Who has had something stolen in Bonaire

[Drewpy]

PF- Im with Herman..waste of time... but one last post on this subject and Im done!

What is your obsession with crime on Bonaire...you have a serious axe to grind!

Why do you need these things to shore dive Bonaire?
Log book- Your kidding right..? It would be safe-who wants it? Same with defog and sun lotion?
Gear bag-why..?
Dry bag-again why..? Just throw your gear in the back of the truck
Change of clothes- why..? BS,t shirt and a pair of cheap flip flops works for me?
S Glasses-just bring a cheapo pair..who cares if they go missing-they can always go in a BC pocket
Money/CC -they can get wet-works fine,it spends!I make a photo copy of my license and keep it in the glove box.
Keys-they can get wet too..?I hide mine under a rock nearby.

Its very simple..just bring what you need to dive! Your hotel cant be more than 10-15 min drive anyway?

I used to live in Puerto Rico and have traveled in the Carribean extensively.In my opinion, there is not a safer place.Try shore diving and parking your truck on some of the other Islands? Have you seen the crime stats for Curacao? How about Jamaica or Roatan?

There is no place in the carribean that offers the freedom and great shore diving that Bonaire has! My last trip there (2 weeks) I left 2 dollar bills on my dash for the entire trip..guess what.. they became the tip for the person who cleaned the truck at the rental agency. Oh..also, I rented a house (no bars on the window even) and could not have felt safer!

If you dont like it..DONT GO!

I was well aware of the petty theft problem before I went for the first time-It was a total non-issue for me.
No rotten or unsafe treatment in my book???

Its all about common sense....

Have a nice day...

Drew

 

[skynscuba]

2.) ... Normally I wouldn't want to pack a wallet, credit cards, etc..., into my dive clothes.

Don't carry them when shore diving. I only carried a couple of 20's, in a sometimes-waterproof pouch.

3.) Taking a dive log with you makes good sense if you're not using an AI computer & would like your log book to include starting & ending tank pressures, maximum depth
...

Take a pencil and paper for that. Transfer to logbook later. Heck, I haven't logged my Bonaire dives yet, and that was 3+ months ago.

4.) I also assume it's needful to carry one's drivers license if one's driving around Bonaire.

I didn't. However, most are waterproof.

6.) Sun tank lotion is serious for my wife & I;

Take it along, it probably will not be taken even if your car is tossed. If so, just get some more. Or just squirt enough for the day in a small container or baggie and take only that.

Now that I'm a bit on guard, I'm curious about that Pelican case Gangrel mentioned.

Here is what I carried, with money, car key, room key. It did leak slightly on one dive. I wore it around my neck, tucked into my wet suit. I got a second one for my GF, but she didn't bother. REI had them, but they are no longer on the web site.

http://www.aquapac.net/usstore/erol.html#600X1151

 

[DeputyDan]

Have you ever seen the guns carried by the folks who are on guard at night around COCO View? They are not 22 pistols!!!

The guard at Buddy Dive is not armed at all.

Makes one wonder!

 

[diveallthetime]

New to Bonaire.
Armored Dual Cab Pickups with Gun Turret

Sorry just wanted to ad some humor.
Just use common sense.
Here in the U.S. we spend a ba-zillion on law enforcement and it's not under contral all the time.

Let's just all use common sense.

Looking forward to our March trip and we will pack light for the dives and leave nothing for the punks or disadvantaged that steal.

 

[Kim]

It's odd to get so worked up over what seems to be fairly low crime rates in Bonaire. I went to Hawaii a couple of years ago and rented a car to shore dive off the North shore. I was most definitely warned to be careful leaving stuff in the car. In fact - I've traveled rather widely around the world and as a visitor it's obvious that you need to pay a modicum of attention to your surroundings and not set yourself up as bait. What everyone has been saying in the thread about what to take, what to stash etc is all you need to do. It dead easy really. If you're going to start ranting about Bonaire and the police there then I suppose you'd better just rant about the police everywhere in the world. I wonder what the recovery rate is for goods stolen out of cars in the US or other places - or the conviction rate for arrests? I know when I lived in Amsterdam the only reason you would even go to the police station to report something like that was for insurance purposes. They have laughed in your face if you'd seriously expected them to be able to do something.

 

[Doc]

Have you ever seen the guns carried by the folks who are on guard at night around COCO View? They are not 22 pistols!!!

The guard at Buddy Dive is not armed at all.

Makes one wonder!

The guards used to carry .22 rifles, Dan. That and they had a 20 gge shotgun. When crime arrived via ferry boat from the mainland, largely due to the impoverished coming to look for work, smart operations such as CCV on Roatan took control of the situation.

On the mainland of Honduras, it is not uncommon for robberies to occur, although unlikely for the tourist to suffer one- as even the bad guys understand that there are lines that might well not be crossed.

The guards that walk around CCV are not looking at the guests. I would wager that- if your screen name has anything to do with your observational skills, you were one of the few guests to notice them at all. I'm sure you noticed that they were carrying .357 nickel plated revolvers, 4". The Director carries a Ruger 9 or maybe his HK USP .45 He was hired away from his former position of 12 years as the Head of Military Airport Security for Honduras. He reported directly to our DEA when necessary. The CCV guards train twice a week in tactical operations. Director Marcos Avilio is one tough cookie. The guards are real professionals- he sees to it. CoCoView sensed a problem and got the best man to head it off. Done.

If you see a problem in the distance, you can rise up to meet it and keep it off of your private ten acre island, as did CoCoView~ it's never been a problem with those quiet guys on duty in the shadows at night. Or you can do something else.

Like I always say about car break ins at shore dive sites... 1 bullet, one marksman, one hill.

The goofs at Bonaire who break into cars left by dumb @ss tourists who don't have a clue. Bonaire looks bad simply because they have such widespread and fabulous shore diving. If you had this at any other island, you wouldn't be thinking about "just" Bonaire.

They haven't graduated to robbing people. (Face to face, strong arm stuff)

Do not alarm readers by inflammatory words. Instead, find, identify and analyze the problem, note the solution. One method brings simple, easy and cost effective results, many others do not.

Guards at Bonaire resorts probably don't need firearms. Also understand that you simply do not create an armed guard by handing a man a pistol. There's a whole lot of that going on in the Caribbean.

1 bullet, one marksman, one hill.

 

[Phacops]

This subject seems to have been flogged to death, but my $0.02.

Have been to Bonaire 4 times with no problems. I've traveled a bit and learned that vacation doesn't mean that life is put on hold, so everyday precautions apply. Just use your normal smarts.

That being said, I've visited most of the shore diving sites both when we were the only divers and when there were other divers and sundry swimmers/snorkelers. I've not lost anything but if somebody takes the old T-shirt or sunglasses then they need it more than I do and that doesn't bother me.

What I can say is that I have always felt comfortable on Bonaire. I don't speak papiemento so its hard for me to know exactly how friendly the people are that don't deal with diving tourists, but I feel that I have always been treated well. And, I was surprised once when buying somethind and I didn't have enough cash, the owner let me take my purchase with a promise to return. Maybe that's very rare, but it's trust nonetheless.

p.s. I've had my car damaged twice when at canoe put-ins in Michigan, and once had to park at a local Audobon ranch in Wyoming when I saw several cars broken into at a wilderness trailhead.

 

[DeputyDan]

My comments were not to disc Roatan but to let folks know that crime in Bonaire really isn't the issue its made out to be.

I'm not so sure but some of the theft could be by other divers.

The guns were the real McCoy at COCO View and the guards appeared to know their business.

 

[Martha]

Sheesh, I've been without the internet for a while due to the recent ice storm (and terrible internet service on a good day) and I can't believe this thread is still going strong... If you're anti-Bonaire (or Bonaire police), stay home, otherwise go, use a little common sense, and enjoy the wonderful shore diving that Bonaire has to offer.

 

[Boat Chick]

Just returned from my seventh trip to Bonaire and had no problems, and have never had any problems on any of my trips....