drrich2
Contributor
Hi:
Recently spent a week on Bonaire diving with my favorite dive buddy. We each picked some of the dives; he'd been wanting to dive a couple of sites in Washington-Slagbaai Park. So we loaded up the truck and headed that way.
He picked a place called Playa Chikitu. It looks like a nice, sandy harbor betwixt the rock walls on either side, and despite the sometimes big waves rolling in, at least looks like despite a 'challenging' entry, it might afford a decent place to get in & out without getting dashing against rocks. So, we tried it. Spoiler: we got our butts handed to us and were glad to drive away in pretty good health.
Let's take a look at what some research & thought might've revealed, then how the 'dive' went down.
1.) Looking at a park map, it's identified as a place of interest, but not a dive site.
2.) Ditto on my Franko Bonaire map which lists the dive sites. Last year we shore dove the Cai area, a recognized east coast dive site which was 'challenging,' but at least it's recognized as a dive site!
3.) It's clearly on the east coast, not the north end. East coast diving can be outright dangerous.
So we gear up & try to walk in.
1.) Attempt 1 - a wave knocks me down & escorts me back into the shallows. A fin is washed off my arm (normally running my forearm through the fin straps secures them for shore entry; not this time). My buddy grabs the fin. Turns out geared up there on that sand I cannot stand up unless I'm in like under a foot of water. Surprising and humbling. At 6'1" & nearly 275 lbs to begin with, I'm not used to being tossed around. Got some practice that day!
2.) Attempt 2 - Knocked down again & sent to the shallows. Then I notice both our tank bangers, which we wear to get each others attention like in emergencies, are sent almost right to shore right together! Later, in hindsight, I'd conclude God may've been making a suggestion there, but I didn't get it at the time.
3.) Attempt 3 (yeah, slow learners sometimes) - aim to time it, get in & down & sort of 'dive under' the oncoming big waves. Waves, surge & a sandy bottom combine to blow the viz. badly, so I'm trying to cut through the water wondering where my buddy is. Then I see him, right before I slam into & past him.
4.) So now I'm heading out, trying to figure out whether to go back (and maybe slam into him some more since I can't see far), or go up top & look for him (but if I knocked him unconscious, he won't be up there anyway), swim on out & hope to meet him where the water clears nearer the hoped-for reef drop-off (which I figure he will try), or something else. I elect to swim for the drop off. Disoriented to direction & had picked a lousy day to leave my compass back at the room; looked at the sand to try to discern lines to tell the direction to swim out. Not clear, but seemed to work.
5.) I make it out that sandy harbor, I'd say, and over a mass of broken up algae that's like a flowing green mat. I'm in waters with surge, rather poor viz. & I can see the rock wall, which I am concerned I might be slammed into if I get close. That rock is rough, too. I don't see my buddy, and am concerned about getting lost in the turbulent ocean. Given the waves up top, going up & trying to surface-swim back sounds like a bad idea.
6.) Now, swimming out the channel and going a bit left sounds like an easy path to retrace, but I'm not entirely sure I'm where I think. If I head the wrong way, this could get real bad. Thankfully, I make it back into the sandy area & eventually back to shore.
7.) Sitting on a rock; don't see him. Oh, crap. Is he out there looking for me? Drowned? What? If he's dead will I be blamed? This is gonna look awful getting picked apart on one of those 'Accidents' threads on ScubaBoard.
8.) Some people way up on the big rock wall to my left wave at me. Later my buddy, who is up there, waves at me. Turns out he, too, swam out, couldn't find me, and took a different approach to exiting - he grabbed part of that rock wall & climbed out! Bloodied up his hand a little, and the ocean yanked a fin off his foot and kept it (we could see it floating out aways from atop the wall, but let it go).
I debated whether to post this since it makes us look like idiots, but figured it might have educational value.
The waves look much bigger when you're trying to walk into that mess than they do in my pictures, and the force of the sea striking the rock walls to either side of this sheltered area was ominous.
Also, it's a longer walk down a sandy hill to the beach & water than you can tell from most of my pics.
My buddy heading that way...
This was my 7'th Bonaire trip; here are some photos taken in the past that I think were at Playa Chikitu:
My wife atop a rock wall. This shot shows that the walls around this area are tall!
A stranger atop the wall, and in the 2'nd shot, a look at the waves.
It's a beautiful place to take pictures:
This might be from that area:
I'm curious as to whether anybody dives Playa Chikitu. We've shore dove Bonaire a lot but we don't have the experience of diving coastal California or the north Atlantic, so what over-whelmed us might've been routine for some of you.
Richard.
P.S.: Got 20 dives in Bonaire (I didn't count this, which was very brief), & had a great time.
Recently spent a week on Bonaire diving with my favorite dive buddy. We each picked some of the dives; he'd been wanting to dive a couple of sites in Washington-Slagbaai Park. So we loaded up the truck and headed that way.
He picked a place called Playa Chikitu. It looks like a nice, sandy harbor betwixt the rock walls on either side, and despite the sometimes big waves rolling in, at least looks like despite a 'challenging' entry, it might afford a decent place to get in & out without getting dashing against rocks. So, we tried it. Spoiler: we got our butts handed to us and were glad to drive away in pretty good health.
Let's take a look at what some research & thought might've revealed, then how the 'dive' went down.
1.) Looking at a park map, it's identified as a place of interest, but not a dive site.
2.) Ditto on my Franko Bonaire map which lists the dive sites. Last year we shore dove the Cai area, a recognized east coast dive site which was 'challenging,' but at least it's recognized as a dive site!
3.) It's clearly on the east coast, not the north end. East coast diving can be outright dangerous.
So we gear up & try to walk in.
1.) Attempt 1 - a wave knocks me down & escorts me back into the shallows. A fin is washed off my arm (normally running my forearm through the fin straps secures them for shore entry; not this time). My buddy grabs the fin. Turns out geared up there on that sand I cannot stand up unless I'm in like under a foot of water. Surprising and humbling. At 6'1" & nearly 275 lbs to begin with, I'm not used to being tossed around. Got some practice that day!
2.) Attempt 2 - Knocked down again & sent to the shallows. Then I notice both our tank bangers, which we wear to get each others attention like in emergencies, are sent almost right to shore right together! Later, in hindsight, I'd conclude God may've been making a suggestion there, but I didn't get it at the time.
3.) Attempt 3 (yeah, slow learners sometimes) - aim to time it, get in & down & sort of 'dive under' the oncoming big waves. Waves, surge & a sandy bottom combine to blow the viz. badly, so I'm trying to cut through the water wondering where my buddy is. Then I see him, right before I slam into & past him.
4.) So now I'm heading out, trying to figure out whether to go back (and maybe slam into him some more since I can't see far), or go up top & look for him (but if I knocked him unconscious, he won't be up there anyway), swim on out & hope to meet him where the water clears nearer the hoped-for reef drop-off (which I figure he will try), or something else. I elect to swim for the drop off. Disoriented to direction & had picked a lousy day to leave my compass back at the room; looked at the sand to try to discern lines to tell the direction to swim out. Not clear, but seemed to work.
5.) I make it out that sandy harbor, I'd say, and over a mass of broken up algae that's like a flowing green mat. I'm in waters with surge, rather poor viz. & I can see the rock wall, which I am concerned I might be slammed into if I get close. That rock is rough, too. I don't see my buddy, and am concerned about getting lost in the turbulent ocean. Given the waves up top, going up & trying to surface-swim back sounds like a bad idea.
6.) Now, swimming out the channel and going a bit left sounds like an easy path to retrace, but I'm not entirely sure I'm where I think. If I head the wrong way, this could get real bad. Thankfully, I make it back into the sandy area & eventually back to shore.
7.) Sitting on a rock; don't see him. Oh, crap. Is he out there looking for me? Drowned? What? If he's dead will I be blamed? This is gonna look awful getting picked apart on one of those 'Accidents' threads on ScubaBoard.
8.) Some people way up on the big rock wall to my left wave at me. Later my buddy, who is up there, waves at me. Turns out he, too, swam out, couldn't find me, and took a different approach to exiting - he grabbed part of that rock wall & climbed out! Bloodied up his hand a little, and the ocean yanked a fin off his foot and kept it (we could see it floating out aways from atop the wall, but let it go).
I debated whether to post this since it makes us look like idiots, but figured it might have educational value.
The waves look much bigger when you're trying to walk into that mess than they do in my pictures, and the force of the sea striking the rock walls to either side of this sheltered area was ominous.
Also, it's a longer walk down a sandy hill to the beach & water than you can tell from most of my pics.
My buddy heading that way...
This was my 7'th Bonaire trip; here are some photos taken in the past that I think were at Playa Chikitu:
My wife atop a rock wall. This shot shows that the walls around this area are tall!
A stranger atop the wall, and in the 2'nd shot, a look at the waves.
It's a beautiful place to take pictures:
This might be from that area:
I'm curious as to whether anybody dives Playa Chikitu. We've shore dove Bonaire a lot but we don't have the experience of diving coastal California or the north Atlantic, so what over-whelmed us might've been routine for some of you.
Richard.
P.S.: Got 20 dives in Bonaire (I didn't count this, which was very brief), & had a great time.
