Omar the terrible - Bonaire update

[drrich2]

Glad you guys made it in, obviously.

Anybody know who, whether the government or whoever, will tend to fixing matters like the Oil Slick Leap ladder? I ask because it was one of my favorite sites, and I hope to come again in March '09 if things work out well for us.

Very sorry to hear about the hurricane doing so much damage, to both the reef and the island & property. I've been checking this thread off and on for the past several days.

Richard.

 

[DiveMaven]

Reports are that Town Pier was scrubbed clean by Omar. Haven't heard about Salt Pier yet, but one would think its fate would be similar.

I've heard that Oil Slick should be repaired very soon, so you'd likely be fine if you plan a March trip.

 

[JulesVerne]

We were back in the water Thursday (Karpata) and Friday (Wilma Hooker). Vis was pretty good by friday. Some damage on the reef (tube sponge) but i expected much worse so i guess i was relieved

below is short movie i took from Captain Don's and the main road near STINAPA. The baby pier at Captain Don's took a serious beating

 

[scuba_drum]

Dang, you dove Karpata on Thursday? How did you get up there, I didn't think the road was open til Friday or Saturday?

 

[JulesVerne]

to scuba_drum: we took the dirt road that runs parallel to the coast (and passes near the cellphone tower). It was probably reopened by mid-day as we noticed an increase in traffic (including a school bus) by the time we exited the water.

 

[scuba_drum]

I wanted to do Karpata, but didn't know you could make it up there... ah well, guess another trip to the island is in order, eh? Ha!

 

[svs]

I have a friend who works at Divi as a DM and the Divi Flamingo dive dock is operational with dive boats running...good news!

What about lockers, benches, tank storage, washing tanks etc? They had everything on that dive dock. And what about dive shop at the end of that dock? Is everything back to pre-Omar conditions?

 

[BonaireDan]

Oil Slick Leap platform is repaired - waiting on the ladder.

 

[Boat Chick]

What about lockers, benches, tank storage, washing tanks etc? They had everything on that dive dock. And what about dive shop at the end of that dock? Is everything back to pre-Omar conditions?

I've emailed my friend and asked, I'll let you know.

Here's another good video by Roger Burnham who lives in Sabadeco. The pier is Sabadeco Pier. All of the staghorn coral in the shallows (and sea fans) are gone. The shallows were filled with soft sea fans, coral, and staghorn. You can see the rubble at the end....heartbreaking.

Blennylips Bonaire: Video Dive Log

 

[Boat Chick]

This is what I heard back from my friend at the Divi.

"We are fully functional within limits (nitrox is not available
currently for divers not preordered). We have rinse tanks, tanks, the
dock is fine with access to the water, the dive shop is fine."