Reefs that start at 40 feet or shallower

[Craig66]

I will be travelling to Bonaire with my daughter (12) who has been diving for 2 years now. While I was recently there I clean forgot to pay attention to which reefs (with easy entry and exit) start at 30-40 feet. I recall several where by holding a level of 40 feet (her max allowable depth) we would be well into the reef and even enjoying some of the downslope. Can you refresh my memory. I know Buddy reef fits the bill and if I recall Bachelors beach and Windsock fit the bill as well. I think most of the northern reefs don't? How about the park - I seem to recall that most were deeper there as well.

Craig

 

[drrich2]

Not far from Buddy's is The Cliff, which as a modest vertical wall that is best enjoyed in the depth range you'll like.

The Cliff isn't one of those 'big yellow rock way out by the road' sites, and I don't recall how to describe how to get to it; I believe it's just a bit north of Captain Don's (which is immediately north of Buddy Dive).

Richard.

 

[herman]

Off hand I can't think of a reef on Bonaire that doesn't start in 20 ish feet of water with the drop off being at around 35. Some are a lot longer swim out but none that you can't easily keep in the 30-40 range. In general, the northern beaches have shorter swims and as you go south the swims get longer, the worst being just south of the Salt Peir. I would me more concerned about the ease of entry/exit than depth, her comfort and safety are more of a issue then accidently going to 45 feet, the scuba police are pretty lax on Bonaire.

 

[Rick Murchison]

I believe you're thinking of "Small Wall" - a marked site just north of Capt Don's. It's normally a boat dive as there's no easy entry from shore and it's a bit of a swim from Capt. Don's.
Great dive
Rick

Not far from Buddy's is The Cliff, which as a modest vertical wall that is best enjoyed in the depth range you'll like.

The Cliff isn't one of those 'big yellow rock way out by the road' sites, and I don't recall how to describe how to get to it; I believe it's just a bit north of Captain Don's (which is immediately north of Buddy Dive).

Richard.

---------- Post Merged at 05:50 AM ---------- Previous Post was at 05:40 AM ----------

You won't have any trouble finding plenty of really terrific diving at less than 40' in Bonaire. You could spend a week just on Buddy's reef and never get bored.
BOKA SLAGBAAI in the park has reef all the way to the surface (towards the north end of the cove) and is a terrific dive. Only downside to diving the park is that the currents tend to be a bit stronger than further south.
You *could* just take me with you and I'll show you some really neat shallow stuff
Rick

 

[diversteve]

You can access Cliff either from Capt' Don's divedock - swim north - or just north of the Habitat resort there used to be a dirt road that led to a small parking area.

A lot of Bari Reef is shallow. We did a REEF fishcount there = 1/2 of it in less than 30'. If you pay for a dive with the Bonaire Dive/Adventure naturalist he'll spot/id fish for you. My buddy counted 185 species on one dive. Afterwards you fill out the official survey form and they'll send it in for you. She might like contributing to that. There's a lot of old hurricane rubble just off the dock there - it's really shallow. We saw squid and a batfish there once in about 6-10'. It was more interesting than I thought.

Invisibles starts at about 20' - the garden eels aren't much deeper than that.

Salt Pier might be another good option. The first set of pilings is only about 15' deep, even the farthest set is only about 50' IIRC. It does drop off steeply after that.

Info Bonaire - Map of All Bonaire Dive Sites - click each site name for min/max depths.

 

[wwguy]

Take a look at the book Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy by Susan Porter.

 

[tkaelin]

Is your daughter's cert PADI Jr. Open Water if so there is no depth limit for a 12 yr old. The depth limit is for 10 and 11 yr olds. The limitation on 12, 13 and 14 year olds is that they dive with an Adult. My kids were certified in Bonaire. I had this issue come up more than once over the years and confirmed with PADI that the depth limit does not apply to 12 year olds. It states it clearly on the front of the card. My son is now 15 and he traded in the jr. card for the adult card. Don't forget you can do this when your child turns 15. We encountered the issue diving in FL with DMs telling us he could not dive deeper than 40. Of course limit or not, ultimately the DM on a boat decides who dives where so there is little you can do once being told by the DM that they will not let your 12 yr old dive deeper than 40. Something to check out in advance so you are not caught by surprise on a particular trip or dive. Should not be an issue in Bonaire but probably should confirm if you are going out on a boat dive and planning on diving deeper than 40.

Limit or not, you should dive at depths you are comfortable with commensurate with your experience. I found that my son when he was 12 preferred the shallower depths and enjoyed exploring the shallows. Most of his dive time at age 12 in Bonaire was in the 20-40ft range and that was fine with us. Most of our dive time in Bonaire tends to be in the 40-60 ft range. No one ever raised the issue in Bonaire when we went on boat dives. Enjoy the trip.

 

[gbf]

Cliff is accessed from Capt Don's by going north. The other access is via the "dirt road" and is actually the north entrance to Oasis, and leads to the Dive Friends Oasis store. A path leads down to the water. Get in and go south. The gate on the north road is usually closed at about 4:00pm, so for late access go in via the south gate into Oasis.

Small Wall is off Black Durgon. Access via BD property is restricted to BD (and Dive Paradise) guests. The surrounding property is private homes. To dive Small Wall (unless you are connected to a home owner) stay at BD, go on a boat, or get in at DF Oasis and swim a really really long ways north-I've done that, never again. Small Wall is a great dive.

ETA: 40-45 ft is plenty deep to put you on the downslope of the majority of sites on Bonaire. We usually do the outbound leg of our dives at about 60', ascend to about 40' for the return. Bonaire is a great place for beginners/younger divers. The conditions are usually about as benign as you can find. And there are plenty of easy in/out places. Witches Hut, 1000 steps, Oil Slick, any of the resort sites, Pink beach, Tori's Reef, White Slave, Bari, the beach by the airport,

 

[boat sju]

Another good site: Scuba Shore Diving Region: ABC Islands

 

[Craig66]

First off thanks all for your replies, they were very helpful.

. I would me more concerned about the ease of entry/exit than depth, her comfort and safety are more of a issue then accidently going to 45 feet, the scuba police are pretty lax on Bonaire.

I agree 100% and we will likely do a lot of diving off piers or off of sandy walk in beaches like bachelor and windsock. I like the idea of Salt pier as well. Also will likely carry her BC in for her and me and gear up in waste height water.

---------- Post Merged at 08:16 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 08:12 PM ----------

BOKA SLAGBAAI in the park has reef all the way to the surface (towards the north end of the cove) and is a terrific dive. Only downside to diving the park is that the currents tend to be a bit stronger than further south.
You *could* just take me with you and I'll show you some really neat shallow stuff
Rick

I had forgotten about that site - it was beautiful and those parrot fish were great. Also a great swimming beach for non diving daughter and wife

---------- Post Merged at 08:21 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 08:12 PM ----------

Is your daughter's cert PADI Jr. Open Water if so there is no depth limit for a 12 yr old. The depth limit is for 10 and 11 yr olds. The limitation on 12, 13 and 14 year olds is that they dive with an Adult. My kids were certified in Bonaire. I had this issue come up more than once over the years and confirmed with PADI that the depth limit does not apply to 12 year olds. It states it clearly on the front of the card. My son is now 15 and he traded in the jr. card for the adult card. Don't forget you can do this when your child turns 15. We encountered the issue diving in FL with DMs telling us he could not dive deeper than 40. Of course limit or not, ultimately the DM on a boat decides who dives where so there is little you can do once being told by the DM that they will not let your 12 yr old dive deeper than 40. Something to check out in advance so you are not caught by surprise on a particular trip or dive. Should not be an issue in Bonaire but probably should confirm if you are going out on a boat dive and planning on diving deeper than 40.

Limit or not, you should dive at depths you are comfortable with commensurate with your experience. I found that my son when he was 12 preferred the shallower depths and enjoyed exploring the shallows. Most of his dive time at age 12 in Bonaire was in the 20-40ft range and that was fine with us. Most of our dive time in Bonaire tends to be in the 40-60 ft range. No one ever raised the issue in Bonaire when we went on boat dives. Enjoy the trip.

I agree that there is so much confusion in general about depth limits for kids and there are also so many controversial opinions. I am very comfortable with my daughter diving and I am amazed how after 25 dives she has better problem solving skills and buoyancy than I had after 50 dives however for personal comfort level and the conservatism we build into our dive profile we have chosen to limit our dive plans to 40 feet and with a hard bottom contingency of 50 feet. I like the fact that we can do a 40 foot dive for an hour or more and come up with no more than 4 ticks on our TLBG graph. That is why I am so excited about Bonaire as there is so much to see at the depth limits we have chosen.