Is there a theft risk at Buddy Dive???

[Waterskier1]

Almost every place I have dove there are one or two accounts of them being victims of crime on Bonaire, having to pay for spare tires robbed from their rental vehicles, a break-in at their resort, windows broken on rentals, gear taken from balconey, handyman theft while they were in a different room and the list goes on. Add to that I know friends that have had the same experience, dive buds I have met on trips, members of THIS board that have reported those bad experiences and members of other boards with the same reports, plus dive shops that will not go back there because of the crime, you begin to get the picture, you begin to see a patern.:shocked2: Well some of us do.

You do the math

In order to "do the math" I need numbers. Accurate numbers or estimates backed up by industry acceptable statistical valid procedures. Tell me how many total divers have visited Bonaire in a fixed period of time. Tell me how many of those rented a vehicle. Then tell me how many of the above groups had items stole from or windows broken in those rented vehicles during the same period of time. Now, how many followed the rental agency requirement that the windows be left down and nothing of value be left in the truck when diving. How many people rented houses during that time, how many had break in of those that rented. How many were home when it happened. How many people of all the visitors were physically harmed or personally threatened? How many were killed (by a thief/robber - not a diving accident)? If you could supply those quantified numbers, then I could "do the math". And I could then compare it to where you live (which has already been done in a previous thread, and found that your city had more crime in one day than what Bonaire is even thought to have - especially major crime).

Previously you stated that you had no problems on the only trip you made to Bonaire. But, you had talked to someone at another dive location who did. Since that time, you have jumped on every thread in this forum you could, relentlessly spouting "facts" of crime with no substantiation other than hearsay. It certainly appears you have an ax to grind, or some other agenda.

I hope anyone considering taking pipe fish's advise would do a search on his user name in this forum and read his previous rantings.

 

[Waterman1]

ok...I think we may be getting a little off topic here...How about helping each other out and giving some items on how we help protect our dive gear from theft - Its obvious this is a heated item - but lets give some good ideas to help all of us out, no mater where we dive in the world....

What are some interesting ways or security products that you folks use to safeguard your gear? I posted a link a few pages back of some items that I have come across - You guys must be doing something else.

 

[DiverVince]

Oly..Bonaire is without a doubt one of the safest islands I've ever had the pleasure to visit during my 30 years traveling the Carib. I used to own on St Croix in the 80's..Now that's crime and I'm not talking about petty little stuff. Do the words "Fountain Valley" mean anything to you?
Roatan, fuhgettabout it. We were at Fantasy Island during the first Gulf War. Would never return.

 

[SubMariner]

One thing a diver can do to remain safe is avoid places that have a police force that continually does not provide the proper protection against crimes on divers. If you keep hearing the same types of crimes against divers, YEAR AFTER YEAR AFTER YEAR, good chance nothing is being done to solve the problems and may even involve the so called protectors in the crime itself.

Ok, how's this for a FACT:

We have been to Bonaire at least 12 times over the past 8 years with anywhere from just the two of us to a party of 6. We have met & dove with people there. Never once had a problem. Oh, and we stayed at Buddy's.

Diving on any populated island runs the risk of crime. It's unfortunate, but it seems that there is always someone that figures it's easier to steal from a tourist than make an honest living. Actually, this applies to any urban area on the planet. Bonaire is no exception.

If you want horror stories I can tell you some good ones from when we ran our sail/dive charter out of New Providence (Nassau). However, I have yet to see anyone putting up posts about the problems THERE.

Is there crime on Bonaire. Yes. Can you do something to make yourself less of a target? Yes.

Next!

Time to move on, PF.

 

[Rick Murchison]

That is the way to do shore dives, I think, in Bonaire. That's the only safe and sane way to shore dive there. Yes, there is some crime on other islands but none have the rep that Bonaire has, AND IT'S ALWAYS THE SAME CRIMES,YEAR AFTER YEAR Nothing is being done about it:depressed:

It's the way to do shore dives most anywhere in the world, PF.
Yes, there's crime everywhere.
Thefts (and attempted thefts) I've experienced:
House broken into: guns, stereo gear & cameras stolen - California
Kid tried to rip my Rolex right off my wrist, unsuccessfully - Philippines
Car broken into: Tape deck & tapes stolen - Alabama
Pickpocket attempts (none successful) - Kenya, Philippines, Thailand, Hong Kong, Belgium, California, New York, Italy (damn near every day), England, Singapore...
Short-change attempts: Italy (damn near every day)
Even had one of my divers robbed at sea on a Blackbeard's cruise (talk about a stupid thief - only 20 folks on the boat, & a quick search unearthed the perp, & Blackbeard's threw him off the boat as soon as they could make port).
You will note the glaring absence of Bonaire on this list.
Does that keep me away from any of those places? No! There are petty thieves everywhere. If you travel, you must take reasonable precautions (like always counting your change in Italy, carrying your money in a front pocket in Olongapo and on Bugis Street, and not leaving valuables in an unwatched vehicle on Bonaire) to avoid being a victim.
As places go - and I've been to a few - I'd rate Bonaire as one of the safest, best overall places I like to go.
Rick

 

[Malene]

Fair enough question, malene. The answer is, for every 10 posters like you and What me Worry, herman, that don't inform divers on issues there, there has to be 1 poster like me that will give a realitic view of Bonaire. An informed diver is a safe diver. If all divers know of Bonaire is what they read in the travel brochures, ads for car rentals and What me Worry herman has to say about Bonaire, they won't have balanced info before they head that way.

PF: how can you say YOUR view is realistic, and not the others's? I think that most divers know about Bonaire through travel brochures maybe, but mostly through forums like this one. Any destination described by travel brochures is idyllic, not just Bonaire! So Internet and forums are now the best source of information for dive destination, dive centers, etc...
When going to Bonaire, you are told not to leave valuables in your car but this is true of every touristic places, everywhere in the world. The theft risk exists but it is not that bad and certainly not enough to stop people going there.

 

[oly5050user]

Oly..Bonaire is without a doubt one of the safest islands I've ever had the pleasure to visit during my 30 years traveling the Carib. I used to own on St Croix in the 80's..Now that's crime and I'm not talking about petty little stuff. Do the words "Fountain Valley" mean anything to you?
Roatan, fuhgettabout it. We were at Fantasy Island during the first Gulf War. Would never return.

Yes Fountain Valley is where the local "black power" group -sorta like the black panthers in the US during the late 60's early 70's-killed like 7 or 8 tourist people on a golf course.
Totally agree.. we are back on Bonaire April 17th.I have a group from NY with me.Some of the group have been there before and some are newbies.Already invited to a locals home for a birthday party.Their little girl turns 3 yo.
Its all good.

 

[Martha]

ok...I think we may be getting a little off topic here...How about helping each other out and giving some items on how we help protect our dive gear from theft - Its obvious this is a heated item - but lets give some good ideas to help all of us out, no mater where we dive in the world....

What are some interesting ways or security products that you folks use to safeguard your gear? I posted a link a few pages back of some items that I have come across - You guys must be doing something else.

My husband and I have never used any security products to safeguard our gear. We put our stuff out on the balcony or patio to dry, only if we're going to be around to watch it, otherwise we put it inside our room and then always lock up the room (including windows) when we're not there. We've never had a problem in our five trips to Bonaire.

 

[skynscuba]

DC 53..the issue of crime on Bonaire gets magnified at least 100 fold on these threads. Use common sense. We've been going to Bonaire for over 25 years & in all that time had a knapsack lifted out of our car which contained a dirty towel & chap stick! Just use common sense and don't leave your Rolex on the car seat when the vehicle is unoccupied.
When looking for advice, ask those who have the real experience on the island.

I don't think that it is magnified 100x. My first trip there, my truck was "tossed" three times at dive sites. Twice nothing was taken, but the other time the car battery was stolen -- I don't think I could have "taken that with me" or left it in the hotel safe. Also stolen were some cheap plastic sunglasses purchased for that purpose.

 

[pilot fish]

Previously you stated that you had no problems on the only trip you made to Bonaire. But, you had talked to someone at another dive location who did.

Actually,waterskiier that was a post from What Me Worry claiming to know me from years ago, or something like that. Also, I didn't just talk to one person that fell victim of crime on Bonaire but heard that from more than a dozen divers in different locatons in my travels around the dive world. In addition to that, I've heard and read many accounts of crime from victims on THIS and other boards. You may chose to pay no heed to that, or even not to believe them, but you do that at your own peril. I believe them, and also my dive buds who told me.

The main reason you can't do the math is because Bonaire does not want you to do the math, WHICH IS WHY THEY DO NOT PUBLISH ANY CRIME FIGURES. It really comes down to a personal choice. You have the freedom to do what you want, whichi s what the criminals on Bonaire are hoping for.