Bonaire, What did you wish you knew before you went?

[lionfish-eater]

The one downside that no one has mentioned is the additional risk of diving without support for emergencies. If you have a problem at one of the shore diving sites, you are on your own. No boat radio, no oxygen kit, no first aid kit, no cell phone, no others to help, etc. My last trip was split between morning 2 tank boat dives with Bruce's place and one or two afternoon shore dives with a night dive on the house reef. The boat trips were to sites we could not reach by shore and were great. The afternoon dives were fantastic,but I was never as relaxed as I would have liked to be,as in the back of my mind I realized the increased risk. I was diving with my son and while we are both experienced divers I felt that the shore dives were more like "trust me dives", or more correctly, trust myself and my equipment and skills. While our dives from one end to the other were safe and all went well, I couldn't shake the "we are on our own" feeling. We paired up with other divers at some point in the trip, but this just introduced more failure points rather than providing and real additional safety other than extra hands to help pull a diver to shore or out of the water. (think about what you might be up against at oil slick or 1000 steps). I have tried to make an emergency plan but there are so many potential obstacles that I am not sure how to plan. The plan changes if you or your buddy is physically unable to carry the other diver. All parties should know how to drive stick shift if necessary, etc, etc. Please discuss so we all can be safer. Oh and don't forget to bring lots of tin foil to make hats to protect yourself from the radio waves from the mega antennas!


Get out of the jar!

 

[drrich2]

I have tried to make an emergency plan but there are so many potential obstacles that I am not sure how to plan. The plan changes if you or your buddy is physically unable to carry the other diver. All parties should know how to drive stick shift if necessary, etc, etc. Please discuss so we all can be safer.

Valid points. My AT&T iPhone 4 (and my wife's old 3GS when she had that) worked on Bonaire; you can carry a cell phone that works there (or buy a cheapy at DigiCell while there) and put it in a water proof case (e.g.: one of the Otterbox products) so that if you break an ankle getting in or out, or somebody has a heart attack, etc..., you can call for help. You'll need to learn the phone numbers for some emergency service providers and program them into speed dial.

I don't do any of that, but if you want a suped up safety plan, there you go. That's a start.

Richard.

 

[jewelofnile69]

Valid points. My AT&T iPhone 4 (and my wife's old 3GS when she had that) worked on Bonaire; you can carry a cell phone that works there (or buy a cheapy at DigiCell while there) and put it in a water proof case (e.g.: one of the Otterbox products) so that if you break an ankle getting in or out, or somebody has a heart attack, etc..., you can call for help. You'll need to learn the phone numbers for some emergency service providers and program them into speed dial.

I don't do any of that, but if you want a suped up safety plan, there you go. That's a start.

Richard.

This is what we'll be doing this next time as well. I have never felt that "sense of doom" that lionfish eater experienced on his last trip to Bonaire. Even after 3 trips I haven't...and maybe I should. But we love Bonaire so much. I know lots of people that solo dive on a regular basis so I feel pretty safe diving in Bonaire with 1 to 3 people I guess. Hmmm...

---------- Post Merged at 05:40 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 05:32 PM ----------

Valid points. My AT&T iPhone 4 (and my wife's old 3GS when she had that) worked on Bonaire; you can carry a cell phone that works there (or buy a cheapy at DigiCell while there) and put it in a water proof case (e.g.: one of the Otterbox products) so that if you break an ankle getting in or out, or somebody has a heart attack, etc..., you can call for help. You'll need to learn the phone numbers for some emergency service providers and program them into speed dial.

I don't do any of that, but if you want a suped up safety plan, there you go. That's a start.

Richard.

Hey Richard...which Otterbox product works for your iphone underwater (and how deep can it go)? I'm looking at a bunch of different "waterproof" cases but I don't know what to go with. I'm worried I'll get down there for a dive and it will leak and then we are f'd. Thanks!

 

[Mike]

The one downside that no one has mentioned is the additional risk of diving without support for emergencies. If you have a problem at one of the shore diving sites, you are on your own. No boat radio, no oxygen kit, no first aid kit, no cell phone, no others to help, etc. My last trip was split between morning 2 tank boat dives with Bruce's place and one or two afternoon shore dives with a night dive on the house reef. The boat trips were to sites we could not reach by shore and were great. The afternoon dives were fantastic,but I was never as relaxed as I would have liked to be,as in the back of my mind I realized the increased risk. I was diving with my son and while we are both experienced divers I felt that the shore dives were more like "trust me dives", or more correctly, trust myself and my equipment and skills. While our dives from one end to the other were safe and all went well, I couldn't shake the "we are on our own" feeling. We paired up with other divers at some point in the trip, but this just introduced more failure points rather than providing and real additional safety other than extra hands to help pull a diver to shore or out of the water. (think about what you might be up against at oil slick or 1000 steps). I have tried to make an emergency plan but there are so many potential obstacles that I am not sure how to plan. The plan changes if you or your buddy is physically unable to carry the other diver. All parties should know how to drive stick shift if necessary, etc, etc. Please discuss so we all can be safer. Oh and don't forget to bring lots of tin foil to make hats to protect yourself from the radio waves from the mega antennas!


Get out of the jar!

It's time for you to take Rescue Diver course. You'll put all those fears to rest upon completion.

Until then, stick like glue to your buddy and that will remove about 90% of the problems divers end up having that don't end well.

Diving with a DM or a boat shouldn't really increase much in regard to your safety. Too much of your safety is connected to diving skills and being a responsible buddy.

 

[Nanodiver]

Lionfish-eater- I agree with you- I decided to do the Rescue Diver cert after staggering out of the water down at Red Beryl and realizing that my husband and I seemed to be the only souls on the entire south end of that island. A lot of the Rescue training is about prevention of dive accidents, and about "self-rescue"- I think it made that type of remote diving safer for us. Actually, it made a huge difference in all our diving.

I like the phone idea, as long as the waterproof box is reliable. Also, the phone would be very helpful if something, ahem, happened to your vehicle. -Nancy

 

[drrich2]

Jewel:

Check this Amazon page out, and the reviews.

Before you commit, consider what all you might want in there. iPhone, or iPhone in a protective case? What about a credit card & a few bills of money? They sell a range of sizes of the product.

Richard.

 

[lionfish-eater]

Rich, a phone would be a step in the right direction, but implies that there are response teams standing by waiting. Calling for help might be ok for retrieving a body or help getting up 1000 steps, but it is not really an emergency plan. It would probably be quicker to bring the injured diver to help then wait for help to come to a dive site. So depending on the incident a phone may be of limited value.
Mike, Kyle (my son) and I have finished the coursework for rescue and that is what got me thinking along these lines. We are careful divers, and have decent equipment that we take good care of. I am aware of how many incidents have been reported that involved buddy seperation and we are aware of how important the buddy is for redundant air and to check each others condition throughout the dive. We watch our computers and usually know how much air the other diver has to within 100 psi at any time in the dive. However safe we try to be Sh*t happens. We are often the only ones at a dive site. Compare this to all the divers concerned about the currents and "down drafts" in coz last winter. I feel safer ripping along San Juan than at one of the northen sites on Bonaire. We will continue to dive without boat support, but I just wanted to make the point that most divers are not planning for emergencies in Bonaire. We sometimes do post vacation analysis to discuss any poor decisions we made while diving or while vacationing to learn and improve our chances of survival. We can usually find something that we did that could have turned ugly. Safe diving to all! David

 

[peterbucknell]

Buddy Dive, staying there, I wrote a few tips a while back on How2scuba.com

A point form article about staying at Bonaire's Buddy Dive Resort:


Here are some insider tips:
It’s a fantastic place to spend a week of stress-free shore diving, with nitrox and air available right on the dock, or at a drive-thru located right in the resort.

• Weights and tanks are provided.
  
• All equipment is available for rent.
• Safe is also provided in your room in most cases
  
• Take a torch, preferably two, as night diving is big there. Theirs are weak, so BYO.

More>

 

[jewelofnile69]

Jewel:

Check this Amazon page out, and the reviews.

Before you commit, consider what all you might want in there. iPhone, or iPhone in a protective case? What about a credit card & a few bills of money? They sell a range of sizes of the product.

Richard.

Thanks so much, Richard! You are right, gotta think about what is needed.

Rich, a phone would be a step in the right direction, but implies that there are response teams standing by waiting. Calling for help might be ok for retrieving a body or help getting up 1000 steps, but it is not really an emergency plan. It would probably be quicker to bring the injured diver to help then wait for help to come to a dive site. So depending on the incident a phone may be of limited value.
Mike, Kyle (my son) and I have finished the coursework for rescue and that is what got me thinking along these lines. We are careful divers, and have decent equipment that we take good care of. I am aware of how many incidents have been reported that involved buddy seperation and we are aware of how important the buddy is for redundant air and to check each others condition throughout the dive. We watch our computers and usually know how much air the other diver has to within 100 psi at any time in the dive. However safe we try to be Sh*t happens. We are often the only ones at a dive site. Compare this to all the divers concerned about the currents and "down drafts" in coz last winter. I feel safer ripping along San Juan than at one of the northen sites on Bonaire. We will continue to dive without boat support, but I just wanted to make the point that most divers are not planning for emergencies in Bonaire. We sometimes do post vacation analysis to discuss any poor decisions we made while diving or while vacationing to learn and improve our chances of survival. We can usually find something that we did that could have turned ugly. Safe diving to all! David

Hey Lionfish! OK, first, I just noticed your AVI and that sure looks like a WI license plate. I see you are on "an island in the MI river" so where are you? I'm in the Madison area. My husband and I have also decided to take a rescue diver course to help in situations. My husband and I often dive by ourselves in the inland lakes of WI so that is a concern even here...not just in Bonaire.

You are right that even having a phone isn't always going to help, but if you have DAN in your speed dial at least that is another step in the right direction. You can call them collect outside the US at +1-919-684-9111. The emergency ambulance in Bonaire # is 114 (instead of 911). They do have an air ambulance as well and of course a hyperbaric chamber.

 

[Drewpy]

Everyone is different, but the "we are on our own feeling" is what is so attractive to me. The fewer people the better.. but after shore diving in Nor Cal it seems rather easy and care free, but you are right.. you do need to be self reliant.