Bonaire Shore Diving Made Stupid (Apr 29-May 7 @ Den Laman)

[deco_martini]

Still adding my thoughts to this "Bonaire Shore Diving Made Stupid" guide, my unofficial addendum to "Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy".

1000 steps

Dilemma:
Do I want to climb down about 75 stone stairs to dive, then climb back up them when I am done?

Answer:
This reef is covered in algae at depths greater than 60 feet. The reef above the algae layer is not in great shape either. Right now, this dive is not worth doing really even without the climbing up/down stairs gimmick. Give it a few years and check again.

 

[chauncy19]

deco_martini,
appreciate your thoughts about dive sites as will be there in June. I don't think I've ever done 1000 steps but its a very prominent dive spot on Bonaire. Just never got to it and now I think it will be awhile before I do.
My favorite dives have been La Dania's Leap to Karpata and Tailor Maid. Old blue was another nice dive up north. Did salt pier but day I did it there was way too much surge. Tori's reef was a great dive down south. Obvious i have much more to do
thanks again for your observations!

 

[deco_martini]

Did salt pier but day I did it there was way too much surge.

Salt Pier can be a really gloomy dive. Between 4-5pm the angle of the sun is nice for a well lit dive with lots of activity.

If it is a lot of trouble to do Salt Pier when the stars align just right, it is a fine dive to skip altogether. It is near several other dive sites that are great. And if someone wants something off the beaten track they can drive further south and do the soft coral forests of sites like Sweet Dreams.

 

[deco_martini]

How To Dress Your Truck for Diving

Or

Beware The DickBird

Shore diving on Bonaire is easy. Get your truck/jeep. Throw a couple of bottles of water you froze the night before in the cab. Throw a 2 liter bottle of tap water in the back. Drive to the dive site. Put your car keys/room key/ID in an Otter box, latch it on your gear. Take your towels, roll down your front windows, and close the doors over the towels creating curtains. This keeps your vehicle cooler and abides by the "roll down windows, leave doors unlocked" motto.

Now when you get back from your dive, you have ice cold water to drink, a dry warm towel, and 2 liters of hot water to rinse your head, face, and couplers with.

But be aware of the Dickbird. The Dickbird victimized us at Oil Slick Leap. The Dickbird flies through your window, sits on the headrest of each of your front seats backwards, and then shats on your seats. Be aware that towels hanging in the windows don't stop the Dickbird. Its feces are described as small, white, and totally gross. If you leave your tshirt draped over the front seat, your tshirt could be a victim of the Dickbird.

 

[NCDiver]

Good advice on the truck. I carry a windshield screen, one pops open with hoops, Wow did that make a difference. The towel trick goes a step better. Don't have a solution for the DickBird though......

If there is anyone out there who can make Bonaire June 11 - 18. Have spot for one guy and one room for 2 available. I have a HELL of a deal for you. Get in touch ASAP!!

 

[rye_a]

We WERE laughing at your skin suit with purple flames. Especially when you ate it at the entry to Andrea II!

 

[Insta-Gator]

Excuse me, I stopped reading about the fourth cluster of "Dump" and "Dilemma" so could you summarize for me, did you have a good time or not?

 

[deco_martini]

Excuse me, I stopped reading about the fourth cluster of "Dump" and "Dilemma" so could you summarize for me, did you have a good time or not?

That's quite a Dilemma.

 

[gypsyjim]

We enjoyed Den Lamen the time we stayed there too. Wish they were not so stingy about letting non guests access the reef there. Open access to sites is one factor that makes Bonaire shore diving so special, and friendly. Except at Dem Lamen.

Bottom time at depth. THAT is the reason for doing the lazy back swim out to sites like the Hilma Hooker. The 10 to 15 minute underwater swim out would seriously impact your bottom time at 95-100 ft, as you explore the deeper stuff. Plenty of great reef to explore on the long leisurely swim threw the shallows afterward, as you can then push your gas to 60+ minutes total, above 30 ft. That surface swim to a deeper site off shore a bit is simply a safety precaution that some divers overlook.

 

[gypsyjim]

How To Dress Your Truck for Diving

Or

Beware The DickBird



But be aware of the Dickbird. The Dickbird victimized us at Oil Slick Leap. The Dickbird flies through your window, sits on the headrest of each of your front seats backwards, and then shats on your seats. Be aware that towels hanging in the windows don't stop the Dickbird. Its feces are described as small, white, and totally gross. If you leave your tshirt draped over the front seat, your tshirt could be a victim of the Dickbird.

Their larger cousins got me today! I was on the Harley, and watched two Canada Geese lift off,and fly directly overhead. suddenly I had a hunch and looked down at the ground, just as the $#$& hit. Talk about gross!!! :shocked2: