dive knifes in Bonaire

[Boat Chick]

Here is a good link about diving bonaire. The only thing that has changed that they have not updated is you can no longer wear gloves on the mooring lines, or clean up dives. In order to wear gloves period, you need a medical letter from your physician. Leave the spool and reel at home, you really don't need a SMB...navigation is easy.

http://www.bmp.org/html/diving_bonaire.html

Dive safe, and have a great trip.

 

[bluwolf]

I do not mean to hijack this thread, but this question stems from a larger question, I believe. I too am going to Bonaire on May 26 for the first time and do not know what to bring or not bring. Other than on Cruises, I have done all of my diving in Florida and have not had to deal with weight limits on airlines and the like. I am also a bit of a gadget freak.

I think the larger question that this comes from is, "what equipement and gadgets do you bring and what do leave behind on a trip to Bonaire." How do you keep you weight down so that you don't pay an arm and a leg in excess baggage fees?

LJ

Jetwrench mentioned it, but just to be sure. "Hard" sole booties is a must for shore diving. I've seen many divers recently, seems to be a small growing trend, wearing snorkeling fins with no booties. Went on a shore dive in Bonaire with one such diver, and that was the last shore dive she did. Beach is not sand, it's old coral.

 

[piikki]

Leave the spool and reel at home, you really don't need a SMB...navigation is easy.

Not that I plan to but don't people carry SMB also in case they drift away and need to be seen? Or need assistance with a limp buddy? Will nobody care if you are waving your sausage hecticly on Bonaire?

 

[rottielover]

I don't mean to hijack your thread, but I had to ask about gloves...

I was told we needed to have them, because after being in the water so much over a week that your skin tends to start getting "thin" ??

So I have some people telling me that I need them, and now I'm seeing (above) that they are no longer allowed (ala Cozumel) ?

Can someone please clarify?

EDIT: I went to the website you linked, and it says you should wear them for wreck dives (the main reason I purchased the gloves for my trip, since one of the AOW dives we're going to do is wreck)...

Still, some clarifcation would be good - ie: are they outlawed, or is this just the recomendations? I normally do not wear gloves on dives anyway.

 

[oly5050user]

I don't mean to hijack your thread, but I had to ask about gloves...

I was told we needed to have them, because after being in the water so much over a week that your skin tends to start getting "thin" ??

So I have some people telling me that I need them, and now I'm seeing (above) that they are no longer allowed (ala Cozumel) ?

Can someone please clarifly?

gloves highly discouraged..no real need for them there.Don't touch anything and you will be fine.

 

[dvrliz1]

Gloves are NOT allowed on Bonaire with only a couple of exceptions. They are one, that you are allowed to descend and ascend a mooring line from a boat dive. They MUST be removed once you have descended the line. The other is for medical reasons. I know of some people who are highly allergic to some of the floating particles in the water and are pretty much totally geared up from head to toe. As of now I think those are the only reasons for gloves on Bonaire.

Liz

 

[rottielover]

Here is what the link above says:

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
If you have a medical reason for needing to wear gloves, please contact the Marine Park.


Liz, your saying gloves are only allowed if your going up/down a line though?

I'm still confused. Who is the final authority on gloves in bonaire? Is it the BMP.org website or another website?

 

[Boat Chick]

Not that I plan to but don't people carry SMB also in case they drift away and need to be seen? Or need assistance with a limp buddy? Will nobody care if you are waving your sausage hecticly on Bonaire?

I have an inflatable sausage that is always clipped to my BC. I probably didn't say it correctly, but I meant if you have an SMB with reel and rod, leave the reel and rod at home...or if have a large SMB that does not neatly clip on your BC, leave that at home

When I was on island in January, at Cap Don's, there was an email in the dive shop from the Marine Park that was pinned on the wall, and it stated that gloves were not allowed PERIOD unless you had a note from the doctor's, and got it cleared through the marine park. I even asked them about it, and they said that in fact, gloves were no longer allowed. The BMP website has not been updated with the new information.

Maybe Susan P. can help shed some light on this one

 

[laserdoc]

Watch out for the glove police. They hang out around 37 feet!

 

[rottielover]

Watch out for the glove police. They hang out around 37 feet!

Yea, I'm afraid they are going to beat me with my snorkle...

On the serious side - I was required to purchase gloves for my wreck dive, but now it would seem they they may or may not be banned. If so, I want to return them, since the only reason I got them was for the wreck dive.