First try at roll call thread for BON - February 2018

[oregondiver]

Anyone want to join us for far northern sites this week? Need to check roads first once it dries out for a few days. The roads may be better then Slagbaai but not much. And if sSlagbaai is closed...then it would be really rough going...

 

[agd]

Update on Bonaire water temperature:

Surface temperature may be 80, depending on where you are, but my computer downloads have shown minimum temperatures during the dives every day over the last three weeks to be mostly 77F, occasionally 78F. I believe it is very accurate. Anecdotally, I start feeling chilled an hour into each dive wearing a well used 3mm two piece wetsuit, whereas I do not at 79-80F.

Andy

 

[BFRedrocks]

Just returned from a week in Bonaire. I concur with agd on the temps...a bit on the chilly side. I dive with a BlueBuddy data logger that has shown to be very accurate with temps, and it was reading 77 deg F on every dive as the minimum temp, with our one dive at 1000 steps showing a brief drop to 76. I ended up wearing a 3 mm core warmer plus a Fourth Element Thermocline top and bottom to stay comfortable. I'd get a bit cold at around the 45 minute mark, but it was do-able. My wife dove in a DUI 30/30 tropical drysuit, and while she was mocked a bit at the beginning of the trip, a lot of folks, and virtually every DM and instructor, were hoping she would leave it behind so they could use it when she was gone.

Viz was a bit lower than we remembered from our previous trip...I estimated about 50-60 feet for most dives, although the shallows of 1000 steps were so surged up when we dove there Friday that it felt more like 10-15 feet at the end of the dive. Good variety of marine life...saw most fish species typical of the Caribbean, but I did not see one single turtle or octopus, which was odd. Also, we only saw one lionfish the whole trip, and it was interesting to note that every restaurant we went to that has lionfish on the menu, didn't have any to serve, which overall is probably a good thing for the area, but darn it, I really wanted lionfish sushi again from the Osaka Restaurant.

I was sick most of the week and couldn't clear beyond about 22 feet except during the first and last days of the trip, but I still had a good time with lots of usable photos, some amazing sunsets, and a bunch more great memories. We'll be back there in a couple of years I'm sure.

 

[oregondiver]

It was almost 5 degrees colder than normal. Temps held steady at 77 degrees. I went from standard swimsuit to a 1 mil thermal top. The night dive (in a 2/3 mil wetsuit) was freakin freezing. Saw maybe 3 turtles total the entire trip. Only 22 dives that week (colder temps and a day off due to sunburn) instead of usual 25 or so. I was so focused on how cold water was, I forgot head protection for topside when packing.....

 

[agd]

It gets worse! This week Playa Frans was 76.6, Boca Slaagbai 75.4 and yesterday Karpata was a very chilly 74.8. Big swell, surge and poor visibility at the northern sites for the past few days. The southern reefs were better 77-78 and 50-70 foot vis. Today, 1000 Steps was OK deeper, 77 degrees, but the shallows were still very murky in swirling sand.

Andy

 

[darook]

It gets worse! This week Playa Frans was 76.6, Boca Slaagbai 75.4 and yesterday Karpata was a very chilly 74.8. Big swell, surge and poor visibility at the northern sites for the past few days. The southern reefs were better 77-78 and 50-70 foot vis. Today, 1000 Steps was OK deeper, 77 degrees, but the shallows were still very murky in swirling sand.

Andy

Those are starting to sound like Hawaii temps! The winds that have brought the sargassum must have brought cold water too.

 

[gert7to3]

I always bring a 1.5mm or 2mm hooded vest.I t will really help when a 2-3mm suit doesn't quite fill the bill.

 

[Couv]

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