Bonaire from the Sea - anybody planning to try?

[drrich2]

Hi:

Reading the April Undercurrent issue online today, I saw mention of Bonaire from the Sea. The webpage initially looked sparse on detail, but there's more to it. If I understand correctly, you room on a 44 foot sail boat that docks nightly at Harbor Village Marina. You can get off in the evening & walk around or what-have-you if you wish.

I'll be curious to see what demographic this offering appeals to. They note 42 traveller reviews on Trip Advisor, so they're actively in business. That boat can handle up to 6 passengers but max. 4 scuba divers (and air/nitrox for 2 dives/diver/day). Since it heads back to Harbor Village Marina evenings, seems like it wouldn't have the classic live-aboard advantage (at some destinations) of roaming more widely than day boats. They provide some initial groceries & transportation to the supermarket, and the boat has a kitchen, but it doesn't seem they have a chef turning out 3 meals per day onboard.

Bonaire has long been known as the 'island live-aboard,' where you can handily do a 20+ dives/week without having to live on a boat (nice for the motion sickness-prone, & those who like to roam the island). This offering adds sailing & snorkeling to the mix. Sounds more like the more rounded laid back vacation with some diving - the kind of trip people are usually advised to go elsewhere rather than Bonaire to get. I wonder how many people after that kind of trip will choose to spend a week living on a 44 foot boat?

I wish them well and hope whatever demographic they serve has a good time with them. I'm not that demographic. It seemed a distinctive enough operation to mention on the forum; perhaps someone after their style offering will learn of it.

What say the rest of you? Does this get your interest? Is it likely to appeal to some you know?

Richard.

 

[Trailboss123]

Rich-- Since I am heading back to Bonaire in August, I definitely looked into them and gave them consideration. I can probably afford to waste a little more money than the average budget diver. But even so, I just didn't feel like the experience (for the cost and the ROI) made sense to me for a place like Bonaire. I go to Bonaire to dive all day (4-5 dives) and have a great late night dinner and some nice wine each evening-- before getting up early and doing it again. Which also means that I need to be able to get up and do dawn dives easily and an early night dive before dinner and wine. "Bonaire From the Sea" just didn't fit the bill for me and my crew-- and my "crew" is much better "heeled" than I am. I think their business model might work much better in some other Caribbean locations. Just my opinion-- obviously!

 

[drrich2]

I tried to think of a live-aboard that's not marketed mainly on cramming high volume diving into a week or 10 days (give or take), that might appeal to the 'more rounded' vacation seeker. The only one I've heard of that came to mind was the Cuan Law, from DiverSteve's posts. But that's a 105' long, 44' wide live-aboard that covers your meals and has kayaks and Hobie cats.

Typical advantages of a live-aboard (as I understand them):

1.) High volume diving - 19+ for the week, if conditions are good.
2.) Turn Key Diving - taxi/shuttle from airport to boat & board. Meals, snacks, room, non-alcoholic beverages, transportation from site-to-site, all included. That last evening when the boat returns to home port, you might have to get off and walk to a nearby restaurant for supper. Taxi/shuttle to airport last morning & fly home. Easy peasy.
3.) Assess to farther out, often more pristine dive sites because the boat can moor far afield rather than return to home port at night, giving an advantage over the 'day boats.' In the case of the Cayman Aggressor, it's more about the option to hit all 3 islands that one week (weather allowing).

I don't see those with Bonaire from the Sea, so I went to read reviews & find out what I was missing.

Looking at the Trip Advisor page reviews, they get glowing praise, especially for crew and food ('dinner' was mentioned a few times), so I take it an evening meal can happen? It seemed most reviewers took short term trips (e.g.: rented the boat for a day or half-day). Maethian on July 8, 2016 and Ebertv2 3-17-16 posted about week stays. Judging from reviews taking a day or so for a 'private yacht couple's trip' was a popular use. In that case, they're functioning more like a 'private yacht' version of a day boat, not a live-aboard.

Looking at it from the perspective of a dive-a-holic, I couldn't understand their appeal. The reviews on Trip Advisor were enlightening; they've made some customers really happy! Might be a nice option for couples seeking romance or something special to add to their trip.

Richard.

 

[scubafanatic]

I think it's actually a god idea for Bonaire. Shore diving there can be a LOT of work, I found it to be a bit too much like a camping trip, with way too much gear/tank/weights schlepping over rough, slippery ironshore, often in direct hot sun and meals a logistical pain as well. (I'll admit I'm much more a liveaboard style diver, it's so much easier than land-based ' diving overall.) When I'm on a dive trip Vacation, I want to Dive, not plan logistics or rock climb and not be a pack mule. Also, they can reach Klein Bonaire, out of range of shore based Bonaire divers.

 

[rhwestfall]

on the plus side, the boat is less likely to be ransacked while diving...

 

[Kharon]

Bonaire is so small that boats can cover all of it and Klein Bonaire with short runs. Very few of the dive sites cannot be reached from shore. I often return to my apartment between dives. I can't see any possible reason to spend money to stay cooped up on a small boat all day on Bonaire.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I don't see the point. The freedom of driving a truck loaded with tanks to wherever one's heart desires (or if you don't like having to think about it, just throw a dart at the map and GO), at any time of the day or night, is what makes Bonaire a unique draw for me. On a Bonaire trip, the fewer things that limit my freedom, the better. A boat restricts, not expands, my options on what to do and when to do it. A boat seems pointless on the "Shore Diving Capital of the World."

I do understand there are people who, despite Bonaire's unique draw, visit Bonaire for the same reasons they visit anywhere else, and some even exclusively boat dive. I have read comments from people who find loading and unloading tanks from trucks burdensome or even painful if they suffer from injuries or just age. So I can see who this might appeal to. Still, if I were to find myself in that position, I don't think I would be returning to Bonaire--I'd probably pick a different place altogether.

 

[diver0008]

I think it's actually a god idea for Bonaire. Shore diving there can be a LOT of work, I found it to be a bit too much like a camping trip, with way too much gear/tank/weights schlepping over rough, slippery ironshore, often in direct hot sun and meals a logistical pain as well. (I'll admit I'm much more a liveaboard style diver, it's so much easier than land-based ' diving overall.) When I'm on a dive trip Vacation, I want to Dive, not plan logistics or rock climb and not be a pack mule. Also, they can reach Klein Bonaire, out of range of shore based Bonaire divers.

There are already dive ops on the island doing daily boat dives around Bonaire and Klein Bonaire in the traditional sense, and many people make use of them, I'd surmise for the exact reasons you mention. They sleep in a hotel room, make their way to the dock in the morning, grab their gear, and hit the seas for a couple of dives.

I think what Richard is getting at, and I am with him in his curiosity, is what is the appeal/utility of this hybridized service; a liveaboard that docks nightly. From what I gather, the model is essentially a private valet dive service with a guide, so the benefits to those who would be interested would be no transit, by foot or otherwise, from accomodations to dive departure, no gear to carry, less meals to arrange, and small, privately guided excursions.

I suppose that there is some appeal in that to some, but not to me. The adventurous spirit of shore diving Bonaire is what appeals to me; the rituals of setting up and taking care of my gear, the freedom of diving where and when I want, the intervals driving in the wind and sun, and the tactics of navigating in to, out of, and under water.

Driving carefully through the rough, cactii wilderness of the national park, and diving its remote sites, often with not a soul in sight, totally responsible for my own self in rare environments, is for me a primordial experience, and one that is never without great anticipation.

 

[Doctorfish]

This seems a very strange concept to me. There is no site on Bonaire that cannot be reached by day boat or truck. Why voluntarily be cooped up on a 44 foot sailboat when a comfortable hotel room can be had. For me, a live aboard is a necessary evil only if I want to dive places the day boats can't get to.

 

[scubafanatic]

This seems a very strange concept to me. There is no site on Bonaire that cannot be reached by day boat or truck. Why voluntarily be cooped up on a 44 foot sailboat when a comfortable hotel room can be had. For me, a live aboard is a necessary evil only if I want to dive places the day boats can't get to.

I, on the other hand, consider land-based diving a 'necessary evil' to be avoided whenever a live aboard is an option.