We should NOT have tried diving Playa Chikitu

[wwguy]

I think it's actually quite revealing that a Google search for Chikitu in combination with the words "safe", "diving" or "swimming" turns up practically nothing other than this thread. Could it be that no one lived to post about their experience or they just didn't want to talk about what happened?

"Playa Chikutu is beautiful, but, alas, swimming is forbidden due to the enormous waves and the dangers that lurk underwater. You would be swept off your feet right after you walked in due to a strong current that passes the island on the north coast." (Link)

"Once open to swimming, this beach which faces into the open swell of the Carribean Sea is now only for sunbathing after a man was sucked into the open water by the undertoe. One look at some of the giant waves that come crashing into the beach will normally be enough to convince most not to swim here." (Link)

"Playa chikitu (not boca), high waves, stay in the center, not deeper than your waist. Canadian boy drowned there." (Link)

And then there's this view, as seen from the parking area:

(Link)

I hereby retract my previous comment about "no need to post signs..."

 

[handben]

I for one appreciate the post and willingness to share this experience. I suspect there are lots of divers out there that have done this sort of thing but aren't willing to post about it for fear of the hailstorm of negative comments about being reckless and so on. I've dove a number of unmarked sites - though on the lee side mostly and wouldn't necessarily say you have to stick to marked "official sites".

 

[billmosel]

I have a video of

Playa Chikutu but I don't know how to post it. It is a pretty awesome video of what it is really like!​

 

[Lopez116]

Thanks for posting, Richard. Swallowing your ego for the greater good is always a virtue in my book. At least now when people Google "shore diving Playa Chikito," this post will come up and others will, at minimum, have an idea what they're facing!

 

[drrich2]

miketsp:

You may be right. It was a hectic time. My buddy's dive was longer than mine; I finally got around to downloading the dives from the Cobalt onto MacDive on my computer tonight. For me it was a 9 minute dive, max. depth 13.48 feet, average depth 8.53 feet, SAC rate 1.29 cfm (I usually run around 0.65, give or take), starting gas (EAN 32) 2778 cf, ending gas 2230 cf.

Neither my buddy nor I saw any fish that we recall. I made it at least to the point where a lot of sea weed debris was washing around in a pile on the bottom - my one photo from 'diving' Playa Chikitu:

I want to say I dove past that but I don't remember for sure. This dive was done 4-25-13, so I've had the trip back, work, family and so on to deal with since then.

Richard.

 

[Barb729]

Glad you and your buddy made it out. Never dove this site and happy that you told us about it. Going back to Bonaire in June for 2 weeks.

 

[diver 85]

lol......& some here say the ONLY reason for boat diving there is to dive Klein.....

 

[drrich2]

Spoke with my buddy today during lunch break. He looked at my photo, posted on this thread, of the seaweed mat. He said I must have passed over the seaweed mat and turned around, because you had to get past the mat before visibility was good enough to get that shot. He said the weed mat is at the mouth of the cove (if I'm using the term right) where it connects to the ocean, so evidently we did at least reach the main ocean.

He also wanted to know why I photographed the weed map instead of pointing out into the ocean. I pointed out it was the only pic I took as I was worried about survival and seeing whether he made it out, too.

One thing I should've mentioned by now, and am embarrassed about but it drives home another important lesson. I really should've had an SMB in my pocket. If I'd gotten swept out to rough seas, rescuers would've been hard put to spot my head sticking out of the water.

Richard.

 

[sparkinator]

WoW!!! You're very fortunate not to have ended up the subject of a "Lessons for life" article in a popular dive mag... Thanks for the post & glad you're both are O.K...

 

[irie1029]

Funny Black Rock exit took me 2 tries and winded the heck out of me. Parking lot to my car in Curacao with gear I stumbled on a tiny rock... down i went not paying attention. Lessons learned.