Going to Capt Don's Jan 14-23

[chicagofish]

Hello all...

Longtime lurker, occasional poster here.

I'm going to Bonaire in January. I booked it last summer, and now it's getting real. I know most of the basics...hard-soled boots, don't leave anything in your car, don't leave valuables around in the room, no washcloths, tap water is okay to drink, US dollars get guilders in change, etc.

Very excited, but I have some practical questions.

Here's one...are there public laundry facilities at Capt. Don's Habitat? I want to save room in my luggage for dive gear.

Also, do they rent BCs with integrated weights? I love those.

But this is the biggie...I'm traveling solo. I consider myself an intermediate diver. I have a card that says "advanced" but I have under 100 dives. Good chance I'll hit 100 on this trip though.

I'm already scheduled for boat dives, but that leaves a lot of time for unscheduled dives.

What's the best way to find buddies? Should I post here and see who's around on the same dates? Should I wait til I get there and just hang around the shop and see who needs a buddy? Or glom on to other buddies and ask to go as a trio? Are there group shore dives, scheduled or otherwise?

I wasn't planning to rent a car, but if I had buddies I'd totally rent to hit other sites.

I'm very excited about the "unlimited" diving, but I'm limited by my solo-ness.

I will be Nitrox cert before I go to Bonaire, and I dive without a computer...My goal is 100 dives before I buy a computer, so I'm a little conservative.

Suggestions?

Thanks, all!

-Amanda

 

[boat sju]

Buy a computer. The shore dives are basically all multilevel dives. It's easy to do a 100 ft dive and end up with an hour total bottom time. And no you don't have to go to 100 ft, the reef typically starts at about 25 ft and nicely slopes down to 100 +

You can find buddies here, at Capt. Don's or maybe even at the dive sites if you're sociable.

 

[chicagofish]

I may rent a computer locally before I go. Obviously I want to buy eventually...my least favorite part of diving is the paperwork. But I really do want to have the experience of 100 dives before I commit to the purchase.

Thanks for the buddy info...I guess I could meet people on the boat dive who want to shore dive later! I can be sociable! Sure!

 

[boat sju]

Whatever you end up doing make sure you at least try a few shore dives somehow. That's what Bonaire is known for and I guarantee you'll love it. I mean away from Capt Don's house reef - you could probably spend the week diving right there but you owe it to yourself to see some of the other sights. Capt. Don's is perfect for night diving too.

 

[Jersey]

Amanda - Not sure about laundry facilities, but pack 1/2 as many clothes as you think you need. You'll spend most time in a bathing suit & street clothes can be worn a couple times. Now I do bring about 7 bathing suits and may go through 3 per day...I hate sitting in wet bathing suit & a quick rinse and jump in the pool helps keep them wearable during the week. (Chlorine kills lots!)
-To find buddies, ask folks. We 'adopted' a newly-certified solo traveler last trip - took him on his first night dive, my DM/buddy worked with him on all kinds of skills ~ bouyancy, air consumption, boat diving skills. Ask at the shop as well, they may know of someone else solo-ing or a group to glom onto. I enjoy diving as a party of 3. Most shore dives are indepenent of the resort.
-Invest in that computer, or rent one before you leave and make sure you understand how to use it. Once heard a diver complain about all the "noises" her new computer was making after she bounced down 100+ feet merely to say she had been to 100+. That 'noise' was the computer screaming at her to SLOW her ascent. ESPECIALLY since you will be doing multiple dives over consecutive days, at least I hope you are, and Bonaire diving is so easy & enjoyable you can easily stretch out dives well over an hour given the typical shallow descent/ascent ~ kind of hard to do without a 'puter updating your profile constantly.
-I think guilders are no more - US$$ became the official currency. I'll kind of miss having to do conversions in my head.
-Try the Boka Stoba @ Capt Don's ~ local beef stew and yummy! Good pizza there as well. Walkable is Chat and Browse, a local drug/convenience/liquor store and Lovers Ice Cream in the strip mall right in front of Sand Dollar. Lovers ~ not to be missed for the ice cream addict!
Hope this helps.

 

[DiverVince]

Chicagofish..The very best way to find buddies is to be sociable on the dive boat trips! Just bring a smile & a sense of adventure and you'll have no problems. Enjoy your trip!

 

[vann evans]

there is a nice laundry next to the stadium in downtown Kralendijk. You can do it yourself with coin operated machines or they will do it for you. they charge by weight. We took some in and it weighed 2.5 kg and it cost 11.50 guilders(about $7) and it was ready the next day.

Shore dives are the way to go in Bonaire. Once you do a couple of boat dives or go to the afternoon cocktail hours, you will meet lots of people-they quickly can become dive buddies.

Have fun.

Vann Evans
Sand Dollar A4

 

[Damselfish]

I may rent a computer locally before I go. Obviously I want to buy eventually...my least favorite part of diving is the paperwork. But I really do want to have the experience of 100 dives before I commit to the purchase.

Not sure why 100 dives would be a magic number to wait for before buying a dive computer. If you're going to buy one sometime, and are about to go on a trip where it would be very useful and you will be renting one, I think now would be a good time to buy. Start saving money on rentals now. A basic Nitrox capable computer (which you should get even if you don't currently dive Nitrox) is not that expensive. If you decide down the road you really want something fancier, it's good to have a backup anyway on dive intensive trips.

If this is a 1 week trip, you really shouldn't need to do laundry. Like many/most divers I take all my gear. I've never found a need to do laundry even on a 2 week dive trip. Only on a 2 week trip that is mixed with a fair amount of non-diving stuff. You'll need less clothes than you're thinking and sounds like you should should have room for plenty, since you're talking about renting a BC which is the bulkiest thing. (You might just contact Captain Don's and ask about the BCs, but you'll probably find WI BCs somewhat uncommon as rentals. They generally cost more and the pockets can get lost.) Taking plenty of bathing suits is a good idea.

Boat dives are definitely a good place to find buddies for later shore dives. Also any kind of managers cocktail party or general hanging around at the bar.

 

[DeputyDan]

In all honesty - my first dive trip to Bonaire was where I realized that a computer is nice.
After the second days diving - the tables said we were DEAD. Well not really but you get the point.

Purchase a computer and take the time to actually inderstand how it works and what it is telling you and you won't be sorry you made the purchase!

 

[Pesce Leone]

We'll be going to bonaire a few weeks after you so id be nice to hear how things went for U!

The 1st thing me and my wife bought when we finished our OW (last year) was a memodigit (not divecomp but real cheap!) which at least helped us with ascending and deph... we soon saw that knowing your no-dec time was vital for making multiple dives, unless (using the graphs) you prefer doing just really shallow dives...

I gave my wife a Sunto Viper, it was expensive (for my income) but worth every Eurocent
My birthday next week, lets hope she'll return the favour and get me a Gallileo...I'm not holding my breath thought those thingz really do cost an arm and a leg

The memodigit will be a backup when we both have a DC

have fun!