Trip Report August 9-16

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shrkdive

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53
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Location
Massachusettes
# of dives
200 - 499
My family of 5 spent the week of Aug 9-16 on the island and had a fantastic vacation relaxing and diving every day. This was my fourth trip to Bonaire and I look forward to returning again soon.

Getting there..... we took the weekly United Airlines flight to/from Newark.


We rented a private house; eating only breakfast at the house. Lunches were mostly at Buddy’s after morning dives which became repetative after a few days as the lunch menu is limited.

Dinners
I made reservations before arriving on the island for most evenings. Chez Madeline’s, At Sea, Capt. Don’s (late night pizza), Ingredients, Wil’s, and Sebastian’s.

The best dinner hands down was at Sebastian’s. We reserved weeks in advance the private table at the end of the pier in front of the restaurant. There is only one seating at this table each night so plan ahead if interested. The service and view was phenomenal in addition to the food. I had the lamb chops while my wife and kids had the pepper steak and various fish dinners all extremely well prepared. After sunset there were lights under the pier illuminating the fish including an eagle ray passing by during desert.

Chez Madeline’s was probably our 2nd favorite meal. In fact this restaurant had the best wine list for those interested. Most restaurants on the island have a fairly limited wine selection. Madeline was also a very gracious hostess.

Diving
Although we were staying in a private rental house we still used Buddy’s for unlimited air and 8 boat dives. I’d have to say that something has changed since our previous 3 trips to Buddy’s over the past 12 years. Many of the “regular” dive masters were gone. Most of them are new in the past 2 years. My biggest complaint is that their boats have become cattle cars. They pack 16 divers now on each boat with a single dive master when in the past they would have at least had 2 dive masters in the water. Secondly, I never had a tank all week over 3000psi. Most of our tanks were 2600-2900 psi. Many times were would find tanks with less than 1500psi or bad O-rings. This forced us to carry extra tanks with us when we went shore diving just to make sure we had enough good tanks. Next trip I will try another dive op.

Our two youngest kids both got their open water certs this trip and I felt the instruction was very good though.

Best dives of the week were Oil Slick (shore dive), Bachelor Beach (shore dive) and Small Wall (boat dive). On this trip we saw so lots of eels, turtles, squid, rays and other unique critters. While we did see lots of larger lion fish we did not see any more this time than we did two years ago……seems the population is somewhat under control.
 
Nice to see another Bonaire trip report; makes me miss being there. I like to hear what people think when they've got some experience to compare things, and it's your 4th trip, so I'd ask...

Since you stayed at Buddy Dive Resort the other 3 times, and still dove with them, how did you find staying at the private house compared to that? Anything you particularly liked, or problems you had to work around at one vs. another? What area was the house in? Was it a cheaper option?

The main thing I would've missed on my last Buddy Dive trip, which was solo, as the very convenient option to go night dive the house reef after supper.

Congrat.s on your sons! I've got a little pre-toddler daughter, and I'm already itching for her to get certified. Every time she enjoys her bath or splashing water in a tub out back, I think 'See? She loves the water…' I guess time will tell, Lord willing.

Richard.
 
Thnx for posting
 
Interesting.
I was in Bonaire at Buddy Dive the first week in August and have been there at least 10 times times over the past 15 years. I have always been a Bonaire and BD enthusiast in the past.

I found that the marine life seems to be changing in that over the week, I did not see one Nassau Grouper, Black Grouper, only one Tiger, no rays and very few large animals overall. The reefs look healthy but fewer fish in my opinion, certainly fewer big fish. Every morning there were a number of fishing boats out in front of Capt Don's and Buddy dive right up on the mini wall. Saw boats fishing at Klein as well pretty close to the dive sites. Don't know what STINAPA is doing, but the reefs seem to be getting fished out. I understand the locals need to eat, but from what I observed I think that Marine Conservation Zone is a bit of a misnomer.

The boat diving at Buddy Dive was not great the week I was there either. They were occupied with a few large groups who had several of the boats chartered every day leaving very little space for the other customers. We had to struggle to get to the sign up boards in time to register for the few single tank dives that were offered. Of the 11 that we booked, we managed to be able to sign up for 8 including having to go out at times that were not convenient for us. These boats were jam packed full and uncomfortable. We were not given a lot of choice re sites and tended to go to close by moorings. I dove nearest point 3 times. Not that it was so bad, but I would have preferred more variety, as well as some sites a bit further from the dock.
In the past at BD, we were able to go out for 5 mornings of 2 tank dives, with a wide selection of north and south sites as well as klein. not so this year. I know that my wife and I could just have gone out shore diving but she was recovering from a fractured ankle so that was not an option apart from sites with steps into the water. It was frustrating seeing the charter groups heading out for 2 tankers every morning and afternoon.
Murphin was tied up with a charter group. The DMs we did go out with seemed to be very unenthusiastic and just going through the motions. The air and nitrox fills on the boats were fine at 2800-3000 PSI and no O ring problems. I was disappointed at the boat diving at BD this year, complained about it at the shop and no one seemed to care. Compared to prior experiences there, I expected more from them, and will not be back anytime soon.

The food and the laid back vibe on Bonaire were good as usual, but that's not why I travel there.
In fact will have to re think returning to the island again. There are lot's of other places to spend one's vacation dollars.
I know it's impossible to compare places head on, but I have had much better Caribbean experiences recently on Utila, Little Cayman and even Grand Cayman.
 
Doctorfish:

Interesting input. When I was at Buddy Dive in May, the one boat trip I did was a 2-tank trip, and I think the boat was open to up to 10 divers. That's the only boat trip I've ever taken in Bonaire. There were 2 staff; she guided dive 1, he guided dive 2. The guides were good and friendly; the lady showed me a sea horse.

Over the week, I'd check back periodically to see whether there where any more 2-tank trips, preferably small group, but if memory serves, I only saw 1-tank trips, and generally big boats (e.g.: up to 16 divers).

I'm not hauling out of bed and adhering to a schedule for one dive, when I get grab a couple of tanks and go shore dive. Yes, hitting sites I've never been off Klein Bonaire and maybe some boat-assessible main island sites has an appeal, but...no.

I didn't make an issue of it because I normally care little about shore diving. But the situation with your wife put you in another boat (hey, the pun came to me and I had to play it...).

For future reference, it would be interesting to know the Buddy Dive, WannaDive, Divi, The Plaza and Dive Friends compare in terms of boat size and 2 or 3 tank boat trip options. Comparing boat diving is normally not an emphasis on Bonaire trips, but for some people, it does matter.

Richard.
 
Nice to see another Bonaire trip report; makes me miss being there. I like to hear what people think when they've got some experience to compare things, and it's your 4th trip, so I'd ask...

Since you stayed at Buddy Dive Resort the other 3 times, and still dove with them, how did you find staying at the private house compared to that? Anything you particularly liked, or problems you had to work around at one vs. another? What area was the house in? Was it a cheaper option?

The main thing I would've missed on my last Buddy Dive trip, which was solo, as the very convenient option to go night dive the house reef after supper.

Congrat.s on your sons! I've got a little pre-toddler daughter, and I'm already itching for her to get certified. Every time she enjoys her bath or splashing water in a tub out back, I think 'See? She loves the water…' I guess time will tell, Lord willing.

Richard.


Richard.... Althought I have been to Bonaire 4 times and always used Buddy's for diving, I have never stayed at Buddy's. I always prefer renting a private house which gives us more room. This time I rented the same house I rented on my last trip to the island 2 years ago through a local real estate company. The house was just north of town and only about a 5 minute drive to Buddy's. For us this works better because of having the kids and needing extra bedrooms. It does though cost more than the typical resort rooms. I also rented our truck from AB Car Rental.

Even though we stayed in a private residence we could still however dive Buddy's house reef any time we wanted since we stored our gear there and used their unlimited air.

Hopefully your kids will enjoy diving just as much as you when they get older. All three of ours swim like fish now and love diving.

---------- Post added August 21st, 2014 at 08:07 AM ----------

Interesting.
I was in Bonaire at Buddy Dive the first week in August and have been there at least 10 times times over the past 15 years. I have always been a Bonaire and BD enthusiast in the past.

I found that the marine life seems to be changing in that over the week, I did not see one Nassau Grouper, Black Grouper, only one Tiger, no rays and very few large animals overall. The reefs look healthy but fewer fish in my opinion, certainly fewer big fish. Every morning there were a number of fishing boats out in front of Capt Don's and Buddy dive right up on the mini wall. Saw boats fishing at Klein as well pretty close to the dive sites. Don't know what STINAPA is doing, but the reefs seem to be getting fished out. I understand the locals need to eat, but from what I observed I think that Marine Conservation Zone is a bit of a misnomer.

The boat diving at Buddy Dive was not great the week I was there either. They were occupied with a few large groups who had several of the boats chartered every day leaving very little space for the other customers. We had to struggle to get to the sign up boards in time to register for the few single tank dives that were offered. Of the 11 that we booked, we managed to be able to sign up for 8 including having to go out at times that were not convenient for us. These boats were jam packed full and uncomfortable. We were not given a lot of choice re sites and tended to go to close by moorings. I dove nearest point 3 times. Not that it was so bad, but I would have preferred more variety, as well as some sites a bit further from the dock.
In the past at BD, we were able to go out for 5 mornings of 2 tank dives, with a wide selection of north and south sites as well as klein. not so this year. I know that my wife and I could just have gone out shore diving but she was recovering from a fractured ankle so that was not an option apart from sites with steps into the water. It was frustrating seeing the charter groups heading out for 2 tankers every morning and afternoon.
Murphin was tied up with a charter group. The DMs we did go out with seemed to be very unenthusiastic and just going through the motions. The air and nitrox fills on the boats were fine at 2800-3000 PSI and no O ring problems. I was disappointed at the boat diving at BD this year, complained about it at the shop and no one seemed to care. Compared to prior experiences there, I expected more from them, and will not be back anytime soon.

The food and the laid back vibe on Bonaire were good as usual, but that's not why I travel there.
In fact will have to re think returning to the island again. There are lot's of other places to spend one's vacation dollars.
I know it's impossible to compare places head on, but I have had much better Caribbean experiences recently on Utila, Little Cayman and even Grand Cayman.

DoctorFish... like you my biggest complaint this trip with Buddy's was the crowding on the boats due to availability. There was also a large group staying there last week as well that occupied 2 of their boats every day; including keeping Murphin busy with them. This only left one other boat for the rest of us. I had to book our boat dives 2 days in advance or take the 2:15 boat which is not optimal. One of the days we couldn't even get a boat reservation.

On two of the days we were assigned Buddy's largest boat which only has a single engine and is very slow. Because of this, the crew said we could only dive the closest dive sites because of their need to keep the boat on schedule. They were not open to going north very far or the outer west side of Kleine Boanire. This really limited the range and availablity of getting to the better dive sites which I was not happy about.
 
Shrkdive, we must have been there same time, probably on same boat.
In the past I have always enjoyed the BD experience, but not this time around.
 
...........
I found that the marine life seems to be changing in that over the week, I did not see one Nassau Grouper, Black Grouper, only one Tiger, no rays and very few large animals overall. The reefs look healthy but fewer fish in my opinion, certainly fewer big fish. Every morning there were a number of fishing boats out in front of Capt Don's and Buddy dive right up on the mini wall. Saw boats fishing at Klein as well pretty close to the dive sites. Don't know what STINAPA is doing, but the reefs seem to be getting fished out. I understand the locals need to eat, but from what I observed I think that Marine Conservation Zone is a bit of a misnomer. ...............
FWIW, we've been to Bonaire for about 30-35 days during each of the last 4 yrs, and for a week long visit during each of the previous 3 yrs. We are fish watchers. We have never seen a Nassau or black grouper on Bonaire. Tigers are fairly common. Spotted eagle rays are much more common than southern sting rays and I'm not sure we have ever seen a yellow sting ray there. The largest fish typically seen are tarpon, which almost everyone sees. Also, cubera snapper are common and quite large. Occasionally, we have seen some large 3+ ft snook. Med-lg bonefish are common. More exciting than large fish has been running into very large schools of boga or bigeye scad--thousands of individuals at a time that have enveloped us. Awesome! and one of the reasons we keep going back to Bonaire.

Personally, I think the variability in what is seen from trip to trip interferes with any useful estimation of fish population trends made by individual divers. That is not to say a decline is not happening, but it requires rigorous methods to prove such.
 
8 1-week trips to Bonaire, probably over 150 dives there (far and away the majority of my dives were in Bonaire), and aside from the little guys (e.g.: graysbys, coneys), I think all the groupers I've seen have been tiger groupers. I've never knowingly seen a black, Nassau or goliath grouper in Bonaire. Someone did post awhile back about seeing a goliath by the tugboat wreck at the Front Porch dive site to the north of Eden Beach Resort, if memory serves. That wreck's around 90 feet deep.

There are a number of species I've seen in more northern Caribbean locations that I haven't seen in Bonaire - hogfish (other than Spanish hogfish), pork fish, gray angelfish (but lots of French and some queens) and any kind of shark (though I know they've been seen there).

I don't see a lot of tiger groupers in Bonaire, but a few. Cubera snappers turn up occasionally, too.

I've seen just a few eagle rays, generally skittish and didn't let me near them. On a prior trip I saw what looked like a southern stingray in the distance, zip out from the shallows over the reef and take off. But then last May, I saw 2 big (southern, I believe) stingrays in the shallows, around 15 feet or so deep maybe, one at Angel City, and one at Tolo, in sandy regions. I don't spend much time exploring sandy regions in Bonaire. Never saw a yellow stingray in Bonaire.

Richard.
 
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