My wife and I finished our open water PADI last year in Belize. We have been diving B-4 that for years every winter but under the supervision of the dive masters. We booked 10 days at Plaza Resort for January 2005. Do you guys think we'll be ok diving on our own? My wife is slightly reserved about the lack of supervision etc. although we both understand and like the idea of the beach dives.

Hi Peter and welcome to BT. If you do an update on the skills and maybe one or 2 2-tank boat dives, just to get the feel back, you guys should be OK.

Peter, Mark and I were very new divers when we took our first dive trip to Bonaire (had been there before as snorkelers). We had never done dives alone but the ease of diving in Bonaire did wonders for our confidence. We relied on Jesse Armacost's book, Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy, to help us choose our sites and to learn about the entries, exits and topography. We always swam to the marker, took a compass heading for shore, dropped, checked the depth of the marker block and then went north or south. We were very conservative about depths and times and never had any trouble. Returning we would find the marker block and then head in. The shallows have so very much to see that you can have great off gassing time! Several trips later we are much more confident because of the ease of Bonaire diving. If you are still concerned you can hire a divemaster to do a guided shore dive when you first arrive.

Welcome to the board Peter.
You should do fine. I would suggest you do 2 or 3 dives at the Plaza and spend some time working on your skills in the shallows, just to get comfortable. You can always hire a DM for a dive or 2 if you want....or come to think of it I could be hired cheap if you want a guide. I would be happy to work for air fare .
I would suggest you pick some of the easier entry spots for the first few dives. Windsock, Pink Beach, 1000 steps and Front Porch (Eden Beach) are several that have very easy entries. Oil Slick Leap is great if you don't mind a giant stride from a little hight and climbing out on a ladder.

You can also climb down that ladder at Oil Slik Herman. I only do that when I have the camera, because I really ENJOY that giant stride.
It's awfully nice to have someone experienced at shore diving to go along with your first time out.

I agree with Martin about a couple of boat dives to bolster your confidence, and stick around the house reef for your first few independent dives.

I was certified in 2001 and by the time we were at the Sand Dollar in Sept. '03, had only done two 1-tank dives in the Virgin Islands. My wife had been diving for 10 years--Caymans, Hawaii, and Bahamas, so I trusted her experience. We had no problems whatsoever and by the end of our stay were making 4-5 dives per day and an occasional night dive. I had a new dive computer and that helped ease some of my concerns about depth, time, surface intervals etc., (you can rent these at most shops/operators) plus I reviewed the PADI training video before we left. If you want to dive north, Andrea II, Old Blue, and Witch's Hut/Weber's Joy have relatively easy entries.

It's hard to get lost shore diving, but it's easy to lose track of your entry/exit point. Luckily my wife is great at underwater navigation, because I was too busy being dazzled by the coral and critters to pay much attention about how far we went or where we started.

Thank you one and all for your responses! They are all very helpful. Please don't stop keep em coming...

Peter, you couldn't have picked a better place to gain experience and you will without a doubt be just fine. When you arrive, put yourself on island time(everything is laid back, no rush) and ask for help if you need it. The diving is soooo easy it's almost criminal. Watch your depth(it's easy to go deeper than you think you are), begin the dive into any current that is present, and make you turn to go back when whichever diver reaches 1500psi first. You don't need much more info than that. Start with the easiest entries like Windsock and work your way up. Have a blast! It's hard not to.

Smack

(Message edited by smack on October 1, 2004)

Oh, I forgot. You will get an orientation when you arrive including park rules and regs and what not to do. Included will be an overview of all the sites and where you may want to begin followed by a dive to check your weighting. It's simple, so simple, and after that first dive you will be flat out hooked! Again, ask for help if you need it. The people on Bonaire go out of their way to please.

Smack

And if it makes you feel any better - this is where I certified my kids! Actually this is the only place that they have ever dove. They were 10 and 15 when I did their first certifications. This is complete diving freedom and there are some wonderful entries and exits. One thing too - as you start your dive and start to descend (following down the reef), turn back and look at what your topography is going to look like when you are heading back. If you do a straight out from where you enter, find something unique (and interesting coral formation, a sponge formation) something that really sticks out to you - look at what it is going to look like when you are coming back to it and that will be your clue to start heading back up toward shore.

Before you even get into the water do the same thing. Look back and find your reference point (tree, house, pier - of course nothing movable like a truck - someone may have forgotten to put on the hand brake... LOL) and if you find that you don't know where you are when you come up, look and find that reference point.

One of the best things about Bonaire is that usually boring safety stop on a boat (15 ft in mid water) the majority of the safety stops are done peeking in and around the coral heads, looking at the small things. Look for a coral head or a brick pile or something like that - then look for empty shells nearby - then look for the octopus.

I really think that you will love it. Once you get used to not diving with a boat or with a dive operation you'll LOVE it!

It looks like we will just be missing you - bummers - I would have been more than happy to dive with you and your wife but we go back on Jan 5.

Mara

"You can also climb down that ladder at Oil Slik Herman. I only do that when I have the camera, because I really ENJOY that giant stride."

Seb, I do the same thing or I do the GS and have someone hand me the camera. It's just too much fun to not do the giant stride.
The new platform that was installed last spring is really nice.

Thanks Mara (and everyone else) the response is great and very encouraging! Sorry we're going to miss you.

Peter, I think you will find diving in Bonaire is a huge confidence builder. The diving is some of the easiest I have experienced. With that said, remember to always use the safe diving skills you learned in basic open water. I think it would be a good idea to hire a guide your first dive just to get the lay of the land. Ask lots of questions on the first dive, you will learn so much! Enjoy

OH - and get a shore diving book. I picked up a new one while I was there last December. It is locally done and it had a yellow cover but it talked about almost all of the SHORE diving sites and talked about the entry and exit and the best places to do that and such. I just picked it up again the other day and was planning some of the new sites to dive.

Mara

OH - and get a shore diving book. I picked up a new one while I was there last December. It is locally done and it had a yellow cover but it talked about almost all of the SHORE diving sites and talked about the entry and exit and the best places to do that and such. I just picked it up again the other day and was planning some of the new sites to dive.

Mara
Where were you able to pick up that book Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy? I cannot find it anywhere?
Thanks again all of you confidence builders...

Peter, here are a couple of good link to maps of the dive sites and descriptions. I printed these out the first time I went in 2001, and it was a good reference to make choices once on island.

Click on "dive sites" on the right nav bar:
http://www.skin-diver.com/bonaire/main.html

North Dive Sites:
http://www.shorediving.com/Earth/ABC/BonaireN/index.htm

South Dive Sites:
http://www.shorediving.com/Earth/ABC/BonaireS/index.htm

Have a great trip!

I picked it up at PhotoTours Bonaire but at the "shop" at Hamlet Oasis. It's GREAT! I call it a "shop" but when we were there last year, it's basically a shipping container or two, or three. ;-)

Peter Bradley,

Check your email.

Mara

Sorry - had to clarify - my hubby's name is Peter as well.

Howdy, Peter!

Check out The Bonaire Reporter, as that's where I got my copy. I ordered it direct, and it showed up in a couple of weeks. You can get it several places on the island, but I wanted to study it in advance. Jesse did a really good job on the book, and the dive site ratings (beginner, intermediate, advanced) are a boon to newbies as you won't accidentally get in over your head on your first trip.

The Shorediving.com links above are a great adjunct to Jesse's book, as they show photos of the dive site entry points. For me, that's a whole lot easier than the island style of "second star on the right, straight on 'til morning" way of getting around <grin>. I ripped the whole ABC section down, then trimmed it to fit on my Palm Pilot for when I'm down in November.

Jesse's book is more complete than the Shorediving site, but neither one lists any of the Klein Bonaire dives since they're boat-only, unless you like a looong swim-out.

well bonaire is known as the "home of diving freedom," because you can basically dive anywhere, anytime....but, if your wife has reservations, i would agree with the earlier posters and recommend diving at house reefs or busy areas where others/pink bus are there in case of an emergency. one thing i would definitely recommend -- if you rent your weight belt, be sure it closes securely. mine fell off at one point, which could be extremely scary for a novice.

It's five bucks, buy your own weight belt and then mark where the weights feel comfy so you can put them in the same place your next dive trip.

I second that! I had a PILE of weights to load up in Mexico diving a drysuit, and put 20 pounds on one of the boat's ancient belts. At around 45' down, I suddenly started rising rapidly 'cos the belt had slipped loose. I scrambled to get maximum drag while burping the neck seal at the same time, and kept it slow enough that my comp didn't even complain.

If you're not happy with the rental gear, DO ask for something different. There's LOTS of dive operators on the island that'd be willing to rent you anything you want. Be picky.

Another option would be to tag along with another couple, and make a series of 4-way dives. There ought to be a couple hundred other folks out there with you, so ask around and make some new friends!