Hi all! Heading to Bonaire for my second trip, can't wait. I wanted to get in some East Side diving this trip, as I didn't last trip. I've been contemplating Larry's Wildside or using a guide such as Bas (or any other recommendations), that I've seen in previous posts. Was wondering if anyone would be willing to give any recommendations.

Thanks,

Mike

Hi Mike, We were in Bonaire in August for three weeks (our 6th visit) and my husband and I dove with Larry's Wildside twice. We had a blast! Highly recommended. Eddie, the divemaster, is really fun to dive with and the boat is terrific. Larry is quite a character too! We saw so many turtles, rays, sharks, and eels on our dives that we hardly knew where to look. The drift diving is especially wonderful - Blue Hole can be a little tame but worth doing once as it is something of a local landmark. As far as Bas goes, I never dove with him but I do know him and he is really a great guy. Everyone agrees that he is THE person to shore dive the Eastside with. Enjoy! PS look at the "Diving" topic in BT for other threads related to this topic.

I will second using Larry's Wild Side. The Blue/White hole is a tame dive; having done it once I would recommend another drift dive instead. There is much more to be seen on the drift dives opposed to the hole.

My turn...I third Larry's Wild Side. We had a blast with Larry and Eddie - and two great dives. The Blue Hole is kind of serene. Do it once and that should be enough. Just loved the drift dive.

I did not get a chance to dive with Bas last time because it was way too rough to risk a shore dive. However, I did meet him and found him extremely knowledgeable and very nice. I would dive with Bas in a heart beat! I would have went with him last time if those darn waves would have behaved.

My wife and i were thinking about doing a dive or two with Larry. But i have a few questions. How bouncy was the ride on the boat my wife gets sea sick? What were wave conditions like? 2-4 footers or bigger? Were they rollers or a chop?
Thanks for the help.

When we went it was very rough. I was doped up on Trip Tone and still felt a little uneasy. We rode with our masks on to protect our faces from the waves crashing over the boat. It was a lot of fun though and I plan on doing it again. I have heard rumors that sometimes it is a lot calmer. It all depends on the winds the day you go. Again though, it was a riot riding out the waves!

I was decidely unimpressed with Larry's Wild side diving. The boat is nice, the people are fine, the dives are mediocre. It's expensive for a 45 minute dive. The cattle car atmosphere isn't for me. Group diving is not fun anymore. I have been drift diving in Tobago for years and its far better. I would vote for Bas and a small close knit group of 1-4.

Wow Ross. We sure had different experiences. There were only 4 of us on Larry's boat when I went. Definitely not a cattle boat atmosphere at all. And we got two tanks at about 60 minutes each. Sorry your experience was different.

I also enjoyed Larry's boat and hubby and I were the only ones on it when we went. Going again with Larry in November with my son who has been waiting and waiting to go on the East Side. Since he is newly certified, I figure doing it by boat would be safest for him. I saw a huge nurse shark on my trip with him last time, huge turtles..... enjoyed it a lot. I have done drift dives in Tobago too, enjoyed them as well.

According to his website his boat is limited to 9 people, does not sound like the cattle boat experiences I have encountered at other islands.

Wow, if you think Larry's is a cattle boat you should try diving in SoCal where there are up to 40 people! The first time we dove with Larry's there were six of us (customers), the second time only three. As for the waves, the first time it was very calm (unusual), the second time there were 4 foot rollers -- not choppy. It was no problem and no one got seasick. But every day is different of course. You do wear your mask going out to the sites and it can be a wet ride, but fun, and usually not long unless you are going to Spelonk Lighthouse or another far destination.

How was it getting on and off the boat in four foot waves. I know what lake michigan is like in four footers and my wife wont go out in it. I know the waves in the ocean are different but i am trying to convince her and she will be reading all this.

Hi Aaron, When I went with Larry, the waves were not bad at all, hit it at the right time I guess, as it can get choppy there, however, once you are in the water, you descend to calmer waters and Larry is awesome at helping you in and out of the boat too. I get seasick and I took Dramamine prior to be on the safe side, but only one as two makes me sleepy and was fine. Plan on doing the same in November. Tell your wife it is worth it. I am a whimp when it comes to rough water, but I think going with Larry, she will be fine. I think the waves are choppy when the boat is going fast, but it is not a far boat ride at all, you are there before you know it. If both of you are physically fit, then you could even try doing by shore with Bas, long way out to reef, take your sense of humor and listen to what Bas says and you guys will be o.k. too. Depends on what you prefer boat or shore. Me? I like the boat as I don't want to suck up all my air before I get there. Spoiled? Maybe just a tad. Larry is the only boat dive I have done on Bonaire. Usually do all shore dives.

Aaron, It was very easy to get in and out of the boat even in waves. Larry had his boat custom made to make entries and exits as easy as possible and it works. Eddie helps everyone on with their gear while you're sitting down and he checks your regs and air. Entry is a cinch as it is an easy back roll into the sea one at a time and then descend all together. Getting out is also easy, even if there are waves. On the drift dives everyone does their safety stop together and then goes to the surface. The process of getting into the boat is quick and efficient. The boat ladder is fixed and therefore doesn't swing and bash you in the shins. Because the top of the ladder is even with the bottom of the boat (it is a pontoon boat and a section is removed that you enter through) there is no climbing over the gunwhale as with other boats (ie the Carib Inn boat) and this makes it super easy. Plus Larry and Eddie are right there to help you. Note: If you want to make special arrangements for exiting the water, ie taking off your BC and handing it up or whatever, they are happy to grant your request as long as you make it BEFORE you get to the dive site! Another plus - the first dive typically starts around 8:30 am (IN the water) so both dives are done in the relatively calmer waters before the afternoon winds kick up too much.

Thanks everyone for the input. I think that I'll definitely give Larry a try AND probably try it with a guide as well. Then I can come up with what I like the best! I really do appreciate all the input - this board rocks!!

Mike

Sorry mike for the hijack of your thread, and thanks to everyone for all the info. maybe i can convince my wife with this.

I think it depends on what you are used to. Once you have done drift diving in Tobago, the east side is a little tame and little sparse. As I said, the boat and the people are fine. The cost simply isn't worth it to me for the limited time and excitement. If you've never done it, and have never been on better drift dives, go for it.

I prefer long (120 minute) dives. I don't like backrolling with my camera. I don't see any reason why they couldn't hand down the camera as we do that in Tobago with far bigger water and smaller wooden boats. I'll stick with the west side shore diving in Bonaire and take my "wild" diving in places where it's better.

No problem Aaron. Hope you got the information you needed!!

What's the water temperature on West side?
and
Is the East side safe for those not in good shape?

you can stand on the shore by the boat and see why they call it wild side. if you can't handle the heat, stay out of the kitchen.
p.s. tobago diving sucked.

Hi Gail, water temps are the same over there as the rest of the island when I went, didn't notice any difference, went in November I think. In answer to your question about being safe for those not in good shape, I would do the boat dives as it takes a lot of energy, effort to do it by shore, now, if you do it by shore, Bas would be the guide to do it with as he can guide you the best. By shore entry, the waves come up against you when you go in and walk out a ways, waves can get rough ect., and a guide can get you past all that stuff to get to the good stuff. With my knee giving out every once in a while, that would make me nervous, so I go for the boat dive. Roll back and I am there!

TotO, I see that this is your first posting on BT. It was not so nice, I would welcome you, but just saw your second post as well, not a good first impression....

ToTO we have to disagree we loved the diving in Tobago, did you dive Speyside? This area has the best diving and interesting currents aka very strong. But then again we also love diving in Bonaire.

Welcome to BT but I would suggest you consider being less confrontational - having read both of your first posts.

(Message edited by brianl on October 12, 2006)

Brian, we had some absolutely awesome drift dives in Tobago, way wicked currents, but really awesome, saw this huge and I mean huge hogfish that let Gregg touch his antenea thingie like he was a puppy! Had a really big green moray spring up from inside a sponge under hubby and I sucked in so much air as it was so unexpected, thought it was going for hubby's family jewels! LOL! Wished I had that one on film! Anyway, I did really enjoy Tobago to say the least, and I really like the ease and diving freedom that Bon has to offer as well.

thank you for your suggestion,mr extrodinary, i'll try to restrain my thoughts and comments in the future.

@Ross,

if you like long dives the Lac Cai crossing is a must. Guaranteed: all sorts of turtles, schools of eagle rays, tarpons, green murrays. But sometimes you also see a manta, a blacktip, a couple of nurse shark and perhaps a Tiger Shark.

I like long dives as well. The more time you spend below, the more you see.

PC

I'd like to try that one sometime. I'd also like to do some more exploratory type east side diving. The day we went, there was no current, we had to swim it. We saw several people doing the same dive from shore. I just didn't see anything like the coral that Tobago has. The fish life was good, but really no different than what you see on the west side. We had a couple of large green morays, several turtles, a stingray, one distant spotted eagle ray, and a bunch of lobsters. The lobsters and turtles were more prolific, but the structure of the dive (group/follow the leader) limited any real photo ops. We have regular sitings (up close) of eagle rays around the Lake, tarpons at Divi, several large free swimming green morays down south, and turtles everywhere on the west side, plus dolphins. Sharks weren't present and mantas are quite rare anywhere on Bonaire. I dive all over. If you are used to doing west side boat dives, Larry offers something different. I'm not knocking his operation, I just think it's over hyped if you have broader experience. For me, it's a do once. If you ever want to do Tobago, the times to be there are November through May. After that, the rainy season starts and the Orinoco silts the area heavily. And you really have to do several days at Speyside.

Ross, which dive did you do at the East side?

Are there many out there that can get 120 minutes out of a tank? I must be doing a lot wrong!

Bob, The people that get 120minutes out of a 80 are diving at 30fsw or are smoking something. A guy would have a hard time getting 120min bottom time out of a 120cf let alone a 80... Ron

I can get 6+ hours out of a double 20cft .... on my inspiration rebreather. :-)

But we did several single tank (80 cft) OC dives for 90 to 100 minute at Cai with a max depth around 25-30 meters (75 - 90 fsw).

For the Lac Cai crossing we used two tanks each.

If you say so Peter ;-)

I can only get tops 80 minutes at 25meters. I guess I need more pratice... Ron

@Ron, more practice ??? :-) LOL I looked at your profile.

"Bob, The people that get 120minutes out of a 80 are diving at 30fsw or are smoking something. A guy would have a hard time getting 120min bottom time out of a 120cf let alone a 80... Ron"

Or, we are very experienced divers (instructor) that know how to relax and stay in shape. I do it regularly with a camera system, and no, I don't dive at 30' or smoke anything. Just because you can't do it, don't assume no one can. I think my personal record is 136 minutes on a drift dive. That was a few years ago. I'll be 52 in January and I'm not quite in that shape now.


(Message edited by bandit on October 16, 2006)

Mike,
I have not dove with Larry but have done numerous dives with Bas from shore. He really knows the island and can show you some spots that a boat will require a long trip to get to. Less time sitting in a boat getting tossed around and more time in the water is what I prefer. You will also get considerable bottom time(I averaged 90min and sometimes more). Bas is also a lot of fun! I've heard Larry's boat is nice but somewhat expensive as boat dives go. If you want the most bang for your buck, I'd go find Bas.

And he cooks one heck of a grilled chicken!

Smack

Mike,
Bas is my choice for diving the east side. My husband and I are like Smack in that we get an average of 90 min + dives with Bas. Bas is a great dive guide....He will even show you some great topside sights on th island!

Larry's Wildside is a bit high dollar for me considering what Bas has to offer.

Thanks Smack and Yana - I appreciate the info. How do you contact Bas??

Mike

Mike,
Bas Email
loonybin@bonairelive.com
Yana

Thanks!

We dove the east side with Menno from Deep Blue View last week in his new RIB. Quite a fun time. Menno stayed in the boat, and Benji lead the dives.

Would have been awesome if the vis was better. It was 50 - 70' max. Only saw three eagle rays in the "mist". They were on the edge of vis. However, the coral is very healthy, and we saw lots of turtles, and a southern sting ray, among other critters.

Glad we did it, and will do it again.

The seas were very calm, as expected for this time of year.

Hi Lisa,

It seems that you had a good time with old Menno (-:
How is the new setup of the boat? A couple of months ago, Menno told me that he was going to have it changed. The steering console used to be in the back. He was talking about moving it to the front.

BTW. Which dives did you do on the East?

Peter

Hi Peter,

We had a great time with Menno. It was our second stay at DBV.

The boat is great! He did move the consol forward.

We dove Lac Cai and a no-name site a little ways East of the lighthouse, near the inlet for the salt flats.

Hi Lisa,

The dive near the inlet is really interesting. I love the scenery. It is so different from the other side. And lots of turtles.

Ciao,

Peter