Jersey
Contributor
Along with my BF/dive buddy this year we brought along my brother and his 18 yr old son, certified May 2013, on their first dive trip. They stayed for 1 week buddy and I stayed for 2. Delta PHL – ATL – BON and back all ran smooth and on time. This was our 8th year Buddy Dive. The convenience of one-call booking with transfers, truck rental, breakfast each day, some boat dives, a location directly on the water and close to town is appealing. I print out the check in, truck rental and dive shop forms prior to leaving and we complete these on the plane, saving time at check in. First time on Bonaire for Carnival. The parade March 2 had amazing costuming, floats, music and atmosphere and we hit upon it merely by chance.
Dining – Buddy’s breakfast buffet, lunch in room with stuff from the grocery stores. First night we ate at Ingridients at Buddy Dive. Food is excellent, very pricy, even by my Philadelphia/New York City standards. Their ‘bites’ are literally maybe 2 bites on a small plate for $6-9. For a couple more $$, make them true appetizers. It was our servers first night, she had problems with the high tech (iPad) POS system and wasn’t familiar with the offerings. She was replaced mid-dinner making for a very disjointed experience. Most nights I cooked and we ate in. We even hosted a couple dinners with other divers and some local friends. Mi Banana twice for dinner. Stopped by Atlantis/Kite Beach to see if Hagen had any Lionfish burgers, but he must have been at Carnival. Found a new food truck – Kite City. They have shade, tables and the coolest beanbag chairs. The food is delicious, high end (think lobster and sushi grade tuna) beautifully plated (yes, plated at the beach). They’ve only been open since mid-Feb and I wish them much success. We did the Buddy Friday night rum punch-Moogie-music-Buffet and new friend Dr. Dave from the Carolinas, South I think. Last night we ate at Mona Lisa, always reliable, wonderful service (thanks Monique!) getting a bit long in the tooth. Make reservations and request a specific table (inside/outside/on the water) early as popular eats tend to fill up.
Diving and conditions - first week conditions were typical for March, high 80’s air temps, water 78 – 81 (per my Oceanic ProPlus), vis around 75-80 feet. Little to no current. Between Sunday and Thursday we did the house reef, Sharons Serenity, Hilma Hooker, Joannes Sunchi, Rock Pile, Something Special, Small Wall, and Knife with the new divers. Ship in at Salt Pier the first week, so no opportunity to dive, but it gives them a reason to come back with us next trip. The new divers came a long way – on day 1 a little free-flowing reg on the surface was almost enough to send one back to shore (he was talked off the ledge), day 3 he was comfortable at 96 feet on the Hilma Hooker and day 5 having a blast on a night dive with big tarpon chasing around. Bonaire is great to expose and build confidence in new divers. I buddied with my 18 yr old nephew to whom I apologize for being such a hard-a** buddy. I didn’t let the poor guy out of hand reach the first 2 days. He is a good and competent diver and took his overprotective aunt in stride. Best ~ he understood my signals and secured my tank at depth after it slipped out. We paired the strongest + weakest diver (my brother) as a team and the two middlings teamed. Bro quit smoking a month before OW and his air was the limiting factor in our dive times. Even being 2 pairs, we all stayed close and turned dives together. First tank drained in 23 minutes on a 48 foot shore dive. By the end of the week, his bottom time had increased to the 40+ minute mark. First week we saw the normal reef critters – tarpon, trunks, lionfish, grouper, wrasses, grunts, eels, puffers, jacks, parrotfish, barracuda, huge lobster on night dive, margates, morays, etc. My brother is into coral (salt water aquarist) and educated us about the corals we saw. Times ran from 23 minutes to 55 minutes, depths 45 - 96 feet.
Second week of diving started with a significant drop in the wind. The water was literally a lake, viz increased to at least 100 foot. From the top/surface of Buddy Reef, you could clearly see the bottom and out into the sand flat and I know the bottom is around 90 feet. Conditions were simply amazing for the next 4 days. Flat, no current. We hit the house reef, Forest, Leonora’s Reef, Boka Slagbaai, Jerry’s Reef, Small Wall, Just a Nice Dive, Salt Pier, Joannes Sunchi, South West Corner and Bonaventure. Yes, many of these sites are on Klein, I like diving from a boat, not lugging tanks, sand in my gear. Did a night dive with the couple next door. As it was a few days before a full moon, it was bright enough to turn the all lights, out play with the bio-lum and make it a true night dive. This worked until we got back to the dock and I noticed 2 big eels out hunting, didn’t want to miss them. Highlight critters were a dolphin pod on way to site, squid, multiple dives with turtles, cubera snapper, tiger grouper, lionfish the size of chickens (seriously – largest lf I’ve ever seen and me without an efl), large rainbow parrots, multiple seahorses and frogfish, webbed burrfish, sand tile divers, arrow crab, cleaning shrimp, itty bitty spotted drum and the ever nudgy 5 foot tarpon at night. Thanks to Battista, Dani and Guen for the frogfish and sea horse finds. I could look forever and not find them. A family from Ohio diving with us stared at the frogfish without seeing it (red on yellow coral). Most dives were in the 60 foot range, longest dive was 72 minutes.
I watch fish behavior. Found lots of cleaning stations, nuclear hunting, and Graysby’s fighting for territory at dusk. The Graysby fights look like gang warfare, posturing, mouths agape, then rushing and knocking into the other. When I spotted this, I got my buddy’s attention and threw punches in the water. He thought I was crazy, until he spotted the fights.
I will never be a dive professional, felt too much responsibility with the newbies. Yes, they are family and they have been certified by an organization but I felt a lot of responsibility, so to all instructors and DM’s, thank you for all that you do, I’ve gained a whole new appreciation for your job. Check your tanks – fills were pretty good (2800 - 3200), Nitrox ran from 31% to a couple at 34%. We had O-ring issues almost every dive and 1 leaking at the neck. Buddy Dive needs to do a better job here. To the DM who asked if I ‘missed a whole breathe’ due to the leak, that isn’t the point, 1 out of 4 tanks leaking is 25% fail rate, I was just fine, thank you. The next person may not be fine and it appears you have a pervasive problem.
There was a group of 16 high school students at the resort the first week and despite my initial reservations, they were a great group of kids. Interested in Marine Sciences and getting their OW, and AOW. At the start of their trip the dock looked like a dive shop gone bad – chaos, loudness, gear everywhere, they ran short of tanks, rental gear and weights, but we all got through it. We left BC’s, fins, weight belt and masks in common gear areas. Anyone wants my 20 year old BC, have at it! We don’t leave regs, computers, or loose bits of gear (lights/safety sausages/slates) around.
Crime happens – we heard of 2 instances. A group at Andrea had a point and shoot camera in a waterproof zip bag that had leaked so they left it in the truck. It was taken along with a cell phone and some clothes. A woman lost her room key on the fob which has the room number on it. Someone found the key, knew the room number, entered, got computer, phones, cash and other goods. For this reason we have always taken the key off the fob and placed it on an unmarked jump ring or piece of string worn around the neck.
The police presence was noticeable during Carnival. Not so much the rest of the time. After a Gio’s run we noticed a group across the street with the sound system blaring. The car, the street, the lightposts literally shook from the bass. Returning through town 15 minutes later the car and group were gone, a police car parked where it had been. I hope the local merchants harass the police into curtailing the noise and cruising. I still feel safer on Bonaire than in many other places. Have fun, but be smart. Been back just over a week and I keep having dreams of diving…ready to return!
---------- Post added March 25th, 2014 at 03:31 PM ----------
Some picsView attachment 180448View attachment 180449View attachment 180450View attachment 180451
Dining – Buddy’s breakfast buffet, lunch in room with stuff from the grocery stores. First night we ate at Ingridients at Buddy Dive. Food is excellent, very pricy, even by my Philadelphia/New York City standards. Their ‘bites’ are literally maybe 2 bites on a small plate for $6-9. For a couple more $$, make them true appetizers. It was our servers first night, she had problems with the high tech (iPad) POS system and wasn’t familiar with the offerings. She was replaced mid-dinner making for a very disjointed experience. Most nights I cooked and we ate in. We even hosted a couple dinners with other divers and some local friends. Mi Banana twice for dinner. Stopped by Atlantis/Kite Beach to see if Hagen had any Lionfish burgers, but he must have been at Carnival. Found a new food truck – Kite City. They have shade, tables and the coolest beanbag chairs. The food is delicious, high end (think lobster and sushi grade tuna) beautifully plated (yes, plated at the beach). They’ve only been open since mid-Feb and I wish them much success. We did the Buddy Friday night rum punch-Moogie-music-Buffet and new friend Dr. Dave from the Carolinas, South I think. Last night we ate at Mona Lisa, always reliable, wonderful service (thanks Monique!) getting a bit long in the tooth. Make reservations and request a specific table (inside/outside/on the water) early as popular eats tend to fill up.
Diving and conditions - first week conditions were typical for March, high 80’s air temps, water 78 – 81 (per my Oceanic ProPlus), vis around 75-80 feet. Little to no current. Between Sunday and Thursday we did the house reef, Sharons Serenity, Hilma Hooker, Joannes Sunchi, Rock Pile, Something Special, Small Wall, and Knife with the new divers. Ship in at Salt Pier the first week, so no opportunity to dive, but it gives them a reason to come back with us next trip. The new divers came a long way – on day 1 a little free-flowing reg on the surface was almost enough to send one back to shore (he was talked off the ledge), day 3 he was comfortable at 96 feet on the Hilma Hooker and day 5 having a blast on a night dive with big tarpon chasing around. Bonaire is great to expose and build confidence in new divers. I buddied with my 18 yr old nephew to whom I apologize for being such a hard-a** buddy. I didn’t let the poor guy out of hand reach the first 2 days. He is a good and competent diver and took his overprotective aunt in stride. Best ~ he understood my signals and secured my tank at depth after it slipped out. We paired the strongest + weakest diver (my brother) as a team and the two middlings teamed. Bro quit smoking a month before OW and his air was the limiting factor in our dive times. Even being 2 pairs, we all stayed close and turned dives together. First tank drained in 23 minutes on a 48 foot shore dive. By the end of the week, his bottom time had increased to the 40+ minute mark. First week we saw the normal reef critters – tarpon, trunks, lionfish, grouper, wrasses, grunts, eels, puffers, jacks, parrotfish, barracuda, huge lobster on night dive, margates, morays, etc. My brother is into coral (salt water aquarist) and educated us about the corals we saw. Times ran from 23 minutes to 55 minutes, depths 45 - 96 feet.
Second week of diving started with a significant drop in the wind. The water was literally a lake, viz increased to at least 100 foot. From the top/surface of Buddy Reef, you could clearly see the bottom and out into the sand flat and I know the bottom is around 90 feet. Conditions were simply amazing for the next 4 days. Flat, no current. We hit the house reef, Forest, Leonora’s Reef, Boka Slagbaai, Jerry’s Reef, Small Wall, Just a Nice Dive, Salt Pier, Joannes Sunchi, South West Corner and Bonaventure. Yes, many of these sites are on Klein, I like diving from a boat, not lugging tanks, sand in my gear. Did a night dive with the couple next door. As it was a few days before a full moon, it was bright enough to turn the all lights, out play with the bio-lum and make it a true night dive. This worked until we got back to the dock and I noticed 2 big eels out hunting, didn’t want to miss them. Highlight critters were a dolphin pod on way to site, squid, multiple dives with turtles, cubera snapper, tiger grouper, lionfish the size of chickens (seriously – largest lf I’ve ever seen and me without an efl), large rainbow parrots, multiple seahorses and frogfish, webbed burrfish, sand tile divers, arrow crab, cleaning shrimp, itty bitty spotted drum and the ever nudgy 5 foot tarpon at night. Thanks to Battista, Dani and Guen for the frogfish and sea horse finds. I could look forever and not find them. A family from Ohio diving with us stared at the frogfish without seeing it (red on yellow coral). Most dives were in the 60 foot range, longest dive was 72 minutes.
I watch fish behavior. Found lots of cleaning stations, nuclear hunting, and Graysby’s fighting for territory at dusk. The Graysby fights look like gang warfare, posturing, mouths agape, then rushing and knocking into the other. When I spotted this, I got my buddy’s attention and threw punches in the water. He thought I was crazy, until he spotted the fights.
I will never be a dive professional, felt too much responsibility with the newbies. Yes, they are family and they have been certified by an organization but I felt a lot of responsibility, so to all instructors and DM’s, thank you for all that you do, I’ve gained a whole new appreciation for your job. Check your tanks – fills were pretty good (2800 - 3200), Nitrox ran from 31% to a couple at 34%. We had O-ring issues almost every dive and 1 leaking at the neck. Buddy Dive needs to do a better job here. To the DM who asked if I ‘missed a whole breathe’ due to the leak, that isn’t the point, 1 out of 4 tanks leaking is 25% fail rate, I was just fine, thank you. The next person may not be fine and it appears you have a pervasive problem.
There was a group of 16 high school students at the resort the first week and despite my initial reservations, they were a great group of kids. Interested in Marine Sciences and getting their OW, and AOW. At the start of their trip the dock looked like a dive shop gone bad – chaos, loudness, gear everywhere, they ran short of tanks, rental gear and weights, but we all got through it. We left BC’s, fins, weight belt and masks in common gear areas. Anyone wants my 20 year old BC, have at it! We don’t leave regs, computers, or loose bits of gear (lights/safety sausages/slates) around.
Crime happens – we heard of 2 instances. A group at Andrea had a point and shoot camera in a waterproof zip bag that had leaked so they left it in the truck. It was taken along with a cell phone and some clothes. A woman lost her room key on the fob which has the room number on it. Someone found the key, knew the room number, entered, got computer, phones, cash and other goods. For this reason we have always taken the key off the fob and placed it on an unmarked jump ring or piece of string worn around the neck.
The police presence was noticeable during Carnival. Not so much the rest of the time. After a Gio’s run we noticed a group across the street with the sound system blaring. The car, the street, the lightposts literally shook from the bass. Returning through town 15 minutes later the car and group were gone, a police car parked where it had been. I hope the local merchants harass the police into curtailing the noise and cruising. I still feel safer on Bonaire than in many other places. Have fun, but be smart. Been back just over a week and I keep having dreams of diving…ready to return!
---------- Post added March 25th, 2014 at 03:31 PM ----------
Some picsView attachment 180448View attachment 180449View attachment 180450View attachment 180451
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