dive friends. Orientation and tank exchange

[jujubeess]

Hello,
We will be using dive friends this year and are returning yearly guests on bonaire. This is the first year we are staying at a private home. Can anyone tell me how are they on their orientation( quick or long) and how do they do tank exchanges? Do you need to sign out each tank? Are they numbered? How do you get tanks for night dives( last minute)? How many tanks do they let you take at one time? I understand they they have numerous places around they island, but my husband and I like to take the tanks for the day without worrying coming back( park or southern sites).
thank you

 

[cjibber]

Hello,
We will be using dive friends this year and are returning yearly guests on bonaire. This is the first year we are staying at a private home. Can anyone tell me how are they on their orientation( quick or long) and how do they do tank exchanges? Do you need to sign out each tank? Are they numbered? How do you get tanks for night dives( last minute)? How many tanks do they let you take at one time? I understand they they have numerous places around they island, but my husband and I like to take the tanks for the day without worrying coming back( park or southern sites).
thank you

Our orientation with Dive Friends was very quick i.e. after we had filled out the paperwork and paid for our tags, we were given weight belts and went for our dive. We were told the "dos and don'ts" while we did the paperwork and were underwater by 8:45. This was however, our sixth time with Dive Friends so I guess it may take a bit longer if you are using them for the first time.

There are five locations for exchanging tanks. We stayed at Sanddollar where there is 24 hour access to tanks for guests. At all the locations, there are signs up saying max 2 tanks per diver and you can only collect tanks up until about 4:30/5:00.

The tanks are numbered and you do sign for them when you collect them. There is a clipboard in the area where you collect the tanks and you just add your name and tank number to the list Previously when we have not had 24 hr access, we would get a couple of tanks each the night before if we were heading South. The Port Bonaire office is by the airport so if we wanted a third tank, it is not far to go to swap them over again. We would occasionally take a third tank if we wanted to do a night/evening dive as well. If there are plenty of tanks about then no-one seemed to have a problem with this although I suppose they do not want everyone doing it at the same time!

 

[howswedeofme]

We just went last week and dove with Dive Friends with the Yellow Sub location being our main location. The orientation is basically just a buoyancy check to make sure that you have the correct weight on your belt. It takes less than 5 minutes.

We used nitrox, and for that you sign out the tank (it has a number) on a spreadsheet when you check the mix. You sign out each tank with your name, the tank number, for nitrox you include the mix, and the location you're signing it out from. I don't know what the process is for air but I'm assuming that it's similar.

For night dives, you need to get the tanks in advance because the locations all close at 5pm. You can take two at a time, so we basically tried to make sure that we always had two tanks in the back of the truck everyday when the shop closed at 5 whether we were going to use them or not. We did not ask about taking a third tank for night dives or being on farther away parts of the island, but it is basically an honor system/grab your own situation so maybe they'd make an exception or not care.

 

[tursiops]

Hello,
We will be using dive friends this year and are returning yearly guests on bonaire. This is the first year we are staying at a private home. Can anyone tell me how are they on their orientation( quick or long) and how do they do tank exchanges? Do you need to sign out each tank? Are they numbered? How do you get tanks for night dives( last minute)? How many tanks do they let you take at one time? I understand they they have numerous places around they island, but my husband and I like to take the tanks for the day without worrying coming back( park or southern sites).
thank you

Were you not happy with the multiple responses you got to this question on Bonaire Talk?

 

[jujubeess]

It's not that I did not like nor appreciate the replies on Bonairetalk. There are people on this site that may not use Bonairetalk and their opinion is just as important.

 

[boat sju]

Do people think that just because they insert a smiley face that their response still doesn't make them look like a jerk?

 

[Kharon]

I never had a tank limit with Dive Friends except at their Cliff location (2). Nor did I need to sign out tanks at any of their locations. But I was using air. Before they closed every day (5pm or so) I would stop and grab all my tanks for the night & next morning (usually 3, sometimes 4 if I was diving way north very early). After the morning dives I'd drop them off and grab a couple more for the afternoon. Then the final stop, drop and last pickup toward evening. Sounds like a lot but when you're going from dive site to dive site you're almost always near or passing one of their shops.

 

[wwguy]

I never had a tank limit with Dive Friends except at their Cliff location (2). Nor did I need to sign out tanks at any of their locations. But I was using air. Before they closed every day (5pm or so) I would stop and grab all my tanks for the night & next morning (usually 3, sometimes 4 if I was diving way north very early). After the morning dives I'd drop them off and grab a couple more for the afternoon. Then the final stop, drop and last pickup toward evening. Sounds like a lot but when you're going from dive site to dive site you're almost always near or passing one of their shops.

They seem to be more relaxed about this when they have plenty of tanks on hand. But over the Christmas holidays they were running at full capacity with 330+ guests between all 5 shops and were actively (and politely) monitoring the 2 tank limit.

From the FAQ page on Dive Friends Bonaire's website:

Q: Can I take more than one tank for shore diving at a time?
A: Yes, of course you may. Any registered diver may take a maximum of 2 tanks per person when diving south; when diving north we ask you to take a maximum of one tank per person. This is normally not a problem, as we have five locations on the island and there is always a location nearby to change and pick up tanks.