Solo diving on Bonaire

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divezonescuba

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I thought I would post this so people don't get surprised.

Bonaire is sometimes referred to as the home of diving freedom. One context is with respect to solo diving. One of the larger firms on the island is now discouraging / preventing solo diving unless you have a TEC cert or a solo diving cert. You then have to sign a solo diver waiver.

It was really disheartening to see a young woman whose significant other could not or would not dive, be told that she could not dive by herself. She looked very upset. We offered to have her dive with us, but she declined.

Solo diving is not for everyone, but if anyone does want to do it, perhaps they should do it in the safest possible manner. So, I can understand any dive op not wanting people to go solo without appropriate training or certification.

This hit home enough for me to get solo diver instructor certified once I got back so our people who want to dive solo don't run into this situation.
 
No one has said a thing to me about not solo diving... No one has ever asked me who I was diving with or where... I dive with dive friends and they fill my 19cu pony when I need it ... Don't even charge me... In fact, I left the pony bottle with them to use when I'm not there...

Jim....
 
This is easy to fix, tell them to kiss rear and go to another dive op. There are plenty on the island and no reason to accept this BS from anyone....and for the record I have/do dive Bonaire solo, vintage (no BC and old school regs) and pretty much anything in between. I also don't ask nor do I tell, none of their business.
 
I can confirm what the OP stated. One of the BIG dive ops on the island is starting to strongly discourage solo diving, even more than discourage in some instances. We'll see how this plays out because I think it will be bad for business. On the other hand, it also may be the future rearing its ugly head and it is the beginning of the dive police. I hope divers headed for Bonaire ask about the situation and make a lot of noise if the answer does not equate with the diving freedom which which is at the heart of the Bonaire diving experience.
 
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So what is the name of this dive OP ?

Jim...
 
In Internet slang, a troll (/ˈtroʊl/, /ˈtrɒl/) is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory,[1] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[2] or of otherwise disrupting normal, on-topic discussion,[3] often for the troll's amusement.

More like a public service announcement.
 
In Internet slang, a troll (/ˈtroʊl/, /ˈtrɒl/) is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory,[1] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[2] or of otherwise disrupting normal, on-topic discussion,[3] often for the troll's amusement.

More like a public service announcement.

Public service would ID the op.
 
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