How far apart are the dive sites?

[gbf]

Le Ma Se...

 

[Jersey]

Le Ma Se...

Thank you! Fingers please reconnect with brain, was thinking "Norman" and "Le" at the same time. He will chat your ear off, lovely man, great milkshakes as he will tell you.

 

[gbf]

Yea. If you want to have a conversation with Norman just say "hi" . Then be quiet.

 

[scuba41girl]

Here's the other thing about lunch at Buddy Dive.

There are only a few options on the menu. Big issue for me, since I'd get bored easily of the same thing day in & day out.

First day on the island hit the supermarket, before you even do your dive briefing. If you have reusable grocery bags at home, bring a few with you so you don't have to buy bags there. Get a few days of lunch meat & bread and some munchies, and a case of bottled water. DO NOT throw away your water bottles. When they get empty, fill them 3/4 full and then throw them in the freezer. When you leave to go dive, bring your frozen water bottles. While you do dive 1, they will start to thaw. While you do dive 2, the rest will thaw. You'll have nice cold water to hydrate with between dives. I also bring a few bottles of warm water to rinse off my face after a dive. I usually buy too much water and end up giving some away before I leave.

There are some good places to eat on the island, most you can eat within view of your truck. I've left my rebreather and gear in the truck while I eat lunch on many occasions, I do keep an eye on it as much as possible. Don't bring extra stuff when you dive, you don't need a phone or wallet. 7 trips to the island and I've never had anything stolen. I bring cheap sunglasses (<$10 a pair) and if someone needs them more than I do, so be it. Apparently they can spot cheap sunglasses because they've never been stolen.

Have fun! I can't wait to get back on the island!

Thanks for the tip about the water. I drink a ton of it and like to rinse off.

 

[scuba41girl]

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate the insight! We are staying away form the meal plan. One more question. I am instructor and I am going with newly certified friends. As much as I will watch over them, I want to be able to enjoy myself. We are planning to hire a dive master for the week. Does anyone have any recommendations for a personable dive master?

 

[Jersey]

I've not used them personally but I hear really, really good things about VIP diving. Check out their site - Home - VIP Diving Bonaire . I also see one of my favorite dive mistresses works there ~ Marianne was very helpful during my early trips to Bonaire. (Another option is Bas Tol, but he tends more toward West-wild side stuff.)

Are you doing any boat dives at Buddy? Was in the same position a few years back, bringing my newly certified brother and nephew with us. The DM's on the boats were above and beyond helpful, offering (in a very constructive manner) tips with gear, weighting, keeping an eye on the new kids, checking in to make sure all was good. Their boat policy is 2 guides in the water - one at front and one at rear. Gave me a bit more comfort as I'm just another diver (my buddy is the dive pro). We did let guides know we had a couple newbies.

I think it's a great idea to bring someone along for a dive or two, not sure you'll need a whole week. The diving is easy, by the end of the week the newbies had done boat, deep, wreck, multiple night dives, fluorescent (they loved it, I did not) and were Nitrox certified. You really don't need to exceed 40-60 feet to see most stuff, strong currents are rare, I've never seen a down current, don't need much navigation - swim to reef, check current, swim into current until air or time limit reached, turn dive. If you overshoot entry, someone walks a bit to truck. As long as your newbies have basic skills, all good.

Don't overlook diving the Buddy house reef, especially with new divers. I think repetition and familiarization help develop confidence. Many times we'll do an afternoon/after lunch dive and have the reef to ourselves. Everyone else is out shore diving, especially after the first day or 2. Ropes run from docks out to reef, if you follow the rope, you end up right where you started. Take Buddy reef north and in about 45 FSW you'll come across the overturned La Machaca. Makes a natural turn point. Look up and under the bow, know to house resident grouper or eel. Depending on current and speed of your divers, can be about 15 - 30 minutes one way. Come back up along the shoulder of the reef, about 30 FSW, nice off-gas period. It's about as benign as a dive can get and still one of my favorites. Makes a great night dive.

 

[Lorenzoid]

To echo what Jersey said, Bonaire diving is perfect for newly certified divers. For a boat dive, maybe hire a divemaster for a few dives. But for a shore dive, you simply swim out to the dropoff, make a mental note of some feature, such as an unusual formation, turn left or right depending on the current or your preference, maintain an agreed-upon depth along the slope until someone in the group signals to turn around, and you swim back the other way until you reach where you started. Easy peasy for even the most brain-dead diver. There's rarely any current to fight, and the currents do not tend to sweep you out to sea. There are few things that can get one into difficulty. The entry and exit are the only parts of the dive that require any finesse. Even if you miss your intended exit and end up nearby, it's not a big problem at most sites.

 

[Trailboss123]

Another option is Bas Tol, but he tends more toward West-wild side stuff

I think you meant the Wild East side of the island.

 

[darook]

Years ago when I and my family were newly minted OW divers I had the same concern about a DM in the water with us. After a couple of boat dives just to make sure everyone was cool we started shore diving on our own and really didn't look back. As everyone has said, it is really easy and trickiest portion depending on the site is the entrance or exit. If you don't like the look of the entrance at a site pick a different one. Their difficulty will vary based on wave height and direction. Typically, the wave heights on the West side are pretty small particularly in town where there is next to no waves.

Just remember, when you guys are going entering the regulator goes into your mouth before you step in and stays there until you have fins on and have established positive buoyancy on the surface. When exiting, it stays in your mouth until you are out of the water. Doing that will alleviate any issues if you fall over and are not able to get your head out of the water right away. Ask me how I know!

 

[choiahoy]

+1 on the advice you're getting.

I'm sure you can hire a guide for your required check-out dive on the house reef. That might be a good introduction to Bonaire shore diving.