Have seen reference from a few folk on here of currents (even a down current was mentioned). we dived Bonaire for the first time last November and visited most of the shore dive sites from Atlantis in the south to Kerbala in the North. at no time did we ever experience any meaningful current. Were we just lucky? Or was in the time of year? We are going again in September, so is this more likely to be current influenced? thanks in advance Andy

Andy,
I've been to Bonaire twice and have run into currents several times. It can run strong at times and vary in direction. An example is a 25min dive into the current off of Eden beach with a 7min drift back to the exit. Every time I went to the north side of Klein there was a current. I guess you were just "lucky", but I do enjoy those drift dives.

John,

Don't forget the dive at Munk's Haven with Menno this past February. The current was really ripping, pushing us south despite any effort to swim against it. We ended up turning that dive into a drift dive flying around Southwest Corner as Menno and Hank followed us in the boat. Also, just before our ascent near the mooring at Forest we encountered a change in current where it was then running westerly.

Nice dive though, 3 sites in an hour of bottom time.

Thanks folks, but arent you referring mainly to dives around the smaller sister of Bonaire (Klein Bonaire) rather than just the shore dives off Bonaire proper? Dont get me wrong I also enjoy drift dives but it just seems odd that in 25 shore dives plus from Bonaire proper we didnt encounter any current - and I do wonder whether its seasonal, any comment?

Nope...there is a fun little current that pops up at Red Slave and can offer you a nice swim back if you don't check the drift, Lighthouse (south) has 2 currents, one will pull you away and the other will drift you back (these are approx. 10 meters apart in depth) and Ole Blu (past the northern promintory) can offer a current that has on more than one occasion, made it very difficult for the uninitiated to swim back to their exit.

The most fun I had was during a night dive at Playa Leche. While visit the sunken tug (30 meters) I felt a surge of very warm water (had nothing to do with my dive buddy) and then noticed the current was coming from the opposite direction with sufficient force I had to kick to maintain position and kick harder to get back to my starting spot. This appeared to be a tidal shift due to the reduction in vis.

Rule of thumb is drop to your depth, check the direction of the current using gorgonias and start your dive, I always make it a point to continually check current direction during my dives.

Red Slave and south can have strong current. I was there one day when divers returned saying they were caught in a downwelling and taken to nearly 200 feet before they could get free of it. We then looked out to the SW and saw a huge 'boil' of upwelling a hundred or more meters across. Strong current is not common but does happen at then ends of the island.

Commonly it is just a gentle along-shore drift current. It is nice that you can exit/enter at so many places that drifting is not a problem, even an advantage though it has not been encouraged in the past. Best way to see the country.

There will be days on the new reefcam at Eden Beach with a strong current, but you can't predict when. We had a very strong current to deal with on a southern dive at Vista Blue. Had no current this time at Ol' Blue in the north. It's variable.

We had several currents on our trip in April, including one dive in the south that turned into a drift, because I kicked 4 times, and was still looking down at the same piece of coral! We rode that one north for a little while, not kicking, enjoying the rollercoaster (and there was a little up and down to it as well), until the current died completely. Absolutely still. Absolutely silent. We continued to kick in the same direction, then realized the current was moving in the opposite direction, pushing against us. We turned around, rode it south until it died at the same place it had before. There were two different currents, one moving above the other.

So yes, there are currents. Enjoy the ride!

many thanks for all your comments, will look out for said current, particularly down south! cheers andy

Yes, Tom. That dive at Munks Haven was one of the best! The current made you feel like Superman it was running so strong. Andy, watch for those currents. They are definitely there and can change during a single dive. As you have read, they also can pop up on just about any part of the island.