HI there..

I'm a PADI Open Water instructor in active teaching status.
My partner and I are coming to Bonaire for a month (Apr 5th - May 5th) and she wants to learn how to dive while down in Bonaire.
I have done all the academic, knowledge reviews, exams etc with her and she is ready for the confined water portion.
Unfortunately none of the local dive shops here in Victoria BC have any availability for pool time.

My questions are:

1. Does any of the shops have a confined water/pool area that allow independent instructors to use to do the confined water portion?
2. Any idea on cost?

She will also be renting all her gear from the establishment as well and I will be looking into some unlimited shore diving nitrox fill packages as well.

Wannadive at Eden Beach can take care of the diving needs and Eden Beach has a pool.

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.

Just a thought.
PADI MI-159014

(Message edited by kob159014 on March 22, 2011)

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!

e.

Dive Friends would be my choice. Use yellow sub site for training. Dive shop is right there.

I saw them do first dives just off-shore at OEW in Curacao a cpl wks ago.
I think a pool is better for this initially since you won't stir up so much sand...

Why does the dive shop need to provide the pool time? Can't you just talk to the pool themselves about scuba use?

Chris - Thanks.. I have emailed them.

KOB - I've thought of it, but having not been to Bonaire before, I was unsure about going this route. Mainly because I'm not familiar with the sites and which ones would be advisable to use and also because I thought that if you used open water as your confined water you need to get PADI's ok on the site.

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.

They are also reputable and provide good service.

Talk to Bart or Bob.

Patrick - Thanks I emailed them.

Tom - I guess I'm not sure how it works in Bonaire.. Locally, the pools require a heavy insurance policy ($3 million coverage) in order for one of the shops to book time using one of the city owned pools. None of the local shops own there own pool.

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?

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 !!).

CB -- you are right on !!

Thanks everyone.. that's why I love this forum..
You take all the stress I had on certain topics away.

Jes-
You can contact Toucan Divers at The Plaza Resort. The resort has a pool the use for confined water time.

Send me an email and I can provide you the email address for the shop's manager.

Also the Wanna Dive Hut in Belnem. Very easy entry. Stairs down to a sandy bottom in waist deep water.

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.

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.

Me too.

Actually, it's "I, too", but that just sounds snooty...

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.

We're still in PADI Americas region, so our instructor insurance covers us. Even if we weren't, I think you have up to 2 months to do local instruction (say, on a trip) without complications (but, don't hold me to this, I'll have to check).

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.

I'll plow through the bureaucracy to get to the water, but it's not the fun part...

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!

In defense of rule changes, though ... I don't miss "ditch & don" or "blow & go" too terribly.

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...

Yeah, that and learning to breath underwater directly from the tank valve !!

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.

Actually I was more concerned about the exposure of the LDS if THEY were not completely informed and aware of the situation. Bonaire is currently in transition from Antillean law to Dutch law and no one is quite sure where it stands at the moment, especially the insurance agencies.

If one can obtain the appropriate clearances and permissions I am sure this is as you have all pointed out a fabulous place to do this. Personally my own career has been modified several times by the attorneys who have pointed out the potential exposure of significantly delayed claims regarding training and certification.

I sincerely hope you all enjoy your dives and this works out well.

John, the sky is NOT falling.

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.

KOB, I agree...Doff and Don, famous vaudeville act, was a fun challenge for some, but washed many folks out who would have been happy, safe divers.

Breathing off a tank...yeah I do that all the time in the real world...