed to the planned depth and pick a direction of travel along the reef based on the current.

On the return trip:

• Return along the reef at close to the depth of the mooring block and recover strobe.
• Follow previously noted compass heading for the exit point.
• Perform safety stop on the way back to the exit point if the mooring block is deeper than 15 fsw.

Does that sound like a reasonable plan to the night diving veterans of the board?

 

[SDAnderson]

• Reconnoiter the site during daylight hours – preferably including a dive so that you can be halfway familiar with the area until you’ve done this at least a few times.
  
• Select an entry/exit point with a firm, flat, stable bottom with no algae or coral. Sand is usually great, rocks usually aren’t. Surf and current won't be an issue at most of the dive sites in Bonaire but it's always a good idea to be mindful of the possibility.
  
• You may want to mark the entry/exit point with two lights laid several feet apart and perpendicular to the waterline – as you swim along the reef you’ll know when you’re directly offshore from the point when the two lights appear to merge into one. I don’t think this is necessary for shore diving in Bonaire (especially if the moon is full) but makes great good sense in many other circumstances.
  
• Take perpendicular compass bearing from the shore before you get in the water and write that heading down. Swim out perpendicular from your exit/entry point until you crest the lip of the reef. Don't bother with the mooring ball, although if you can find it, you'll find that it is probably close to the edge of the reef.
  
• Drop over the edge of the reef, find a depth you are comfortable with and leave a strobe at that point. Secure it well in a place where it can be easily seen and won't get stuck in a crevice. Think three-dimensionally: a strobe in a sand flat only marks a single point with no bearings. To find a point in 3-space, you need to be able to follow two planes until you intersect the third. In other words, you need something to guide you to that point, like a reef wall and a constant depth. If you follow the reef wall at the same depth as your strobe, you won’t have to look far for it on your return leg.
  
• Stick close to your buddy. It’s easy to allow some distance to open up, since you know they are at the head of that wriggling beam of light. Knowing where they are is important, of course, but being able to see them is what buddy diving is all about. Some divers take to night diving like, well, fish, but others can react a little panicky. Be prepared.
  
• Follow the rule of thirds, especially your first few night dives. It can be a little disorienting down there in the dark and you want to give yourself a big margin of gas. You can always spend some of that reserve toodling around at the top of the reef or on an extra long safety stop.
  

Some additional thoughts:

• File a dive plan. Always good advice but especially at night - tell someone where you're going so that they can send out the cavalry the next morning if you don't show up at the dive shop.
  
• Each diver should have three lights. When they fail (and they do) it’s always at an inopportune moment. HID lights aren’t a requirement for night diving, especially in Bonaire, but if you can get your hands on one, use that as your primary. When a primary fails, the dive is over and it's time to head for shore.
  
• Hand signals don’t work in the dark. Up close, you can shine your light on your hand as you make signals but you need to be sure that you have a couple of attention-getters worked out in advance: most folks use a slow steady circle as a substitute for “OK” and a rapid back and forth slash as “help.” Think about these signals as you dive - you don't want to inadvertently shake your light and panic your buddy into thinking you just got chomped by some nocturnal sea monster.
  
• Once you turn a light on, don’t turn it off until you are safely back on shore. The greatest chance for failure comes when you turn a light on.
  
• Watch over your shoulder. Eventually you are likely to find yourself being shadowed by some tarpon or barracuda - they've learned that you're likely to shine your light on their dinner. It's quite an exciting moment the first time they explode out of the shadows and snarf that cute little crested buttercup you've been watching. I had my mask knocked loose and nearly spit my regulator out the first time I got tail-slapped by a hungry tarpon on his way to the buffet I had pointed out to him.
  
• Bring a big blanket, some soft towels, a warm snack and something fun to drink. Chances are good that you’ll have the beach to yourself after the dive and there are few things more romantic than a moonlit skinny dip…

 

[diversteve]

In general it seems like a plan, but on Bonaire it's a little different.

In most cases you're going to find good stuff in less than 100' of water, some in less than 40' of water, so you could just tie the strobe onto the buoy at the surface. The water's so clear I don't think you'd have any problems seeing it. I think a bigger problem might be locating the buoy from the shore pre-dive. Also, don't slide down the buoy rope - there's Firecoral on some of them. And you're not allowed to wear gloves - for descents you can have one - but not while diving.

A concern might be finding your exit point at some of the unlit shore sites. In some cases there's only a small break in the ironshore where you go out, I'd break a nitestick and leave it there so you could find your way back in.

Our diveshop told us what they do at their house site is tie a strobe onto the south buoy at the surface so that the divers don't drift past it while night diving.

I was sitting in a bar across the street and at least a block away while my buddy dove Town Pier, I was able to follow their entire trip by watching their lights in the water, and when someone took a picture the flash lit up about a 20' area. Town Pier, one of Bonaire's signature dives, is a night DM-escorted dive. My buddy paid $25 to do it with 2 others and the DM from our boat. I think it's a private enterprise as he asked for cash and didn't book through the diveop.

Most of the reefs on Bonaire run parallel to the shore and aren't anything but a short swim out, so where there's a resort or condos it would be really hard to get lost. Most resorts have lights on/over the water also. In most areas, the reef just sort of gradually rolls over the edge and gets deeper, so once you hit 40' or so coming back up, you'd likely see the glow. If you dive Buddy's Reef, Cliff, LaMachaca, Bari or 1/2 dozen others, you'll be in front of a resort. If you dive Capt. Don's, the Tarpon will hunt in your light beam, so don't be surprised if one zips by you suddenly.

And bring at least two lights.

Not that I want to be your mother, but with only 15 dives, you shouldn't even be considering night diving without a DM/guide or very experienced buddy.

 

[DrSteve]

Also, don't slide down the buoy rope - there's Firecoral on some of them. And you're not allowed to wear gloves - for descents you can have one - but not while diving.

Does that mean you can wear a single glove until you "begin" your dive? I'm all for not wearing gloves, but having just become aware of what fire coral looks like, I realise how much there is out there...

 

[diversteve]

Does that mean you can wear a single glove until you "begin" your dive? I'm all for not wearing gloves, but having just become aware of what fire coral looks like, I realise how much there is out there...

I took this from the BMP.org website:

Please don't wear gloves (you won't need them because you're not going to touch anything).

You may:

stow one in your pocket to be used to go up and down the mooring line
use gloves during clean up dives
wear gloves while wreck diving
wear gloves to get into and out of the water if you are shore diving the windward side east of Willemstoren

Generally speaking, the only places we saw any firecoral on the ropes were some of the southern sites from about Angel City down to Vista Blue. And there's firecoral on the Salt Pier. With as calm as the water was last summer, I can't actually remember ever needing to hold onto or follow a rope. You can use them as reference markers as you see them from 100' away on a sunny day.

 

[jpslim]

Salt Pier at Night:
Dove this last month and it was great. I don't need to repeat all the stuff covered before (permits, DM, trash etc), But this was a really good dive, the cup coral on the piers was fantastic and there is light above the piers that keeps you oriented. We saw sleeping green turtles, tons of baraccuda and huge tarpon (in 30 feet of water). It was great to have a DM to guide us around the piers, I recommend it, just ignore the trash. I know they also do a lot of night dives at 18 Palms (Plaza).

 

[Dragon2115]

How are you going to find the mooring buoys in the dark?

and

Not that I want to be your mother...

Thanks guys. All good suggestions that will be taken to heart. I kind of goofed and left out some important points that I thought would be evident but obviously weren't.

I do not plan to night dive at any site that I haven't been to during the day and taken detailed navigation notes on [edit added] without a guide. Actually that's one of my main interests, comparing the same site between night and day to observe the differences. My dive operator (that we're staying with) will be involved in our pre-dive planning, aware of roughly where we're diving during the day, and specifically told what site(s) we'll be at during the evening.

As for my experience level, thanks for the concern. I intend to stay well within my limits but I truely am one of those people that is very at home in the water. I've spent every chance I could get in the water since I was old enough to go out on my Dads' boat. I've also been snorkeling at night several times in areas that were totally dark except for our lights already so being in the water at night is not totally foriegn to me. I know it's different when you can stay submerged for the entire dive rather than for short spurts to 20 feet but I can deal with the orientation issues.

When I got certified it was a breeze for me and I kicked myself for not doing it sooner. The only thing that took me a minute or two to get used to was breathing without a mask at depth. I went to take my first breath without the mask I got a good shot of water up my nose. My instructor was very pleased with me that I didn't bolt for the surface as is common with beginners the first time they choke underwater. I just worked through it and went on with the lesson. My wife is just as comfortable in the water so I have no worries about her. We also work very effectively as a buddy team, a real buddy team, not just two people that happen to be in the same ocean together.

Given all that, we still aren't planning on just jumping right in for a night dive on the Hilma Hooker as the opening salvo of the trip. Maybe by the end of the trip, but then again, maybe not. We'll just have to wait and see how things go.

Thanks for the advice folks. You're a real help.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

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.

Wow ... you accurately described the three "dawn" dives I did in Bonaire last year. Only I entered from Cap't Don's dock and swam to the upside-down boat from the other direction ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[cra2]

You guys keep mentioning strobes.
Some tied off at the bouy.
Others tied off at depth.
a) what model/brand are you talking about? I'm looking for something with user-replaceable, common batteries.
b) are they positively or negatively bouyant? I think someone even mentioned bringing your own weight to hold them down. But I'd think that was a no-no in bonaire.

 

[Dragon2115]

This is the one I've chosen. I'm not sure about the buoyancy but I would imagine it to be positive. Setting on it on the reef might in fact be a no-no and that is why my first plan is to place it at a mooring block so that it won't disturb anything on the reef.

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