Shore diving in bonaire

[DazedAndConfuzed]

Thanks. All have been very helpful. I am probably overthinking it, given if I winged it, this would likely have been what I would have done. But there is always the anxiety of how should I find my return spot until I have done it, and that concern seem to always be on top of my head given the more complex self nav we had to do in the Keys. Even in other places like Saba & Bermuda, where following the guide was optional, if we do split from or not follow the guide, I tend to not wander as far as all the reefs described in the dive briefing, but tend to just circle in the vicinity that I have just passed earlier.

One concern I have is given the buoy is at certain depth, I have a feeling that if we don't hit that depth on our return trip early enough, we might miss the buoy. That should not be too big an issue with buoys that are 40-50 ft deep since coming returning at that depth is not that big a deal. But for buoys at 20 ft deep, we either get to 20ft too soon and do much of the return leg through coral rubbles or ascend too slowly and miss the buoy.

Anyway, the easy part is the daytime shore dives. What about the night shore dives? Much harder to navigate? How will I find the buoy? Will I have to hang my flashlght on it? I'll be going during coral spawning, so I definitely want to get as much night dives as I can.

 

[gbf]

"The bouy" usually is nothing more than an anchorage for dive boats. That is, it is a float on a line. The line is anchored on the bottom. Dive boats pull up, hook the bouy, and attach their line to it.

For shore diving, they are a convenient target. Stand at your entry/desired exit point. Take a compass heading to the bouy. Swim out to the bouy (surface or under, it doesn't matter). Note the depth at the bottom, where the bouy is anchored. Perform your dive. Note how long you've been "outbound". Start back, and ascend to the depth you noted before. Make sure you arrive at the target depth when you're about 1/2 way back. When you find the bouy's anchor point on your return (it will be hard to miss if you are at the correct depth), return to your exit point by following the reciprocal compass heading. Look for interesting/cool things as you swim in. It's amazing what you'll see in the sandy shallows, and you'll get a good safty stop as well.

Easy.

I use this little exercise as a navigation game for my kids. One takes us out on the compass heading, the other returns us to the exit. There's always a little competition to see who gets closest.

Sometimes, just for variety and to cross up the lovely children, I'll use some sort of prominent feature at a greater depth than the bouy as the marker, e.g., a clump of tube sponges, odd-shaped coral outcropping, etc. If you do that, be sure at look at it from all angles. A thing that looks "unusual" from one angle may not be from a different angle.



Same drill, day or night...

 

[boat sju]

For a good first night dive I might suggest paying to dive at Captain Don's. Actually, they didn't even bother charging us. They have a line running perpendicular down the reef so you can attach a small tank strobe at whatever depth you want for the return.

I don't know if anyone else mentioned this but I'd also suggest you get rid of the full foot fins. They'll quickly become a pain. They're too hard to hold onto and then swap out with your water shoes.

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

Me and my wife might bring 3 fins, my full foot and 2 open heeled ones. The open heeled ones is slower than the open heeled ones, that's why I don't use it in warm water.

I guess with the night dive, do people just wander around the buoy or do they still do they still head in one direction until half a tank and head back after that? Might do a day dive at our house reef to familiarize ourselves and do a night dive on the same reef afterward.

 

[Mike]

Thanks. All have been very helpful. I am probably overthinking it, given if I winged it, this would likely have been what I would have done. But there is always the anxiety of how should I find my return spot until I have done it, and that concern seem to always be on top of my head given the more complex self nav we had to do in the Keys. Even in other places like Saba & Bermuda, where following the guide was optional, if we do split from or not follow the guide, I tend to not wander as far as all the reefs described in the dive briefing, but tend to just circle in the vicinity that I have just passed earlier.

One concern I have is given the buoy is at certain depth, I have a feeling that if we don't hit that depth on our return trip early enough, we might miss the buoy. That should not be too big an issue with buoys that are 40-50 ft deep since coming returning at that depth is not that big a deal. But for buoys at 20 ft deep, we either get to 20ft too soon and do much of the return leg through coral rubbles or ascend too slowly and miss the buoy.

Anyway, the easy part is the daytime shore dives. What about the night shore dives? Much harder to navigate? How will I find the buoy? Will I have to hang my flashlght on it? I'll be going during coral spawning, so I definitely want to get as much night dives as I can.

A lot of over thinking on your part, but that's natural since you haven't been their before.

Basically...

Swim against the current for lets say 45 minutes at deeper depth(obviously this time will vary but you get the idea), turn around drift and swim with the current for 30 minutes while coming closer to shore and coming up in depth gradually, you'll be doing basically a 15-30 minute safety stop on the 2nd half of your dive. Pop up and take a look where you are, make an adjustment, swim around some more or head out. It's extremely simple diving.

I don't know nothing about bouys or why you'd deal with them, if you do you do, but I certainly wouldn't get fixated on them. Just dive against the current, make your turn and head back, you'll cover more ground with the current so watch your dive computer or watch for your elapsed time. You're always basically doing a long safety stop for the 2nd part of your dive, so just pop up and peak at the shore.

For night dives.

1) Get some day dives under your belt.
2) Do a couple of night dives on your house reef.
3)Then finally venture out for a night dive elsewhere. Look at the shore lights before you go under. It's simple navigation if you keep in mind the farther from shore the deeper it gets, the closer to shore the shallower it gets. Swim against the current to start, turn and cut your time on your way back. A large part of your 2nd half of the dive will be in shallow water. Just pop up and look at the shore lights. As long as you go back into shallower water toward the end of the dive the worst thing you'll end up with is a snorkle back to your entry.

Navigate using time.

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

All good recommendations.

If I attach a strobe to the line, will other people take it?

 

[DiverVince]

LWANG...YOU ARE DEFINITELY OVERTHINKING.. No one will take your strobe on a night dive. Just remember to remove it from the water at the end of your dive and don't attach it to live coral.

As far as diving during the day, we swim out to the drop off area on the surface. The swim is aided by the prevailing winds from the east which helps blow you out. I take a compass reading to the exit point before descending (yea yea I'm well familiar with the group that thinks using a compass on Bonaire is not necessary). When you get to your desired depth, look at computer for elapsed time. If there's any current (generally it's negligible) swim into it. If your ET is 6 mins at desired depth, swim 15 mins against any current,(ET will then read 21) turn around and ascend a bit and take 15 mins (perhaps a bit shorter if there is a current) to return to general vicinity of where you began the dive. ET will then read 36). Obviously it helps to recognize an UW landmark but this ability will only come with experience at the site. Then TAKE YOUR TIME (we easily allow 10 mins for this) and follow the compass course in directly to shore to your exit point which should be in about 6 feet of water. Voila, you're exactly where you should be.

This is the procedure we've used for 25 years diving Bonaire's reefs. There are a great many things to see in the shallows on your trip back to shore plus great off gassing of nitrogen. Have fun and enjoy. That's what diving is really about.

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

all the talk of locals clearing out your truck, who knows what they will do if they don't find anything.

 

[PhilC]

More overthinking. Crime happens everywhere and common sense usually prevents it from happening to you. If your truck windows are down when the potential thieves roll by they won't even slow down because they know you've got the common sense to not leave anything of value in the vehicle. It really is that simple and you shouldn't even be concerned. I'm not trying to make light of the crime that occurs on the island, I think it detracts from the enjoyment of the island a lot and wish they could do something more about it but I am more worried about my vehicle sitting at the airport in Cleveland than I am about the one I'm driving in Bonaire while I'm on the island.

 

[DeputyDan]

More overthinking. Crime happens everywhere and common sense usually prevents it from happening to you. If your truck windows are down when the potential thieves roll by they won't even slow down because they know you've got the common sense to not leave anything of value in the vehicle. It really is that simple and you shouldn't even be concerned. I'm not trying to make light of the crime that occurs on the island, I think it detracts from the enjoyment of the island a lot and wish they could do something more about it but I am more worried about my vehicle sitting at the airport in Cleveland than I am about the one I'm driving in Bonaire while I'm on the island.

I agree that your vehicle at the airport is more as risk.
Talk to someone from Oahu about leaving your vehicle unattended while shore diving like is done on Bonaire and they will want to know what you were thinking - when your auto is gone!