First let me say thanks and introduce myself. After several years of lurking on Bonaire Talk and dreaming, I have finally convinced my buddies at our dive shop here in Alaska to make the trek to my dream destination of Bonaire. All the wonderful information I have gleaned from this site was used to motivate my friends into taking the time and spending the money for a visit this November. Here is my first (of many to come) question. While most of us are pretty experienced divers my ten year old will be coming with us who will be going through his jr. open water class and pool sessions up here in Alaska this summer. Rather than doing a referral to another PADI shop for his Open Water dives I had hoped that my buddy (his instructor) could just do his Open Water checkout dives down in Bonaire's warm water rather than trying to finish his Open Water dives in a drysuit up here. (It will be a few more years till he is ready for a dry suit but after about 100 bubblemaker sessions I think he will be ready for Bonaire's gentle conditions.) So, given that you need to already be a certified diver and attend an orientation session to get a park tag, will he be able to to do his four Open Water checkout dives with his own instructor if he is not associated with a shop there? Thanks in advance for your input.
John

Welcome to BT, John, and glad you are no longer a "lurker", but have jumped in with both fins! Your trip sounds wonderful....coming from Alaska is, indeed, a tribute to what Bonaire has to offer.

I am not a diver (a snorkeler) so I cannot answer your question, but I know there will be several other BT'ers who will answer all of your questions and concerns very quickly.

Congratulations to all of you on your decision to dive Bonaire!! Carole

I'm quite sure there won't be a problem getting a park tag. In fact, you don't have to be a diver to get one. Snorkelers are encouraged, though not required, to get tags as it supports the marine park.

It's not uncommon for instructors to come on trips along with students and instruct while on Bonaire.

As for dry suits, the shop we use here in Massachusetts has (or at least used to have) a child-sized dry suit they use to keep young divers from turning into kidsicles (even in the summer, the water temps are a bit chilly here in New England). So, they do exist.

John,

Welcome to the group! You'll love Bonaire. Alaska and diving!? Are you NUTS!?!!

A coupla considerations for you friend and little student: Have the instructor ask the folks at whatever diveshop you use where a good location for checkout dives might be (like a sandy bottom, 15-20 feet deep...). Maybe other folks out there might have a suggestion??? Check out Bachelor's Beach--I think that has some nice sand in the shallows (alittle south of the airport, across for the road to Sorobon/Lac Bay).

Does Jr.O.W. have a CESA skill requirement for CO dive? I can't remember. If it does, your buddy will need a rope and a float. I would hesitate to recommend using a mooring bouy as the line is encrusted with live things (fire coral included). Might be able to use a mooring as an anchor though... Just a thought.

Thanks for the welcome Carole and thanks Daniel and Jamie for the good advice. Sounds like its "doable" so maybe we will contact the hotel's dive op as we get closer to November to see if we can borrow or rent a float. We are looking at Sanddollar right now for our first week with the larger group of divers and then will be staying for a second week by ourselves after the rest of the group heads back north. May switch hotels to get a different view in week two.
Thanks again.
PS Diving in Alaska is GREAT! Just a bit more work.

Sand Dollar would be an excellent choice. Bari reef right out front would be perfect for doing check out dives. We do 90% of our diving right there. Please feel free to e-mail us directly if you have any questions about Sand Dollar.

The water and bottom in front of most (if not all; I am being conservative here!) of the dive ops from Black Durgeon on the north down through Plaza start out at zero or 5 feet with a sand bottom with a gradual slope out to a break at 25-30 feet depth maybe 50 yards off shore. So all of that is excellent refresher water. Like the Zale's, I know Bari best having watched the fish in the shallows just north of the dive op for many hours. They make a refresher dive much more interesting than any pool.