Shore Diving Tips

[mrwa]

Hello again,

Thanks so much for all of your comments! I really appreciate you all taking the time to address my questions. I have found the information to be very helpful and it has given me a lot to think about. Mostly though, I'm even more excited about the trip. It should be a great opportunity to improve our skills and do some world class diving (maybe even at night)! I'll definately pick up that book too. While I appreciate that fact that diving with my camera at this point isn't ideal, I just can't bear to part with it now (I'm already addicted to UW photograpy; just enough of my pictures show some promise, and that keeps me hooked). We are also thinking about getting nitrox certified while in Bonaire. On our last trip we were pretty well layed out for the night after doing an 80 ft dive followed by 60 ft. Hopefully, the nitrox will help with fatigue over the course of our trip.

 

[skynscuba]

When we made our first trip to Bonaire, I had about 80 dives, and my girlfriend had about 8 dives. It is a great place to learn/practice basic navigation skills, since nav there is pretty easy, the visibility is good, and the consequences of being off a bit are not critical. Many (most) of the dive sites have a buoy offshore, typically anchored in about 25 feet of water. Take a compass heading from your entry point to the buoy, swim out to the buoy, take note of the depth at which it is anchored, swim directly out/down to whatever maximum depth you are going, turn left or right into any current and take note of your air pressure. Mosey along at one depth for a while, turn upslope to a shallower depth note air pressure, mosey back at that shallower depth. Be sure to be up at exactly the depth of the buoy before you get there, and you can't miss it. Mosey around in the vicinity of the buoy at that depth, and take care of your safety stop, until your air gets down to ~900, then take the reverse compass heading to get back from the buoy to the entry point, compensating for any drift owing to current. I missed a few times, and had to pop up for a look when I got to about 8 feet depth. On some dives, you will want to pick out other landmarks (distinctive coral head or something), either because you don't want to go to the buoy, or you may want extra landmarks deeper than the buoy. My GF and I had a hand signal for "this is a landmark -- remember it and its depth."

You won't really know what to expect before the first dive, but the dives are all pretty similar, so you will get the routine down quickly. Soon, you will be able to spend more time on your "tour" and still have adequate air when you get back to the safety stop. Don't worry, though, there is plenty to see in the shallows, so extra air is never wasted.

My GF doesn't like to snorkel or surface swim, so we started burning air as soon as we got to where the depth was 8 feet or so. That also gives one a chance to verify that all gear is working as expected, mask is okay, while still very shallow.

You will really be more competent and confident after doing dives on your own. When I have an instructor or dive master leading a tour, I find that I subconsciously transfer nav responsibility to them, rather than doing it myself. Sort of like not knowing how to get somewhere you've been on land, since someone else was driving at the time.

 

[DiveMaven]

If you're planning to do a lot of diving (more than 2 tanks a day), definitely get nitrox certified.

We got nitrox certified last year for a 2-week liveaboard trip we did since we were going to dive 4-5 dives per day. Although we saw a difference in our nitrogen loading, dive times, etc., we didn't realize how much until the compressor went down mid-week the second week and we finished our trip on air. Holy smokes, the difference was so noticeable it was crazy.

Since we're planning to dive 4-5 times per day on Bonaire this summer (for 2 weeks), we're definitely diving nitrox for 90% of the dives. Oh yeah, and as a side note, neither my husband nor I noticed ANY difference in fatigue levels between diving air or nitrox.

 

[mrwa]

I am definately getting the message that navigation skills are important for shore diving. And having played follow the leader on every previous dive, it will take some getting used to. But I welcome the opportunity, and it does seem like a great way to take our skills to the next level. As far a the nitrox goes, it wouldn't be the end of the world for us if our fatigue level wasn't changed. As pointed out by DiveMaven, decreased nitrogen loading would be a valuable asset as we hope to do multiple dives each day.

 

[ClayJar]

I am definately getting the message that navigation skills are important for shore diving. And having played follow the leader on every previous dive, it will take some getting used to. But I welcome the opportunity, and it does seem like a great way to take our skills to the next level.

The nice thing about learning navigation from basic shore diving is that even if everything goes completely wrong, you won't be lost in the middle of the ocean or anything. With attention, nothing should go wrong, but even if you blow it you just have to make your way to shore and start the trek back to the beginning.

I remember my longest, most strenuous shore diving walk of learning. I got caught in an unexpectedly fierce current at some jetties, and by the time I aborted, I was probably about 1/3 mile off course. Even with that, I was never more than a short swim to shore. It was a long walk back, but the lessons really stuck. :biggrin:

 

[Warmwater Wank]

I think you got some bum advice back there. Don't wait until the day after you get back from Bonaire to begin planning your return. Plan your return now, before you go--it would not be too soon! // ww

 

[EnronX]

I'll start off by echoing DiveMaven comments...getting your Nitrox cert is ideal before a trip to Bonaire...the dive profiles and raw number of dives you can do in a day really make it a good decision.

1) How do people typically carry their tanks and gear to the water? It seems like strapping your tank to the BC and wearing it would work well unless the terrain is very challenging.

--Aside from just a few dives, its not tough at all to walk from your truck down to the water edge (1000 steps and Karpata are a bit tricky) -- Just go slow and make sure you have solid booties...I bought a pair of size 11 Dr Shoals inserts for my booties and it paid off big-time since you don't feel the coral nearly as bad.

2) Is it best to enter the water wearing fins, or to put them on once in? We do plan to use dive booties.

--Don't put your fins on until you are in the water and out of the surf-zone, I prefer to be in waist deep water.

3) Should we buy gloves to wear for entry/exit?

--Gloves are illegal like the other guys said, but I keep a pair of mechanic gloves in the glove box of our car in case you blow a tire (Slagbai park is not picnic)

4) Should we use snorkels for the swim out or back? I have heard people suggest swimming on your back and to avoid snorkels as they may be confused with regulators in emergencies. I have not been using a snorkel for boat diving.

--Hate snorkels and only need them in choppy open water Galapagos-esque conditions...leave them at home IMO.

5) How great is the risk of being hit by a boat? I notice that there are a lot of boats moored near most of the dive resorts.

--Be wary of your overhead environment...when we dove Bari reef we had a few boats come overhead but we heard them from hundreds of yards away.

6) I have never done a night dive but would like to try one in Bonaire. Should I try to arrange a guided dive for this to be on the safe side?

--My first night dive was Calabas Reef and I will never forget it! I'd dive your house reef during the day and get comfortable with it, then the next night come out and stay shallow until you are ready to come out over the lip of the reef. Some of the best critter spotting is done at night, especially for octopus and seahorses.

YouTube - Tarpon Hunting in Bonaire 2007 - Night Dive

There is NOTHING like having a six-foot tarpon escort you on your dive.

7) Finally and most importantly: Can anyone suggest some nice shore dives that have convenient and safe entry/exit points, are easy to find, and have minimal current? I am particularly interested in photographing unique critters and reef formations.

Susan's book is a must-buy...it will lay-out everything by dive and entry difficulty, I recommend it like everyone else on the board has already said.

My dive group and I are headed back on 5/24 and will be diving 3 days on the "Wild-Side" with Baz, we are really excited to venture onto that side of the island...I've heard some amazing stories of the bio-diversity there (rays, sharks, turtles etc) Anyone done much "east-side" diving?

 

[undercbon]

My dive group and I are headed back on 5/24 and will be diving 3 days on the "Wild-Side" with Baz, we are really excited to venture onto that side of the island...I've heard some amazing stories of the bio-diversity there (rays, sharks, turtles etc) Anyone done much "east-side" diving?

EnronX,
East side shore diving is fabulous! You have opportunities to see just about anything there. Bas has to be the most knowledgeable and safe guide for the east side (not to mention his enthusiasm). He has been diving that area all of his life and knows how conditions will effect the dives. You are in for a great day!

Glad that BSDME helped to make your holiday in Bonaire even better. :14:

 

[DeltaWardog]

The book is great. Got mine yesterday and spent a good portion of last night devouring it. Well worth the cost just to avoid driving around going to dive sites we wouldn't dive at anyway.

Just wish it had some pretty pictures for me to look at, too.

 

[EnronX]

Thanks Susan, what are the chances that the 6th Edition of your book will include a few East Side and new Lac Bay sites?!? A few months ago I saw some pictures of a humpback whale that was spotted on a dive on the East Side, that must have been the talk of the Island for some time.

How many dives have you been able to do with Bas and/or Larry? It seems like the last time I was in Bonaire (April 2007) there was significantly less fish and overall aquatic activity on the West Side dives we did during the week (compared to May 2006) -- I'm sure that it's cyclical, but my dive buddy's and I all agreed it seemed like the reefs were quite a bit less "crowded" then we remembered.