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Bonaire Diving pt1

SPECIAL NOTE: For those who think my blog posts are long and boring, there is an alternative. Jimmy made an excellent video of our trip to Bonaire and posted it on YouTube. Be sure to check it out, and have the sound on when you do.

As I explained in my last post, diving was going to be a big part of our family trip. It was the main reason that we had selected Bonaire for our reunion. We did have a bit of a scare with respect to diving when we first arrived. Toucan Divers is the dive shop on the premises at the Plaza Resort and I assumed that we would use them. I never gave it a thought but Sandy was nervous so she sent them an email several days before we left Boise to ask if they could accommodate us. She didn't hear back from them until the day that we were traveling. Then she got an email that said they had a large group and couldn't do the referrals and that their boat dives were heavily booked all week. Oh, oh. It looked like our plans for diving might be in jeopardy. Even worse, Sandy might have been right to be nervous (a fact which she was quick to point out to me). It was evening when we arrived at the hotel so the dive shop was closed. There wasn't anything we could do except make plans at dinner. We decided to meet early for breakfast the next day and be at the dive shop as soon as they opened. I was sure that I would be able to reason with them in person and work something out. If that failed maybe Tim and Jimmy could intimidate them.

Toucan Diving was supposed to open at 8am and we were there at one minute after. The lady we spoke to was the one who had answered Sandy's email. She confirmed that they had a large group and were fully booked. She didn't seem too sypmathetic. Too bad! You should have booked ahead.

Thanks. I'll remember that next time I plan a once in a decade family reunion.

When I pressed her for options she suggested that we go to see Div Ocean, a small dive shop located in a group of condos right next door to the resort. We went right over and talked to Peter, who was the owner. When we explained our predicament he assured us that it was no problem and that he would take care of whatever we needed.

And he did. It turned out that switching from Toucan Diving to Div Ocean was the best thing that could have happened to us. All of the folks at Div Ocean were fantastic. They were able to handle all of our requirements for rental equipment so that everyone got what they needed to fill out their gear. We got Kristan, Stephanie and Jimmy scheduled to start their open water certification dives the next day and got boat dives scheduled for all of us for later in the week. They were flexible with all of the arrangements and best of all, they were a lot of fun to dive with. So things turned out well in the end. Whew! That was a big relief. It just shows again that it's better to be lucky than good.

After getting set up with Div Ocean, we did arrange shore diving through Toucan Diving. They weren't my first choice after their lack of interest in helping us but they were the only practical alternative. They left filled tanks at key spots around the resort that were convenient entry points for shore dives - near the pier, the pool and the beach. Even with that it was a bit of a hassle. At other resorts the dive shops are right next to the ocean. That's where the lockers are for storing your gear. Toucan Diving is on the marina at the back of the resort, which is convenient if you are going on their dive boats (which we weren't) but not if you were shore diving (which we were). Although the air tanks were right by the shore, we had to haul our other gear (wet suit, booties, fins, mask, BCD, regulator, snorkel, weights) from the locker room and then haul it back again after every dive. They did provide wheelbarrows to make it easier but it was still a pain. It did give us a chance to complain about Toucan Diving again, every day.

Still it was worth it. Bonaire has to be the best place in the world for shore diving. The island is horseshoe shaped, with the inside of the horseshoe on the leeward side, protected on three sides from the wind. Usually there is very little surf or current. Most resorts have a "house reef" that is easily accessible. It usually starts only twenty to a hundred feet from shore, in ten to twenty feet of water. Most resorts were like ours and just left filled tanks out so you can do shore dives any time of the day or night. Mild conditions and easy access to great diving explain why most visitors to the island are divers.

With all of our arrangements complete it was time to get wet. To really experience Bonaire, you have to go in the ocean. That afternoon I went with Tim and his wife Shannon to do our first shore dive. We entered from the dock located next to the restaurant. It was just a short swim to 18 Palms, the house reef for the Plaza Resort. It was good to be underwater again! The student divers couldn't go diving without an instructor yet so they snorkeled and watched us from the surface. It definitely made them anxious to go diving.

They would get their chance over the next two days. We had arranged for Miriam, one of the dive instructors from Div Ocean, to do two open water dives with them each day to finish their certification. They started with a shore dive at a site called Calabas Reef. They entered from a beach that was only a few hundred yards down the road from our resort. They found a sandy area where they could settle on the bottom (no resting on the reef as it causes damage) while they took turns doing their skills. In the shallows near the shore, waves passing overhead produce a rocking motion known as surge. By the end of the dive Jimmy had a pretty good case of sea sickness from it so they postponed their next dive till the following day. Div Ocean let us rearrange our schedule though so there was no problem. We had planned for all of us to do a two-tank boat dive together on Wednesday, the day after the students got finished. We just moved their fourth certification dive to the boat and everything worked out.

The next day Stephanie, Kristan and Jimmy did two more shore dives just south of the resort at a site called Windsock, so named because it's near the end of the runway at the airport. Now with three open water dives in the bag they only needed one more on the boat the next day to complete their certification.

Meanwhile the rest of our group did more shore dives. In the morning Tim and his wife Shannon did a dive, exploring 18th Palm in the other direction from what we did the day before. Normally the current dictates which way you go on a reef but since it was negligible at this site you could go whichever way you wanted. Tim said he thought the reef was even prettier than the section that we dove the day before.

My stepdaughter Shannon wanted to practice some of her basic skills since she hadn't been diving for many years. I buddied with her and we found a sandy spot in shallow water near shore and we both practiced regulator recovery and mask clearing. After doing it a time or two Shannon felt confident again and we went out to explore the reef.

In the afternoon the four of us did another shore dive together on 18th Palm. By now we were getting to know it pretty well. Even though we were just diving on the house reef, Bonaire diving was as good as I had remembered. There were beautiful soft corals in the shallows. The main section of the reef was filled with hard corals and sponges. My favorites were the most colorful, bright orange elephant ear coral and purple tube sponges. There were lots of fish too, from large ones like barracuda and tarpon to tiny fish you had to squint to see swimming around the coral heads. There were many familiar and colorful species: Moray eels, French angelfish, Queen angelfish, Parrotfish, Puffer fish, Spotted Drum and many more. There were lots of fish. Lots and lots of fish.

We were all excited the next day. It would be the first time on this trip that we were doing a boat dive (and the first time ever for the new divers). It was also the first chance for all of us to dive together. And if all went well, the student divers would finish their certification.

The first dive would be the last certification dive for Stephanie, Kristan and Jimmy. This one would be easy and fun. There were no skills to demonstrate this time. They would just plan and execute an ordinary dive under the supervision of their instructor. If Miriam thought that they did a good job, their training would be finished and they would be able to dive on their own. They all seemed pretty confidant. In fact, Stephanie spent the boat ride out to the first site showing the old folks how to do the latest dance move, The Floss.

I buddied with my stepdaughter (Shannon), while Tim buddied with his wife (also Shannon). If you think having two Shannons is confusing while you are reading this, you should have been on the trip! Peter was the dive master for the experienced group and we went in the water first, while the student group was still doing their equipment checks and reviewing their dive plan with Miriam.

On Bonaire the reef usually slopes down gradually. Not at this site, which was called Cliff and was a lot steeper than usual. Although it's billed as a wall dive I wouldn't have called it that, although it's probably as close to a wall dive as you can get on Bonaire.

We swam out along the reef at about fifty feet. When we turned around we came up to thirty feet as we started back. It's typical to start deep and then go shallower on a dive to help with decompression. On the return to the boat we passed the rest of our group, who were about twenty feet below us. When we saw each other everyone waved. The students looked like they were doing pretty well. They even looked like real scuba divers! When we were all back in the boat Miriam said that everyone had passed. Now they were real scuba divers.

After waiting an hour for our surface interval we did our second dive. This time everyone could finally all go together. Stephanie went with Tim and his Shannon while Jimmy partnered with (the other) Shannon. I buddied with Kristan and was favorably impressed. For a new diver she did well. She worked hard on her dive training and did well completing her certification, as did Stephanie and Jimmy.

Our second dive was at a site called Andrea II. It has a double reef system so that for much of the dive we swam through a valley between the inner and outer reefs. It also meant that we were doing quite a bit of up and down instead of keeping a constant depth. It would have been tough to track our nitrogen levels without dive computers. Plus it was hard on those of us that were having trouble with equalizing.

We were also just a short distance from the Hilma Hooker, probably the most famous dive site in Bonaire. It's the wreck of a large freighter that was deliberatly sunk in a hundred feet of water. Tim and I had done it many years ago on a previous trip and we both wanted to do it again. We considered asking Peter if we could do the Hilma Hooker the next day but decided that it was too deep for the experience level of the rest of our group.

That evening there was a big party to celebrate Jimmy, Kristan and Stephanie finishing their dive training. In honor of the occasion our friend Quincy kept us well supplied with wine and beer.