Harro10
Contributor
I landed on Bonaire 11/10 and got to the hotel after the dive shop closed so no diving that day. I stayed at the Hamlet Oasis, which is just north of Capt. Dons Habitat. My package included three two tank boat dives and unlimited shore diving. I checked in at the on site dive shop, Photo Tour Divers, at 8:30 AM to fill out all the paperwork and get my Marine Park tag. It had been raining harder then usual even for the rainy season with strong winds blowing from the east instead on the usual westerly direction so the Bonaires famous easy shore diving in the calm waters of the common east side sites was not very calm. The wind stayed like this until the last dive day of my trip. The visibility was reportedly down from the rain and unusual wind and wave action. I picked up two tanks and headed out. Water temps were 82 84 degrees for the entire trip.
11/11/04
First dive: Shore dive - max depth 59 ; bottom time 51 min ; viz 45
I did a shore dive from the Cliff site. Nice reef with good amount of small life. Was impressed with one particular trumpet fish. I was knocked around a bit by the waves while exiting on the rocky/coral shore line, pulled a leg muscle and lost a lost a fin strap socket on one fin (had a replacement). Learned a lot from my poor exit and improved my technique
I drove up to Oil Slick to check out that site. It is a concrete platform with a ladder about 5 down to the ocean. The waves were crashing over the platform and there were several divers just standing there staring. I decided to rethink that site. I drove down to the Hooker and the Angel site but there was so much standing water between the road and the parking for the site I could not access them. I had rented a small Yaris hatchback a mistake. I saw one pickup truck stuck in water up to the passenger compartment. I headed back to the Cliff site, which was some what protected from the wind and waves by the island of Klein Bonaire
Second dive: Shore dive - max depth 43 ; bottom time 52 min ; viz 40
Site: Cliff; Same as above but the visibility was a bit down. I came across the Capt. Dons memorial to past divers with the underwater Bonaire and dive flags, a nice touch.
My leg was sore and I called it a day for diving.
11/12/04
First Dive: Boat dove max depth 60 ; bottom time 61 min ; viz 50
Site: Klein Bonaire Rockpile; All the dive boats were trying for the protected sites and we could not get a mooring so we did a drift dive. A very nice dive. A lot of staghorn coral, two turtles, a moray, file fish and the usual marine suspects. Saw two card (?) fish doing the mating dance, one head butting the other in the stomach and then the two going into an upward swimming spiral around each other.
Second dive: Boat dive max depth 74 : bottom time 63 min ; viz 50
Site: Klein Bonaire Bonaventure; 3 turtles, dogfish, flounders. Good coral, saw some hurricane damage.
11/13/04
The wind was still from the east so I decided to dive the west side (wild side) of the island. Myself and three other divers went with a dive master from the shop.
First dive: Shore dive max depth 42 ; bottom time 82 min ; viz 70
Site: Cai; Great dive, the best dive of the trip, entered in the channel from the bay to the ocean and the visibility was even excellent there. We were heading toward a school of 40 to 50 large tarpon when we saw a spotted eagle ray, then two more, then a group of three swimming in unison. This was off the sand just before the wall drop-off. On the wall we saw two scorpion fish, morays, lobsters and others. We saw several more spotted eagle rays but they may have been some of the same ones we saw earlier. Many juveniles in the channel to the mangrove area.
The dive master cancelled the second dive after a storm blew in and conditions all around deteriorated. The storm blew over later so I grabbed a tank from the shop.
Second dive: Shore dive max depth 62 ; bottom time 38 min ; viz 50
Site: Oil Slick; Good wall at about 45, excellent fan to barrel to tube other types of coral and sponges. Saw two juvenile morays and large amount of small fish. My leg was starting to hurt and cramp so I called it a dive.
11/14/04
Windy and rainy
First dive: Boat dive max depth 67 ; bottom time 55 min ; viz 40
Site: Klein Bonaire Joannes Sunchi; good dive, one eagle ray, two lizard fish, small moray.
Second dive: Boat dive max depth 52 ; bottom time 57 min ; viz 40
Site: Carls reef, Large green moray, good sized (for Bonaire) tiger grouper, two juvenile Barracuda. Saw hurricane damage, in areas it looked like a cement truck drove down the wall.
11/15/04
First dive: Boat dive max depth 71 ; bottom time 61 min ; viz 50
Site: Klein Bonaire Forest; not much life in this area but nice assortment of corals and sponges
Second dive: Boat dive, Drift dive; - max depth 59 ; bottom time 63 min ; viz 50
Site: Jerrys reef; nice wall with excellent array of corals. Two turtles, large tiger moray, hamlet fish, tarpon, schools of small life.
11/16/04
Rainy and windy
First dive: Shore, Wreck max depth 85 ; bottom time 30 min ; viz 40
Cargo ship lying on port side, large cargo hold open. Not much growth on the wreck. A large Barracuda off the wreck. Dive boats occupied all three moorings. By far the most divers that I have seen under water at one site in Bonaire.
Second dive: Shore, max depth 45; bottom dime 44 min ; viz 55
Site: Karpata; Nice wall with angles, and Elkhorn coral leading to wall from shore. Saw a large anchor with about a 5 shaft buried in the wall (was told afterward that there is another one in the area). This was my second favorite dive in Bonaire.
I would like to have done more diving but I was conservative because of my sore leg and the weather. There was rain every day but the worst of it started on my last dive day (11/16) and continued steadily into the next day and dropped over 8 inches with a great deal of flooding. The main road north of town was completely impassible and at times I questioned if I was going to make to the airport using the detours but it turned out ok.
Two restaurants that I would recommend are Casablanca for steaks (the rib eye was excellent) south of town and La Petit Bistro north of town.
I did not have any problem with theft but I left the car unlocked with nothing in it but an old tee shirt at the dive sites. I did hear that there is now even a problem with spare tanks being stolen from cars at the sites. The tanks cannot be fenced on the island but they are being transported to South America in bulk and sold. As I said I did not have a problem and no other diver I spoke to mentioned having one.
All in all a good enjoyable trip
11/11/04
First dive: Shore dive - max depth 59 ; bottom time 51 min ; viz 45
I did a shore dive from the Cliff site. Nice reef with good amount of small life. Was impressed with one particular trumpet fish. I was knocked around a bit by the waves while exiting on the rocky/coral shore line, pulled a leg muscle and lost a lost a fin strap socket on one fin (had a replacement). Learned a lot from my poor exit and improved my technique
I drove up to Oil Slick to check out that site. It is a concrete platform with a ladder about 5 down to the ocean. The waves were crashing over the platform and there were several divers just standing there staring. I decided to rethink that site. I drove down to the Hooker and the Angel site but there was so much standing water between the road and the parking for the site I could not access them. I had rented a small Yaris hatchback a mistake. I saw one pickup truck stuck in water up to the passenger compartment. I headed back to the Cliff site, which was some what protected from the wind and waves by the island of Klein Bonaire
Second dive: Shore dive - max depth 43 ; bottom time 52 min ; viz 40
Site: Cliff; Same as above but the visibility was a bit down. I came across the Capt. Dons memorial to past divers with the underwater Bonaire and dive flags, a nice touch.
My leg was sore and I called it a day for diving.
11/12/04
First Dive: Boat dove max depth 60 ; bottom time 61 min ; viz 50
Site: Klein Bonaire Rockpile; All the dive boats were trying for the protected sites and we could not get a mooring so we did a drift dive. A very nice dive. A lot of staghorn coral, two turtles, a moray, file fish and the usual marine suspects. Saw two card (?) fish doing the mating dance, one head butting the other in the stomach and then the two going into an upward swimming spiral around each other.
Second dive: Boat dive max depth 74 : bottom time 63 min ; viz 50
Site: Klein Bonaire Bonaventure; 3 turtles, dogfish, flounders. Good coral, saw some hurricane damage.
11/13/04
The wind was still from the east so I decided to dive the west side (wild side) of the island. Myself and three other divers went with a dive master from the shop.
First dive: Shore dive max depth 42 ; bottom time 82 min ; viz 70
Site: Cai; Great dive, the best dive of the trip, entered in the channel from the bay to the ocean and the visibility was even excellent there. We were heading toward a school of 40 to 50 large tarpon when we saw a spotted eagle ray, then two more, then a group of three swimming in unison. This was off the sand just before the wall drop-off. On the wall we saw two scorpion fish, morays, lobsters and others. We saw several more spotted eagle rays but they may have been some of the same ones we saw earlier. Many juveniles in the channel to the mangrove area.
The dive master cancelled the second dive after a storm blew in and conditions all around deteriorated. The storm blew over later so I grabbed a tank from the shop.
Second dive: Shore dive max depth 62 ; bottom time 38 min ; viz 50
Site: Oil Slick; Good wall at about 45, excellent fan to barrel to tube other types of coral and sponges. Saw two juvenile morays and large amount of small fish. My leg was starting to hurt and cramp so I called it a dive.
11/14/04
Windy and rainy
First dive: Boat dive max depth 67 ; bottom time 55 min ; viz 40
Site: Klein Bonaire Joannes Sunchi; good dive, one eagle ray, two lizard fish, small moray.
Second dive: Boat dive max depth 52 ; bottom time 57 min ; viz 40
Site: Carls reef, Large green moray, good sized (for Bonaire) tiger grouper, two juvenile Barracuda. Saw hurricane damage, in areas it looked like a cement truck drove down the wall.
11/15/04
First dive: Boat dive max depth 71 ; bottom time 61 min ; viz 50
Site: Klein Bonaire Forest; not much life in this area but nice assortment of corals and sponges
Second dive: Boat dive, Drift dive; - max depth 59 ; bottom time 63 min ; viz 50
Site: Jerrys reef; nice wall with excellent array of corals. Two turtles, large tiger moray, hamlet fish, tarpon, schools of small life.
11/16/04
Rainy and windy
First dive: Shore, Wreck max depth 85 ; bottom time 30 min ; viz 40
Cargo ship lying on port side, large cargo hold open. Not much growth on the wreck. A large Barracuda off the wreck. Dive boats occupied all three moorings. By far the most divers that I have seen under water at one site in Bonaire.
Second dive: Shore, max depth 45; bottom dime 44 min ; viz 55
Site: Karpata; Nice wall with angles, and Elkhorn coral leading to wall from shore. Saw a large anchor with about a 5 shaft buried in the wall (was told afterward that there is another one in the area). This was my second favorite dive in Bonaire.
I would like to have done more diving but I was conservative because of my sore leg and the weather. There was rain every day but the worst of it started on my last dive day (11/16) and continued steadily into the next day and dropped over 8 inches with a great deal of flooding. The main road north of town was completely impassible and at times I questioned if I was going to make to the airport using the detours but it turned out ok.
Two restaurants that I would recommend are Casablanca for steaks (the rib eye was excellent) south of town and La Petit Bistro north of town.
I did not have any problem with theft but I left the car unlocked with nothing in it but an old tee shirt at the dive sites. I did hear that there is now even a problem with spare tanks being stolen from cars at the sites. The tanks cannot be fenced on the island but they are being transported to South America in bulk and sold. As I said I did not have a problem and no other diver I spoke to mentioned having one.
All in all a good enjoyable trip
