Is there a theft risk at Buddy Dive???

[ScubaSteve]

Plus we all have one more reason to avoid Charlotte

 

[pilot fish]

Plus we all have one more reason to avoid Charlotte

That works for me Don't let the glorious Charlotte sunshine warm your booty. The Queen City will just have to struggle on without you and Baby Bear Cub.

 

[pilot fish]

From another thread- trip report on Bonaire. It is so sad. There is nothing that seems safe on that island. Divers need to unite and stop getting ripped off.


"Crime: Yeah, its a problem. After reading some other posts about this, I e-mailed the place I was staying (Coco Palm) a few days before I arrived and they never returned my e-mail. When my rental truck was delivered, they asked if I wanted insurance. They explained the gas thieving problem. I declined the insurance, and sure enough, a couple of days before I left, my gas was siphoned out while my car was parked at night in front of the place I was staying (Luna Azul, I think was the name of the unit). The truck rental people actually warned me to not fill up so I wouldn't lose a whole tank (gas is like 3-4 times more expensive down there vs the States). Fortuneately, they just siphoned the gas. I had to pay $30 for someone to come out, check the truck out and put a couple of gallons in the tank (which was on top of the $30). Often, they cut the gas line, and then the charge is $90 plus gas (unless you have insurance). I asked someone who worked at Coco Palm if I should park somewhere else and he suggested around the corner, where one of the residents had some dogs that barked at strangers. The next day, I went to get my car and saw that someone else's car was on cinderblocks with all the wheels missing. I confirmed later in the day that it was indeed a case of thievery."

 

[DiverVince]

That works for me Don't let the glorious Charlotte sunshine warm your booty. The Queen City will just have to struggle on without you and Baby Bear Cub.

Pilot Fish..I do believe that most of the folks on this thread who love Bonaire as I do feel the same way towards you. Glorious Charlotte?? Jeepers I think you may have been drinking too much Kool Aid..

Another 4 weeks for me till I again have the pleasure of setting foot on the island that rightly bills itself as "Diver's Paradise". I can't wait and always count the days till I can return. Hopefully you feel the same way about Charlotte that I feel for Bonaire! But between you and me, I really do doubt it.

 

[robint]

What's not fair is the singling out of Bonaire for disdain and finger-pointing when the "problem" is just as prevalent everywhere else in the world, including the finger-pointers' own back yards.
As for size, I mentioned in an earlier post that the Blackbeard's crew was able to devote the manpower to uncover a petty thief on a boat with 20 folks on board who couldn't go anywhere else, as they were at sea. It wasn't an instant find, though.
While it is tempting to put an island with only a few thousand folks in the same category as a boat at sea... as a practical matter of manpower required to catch petty thieves I can tell you from experience on larger vessels that once you get past a few hundred folks you may as well be dealing with a million. It is individual effort that must prevail, with the police to back you up should things turn nasty.
Rick

Woah there, Rick, I was on your side. The only point I was trying to make is that your comparison of crime in Charlotte to Bonaire was silly.

I am a huge fan of Bonaire and intend to go back. Go back and read ALL my posts!

 

[ncchuck]

It seem to me that Papa Bear went on and on about the problem you had on Fiji Sure you didn't blame Fiji. But you did warn people not to use the resort owner as I remember (I'm old so my memory is fading). All we are doing is warning people that Bonaire appears to have more petty theft problems than many places and the officials don't appear to be doing anything about it.
I'm certainly not a Bonaire hater and I certainly don't have any other property or dive operations on any other island. I like Bonaire a lot. I will likely visit again if the reputation improves. I like just about everything on Bonaire except the poor service in the restaurants and the petty theft.

Those of us that are pointing out problems aren't blaming any of the dive operators, tour operators, hotels, apartments, restaurants, the divers or even the rental companies for these issues. We are just saying there are problems and no one seems to take them seriously. They are so easily solved. Pick up just a few of these theives and punish them and others would soon get the message on such a small island. This isn't rocket science.

Still no one has answered my questions about the laws on minors and I know that was certainly the issue several years ago. There was no way to punish minors for petty theft.

I don't have a definition for petty theft and frankly I don't care if it's a t-shirt that gets taken. It's still theft and we shouldn't put up with it. Someone complained about my poor choice of words when I said valuables shouldn't be left in the truck. What is value to one may not be to another. My wallet, my passport, my t shirt, the resorts spare tanks, my shoes, my watch, my prescription glasses are all valuable. I'm sure some will chime in and say these things should be in my truck. Sure, have my gas stolen and I don't have any money. Have an accident and don't have your passport or drivers license. Have my glasses taken and I have no way to drive back to the resort. This is just rediculous. My time wasted calling for a tow truck to replace gas that was stolen is valueable to me.

 

[ScubaSteve]

That works for me Don't let the glorious Charlotte sunshine warm your booty. The Queen City will just have to struggle on without you and Baby Bear Cub.

I am glad we agree on something about vacations . I am sure Charlotte will survive without us......well at least the people that survive the night and do not get mugged and raped overnight or shot in a drive by shooting.....oh sorry....I started rattling on about how terrible a place is without really knowing first hand. I guess it is contagious.

 

[ScubaSteve]

you are so right, Bonaire is a pea and Charlotte is a melon. No comparison, but it makes people think they will be alright on Bonaire with this bogus comparison. Charlotte is improving, as you correctly stated, Bonaire is the same and has been for 20 or so years. I hear it is even getting worse. A note on Charlotte crime, it is confined to a small area of the uptown area and does not exist in those numbers in South Charlotte. BOTTOM LINE, AVOID DIVING HERE, AS YOU SHOULD BONAIRE, AND FOR THE SAME REASON

All we are doing is warning people that Bonaire appears to have more petty theft problems

It would appear as though not everybody is on the same anti-Bonaire page as you. You may just be warning......others, as always, are doing as much as possible to scare people away from going to Bonaire at all.

 

[Papa_Bear]

It seem to me that Papa Bear went on and on about the problem you had on Fiji Sure you didn't blame Fiji. But you did warn people not to use the resort owner as I remember (I'm old so my memory is fading). All we are doing is warning people that Bonaire appears to have more petty theft problems than many places and the officials don't appear to be doing anything about it.
I'm certainly not a Bonaire hater and I certainly don't have any other property or dive operations on any other island. I like Bonaire a lot. I will likely visit again if the reputation improves. I like just about everything on Bonaire except the poor service in the restaurants and the petty theft.

Those of us that are pointing out problems aren't blaming any of the dive operators, tour operators, hotels, apartments, restaurants, the divers or even the rental companies for these issues. We are just saying there are problems and no one seems to take them seriously. They are so easily solved. Pick up just a few of these theives and punish them and others would soon get the message on such a small island. This isn't rocket science.

Still no one has answered my questions about the laws on minors and I know that was certainly the issue several years ago. There was no way to punish minors for petty theft.

I don't have a definition for petty theft and frankly I don't care if it's a t-shirt that gets taken. It's still theft and we shouldn't put up with it. Someone complained about my poor choice of words when I said valuables shouldn't be left in the truck. What is value to one may not be to another. My wallet, my passport, my t shirt, the resorts spare tanks, my shoes, my watch, my prescription glasses are all valuable. I'm sure some will chime in and say these things should be in my truck. Sure, have my gas stolen and I don't have any money. Have an accident and don't have your passport or drivers license. Have my glasses taken and I have no way to drive back to the resort. This is just rediculous. My time wasted calling for a tow truck to replace gas that was stolen is valueable to me.

You have warned them to death and blown a small problem into a mountain! One quot was about leaving your reg in the truck! What are you diving with it in your truck? Why would you bring your reg and not be using it? If you think it is such a problem then lay in wait and ambush these guys for us! Problem is you might be waiting a long time as the problem is small and unique to Bonaire! Where else will you be parking a rental truck with tanks in it on the coast and expecting them to be there when you get back! If you want a real problem checkout Hawaii! Now there is where your car will be stolen! Your gear ripped off, your windows broken in a parking lot in the US! All the police do is take a report! Sometimes this happens while your watching! It happens to everyone not just divers! Both of you have taken this to a Rubicon! And it flies in the face of thousands who go and have a great time!

And yes I warned people about ONE operator! Not Fiji, Not the Islands, not the Fijians!

 

[DeputyDan]

Having dove both.

Crime in Hawaii is 10X worse than Boanire!