DIVI Flamingo: what is the present condition of dive pier?

[Luis H]

DIVI Flamingo: what is the present condition of dive pier?


Does anyone know the present condition of the dive pier at DIVI Flamingo?

How are the repairs coming? Are they working on it?

Any predictions of when will it be back in service?



If dive pier is still not in working condition:

What are they doing as an alternative for boat diving and shore diving?

Are they still using the south pier?

What are they doing for the customers dive gear lockers?


Where do they keep the tanks for shore diving?

How about night dives from shore? Do they have temporary gear lockers that is easily accessible after hours?



We have a group going in just a few months.

One of the biggest selling points of DIVI was their super convenient dive gear locker at the end of the pier. We are bit concerned about the present condition of the facility.



Thanks in advance for any information.

 

[Luis H]

Thanks for the great pictures. I don't see any stairs yet either (into the water). That should keep them scratching their heads for quite awhile. Very complicated, ya know. This dock has been out of service since September 2022. 21 months!!!

I was told the stairs are already prefabricated.

It will be interesting to see the progress at this point.

 

[ScottsdaleSteve]

I was told the stairs are already prefabricated.

Uh huh. I believe that, but....When I was there in August, they said the dock was prefabricated in Holland and shipped to Bonaire. That sure didn't seem to speed the project along! Yes, I'm grumpy - I have a timeshare there and I like to roll out of bed and onto the dive boat. Walking to the other end of the property is a pain in the a$$.

 

[Luis H]

Yes, I agree.

The prefabricated dock was just the frame... not exactly what I had in mind. I should have known better.

The prefabricated stairs, I think is also just the frame. They need to add the steps. I hope they use the same type of steps (the grating) that they had in the recent step upgrade they did, about 3 or 4 years ago.

I just hope that not using a subcontractor truly helps them control the schedule.



One of my friends was watching one of the guys doing the deck. He said that he would pick up a board and looked at it. He would study it like he needed to make a connection with the board, before he could put it down on the deck. It was like a spiritual ritual between him and every board. It just takes time to make a connection with a board, you want to study it and know how it feels...

 

[ScottsdaleSteve]

Yes, I agree.

The prefabricated dock was just the frame... not exactly what I had in mind. I should have known better.

The prefabricated stairs, I think is also just the frame. They need to add the steps. I hope they use the same type of steps (the grating) that they had in the recent step upgrade they did, about 3 or 4 years ago.

I just hope that not using a subcontractor truly helps them control the schedule.



One of my friends was watching one of the guys doing the deck. He said that he would pick up a board and looked at it. He would study it like he needed to make a connection with the board, before he could put it down on the deck. It was like a spiritual ritual between him and every board. It just takes time to make a connection with a board, you want to study it and know how it feels...

I think you cracked the code. Clearly they are paid by the hour, and not by the job. It just blows my mind. Diving is the #1 industry in Bonaire, and they drag their feet for almost two years rebuilding a dive dock.

 

[Nemrod]

I was just there and observed the pier non-progress. I can in all honesty say that I have never seen anyone move so absolutely slow. Like watching a tree sloth move. Only one worker that I observed. He would take a load of boards and then set them out individually. Then he would touch them, speak to them and contemplate the nature of their existential existence and how they self identify in order to find the perfect placement for each precious board. At this rate there is some hope the pier might be done sometimes this decade.

I will not be going back unless that pier is finished and I see a YouTube or some sort of proof of life in advance. I have had to walk further to dive including a self inflicted death march in full scuba gear in desert heat of half a mile or more up hill both ways in order to get my Nauticam that I forgot in the camel tent. But they only have two or three functioning, barely functioning, plastic toy wagons to haul gear about and people including me hide them about so we can have access to them. One of them, a particularly clunky one, dumped my camera out on the ground breaking the strobe and cable. This was really my fault because I left the padded bag I normally use at home stupidly and thus had to improvise a canvas beach bag that did not fully enclose the rig. However, had they finished the pier like they should have months and months ago, I would not have been using a clunky wagon to tote my gear and camera.

Finish the pier or I will consider that there are other places to scuba dive that are actually much better and less expensive.

 

[Luis H]

I just read that it is supposed to be completed by July (or in July).

Does anyone have any newer pictures?

Thanks


This was in May:

This is what it looked like on the week of May 6, when we arrived.

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This is what it looked like around May 17, close to our departure.


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They made some progress, but they could have been done while we where there.

Once the subcontractor is done with actual decking for the pier, the lockers and the roof should go in fairly quickly, or at least that is what they expect. DIVI didn't seem to have too much control of the speed the subcontractor worked at.

The lockers are supposed to be mostly ready to be installed and that is done by DIVI, not a subcontractor.

I surely hope they are done soon.

 

[ScottsdaleSteve]

I just read that it is supposed to be completed by July (or in July).

I sure hope so. Divi just sent out a newsletter today (June 21) stating "New main dive pier opening this summer". I'll be there August 17, so I'll post pictures (along with angry comments if it ain't done).

Hopefully somebody is there now and can post some current pics.

 

[shopguy]

I took this picture June 3rd. I'll try to remember to take a new picture next time I walk by. I don't think it has changed much, if any -- I walk/run by here a few times a week, and probably would have noticed any big changes.

 

[Luis H]

Thanks for the picture.

Well, the construction scaffolding is gone, so that is some progress.

Now it is up to DIVI, not a subcontractor to get the lockers and the new roof in place. At least that is what I was told. I just hope they have all their permits in place...

I would have hope to see at least some lockers in place by now. The roof probably needs to go up first.

 

[scubadada]

Why are many of you so tied up to Divi Flamingo rather than using another accommodation/operator?