Dive site depth advice

[dmaziuk]

Sorry, pink beach, not red beach. Braino.

You are going to have a great time and unless there is some very compelling reason that you personally want to do your deepest dive first and then shallow out-- I wouldn't worry about it. There is absolutely no evidence that suggests that doing so reduces risk for DCS to the point of being concerned about it. Lots of people have been erroneously taught otherwise. Biggest concern is staying within your No Decompression Limits and training.

This includes one Dr. Bruce Weinke, so now RGBM computers presumably penalize users for reverse profiles. I.e. this can be an issue in the sense that your computer may become unreasonably conservative further into the trip. So its computed NDLs could become a bit annoying.

 

[cachow6]

Thanks everyone for your reassurance and your advice. Glad to hear this isn't going to be a big issue. I'll add the sites you all mentioned to my list!

Anybody have any advice on how to make time go faster until July?

 

[Jersey]

Thanks everyone for your reassurance and your advice. Glad to hear this isn't going to be a big issue. I'll add the sites you all mentioned to my list! Anybody have any advice on how to make time go faster until July?

Haha - time will fly and then it will be July! I can suggest a way to prepare - order up a copy of Bonaire Reef Smart Guides from Amazon or Barnes & Noble. It's amazing, and no I don't own a piece of it, but wish I did. 3D mapping and imagery of sites, depth, key features, helpful hints on parking/entry/exit points. We snagged a copy 2 days before we left island, so didn't really get to use it while there. We found sites listed we didn't know about or know much about, found 'things' at sites I wasn't aware of (like Coopers Barge, anchors, memorials...) and we've been coming to Bonaire since the 1990's. Just gives me another reason to go back.

 

[Lorenzoid]

While my wife and I make frequent exceptions, such as a site where the Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy or Bonaire Dive Guide book says there are garden eels, or at Salt Pier, the Hilma Hooker, etc.--our default dive plan that works for the majority of sites is simply to head out to the dropoff, decide if we are going to turn left or right depending on the current, and descend to 60 feet. Yep, 60 feet. Okay, so maybe once we get down there we see that there is something more interesting to see 10 feet shallower than that or 10 feet deeper than that, and in that case we would signal each other to go to that depth and level off. We remain at that depth plus or minus 10 feet, depending on whether we see something interesting, and swim parallel to the slope until we reach our turn-around time/pressure. Our default plan is just as simple: swim back at something like 30 feet, again making allowances for whether we see something more interesting a little shallower or a little deeper. We figure this strategy allows us to see what's going on at two very different depths. Most sites have a lot going on in the shallows.

 

[dmaziuk]

+1: I usually go some 10 feet deeper than my better half and we signal each other when one sees something, but other than that: get around 20 m down, swim against the current till half-tank, go back shallower. We usually follow the sand all the way to waist-deep, too: there's things to see in the sand as well and there's nothing wrong with long safety stops.

 

[CT Sean]

The Lake

The only thing I didn't see mentioned in any prior responses is that this is a good site to swim out to the 2nd reef as it is closer to the bottom of the first reef than at other sites. the second reef is around 80 feet deep. We actually learned about this site from a couple selling shaved ice (not quite authentic Hawaiian shave ice but it was still good) at the cruise port market. Definitely worth the trip to the 2nd reef for something different, plus lots of garden eels in "the lake" of sand separating the two reefs.

 

[edwants2dive]

Anybody have any advice on how to make time go faster until July?

Get old like me! Just kidding. I am in the same boat as you I am going down with my LDS July 27 - Aug 3 and it seems like time is dragging for a change. Oh on a side type note is anyone else going to be down there during that time? We will be at Buddy dive it would be nice to have an adult beverage with other members while there ( I might even buy depending on fundage left after my SO takes a cut to go on her trip).

 

[cachow6]

Thanks for all of your responses!

Tangential question: is 1000 Steps susceptible to rough afternoons or it is pretty much ok any time of day?

 

[Trailboss123]

Thanks for all of your responses!

Tangential question: is 1000 Steps susceptible to rough afternoons or it is pretty much ok any time of day?

I have dived it all times of the day and has always been good. Mornings do tend to be calmer, but I wouldn't hesitate to dive there any time of the day.

 

[Kksmama]

You've gotten great advice. I'd suggest talking to divers who are gearing up, or ending their dives, when you arrive at the site. They can give you tips on the entries, current, and recognizing your exit point. At Oil Slick another couple told us they'd just made the mistake of climbing a private ladder slightly to the south of the dive site, it was easy to see how that could happen and made us more mindful. I have the kindle version of Reef Smart guide but wish I'd printed out key pages to take in the truck since we left the phones back in the room.