What to do with phone while shore diving?

[schuylerclark]

We're headed to Bonaire for the first time in a few weeks and I'm curious what others do with their cellphones while shore diving? Given the advice to not leave valuables in the truck, that means we need to carry one phone with us while diving since I don't see us driving around the island all day without a phone. For those who have been there, how have you typically handled this?

 

[arew+4]

Bring a cheap burner and buy a SIM on island if you must, stash it up under the seat while diving. We lock em up where we are staying. It's a small island, getting lost would be really difficult. The diving is as benign as it gets, in the event of an actual emergency getting out of the water will be hardest/most critical part. The phone will not help you there. At most of the dive sites there are cars passing pretty frequently. If you are very worried you could dive only at sites with some nearby business in the event of an emergency.

 

[RIHappyDiver]

Personally, we drove around the island all day without a cell phone. I guess the real question is what you will be using the phone for. If to contact other people in the group who are not with you, then yes, I can see it. Otherwise, it’s a small island with descent maps, so don’t need it for navigation.
@arew+4 has the best suggestion, if you feel you really need one.

Have fun!
Erik

 

[arew+4]

Additionally, a typical day for us goes like this, breakfast, grab two tanks, head north or south, dive away, hit second on way back for lunch, lunch, siesta, dump photos etc. Early afternoon, head out for one or two dives, same drill as the morning but maybe opposite direction, back to crib dinner, maybe a night dive or after dinner drinks depending on N2 loading and ambition.

Like I said, it's a small island, if you've got itchy thumbs you could probably get back to your phone after every dive and still easily get three or four in a day. Personally one of the best things about Bonaire for me was always the unplugged nature of the island, but that has been fading over the 15-20 years.

 

[gmerick]

I put my key fob and phone in a waterproof bag, and stow it in the float under my dive flag. I open the GPS app on the phone, and also map where I dive. Worked very well until the day my reel jambed up, and I towed my flag down to 90 feet. Phone and fob were still dry, but compression fractures destroyed both of them.

 

[Doc Harry]

Leave it in the hotel safe

 

[shoredivr]

We're headed to Bonaire for the first time in a few weeks and I'm curious what others do with their cellphones while shore diving? Given the advice to not leave valuables in the truck, that means we need to carry one phone with us while diving since I don't see us driving around the island all day without a phone. For those who have been there, how have you typically handled this?

Leave it in the hotel safe. I’ve functioned well on Bonaire without a phone driving around.

For storing things like keys and credit cards, I use an old dive light, rated to 300ft. that I can clip into my pocket. Take the batteries out. Check how big the battery compartment is, can you fit what you need into it? I suppose if you really want your phone with you, find a 300ft rated dive light with a battery compartment big enough for the phone.

 

[Miyaru]

DRYFOB-XL Waterproof PLB Container - DRYFOB

The DRYFOB XL Waterproof Car Key Container keeps your PLB dry, even at depth. A dry case rated to 330ft/1hr suitable for scuba diving.

dryfob.com

 

[tarponchik]

Can't survive a day w/o your phone?

 

[schuylerclark]

Can't survive a day w/o your phone?

Well, yes in a way. To clarify, I'd personally be happy to be without the phone, but we each run our own businesses and may need to have a bit of connectivity to monitor things and handle emergencies if they arise on certain days and we're away from the room for a long day. As well as wanting it for taking pics between dives. I'm not worried about maps - I'm old enough to navigate with paper. I've been considering a SeaLife housing since that's useful as a camera too, also we already have a couple cheap phone drybags we've used at snorkeling/kayaking depths in the past. I just don't know how reliable they would be at greater depth. Usually here in the States we just leave everything locked in the car, and I'd just do that except I see folks mention over and over about leaving cars empty and unlocked on Bonaire.