Ok, I have heard quite a bit about the nice diving in Bonaire, but half of the island is not
included on the map. Tough currents, not a flat
sea, no easy entry??? Does anyone offer a real
ocean dive that is not in a bath tub in Bonaire?!
How is the White Hole!! Other spots??

Wes, there are a couple of operators do windward or "wildside" trips, including Larry's Wildside. Even these are fairly mild compaired to some of the conditions we dive in here in NC. There are a couple of dives near the southern end of the island but surf and current can be pretty bad. Most shore on the windward side is physically too rough to dive and the surf is very dangerous. Here are a couple of pictures to give you an idea of what it looks like.

If you don't know what you're doing, you can get shredded very quickly. Go with a dive guide who knows the safe entries & exits. Can't recommend Bas at Photo Tours enough.

John - I could not agree with you more- contact Bas - he is the best guide to use for the east side and an all out great guy!!! We had 2 of our best dives with Bas on the east side!!! One was 105 minute dive!!! Saw dozens of eagle rays!!!

Here he is after he found my hubbies camera that got pulled off in the surge!!

Here is a marked entry/exit spot that he uses - the doll is very evil looking!!LOL!!

I need to amend my last post, I should have said compared to some of the BOAT dives we do here. The shore dives on the windward side are very rough but judging from some of the other post, Bas may have a couple of easier entry points.

Herman - the boat diving is mild compared to most NC boat diving. If you have not dove with Bas - you must try that the next time you are on the island. BTW - I was not able to go to the meeting last Wednesday because my parents came to town - and I will miss the next one - as I will be in Florida diving with Paul that weekend. I hope I can make it in March.

Bas does have his easier exit/enty ways marked and I would not dive from the coast of the east side without him. He also is a great instructor on how to get in and out with out too much harm. Though we did get caught coming out and rolled around in the waves a bit - that is how Dirk lost the camera!!

Wes you really need to be cautious about diving the east side from the coast - most waves will rake you along some very sharp coral and you could get hurt very easily. And what is wrong with diving in bath tub calm - you then can relax and really enjoy the scenery!?!?

Sorry you can't make it, we had a good meeting the other week.

the only word you need to know is Bas. I did 4 wild side dives with him last feb.....the best!!!!!


cheeseit
joe

Does Bas have a website ??

No, but he should! Bas, you know what I'm talking about...

(we've discussed this before)

John do u have his email for me??

Thx in advance

Rachid

Rachid - here is Bas' email addressloonybin@bonairelive.com!
Tell him I said hi and I finally posted that picture of him after he found the camera!! I told him that it would be posted!!

Mary Thx for his email. I will tell him a saw a picture of a wild scubadiver on Bonaire talk :-)

1 last question, do u know if he s Dutch

Yep, Bas is Dutch

Just to inform you that Bas is on a holiday till March. Pls contact Photo Tours, Eddie, if you would like to make a guided dive, he will be able to help you.
Jan Kloos (co-owner PT Divers)

Well that s no problem, we r coming early july and we have allready booked Photo Tours for 2 weeks :-)

I mail Bas in May.

Thank u all for the info!!!

hi everybody! do any dive boats or guides
dive the spelonk wrecks in march or is it to dangerous?

We dove the Spelonk wrecks from a RIB, but would never do them as a shore dive. The waves are too big, there is no safe exit and the currents can be very treacherous. My wife and a friend jumped in from a cliff (4 meter jump) with their ABC gear on. We had the rest of the gear on the boat. We then dove together and used the boat to get back to Lagoon.
Currently, the only option is probably Larry, but he normally does not go that far. So you need to arrange a special with him. You could also contact Menno (www.deepblueview.com). He has a large custom dive RIB on order, but I'm not sure when it will arrive.

Thanks Peter. I will definitely contact Menno before my October visit. He is a great guide and a fun person to be around.

I think Bas' email is just loonybin@bonairelive.com