Of all the 200 and some dives I've done on Bonaire, I've never done the lighthouse at the south end. Has anyone ever done it? I'd appreiate any comments.

Never done that one, but I've spoken some people who did, and it's a difficult dive. On the south end there is heavy stream. But it is beautiful out there. Much more coral and fish.

Never gone myself, but one October the wind was very calm and some of the boats from Divi went there. They say for experienced divers when the wind is right.

We've done the lighthouse several times. This dive is not that difficult. The trickiest part is getting into the water. Recommended is to try it out early in the morning with little or no wind. With early I mean being in the water by 7.30 am. Avoid the dive if current or wind are strong. (Next stop is Venezuela). This dive is different from most other dives found on the West-side. Loads of fans with a possibility to sea larger fish (big groupers, stingrays, eagle rays, ...)

Peter

Hi,

I've done 7 dives in the past week between baby beach and the lighthouse.
A summary of what we've seen:
15 sting rays,
2 spotted eagle rays,
1 nurse shark,
14 turtles,
11 lobster,
5 big green morrays,
27 tarpon,
8 barracuda,
1 black tip reef shark,
loads of big healthy coral formations and sponges.
I love the diving there. Sometimes it's like diving into the zoo or some discovery documentary. Drift and watch all the cool stuff just pass by... fishes, corals.. the scenery. There's this HUGE sponge the size of a small car. Just could not figure it out untill I came closer... like a huge outta space boulder from a distance. There's a dive that has a field of seafans only. They bend over in the surge, one way they are lit by sunlight the otherway it blends in creating a wave of light traveling over the sea floor. Some sites have beautiful 'ridges' of coral extending from the drop off zone (much like karpata but more horizontal)Some are bit boring as far as the corals go BUT good for seeing rays. Some you'll run into cannon and anchors...
True, the currents can be strong. Look at and check out your entry and exit very well... at least 5 minutes looking at the waves and currents right near the shore. However you can use the current to your advantage. All the dives are drift. Entries and exits are marked with big driftwood 'sculptures' clearly visible from the water. On really windy days when the waves are very big it's not good. Apart from dangerous the viz is poor. There are a few tricks to tackle the surf. You'll need some level of experience, fitness and agility plus thick booties with strap fins, full suit and a snorkel also very handy. One skill is to put on and take off your fins quickly.
Anyway, in my opinion the diving on that side is super cool (I'm addicted and hardly ever dive anywhere else on Bonaire) and would advise anyone adventurous enough and capable of doing it to check it out. Big warning not to just try something, go with someone who knows the area. Some dives shops offer guided dives to some east coast sites. I'm always looking for buddies as I just can't get enough of it. I have one the same buddy for every saturday morning however all the other ones are with whoever I can find and wants to go.

Bas (who could not find a buddy for this morning:-(

Hi Bas,

I'd wich I could have been your buddy this morning. Hey, with the daily flights from KLM, who knows.

We'll be back in Bonaire around November-December. Perhaps we can team up to do some serious east-side diving?

Speaking of tarpons. What do you think of the Lac Cai dive (Conch shells). The viz is low but the number of tarpons in the pit makes up for it.

Have fun and say hello to Jake and the guys from Wannadive.


CU,
Peter

Hi Peter,

Lac Cai is a cool dive too. The school of tarpon on the way out in the channel. The bad viz there just adds to the spectacle.. makes it a bit surreal with the big tarpon everywhere around you.
This dive requires some navigation going out and coming back in. I like this dive becuse of the tarpon and because sofar on each dive there I have seen several spotted eagle rays. But it's not my favorite as a lot of air gets wasted on the way out and back in. Besides the outgoing current is not really predictable and can be very strong. It can be handled but I think it's stressy. I've always gone out the channel, go south a ways (till 1500psi or earlier if current's strong) turn around and go back about 1/2 of the way and go back in diagonally across the channel on a bit of an 'over' heading to correct for the current and using the surge to make progress.
And yup, look me up when you get here and we'll team up for some very interesting dives.

Best regards,
Bas