Securing "accessories" while out diving

[oldschoolto]

I said cheap sunglasses.... Like ZZ Tops sings about..

Jim...

 

[Lorenzoid]

• T-shirt and shorts - I wear a ratty old t-shirt to the dive site and the bathing suit that I will wear under my wetsuit--I don't take a separate pair of shorts. I take enough old t-shirts with me that, in the unlikely event that one is liberated from the truck, it will not be much of a bother.
• Flip-flops - I take two pairs of cheap flip flops with me to Bonaire. In the unlikely event that the pair I wear to drive to a dive site is liberated from the truck, I would wear my dive booties on the drive back to my lodging and use the backup pair to go out diving again. For still further deterrence, I separate the two flip flops that I leave in the truck, tossing one in the front seat and one in the truck bed. My logic is that a would-be flip-flop thief is not going to make off with one flip flop of a pair nor spend more than a few seconds looking for the other one.
• Specs in case - I wear contact lenses. I would not leave a pair of specs/glasses in the truck. Here you may want to take an Otter Box or similar case with you on the dive. I bring a backup pair of inexpensive sunglasses that I leave in my room. This is nothing unique to Bonaire, as I would not travel to the tropics with just one pair of sunglasses, and I would not travel with sunglasses that are attractive to thieves.
• Towel - Like the flip-flops and t-shirts, bring only a cheap towel that you would not mind losing. I rarely bring a towel in any event because Bonaire is so hot and arid that I dry in the sun pretty quickly after a dive. Sitting on the truck seat with wet bathing suit is not a problem, as I am sure everyone does it. These are rugged trucks.
• Sun cream - I bring four or five small tubes on my trip. I take one with me for the day and leave the others in my room. If the one I leave in the truck is not there when I return from a dive, I simply use one of my backup tubes the next time I go out. The likelihood of it being taken is low to begin with. One backup tube would probably suffice.
• Water bottle - I buy water from the store in plastic bottles. I refill the bottles regularly, taking one or two with me each time I head out for a dive and leaving it in the truck. Like everything else, if someone helps themselves to the water bottle I left in the truck, I have replacements back in my room.
• Camera lens cap - I'm not a photographer, but this is something I would bring with me underwater.
• Truck keys - I suspect the most common answer is to simply put the truck key in your BC pocket and take it with you on the dive.

In summary, everything I take to the dive site in my truck can be divided into one of two categories: (1) important stuff that stays on my person during the dive, and (2) readily replaceable stuff of little to no value that's likely to be of little to no interest to anyone else that stays in the truck during the dive.

 

[RJP]

Now that I have decided to rent my own truck after all, I want to ask what to do with the unavoidable personal effects that one has to take to the dive site but not underwater. I know that the rule is to "leave truck unlocked and leave nothing behind" but in practice I would find this very difficult. Sure, there would be no valuables, but there are essential items that would make it very inconvenient to lose.

• T-shirt and shorts
• Flip-flops
• Specs in case
• Towel
• Sun cream
• Water bottle
• Camera lens cap
• Truck keys

I could stuff that lot into a small waterproof bag, but where to leave the bag? Obviously, I cannot take it underwater with me and since the truck is left unlocked, cannot leave it there. What do people do?

Simple rule of thumb: Don't leave anything in the truck that you wouldn't willingly throw away.

I divide the stuff I take to Bonaire into two groupings: the stuff that I take in the water... and the stuff that's locked in my hotel room. There is nothing in between.

NOTHING

I think the one thing that first-time visitors to Bonaire don't appreciate - I know I didn't the first time - is just how small the island is, and how easy it is to get around. Look at the circle I've drawn around the the middle of town on the map below. (Originally for someone staying at Dive Hut, but your place is right near there.)

There are 58 dive sites within a 5-mile radius of where you're staying!

In fact, with the exception of a handful of sites up in The Park, you can easily drive from any dive site on Bonaire... back to where you're staying, swap your tanks, get fresh batteries, take a shower, change your clothes, make a few sandwiches... and then drive to any OTHER dive site on Bonaire... and still have 20 minutes left on your 1-hr surface interval! No need to bring tools, extra batteries, changes of clothing, a giant cooler full of food, etc, etc.

My buddy and I leave a few bottles of water and a couple of sandwiches in the truck. And we don't even leave them in a cooler. We leave them in a bucket of ice water... because petty thieves won't take the time to open a cooler to see what's in it. They will simply grab-n-go, hoping that you also stashed your wallet or something else of value in the cooler. This is why you hear of people having old tee-shirts and ratty shorts stolen. It's not because the thieves want your old clothes... it's because they're hoping you left $10 in the pocket.

I put a Visa card, my ID, the truck key, and a few bucks in the zippered pocket of the board shorts I wear into the water. I don't care if the first three get wet... and any merchant on Bonaire that won't accept wet currency (or wet patrons, for that matter) will be out of business within a week.

 

[oldschoolto]

Simple rule of thumb: Don't leave anything in the truck that you wouldn't willingly throw away.

I divide the stuff I take to Bonaire into two groupings: the stuff that I take in the water... and the stuff that's locked in my hotel room. There is nothing in between.

NOTHING

I think the one thing that first-time visitors to Bonaire don't appreciate - I know I didn't the first time - is just how small the island is, and how easy it is to get around. Look at the circle I've drawn around the the middle of town on the map below. (Originally for someone staying at Dive Hut, but your place is right near there.)

There are 58 dive sites within a 5-mile radius of where you're staying!

In fact, with the exception of a handful of sites up in The Park, you can easily drive from any dive site on Bonaire... back to where you're staying, swap your tanks, get fresh batteries, take a shower, change your clothes, make a few sandwiches... and then drive to any OTHER dive site on Bonaire... and still have 20 minutes left on your 1-hr surface interval! No need to bring tools, extra batteries, changes of clothing, a giant cooler full of food, etc, etc.

My buddy and I leave a few bottles of water and a couple of sandwiches in the truck. And we don't even leave them in a cooler. We leave them in a bucket of ice water... because petty thieves won't take the time to open a cooler to see what's in it. They will simply grab-n-go, hoping that you also stashed your wallet or something else of value in the cooler. This is why you hear of people having old tee-shirts and ratty shorts stolen. It's not because the thieves want your old clothes... it's because they're hoping you left $10 in the pocket.

I put a Visa card, my ID, the truck key, and a few bucks in the zippered pocket of the board shorts I wear into the water. I don't care if the first three get wet... and any merchant on Bonaire that won't accept wet currency (or wet patrons, for that matter) will be out of business within a week.

You say " Nothing " then list a bucket of ice with water bottles in it ,.. Just saying... LoL..

Jim....

 

[RJP]

You say " Nothing " then list a bucket of ice with water bottles in it ,.. Just saying... LoL..

Jim....

Ya know... as I clicked SUBMIT I thought "Someone is gonna go there... I just know it."

Though, technically I specified "the stuff that I bring to Bonaire" which would include neither the water bottles nor the bucket of ice. So... yeah.

 

[Hintermann]

RJP, thank you VERY MUCH for that response and the reference map. In that case, I can easily put on my wetsuit and booties before starting out (no need to take shorts, T-shirt, towel, sun cream or flip-flops), leave glasses behind (I only need them for reading and close work. Do not even need a prescription mask), push the lens-cap under the seat (no resale value) and stuff the car/room keys in the BCD pocket.

The only problem would be driving back to the room with a wet wetsuit. My Adrenalin 3mm is very flexible and I am sure I can manage that.

 

[mbs]

RJP, thank you VERY MUCH for that response and the reference map. In that case, I can easily put on my wetsuit and booties before starting out (no need to take shorts, T-shirt, towel, sun cream or flip-flops), leave glasses behind (I only need them for reading and close work. Do not even need a prescription mask), push the lens-cap under the seat (no resale value) and stuff the car/room keys in the BCD pocket.

The only problem would be driving back to the room with a wet wetsuit. My Adrenalin 3mm is very flexible and I am sure I can manage that.

I normally take beach towels and a ratty tee shirt. So after the dives I can take off the wet suit and cover the car seat with the towel to keep it dry. Water bottle is the only other thing left in the truck.

 

[Lorenzoid]

. . .
The only problem would be driving back to the room with a wet wetsuit.

Do you not wear a bathing suit under your wetsuit?

 

[wwguy]

The only problem would be driving back to the room with a wet wetsuit. My Adrenalin 3mm is very flexible and I am sure I can manage that.

I normally take beach towels and a ratty tee shirt. So after the dives I can take off the wet suit and cover the car seat with the towel to keep it dry. Water bottle is the only other thing left in the truck.

Yes, please at least consider taking a towel. It's obvious that wetsuits are much heavier when they're wet because they're full of water. Why soak and stain the rental truck cloth seats with seawater if avoidable?

We fill a couple of empty 2 liter juice or soda bottles (preferably clear color) with water in the morning and leave them in the truck bed to get warm from sunshine. When we return from the dive we strip off our wetsuits and give ourselves a quick rinse from the bottles before toweling off and driving away. Worst case now you're wearing damp swim trunks wet from fresh water, rather than a wetsuit soaked and dripping seawater. If you really want to get comfortable you can wrap the towel around your waist and do a quick surfer-style wardrobe change into dry shorts.

You can also use some of that rinse water to give your camera a quick field-rinse, or take additional recycled plastic bottles for that purpose.

The Bonaire shore diving mantra is (still) simple: Don't leave expensive or desirable items in the truck, and don't leave your inexpensive items in a manner that makes them look possibly expensive (like leaving everything rolled up into one easy-to grab bundle etc. Also, I'm pretty sure Bonairean thieves don't have much interest or use for your sunscreen.

 

[diversteve]

There are 58 dive sites within a 5-mile radius of where you're staying!

But the best ones are outside the circle..

I do agree though, we passed our rental so regularly that we started stopping for lunch (and to change video camera batteries) later in the week. The only long drive is once you pass the one way gate on the way to Karpata and the far north sites - from there you have to legally continue inland to Rincon then back down to town. Although that's only about 20minutes also.

Some (not all) of the rentals have smart keys now so you'd need to keep them dry. IDK which ones but have seen it mentioned a couple times. My guess would be Budget, Avis or Hertz at the airport.