By Jes S. (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #5) on Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 12:40 pm: |
HI there..
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By Chris Roerig (BonaireTalker - Post #19) on Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 1:04 pm: |
Wannadive at Eden Beach can take care of the diving needs and Eden Beach has a pool.
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By KOB (LBR32) (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #536) on Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 1:29 pm: |
Jes -- have you considered doing the "confined water" skills training from shore? There are many sites on Bonaire that offer "near pool" conditions. More realistic and you can do the training on your own schedule.
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By Eric author of "Why is the Grass Green?" (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1625) on Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 1:31 pm: |
KOB was reading my mind. Confined doesn't mean you can't do it in the ocean. There are several places that have easy access to shallow protected water that would work just fine for that part of the course. And diving in the ocean is always better than diving in a pool!
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By *****Patrick with sharks on Bonaire***** (BonaireTalk Deity - Post #5334) on Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 1:33 pm: |
Dive Friends would be my choice. Use yellow sub site for training. Dive shop is right there.
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By Tom Schamp (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #672) on Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 1:34 pm: |
I saw them do first dives just off-shore at OEW in Curacao a cpl wks ago.
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By Tom M. (BonaireTalker - Post #29) on Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 1:34 pm: |
Why does the dive shop need to provide the pool time? Can't you just talk to the pool themselves about scuba use?
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By Jes S. (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #6) on Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 1:35 pm: |
Chris - Thanks.. I have emailed them.
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By Chris Roerig (BonaireTalker - Post #20) on Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 1:39 pm: |
Wannadive uses the Eden Beach pool for confined water instruction on a regular basis. I am sure that they can clear the use of the pool.
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By Jes S. (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #7) on Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 1:39 pm: |
Patrick - Thanks I emailed them.
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By Barbara "CB" Gibson (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #6398) on Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 1:40 pm: |
Where are you staying, Jes? Buddy dive and Captain Don's come to mind as nice places to do ocean confined water. Three steps to the stairs, and you can start in waist high water. I think the standards say it needs to be confined water conditions, not necessarily confined water, right, KOB?
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By KOB (LBR32) (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #537) on Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 1:45 pm: |
Jes -- no need to get PADI approval if the confined water site meets the requirements for control & safety equivalent to a pool (ref. bottom of pg. 12 in your 2011 Instructor Manual). As others have suggested, many dive sites on the island meet that description. Plenty along the shore in town or along the southern dive sites between Bachelors Beach & Salt Pier. Take a few minutes on yoru first day to scout them out ... you will enjoy teaching in the ocean (and it's FREE !!).
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By KOB (LBR32) (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #538) on Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 1:46 pm: |
CB -- you are right on !!
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By Jes S. (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #8) on Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - 2:27 pm: |
Thanks everyone.. that's why I love this forum..
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By Neptune Nick (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #171) on Wednesday, March 23, 2011 - 1:06 pm: |
Jes-
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By Beth (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #205) on Wednesday, March 23, 2011 - 6:31 pm: |
Also the Wanna Dive Hut in Belnem. Very easy entry. Stairs down to a sandy bottom in waist deep water.
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By John Smith (BonaireTalker - Post #38) on Thursday, March 24, 2011 - 9:12 pm: |
Y'all need to be VERY careful with all this advice. I am not disputing the mechanics of anything said but rather the precise legality. In order to use tanks from a LDS one needs to sign a release as a certified diver. The LDS needs to ensure it is covered by insurance and the terms of its own certfication. Will an off island instructor just paying for air and not part of an establishments insurance be covered? Other than which the ethics of using local facilities for potentially undeclared training raises all kinds of issues. It might be alot easier to just have a local instructor do a referral certification. The regulations on Bonaire are pretty specific one cannot even own a compressor here without proper authorization. We have not even touched on the Park orientation and whether an off island instructor is qualified to do this for an uncertified student. I am not trying to be awkward but just because one can rent a car from Hertz at the airport does not mean one is a legitimate instructor for a local license. Probably with the right establishment this can all be worked out but the devil is in the details.
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By Mel Briscoe (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #870) on Thursday, March 24, 2011 - 9:25 pm: |
I've taught and certified numerous students in Bonaire, while staying at Buddy Dive and with their full knowledge and approval. My insurance covers it, it is well within standards, and there are no reasons to try and do it sub rosa. It is easily done above board.
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By Barbara "CB" Gibson (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #6412) on Thursday, March 24, 2011 - 10:39 pm: |
Me too.
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By Barbara "CB" Gibson (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #6413) on Thursday, March 24, 2011 - 11:12 pm: |
Actually, it's "I, too", but that just sounds snooty...
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By KOB (LBR32) (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #544) on Friday, March 25, 2011 - 7:26 am: |
I'll second Mel & CB. Our store books at least one trip to Bonaire every 2 years and we conduct both open water and advanced/specialty certification dives with no headaches whatsoever.
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By Barbara "CB" Gibson (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #6416) on Friday, March 25, 2011 - 1:00 pm: |
I'm going to sound like the ancient curmudgeon that I am and say that in olden times, when dinosaurs walked the earth, we spent a lot more time teaching diving and less time leafing through regulations. I liked it better. I know our wacky modern liabilities make it necessary, but none of us like it.
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By KOB (LBR32) (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #547) on Friday, March 25, 2011 - 2:21 pm: |
I agree, CB. Used to be easy to remember the rules ... there were only a few and they stayed the same. Now, the rules change fairly frequently, so you have to "look it up". Arrrrrgh!
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By Tom Schamp (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #675) on Friday, March 25, 2011 - 2:25 pm: |
I'm not an instructor but I always thought it was fun to put all your gear at the bottom of a 10-foot pool and then dive down and put it on somehow...
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By KOB (LBR32) (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #549) on Friday, March 25, 2011 - 2:32 pm: |
Yeah, that and learning to breath underwater directly from the tank valve !!
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By John Smith (BonaireTalker - Post #39) on Friday, March 25, 2011 - 5:02 pm: |
Thank you. Your posts are refreshing and informative I know for a fact that there are some locations that are NOT ammenable to this behaviour particularly for small groups where their return is minimal. I am assuming that you are all talking about Buddys since some of you did not specify.
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By Mel Briscoe (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #871) on Friday, March 25, 2011 - 10:10 pm: |
John, the sky is NOT falling.
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By Barbara "CB" Gibson (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #6417) on Friday, March 25, 2011 - 10:30 pm: |
I've taught in several countries under several governments, for several agencies. No problems and no subterfuge. And Buddies is not the only place on Bonaire that not only permits but encourages it.
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