La Dania to Karpata

[Tunaman68]

Honestly . . . I think you're getting ahead of yourself. Do some diving first and then decide if you really think that's worth it.

Because of too much planning instead of embracing the 'jump in wherever you want' philosophy of Bonaire or because La Dania's is a lot of work compared to other sites that offer the same thing??

OCD trip planning is my hobby!! Thanks everyone! I was thinking of calling Bas for a wild side dive as well....There's enough "want to's" to fill 4 trips!!

 

[djtimmy77]

So do you think the dive is different enough from the others nearby that it was worth the effort? We have talked about trying it and have even looked for the starting point but have never committed to the dive.

It is very similar to Karpata (you can see half of this dive if you swim to the left at Karpata) but I thought it was absolutely gorgeous, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I rank it up there with Karpata and Rappel, which makes sense as it is right in between them! haha

The site is marked by a ying/yang painted in the middle of the road and a small pile of rocks on the left side. Not a real parking area but enough room on the side of the road to pull over and unload gear. The trickiest part is getting down the path without slipping on the loose gravel on the first part, or spraining an ankle on the jagged rocks closer to shore. We scouted a good spot for entry (to the right) prior to going down there with gear.

 

[GOCACHN]

We did this dive last August. The middle of the road was marked with a spray painted ying-yang symbol and there was a large rock cairn next to the trail down to the leap.I dropped my wife and eleven year old son off at the trail and parked the truck up at Karpata and walked back. We had a nice slow dive to Karpata and easily spotted the anchors marking the exit about an hour later. It was one of our favorite dives of the week.

 

[handben]

I did this dive for the first time in January. I've dove Karpata though many times (8-10), so it was fairly easy to tell when we were at Karpata. That said, I've sort of looked for the anchors on most dives and never seen them. With no current and swimming at a modest pace we did the dive in about 25 minutes. Next time I will take my time as we had more than half a tank left when we got to Karpata. I definitely recommend diving Karpata first though so you are familiar with the exit and make sure the current is favorable before jumping in.

 

[Atom]

I think it worth it for the wall at La Dania. Do Karpata a few times to know the exit and the anchor. Then you jump and work your way up slowly.

 

[bcaderunr]

Have done Karpata at least 10 times and the La Dania "drift" twice. Last time was Feb., 2013. I have never encountered any current. The dive took about 50 minutes -- splash-in to exit. Ying-Yang on the road marks a well-worn path down to the water. There's room to pull out on the right side of the road.

The key is to look for the Anchor after 35-40 minutes which is at exactly 35 feet. From there go 50 meters further (to the north) and hang a right on a 30 degree heading. That should get you to within spitting distance of the concrete pier exit at Karpata. Of course, there's never any harm in a "Prairie Dog Pop-up" to be certain once you've been at safety depth for a few minutes.

If you don't have a driver, I'd personally drop the gear with your buddy at the Ying-Yang, leave the vehicle at Karpata and walk back the 200 meters (max) along the road.

 

[boat sju]

Because of too much planning instead of embracing the 'jump in wherever you want' philosophy of Bonaire or because La Dania's is a lot of work compared to other sites that offer the same thing??

OCD trip planning is my hobby!! Thanks everyone! I was thinking of calling Bas for a wild side dive as well....There's enough "want to's" to fill 4 trips!!

Tuna, Some others have alluded to what I'm thinking: "Is it really worth it at this point in your diving experience on Bonaire?" Maybe on your fourth trip - which I can almost guarantee will happen. Believe me, I'm an Engineer, so I understand the whole CDO thing, so if it makes you happy go for it. I just don't know if there's any real advantage to doing the dive and if there is some current and you miss the exit point it could be a PITA. Not really a big deal - just a PITA.

boat

 

[uncfnp]

Speaking as another OCD, plan ahead but be adaptable.

 

[reefseal]

Super easy. On way there, you'll see path just before getting to parking area at Karpata. Leave tanks/BC/Reg and weights there. Park at Karpata. Take short walk to gear. Hump tanks on. follow path towards water. Have good booties as walking over lava rock like stuff. Do the stride. At this point, you're committed. Follow wall with the flow. You'll know when you're at Karpata when you see first heard of divers that are usually hanging around there. It's my one favorite dive. Feels real good getting in water after hike to the leap!

 

[TheWizard]

I've walked down the path from the Ying-Yang symbol a few times but never saw what seemed to be a completely safe place to jump into the water to start this dive.
And I routinely jump in from the ironshore at Oil Slick Leap, so it's not like I'm chicken or something...