March 2015 trip report

[wwguy]

OT: swivel or elbow? What kind? Do you like it/reliable (if swivel)?

I know this wasn't directed at me, but I wanted to add my $0.02 anyway. We discovered Seacure molded mouthpieces 15 years ago, which helped greatly with fighting the hose-pull on our regulators. I switched to Atomic with integrated swivel a few years ago and it's a game changer from perspective of jaw fatigue, especially for extended dives like we enjoy on Bonaire. I can't believe it took me this long to get smart and I'll never look back. Next up are double-braided flexible regulator hoses.
Eventually I hope to go wireless.

 

[AdivingBel]

That's a special kind of torture, thanks. Just awesome. Gonna be me in that photo soon. Cheers.

 

[gbf]

I know this wasn't directed at me, but I wanted to add my $0.02 anyway. We discovered Seacure molded mouthpieces 15 years ago, which helped greatly with fighting the hose-pull on our regulators. I switched to Atomic with integrated swivel a few years ago and it's a game changer from perspective of jaw fatigue, especially for extended dives like we enjoy on Bonaire. I can't believe it took me this long to get smart and I'll never look back. Next up are double-braided flexible regulator hoses.
Eventually I hope to go wireless.

Good to hear.

my small child has a small mouth, and I have a seacure mouthpiece for her. We'll fiddle with it on her next trip home.

We're "long hose breathers" and I have a veritable plethora of elbows/swivels that I've been toying with, just not in the water yet.

Yeah, I know, gear-nerd here too.

---------- Post added March 11th, 2015 at 09:05 PM ----------

Wife and I are staying w/ Tim & Leanne (first time at Beachcomber) in October. We can hardly wait. I'm glad we have a couple trips planned for the Summer otherwise the wait would be unbearable. Thanks for the trip report.

Youre gonna think you've died and gone to heaven... Wait, maybe it is heaven.

 

[uncfnp]

Good to hear.

my small child has a small mouth, and I have a seacure mouthpiece for her. We'll fiddle with it on her next trip home.

I have a Seacure as well and use an AL Mikron.

 

[drrich2]

Nice report. Question...I was under the impression Small Wall was only shore accessible if one stayed at Black Durgon Inn, or maybe one other adjacent property. How'd you get to it?

When I did Small Wall by boat, it struck me as much like the Cliff, just bigger.

I hadn't heard of Kite City.

Richard.

 

[uncfnp]

Hi Richard,

Driving north out of Hato and just past Black Durgon, you will pass a small wall on the side of the road. Just past that you will see a turn out for parking to the left. There is a rough, short but slightly steep path to the water. Shore was very rocky but we found a fairly easy entry to the left.

I called it Kite City because that is where the kite school and the food truck are but I think the beach is actually called Atlantis or Kite beach. We just happened to drive by when there were no kite boarders and decided to give it a try.

 

[wwguy]

Driving north out of Hato and just past Black Durgon, you will pass a small wall on the side of the road. Just past that you will see a turn out for parking to the left. There is a rough, short but slightly steep path to the water. Shore was very rocky but we found a fairly easy entry to the left.

What you describe is the shore entry for Petri's Pillar. Small Wall is at the southern end of this dive and requires good air management to reach it.

Both dive sites are outlined (roughly) on this map.

Keeps your eyes peeled for this old anchor on the way back.

I called it Kite City because that is where the kite school and the food truck are but I think the beach is actually called Atlantis or Kite beach. We just happened to drive by when there were no kite boarders and decided to give it a try.

The dive site there is called Atlantis. I'm not sure if the kite burger truck is still there after they and Cactus Blue had some permitting issues with operating at that location. When we were on-island a couple of months ago the kite burger truck was operating at Te Amo beach across from the airport.

 

[uncfnp]

What you describe is the shore entry for Petri's Pillar. Small Wall is at the southern end of this dive and requires good air management to reach it.

For our dive there was minimal current. We went down to about 40 to 50 feet and headed south. At an easy pace we reached the wall at around 20 minutes into the dive.

The dive site there is called Atlantis. I'm not sure if the kite burger truck is still there after they and Cactus Blue had some permitting issues with operating at that location. When we were on-island a couple of months ago the kite burger truck was operating at Te Amo beach across from the airport.

I think you are right. I don't recall seeing a food truck at any of our driveby's.

Are there certain days of the week that the kite boarders are not there? We really enjoyed this dive and would like to do it again on a future visit.

 

[uncfnp]

Wasn't able to salvage much from the GoPro but will post a few. Happy news is that when I called REI to get proof of purchase for GoPro, they said just return it to the local store for complete replacement. We did and now hopefully we are set for the next trip.






And some native wildlife



And finely, paradise at the end of the rainbow...

 

[morecowbells]

Great report. I loved the pic at the Salt Pier!