shore diving advice for boat diver?

[tmacdiver]

Hi Lorenzoid
One thing I would recomend { as LeadTurn said } is to wear high ankle booties even if you choose to wear a shorty or a swim suit/rash guard. The shore diving in Bonaire is awsome, but it is not always easy to see the terrain as you walk into the water. With the weight of the gear, the surge { although mild in the shallows } and ballance issues, it is quite easy to cut your ankle or foot by rubbing or slipping into the coral as you get into the water. I had low ankle booties and had several close calls. Also, I had a marker that I used to help me find my way back to my exit point. I tied a tank light to a small weight using a short line. I dropped this onto the sand at the location wear I dropped over the shelf. As I came back to along the shelf at the end of my dive, I looked for my marker. Once I found it, I new that was my exit point and headed to the beach. I also used natural navigation methods { coral, ect. } in case my marker was not there for some reason. Although some might say using the marker was cheating in a way, I was unfamiliar with the area and having the marker helped me relax and enjoy the dive more because I felt very comfortable that I could find my exit point.
Have a great time on your trip!!
Tom

 

[Steve50]

Hi Lorenzoid
Although some might say using the marker was cheating in a way, Tom

There is no such thing as cheating in navigation

 

[helimvee]

General Shore Diving Comments:

Remember that there is no dive boat marking your spot, so consider using a flag or SMB and surfacing in shallow water.

If the shoreline is rough, make sure you have a reference marker so you can take the easiest route back to shore on exit.

Bonaire Shore Diving Comments:

Buy the book Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy. It has descriptions of most (all?) shore dives. Available at dive shops on Bonaire.

Yes you should take a compass with you. You may not need it on most dives, but if you are diving some of the southern sites, as mentioned above, the sand flats can be confusing if you are not paying attention. Also, if you venture to the 2nd reef and viz is bad it is easy to get turned around.

Many of the sites have tricky entries (i.e Hilma Hooker) Check out your entry path before gearing up. Make sure you can find it on your exit - using your truck as a reference is one way. Some people put flags or tie ribbons to their trucks to help them id them - many of the trucks look exactly the same (even the rust spots)

If you are carrying camera gear, you might want to consider having one diver enter the water geared up. The second diver (not geared up) carries the camera gear and leaves it with the first diver. Second diver then returns to gear up and enter. Yes, this might take a few minutes extra, but it is better than falling with your camera gear.

Be aware that there are kiteboarders (may not be the correct term) on the far southern sites. They are supposed to stay in the blue water, but very often venture close to shore. They can come out of nowhere in a second. While I have never seen anyone towing a flag, some do shoot an SMB when on the extreme southern sites.

Skip the boat dives on Bonaire, unless you want to dive Klein, some northern site or the east coast.

We have straw mats we use for gearing up. Not as slippery as a tarp. Dollar store purchases.

You will have a great trip. Diving on Bonaire really is as easy as you have read.

 

[tarponchik]

1. If you are doing the real shore diving, not from a pier or a ladder, try to fix as much of your gear as possible to your BC, so your hands will be free to support you or your buddy if a bigger wave hits you suddenly. Keep at least one hand free at all times. Inflate your BC, put your mask on and keep either snorkel or your reg in your mouth before you start into the water.
2. On Bonaire, the center of the island is normally calm and easy, but sites south of Bachelor and north of BOPEC (and even Karpata) can be tough. Inspect the site before you go in. How wide is the entrance? The only time I got somewhat messed up on Bonaire was on one of the sites in the south (The Invisibles?) and only because the entrance pass was narrow and hard to find on the way back. It is relatively easy to locate the safest entrance into the sea when you go in, but it is much more difficult to do this when you go out. So try to remember some distinctive marks on the beach cause you will need them when you return. If you do not see such marks, make them. For example, in Puako (Hawaii, Big island) we tied my wife's bright red T-shirt on a tree to mark the entrance.
3. The 1st thing you do underwater is check which way the soft corals lean. Start against the current then come back with the current in shallow waters. Bonaire has plenty of interesting stuff to see at 35 feet: turtles, octopus, large parrots, puffers, etc
4. One thing they do not tell you in the books about Bonaire is that the water can look weird and fuzzy sometimes in the south because of the salt works there. Don't get scared, it is just a local feature.

 

[tarponchik]

And regarding Klein Bonaire, Helimvee is right. There isn't anything there what you won't find on Bonaire, so skip it. However, on both our trips we flew back in the late afternoon. So we rented a kayak and paddled to Klein, where we had excellent snorkeling.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Ha ha--I knew I shouldn't have mentioned Bonaire for fear that my question about "what a boat diver might want to think about before shore diving" might turn into a Bonaire thread. Thank you all for the info--it's all good as far as I'm concerned--though plenty has been written about Bonaire over on the Bonaire branch (much of which I have read over). I have a copy of Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy, too.

Maybe the fact that nobody revealed the "secrets" to successful and safe shore diving means that there really aren't any--mostly just common sense stuff. I'm glad I asked the question here, though. The lack of a long list of things to think about from you shore divers is reassurance that I've pretty much got it covered.

 

[scubadobadoo]

Some REALLY specific and great advice thus far as usual here on SB! Not much to add to the gang's comments except....

Take a few minutes at the start and end of your dive day to stretch out your body and your ankles. Just 3-4 minutes will make a difference. Now maybe your in GREAT shape and young but I still suggest doing it. You'll be hauling your own gear all day and sometimes decent distances over rocks and coral rubble etc...Your back, knees, ankles and a few other body parts should be warm and stretched. Not being warm and stretched could mean the difference between a broken body part rather than a small ego check and a buddy teasing you for walking like a 10 month old. One small slip during a seemingly harmless shore entry/exit can leave you in trouble and far away from help in a second. Will it happen? Unlikely. Just watch those ankles, bend those knees a little+ and have a blast! I know you will!