I am traveling to Bonaire in April, but I haven't been able get any info on the depth of the dive sites. Anyone have info on the depth or a site to get the info?

Hi Dawn,

Welcome to the board. Most of the dives on Bonaire start at the shore in 0 to 10 ft of water depending where you are. They then slope off to somewhere in the 35 ft range. The width of the slope depends on which end of the island you are on. Widths are somewhere around 50 to 150 feet wide. The more northerly sites drop off quicker than the southern dives. In both cases, the depth drops off gradually to around 35 ft then takes a sharp drop to 80 to 100 ft at the southern dives...I am not sure what the depth is at the northern site but I know 200+ is possible.
The exact depth of most of the sites depends a lot on you. Most of the better reefs and fish are in 20 to 40ft. The Hilma Hooker, a 275ft long wreck lies in 100 ft of water with it's port side at about 60 ft and it's starboard side in the sand at 100 ft. Basically, you can make most any site a 20, 30 , 40 or 100 ft dive if you want. My typical dives are 35-40 ft for 70 minutes. The only exceptions are the Hooker (100ft) and a couple of the double reefs near the Hooker that I go to 70-80 ft.

With 86+ dive sites and any place you can walk in the water in between, it can be a little tough to gather that info. In general, the shelf is down to about 30-35 feet, then a sloping reef down to 100. Although some areas are walls, or deeper. There is a shore diving book which covers all the sites on Bonaire called Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy by Jessie Armacost. It looks like a yellow pamphlet but has great information about each dive site, entry, etc. and it is current info.

Hi Dawn,
Here's a web address for a site that will give you information about the depths of each dive site.
http://www.interknowledge.com/bonaire/bondiv04.htm#7

Good luck! Robyn

Please be aware that the descripitions on the interkowedge site are way out of date
all those descriptions for the old out of date web site pre lenny)

Hi Dawn,

In addition to being the shore diving capital of the world and the home of Total Diving Freedom, your Bonaire adventure is YOURS to dictate. The basic reef structures offer GREAT fish and coral well within simple recreational limits, above 60-fsw. If you have the training you can just keep heading down the reef slopes for that experience, but you don't HAVE to get deep to enjoy the diving. Even the snorkelling is terrific.

Dive smart and dive safe, you're going to love the place.

A classic Bonaire shore dive is usually down to 60-80 ft for the usual time followed by a half-hour to hour in the shallows until you are low on air. You get to off-gas while checking out the real cool stuff in the shallows like yellowheaded jawfish.

As to depth of dives, unlike Cozumel, for one, there is little real fish activity down the reef slopes below 60-80 feet. (I've been down there and looked, at least on the west side! Walt III looks for wrecks but I doubt he sees many fish.) Except between WEB and town, where the sand bridge to Klein forms a 'bottom break' that collects fish, especially at change of light.

Glen: How deep is the sand bridge, how much of it do you think an average diver could cover on one tank?

The sand bridge begins at a depth of 120-130 feet and slopes away from Bonaire to 600+ between the islands. Not sure about 'an average diver on one tank': 'no-decompression' time on my Microbrain Pro Plus when I reach the bottom directly is less than 9 minutes.

The bottom going west from the 'bottom break' is barren sand, with a few garden eels and occasional Sanddiver beds out as far as 150' deep: nothing you can't see shallow so I don't bother anymore. I most often go immediately down to the break, look around through no-deco time and then ride the no-deco line back up to shallow water and dive the rest of my tank there, watching fishes.

Before Lenny, I visited a small coral head just off the slope on Bari Reef at 135 on each dive because of the interesting things seen: three Flaming Reef Lobsters for a few days, a big green eel with both ends sticking out a couple of feet. It was gone in 2003, covered up from Lenny's waves causing the whole slope to 'slump'. Less interesting there now.

The other interesting thing about the break is the traffic at dusk. I usually drop down to 60-80 feet see if anything is happening. (That is about Charlie's daytime cruising depth so I may see him.) At La Machaca, there is usually something interesting: like the green moray longer than the distance from my outstretched fin tip to outstretched finger tips (I am 6' tall). She was in the Den Laman tank for years until the tank 'broke' and she was 'liberated' by some interested people who just happened to be there that late at night. I was told she liked to be hugged; never did it, never saw it done. That was a mouth, man; she was stretched out full length on the open side of the little wreck down there.

Or the two big horseeye jacks one afternoon. Saw them coming from my 'perch' and swam down to intercept. They swam under me and then came back as I reached the bottom. They did lazy eights in front of me, always the same fish toward me. I decided they were a couple on the way to shopping and the guy was curious (as we are) and she was in a hurry to shop (as they are) and telling him 'come on, come, it's just some fool diver'.

Bottom line: deco and experience limited not tank limited. The break is interesting but it is 130'.

Just adding my two cents.... check out www.shorediving.com. Lots of information.
Also, definitely pick up Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy. It's a great handy reference.

Enjoy Bonaire and welcome to Bonaire Talk!

Kelly

Thanks for all the info on the depth issue. We will be in Bonaire from April 21- 28. We are in very fit in our late forties but don't look it, but are interested in meeting some dive buddies and /or friends that will be there the same time. I just finished my rescue diver cert this past weekend in FL, hated the bus ride there(15 hrs). But really looking forward to some great diving and vacationing in Bonaire. We are going to be at the Plaza Resort.