How to avoid urchins on Bonaire night shore dive entries and exits?

[BEM]

We’re planning on going to Bonaire next winter and mainly doing shore diving. We really like evening and night diving and have a few questions that some members may be able to answer:

I know that the entries points are rocky and going in and out in the night could be a problem. I know that urchins come out in the evening and night and we sure don’t want to step on or brush any.

How do divers avoid getting stuck? If it’s rocky, you can’t shuffle your feet and if it’s dark, I’m going to miss seeing one with my light.

Are there a lot of urchins in Bonaire (while in Dominica we saw hundreds on our evening dives off Castle Comfort – if we had to walk in, we would have been in trouble. I know that a 3mm wetsuit is no protection as I got caught in some surge and brushed a top of a wall and got a few spines in my ankle – no fun!)? On all sites? Are there entry and exit points on each dive site that are safer?
Any pointers? (hey, that’s a pun!)

I posted this on the scubadiving site and DocV suggested to wear DUI rock boots. Any other suggestions?

Do people night dive at all the different sites, or just off boats or docks?

 

[D_O_H]

Rock boots (or tough-soled booties) will serve you well on Bonaire because of the rocky shoreline and sometimes rocky entries.

That said, I don't think you need to worry so much about urchins. I did not encounter any urchin trouble on any of our night dives, though we did not do night dives anywhere with difficult entries. We did night dives at town pier (sandy entry, no urchins), salt pier (beach entry with some scattered rocks, don't remember any urchins) and 17 palms in front of our hotel (sandyish entry, no urchins).

So, bottom line is, there are plenty of sites with easy (sandy) entry spots for you to night dive where you should be able to make nice and easy urchin-free entries and exits, even in the dark. This includes what are probably the two most popular night dive spots (town pier and salt pier).

Have a great time in Bonaire - it is probably my favorite place in the world to go diving.

 

[scubaaaronh]

I second everything D O H said. I have a pair of akona hard soles and my wife a pair of mares hard soles and no problems with urchins. We also did the easy entries at night.

 

[sasscuba]

Watch out for the jellyfish at night at the surface. Suffered a really bad sting there last year at the beginning of the dive.

 

[Michael Schlink]

I take an intertube "float". The kind that has a fabric cover that goes over an intertube. It folds flat and packs easy and then I can inflate it when we get to our condo. Then my wife uses the float for stability when getting in and out of the shore dives, plus she puts her camera housing on top unitl she gets out of the "surf" zone, such that it is, in Bonaire.
I would also agree that there are several easy shore dives that can be done at night. I would add the reef in front of Capt. Don's and Buddy's reef. The entry couldn't be any easier at Buddy dive and I have had some phenominal night dives. There can be a fair amount of sea wasps, but they're easy to avoid.
Also Oil Slick has a ladder.

 

[sasscuba]

I take an intertube "float". The kind that has a fabric cover that goes over an intertube. It folds flat and packs easy and then I can inflate it when we get to our condo. Then my wife uses the float for stability when getting in and out of the shore dives, plus she puts her camera housing on top unitl she gets out of the "surf" zone, such that it is, in Bonaire.
I would also agree that there are several easy shore dives that can be done at night. I would add the reef in front of Capt. Don's and Buddy's reef. The entry couldn't be any easier at Buddy dive and I have had some phenominal night dives. There can be a fair amount of sea wasps, but they're easy to avoid.
Also Oil Slick has a ladder.

I got hit by a sea wasp at buddy dive...be careful!

 

[Michael Schlink]

Buddy has lights out on their dock, seawasps are attracted to the light. There are a few simple techniques for exiting the water when wasps are around.