Double reef question

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Nettles

Registered
Messages
16
Reaction score
15
Location
Marblehead MA USA
# of dives
500 - 999
The Bride and I have been diving Bonaire for nearly 30 years, but we are pretty boring in our site selection and typically only hit a dozen or so different ones on a two week trip. A couple of years ago we tried the outside reef somewhere near Alice in Wonderland for the first time and were surprised at the lack of fish activity compared to the inner reef or the inside of the outer reef.

Was this typical? The coral was great and there were some little guys wandering around but nothing compared to what we usually enjoy. I'm wondering if we should try again or if it is usually like that and not really worth the extra swim.
 
The outer reef does tend to have fewer fish overall and plate coral dominates, yet still worth the swim for a change of pace. You never know what you will see. Some things that are more prevalent there than the inner reef could be a school of horse-eye Jack's, mackerel, rainbow runners or big jacks Big lion fish, deeper dwellers like the long nose butterfly fish, or if lucky, candy basslet
 
@Nettles @agd

We haven't been to Bonaire for a while. Angel City and Alice in Wonderland were some of our favorites. I wonder if you can tell us which resorts/dive ops take divers to these sites on a regular basis these days?

Thank you.
 
Of course, the best way to get to these sites on your own schedule is just get in your vehicle, drive down and jump in. No negotiating with boat captains, dive guides or other divers. Frankly, if I were to pay for a boat dive I would want to go to Klein, Bloodlet, Rappel or anywhere else too hard to get to from the shore.

But, back to the topic:

Angel City is a great double reef dive. You can go in at the painted rocks or you can access from a couple of beaches just south of there. You can see the coral nurseries put in by the restoration group right out from the mooring buoy. The top of the outer reef is as shallow as 9 meters/ 30 feet there which allows a long dive. There are coral bridges between the outer and the inner reefs. Sting rays and eagle rays feed in the sand between if you are lucky. The hard corals on the inner reef just south of there between 30 and 50 feet remain amongst the healthiest on the southern reef system. Or you can find the Hilma Hooker anchor chain which has a big loop from the anchor itself and follow it to the Hooker for a low pass by the tarpon and Jack's who are almost always there. Save your Hooker penetration for a dedicated dive where your gas and bottom time allows a full exploration. The deeper outside of the second reef is not that pretty, mostly dead coral, lots of red algae, but a good chance of schools of horse eye Jack's, predatory amber Jack's, barracuda and sizeable grouper. While mostly dead, some of the spectacular structures shelter groups of Margates and snappers, morays, and elusive peppermint or candy bass. Then returning through the shallows, small lumps of coral can reveal juvenile angels doing cleaning duty, hunting golden tail morays surrounded by a squad of coneys, trumpet fish and a young bar jack. Maybe an octopus or sharp tailed eel along the way. Otherwise, a pretty boring dive ( insert irony smiley here).

Alice and Aquarius are excellent too, but my post is already too long.
 
Good reminder to set a compass reciprocal on the outer reef dives. Folks that don't pay attention to their nav on these dives have been fooled into thinking that the slope up means they are headed East when in fact they are headed West.
 
@Nettles @agd

We haven't been to Bonaire for a while. Angel City and Alice in Wonderland were some of our favorites. I wonder if you can tell us which resorts/dive ops take divers to these sites on a regular basis these days?

Thank you.

I can tell you that Dive Friends boats only go to Klein and North: sites like rappel that aren't diveable from shore.
 

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