Jr Divers and down current

[wateraddiction]

We plan on getting our young kids certified in Bonaire this December, although last night I went down an alarming wormhole reading on down currents in Cozumel in the Accidents/Near Misses/Deaths forum. Parents are both novice divers and while we just returned from Coz, I'm not confident that I could calmly handle any of those down current situations I read about if my kids were involved (swim towards the wall then crawl up or swim away from the wall to escape current and ascend in the blue).

My question: my plan now is to have the kids only dive the house reef at Bari from the Sand Dollar/DFB pier after they're certified (I think cert will take 4 days) with the idea that this is a relatively low-risk diving environment with enough visual interest to give them a positive first dive trip experience. We're only there for 7 nights and I'm not sure if this conservative plan will backfire and make for a boring trip for them. Am I being overly cautious given that Bonaire isn't known for current or rough water (with the exception of Southern sites and East)?

 

[johndiver999]

I don’t know Bonaire, but I bet the kids will have a great time doing the easy sites. Just don’t tell them they are missing out by not going to more challenging sites. I think it helps to explain to them that most creatures in the Ocean are smaller than an ant. They need to go super slow and spend time looking for the little things. That should keep than more than busy for a week.

 

[ScottsdaleSteve]

Your kids will NOT be bored diving house reefs on the west side! As new divers, they'll think it's absolute paradise. West side of Bonaire is the lowest-risk, calmest, clearest diving I've ever seen anywhere, period. Usually zero or negligible current, so you should be able to swim south or north on any given dive, giving you plenty of ground to cover. The phrase "down current" doesn't exist in the dive vocabulary in Bonaire (at least on the west side). After 10 trips there, I still love squeezing in extra shore dives off the house reef at Divi in between boat dives. This is a typical day at the Divi dock...

 

[RIHappyDiver]

We have stayed at Dem Laman for the past two years. Most of our dives have been Bari, simply out of ease, and are always happy with it. You’ll also be able to get a better feel for other sites by the time they finish.
The other thing Bari provides for new divers is confidence.
Have a great time!

Erik

 

[boulderjohn]

The infamous down currents on Cozumel are extremely rare--probably 99.9999% of the people who dive there have never experienced one. I have hundreds of dives on Cozumel and have never been near any current like that. They are caused by the unusual topography of the area the shifting current. Bonaire does not have that topography.

 

[justinthedeeps]

Tell the guides no currents please. They should know.

Downcurrents tend to be factor where there is already a current or tide running, and there are often obvious signs when this is occurring like: whitecaps, tide rips, swirly waters, water flowing against a fixed boat/anchor line/piling/rock etc.

Underwater downslope riptides can occur on beach dives during high surf and/or strong tide changes.

Never force a dive in questionable conditions. Explains many accidents and incidents!

 

[NDL_Diver]

Bonaire should not have ANY down current.
I was in a downcurrent in Cozumel. Very freaky feeling of your bubbles are going down giving you the feeling as if you are going up but in reality you are rapidly going down. Down current happens when current flows over a the top of the wall causing a "waterfall" of current flowing down the side of the wall.

Bonaire has no true walls that the bottom is 100's of feet deep. Bonaire dives are sloped. Impossible to have down current in the sense of bring dragged down. You are hovering 5 feet from bottom on a slope, not a 90 deg wall. (Yes there is a small wall dive site but it is really small wall and not very deep).

 

[shopguy]

Cozumel is special and there is a reason you don't shore dive that area (other than house reef type dives). The current ranges from strong to stronger most of the year.

Bonaire is more like swimming in a lake 97% of the time, at least on the West Coast. The other 3% of the time there are plenty of signs -- huge surf/surge, wind going the "wrong way" (out of the west), and instead of divers all over the place, almost nobody out.

After the house reefs -- takes the kids down the southwest coast, pick a spot with plenty of other divers around, the water will look calmer than many large lakes, and enjoy. If worried or unsure about currents, just wait and ask one of the many divers that will be coming out of the water as you gear up. Worst case, you'll get a little long shore current and just have to exit 100 yards from your entry and walk back to your truck along the pedestrian friendly road. At least in the southwest, pretty easy to exit anywhere -- the northwest, you will want to be careful, currents aren't more likely, but some spots are harder to exit.

 

[jwilson05]

We just returned from two weeks in Bonaire with a brand new 70 year old diver. We did 17 of our 24 dives on Bari reef because of the new diver and had a great time. Twilight dives at Bari are as fishy and fun as any dives we’ve done. Having done hundreds of dives in Cozumel, Bonaire is the best place we’ve seen for new divers to get lots of hours underwater and gain confidence. You all will have a blast!

 

[happy-diver]

last night I went down an alarming wormhole reading on down currents in Cozumel in the Accidents/Near Misses/Deaths forum.

a very definitely unhealthy wormhole to find yourself good only for those with a curiosity for morbid fiction

So have you found another wormhole, busy with the kids