We had a 2 man kayak delivered to Bonaire this fall and have enjoyed the freedom to kayak early or late in the day with less wind. Today we tried diving from the kayak and were surprised how easy and fun it was. Wanted our first try to be close to shore so did "something special" in case of disaster. We had put our wetsuit half on before going out and loaded our BC, tank and regulators all put together and had them clipped on to the kayak with 2ft lines. After we tied on to the buoy we through the BCs overside,put on fins and mask and jumped in. We helped each other put on the BCs and had a great dive. You may have seen us around 11:30 on the underwater cam. On return we clipped ourselves (the BCs) to the kayak, removed the BCs slid over the side of the kayak, remove mask and fins and pulled the BC back on the boat. It could not have been easier. Laurie is working on a bad back and said it put no stress on it. We tried to sign up with the local dive shop for a lesson on kayak diving but had no instructor for the speciality. If you're a able kayaker, I see no reason not to give it a try. We are now ready to do Klein Bonaire dive sites. Our only problem was our dive flag fell over and was hanging overboard as we got back to the boat. I will have to work on that tonight. Peter

Way to go Peter and Laurie
Sounds like fun; glad you had success and can't wait to hear more about your kayak/diving adventures!!
Thanks for sharing....off to see if I can find you in the archives!

You may find this site of interest...

http://www.kayakdiver.com/

Grunt
This works
http://kayakdiver.com/kayakdiving
Mick

Sounds great, Peter. What kind of kayak did you ship? If you go over to Klein on a windy day save enough energy for the trip back. It can be a work out! Will you be on Bonaire during March? I'm hoping to get a group together to kayak around Klein. Let me know if you're interested in considering this.

Good luck Peter but it sounds to me like a lot of work. You know what they say about exercising after diving. I'd be careful. Additionally, I'd make sure I had room to carry fresh water in the Kayak for after the dive.

Peter,

My wife and I bought kayaks a year ago and toyed with the idea of diving from them all summer...just never got around to it. We're pretty adept at getting geared up in the water so we had the same idea of tying the BC with tanks to the back and strapping everything else on the deck. There are a few good lakes to dive here in Iowa and a kayak would be the perfect way to get in to some of them. Thanks for the web site...looks pretty interesting.

Michael

Peter,
We're planning a 2 month stay in Bonaire and we are avid kayakers at home. Can you provide specifics ($ and timing) for the shipping of the kayak? Which freight company did you use?
Brian

Brian, send a e-mail to me and I'll give you the details. Only 2 weeks from time boat arrives in Miami until its on Bonaire. Cost about 600 shipping and duty and taxes. Peter

Kayak is a 2man Ocean Kayak Zest two exp purchased on line from a dealer in Miami.A very simple deal. I made 6 short lanyards up with clips on each end to tie gear to boat. Put boat on rental truck by standing tank rack on edge and tied rack and boat to bumper and front to bar on rental truck cab. Peter

(Message edited by prdobson on February 9, 2008)

Laurie and I thought it might be a good day to kayak dive Klein Bonaire. Left the beach at 7;30 empty to scout out the possibility. Over in 10 min. to find a steady 20 knot wind and a good chop. Had to work to get home by way of the Cliff dive buoy. Easy paddle from there. Loaded the boat with dive gear and were back at Cliff and in the water at 9:55. Great dive north of the buoy, saw 4ft Creo, many eels, Reef Scorpionfish,and many regulars but fun to see fish. Very easy trip back and in the Unit cleaned up for noon lunch. Peter

did Small wall this am by kayak, now old hat. Great dive spot. Slipper lobster, midnight parrot fish, and all the old favorites. at end of dive Divi dive boat asked us to move so they could tie up. We let go of mooring with everything hanging overside and drifted out while making everything shipshape. Peter

Do we kayakers have equal access to dive site buoys? What would happen if a kayaker tied up just ahead of a commercial dive boat arriving, as opposed to Peter's situation with the dive boat arriving when he was ready to depart anyway? Anyone have any insight into this?

I just looked at the bmp.org web site, and this is what they say about the moorings:

---

quote:

11. Anchoring is not allowed. Regulations for use of public buoys (the buoys with the yellow marker):

First come first serve; the buoy cannot be reserved.
Boat longer than 45 feet (15 meters) cannot tie on to the buoy.
Only one boat per buoy or up to three small boats of 12 feet (3 meters).
Time limit on a buoy is maximum two hours.
A boat is not allowed to overnight on a buoy.
Sail boats with tall masts or fishing boats with tall towers are not allowed to tie on to the buoys along the length of the landing strip of the airport (buoys number 36 and 37).
12. Regulations on how to tie to a buoy:

Always tie from the bow.
The tie on line should not be shorter than 18 feet (6 meters).

---

Susan, thank you for the reference to the BMP website. Regarding the reference to it being "selfish for one or two people to hog a dive site mooring," Perhaps there are different ways to view that. A kayaker paddles under his/her own efforts, is not a source of noise or fuel pollution, and has little impact on the natural world. Let's not be so quick with the labels and judgments please. Carrying your logic further would suggest that the rest of Bonaire's visitors should stay inside when a huge cruise ship is in port because it would be selfish to hog the island's resources while a greater number of people want to use them. Using your logic also would mean that a dive boat that happens to have three divers on board should move away if a dive boat arrives with 6 divers aboard. Or, is it only selfish if the mooring is used by people who arrived by kayak?

I have never seen a dive boat tie up with an 18ft line. they usually pass their bow line through the thimble and back to the boat. 4 or 5 ft at most. the rule may have been written when the buoy was tied to rather than the current system where the thimble is part of the mooring line.

to be fair, the Divi boat was just arriving as we boarded the kayak and only responded after I said I was leaving and they thanked me for leaving at the first opportunity. We came along side after we were shipshape and they again thanked us. We have tried to tie up only after the time for dive boats to get to a mooring so as not to preempt the spot. Peter

My husband and I have been toying with this idea for a few years. We came close last year but got sidetracked with learning how to use the new cameras.

Thank you for the links and the updates - please continue

I will do the same when we give it a whirl here in Santa Barbara, Ca.

Guys,

If I lived permanently in Bonaire, I'd own a kayak!

However, as a poor and lazy country boy living in Virginia, why would I want to either rent a kayak, or ship one down, to shore dive in Bonaire?

Seems like the expense would not be worth the hassle, and I could get on a boat for less to visit the sites not accessible from shore?

Well
I love Kayaks and use one whenever I have a chance. However with winds on Bonaire being what they are, I found that paddling a sit on top upwind too tough for me to handle. I know that Peter does a lot of Kayaking and was surprised that he chose a sit on top, although getting back into a sit in would pretty tough, for sure.
I wonder would it be legal to anchor the boat with a stone near shore, don your gear and be on your way.
Mick

Nathalie,

Smugness about your ecological footprint notwithstanding, how do you get to Bonaire, fairy wings?

Many of the dive sites have shore you could actually bring the kayak up on... so yes, it could be being selfish if instead you tie up on a mooring where a boat serving more than one or two would otherwise tie up.

Remind me to not be helpful again...

No Anchors of any kind are allowed on Bonaire shores. You could beach the kayak, don your gear, and have a ball... Ron

I've seen large coral/rock stones as anchors while diving Calabasas a few times. Was told that a lot of the small boats do this...

Having done local kayaking here in California, it allows you to get to places that some boats can't access, and it's environmentally friendly

Tad, your right, but I think the people who might ship a kayak own a property on Bonaire where they could store it and use it for many years to come. For some of us, the kayaking itself is an enjoyable source of recreation/exercise/communing with nature, and may or may not also be transportation to a dive site.

Actually, I've never used a mooring for a kayak myself. However, I've often seen Zodiaks or other small powered boats with two divers tie up to a mooring. For a kayaker, if a dive site has a spot to put the kayak ashore, that would be the obvious choice.

Mick is right, the winds, for much of the year, can be a challenge for kayaking. Unless I'm heading to Klein, I paddle close to the shoreline, heading into the wind on the first leg. Getting back into a sit in kayak is a skill every sit in sea kayaker should have, so that's not the issue. A sit on top is perfect for Bonaire because the water is warm and you can store dive gear on it. At home I use a sit-in sea kayak with a spray skirt for protection from the frigid ocean. A S-O-T is a great no fuss warm water vacation boat.

Nathalie,

I LOVE kayaking. Usually get in a run or two every time I go somewhere! And if diving from a kayak floats your boat..........I say go for it!!

I do disagree however, on people diving from a kayak having as much rights to a mooring site, or being more eco friendly, than those on a boat who probably outnumber them more than 3 to 1. And they've paid a few thousand to get to Bonaire as well!

That's the great thing about good healthy debate! In my own personal experience, I've found as many good, hardworking, decent people on the other side of the fence than I am. They are not uneducated, and it's not that don't have a clue. They just truly have different beliefs and views than I do.

Make your case girl!! So will we!!

there are many shore dive sites that are very difficult for a person with bad knees. We did a so called shore dive today that I found almost impossible. I fell and fortunately was not hurt. The dive was reachable by kayak and would have been much safer for me to do by kayak. We did not buy the kayak for diving. At home we kayak every day as I was forced to retire because of my knees and we do as many as 20 miles a day. Kayaking is just one more way to enjoy Bonaire. Peter

Mick,
Just got around to checking out the link you posted above http://kayakdiver.com/kayakdiving
Great site. Thanks.

I agree Peter - we have owned kayaks for years but don't use them nearly as much as I wish.
Thanks for the reminder/inspiration!

Love your profile picture btw

Peter,

I totally understand it could be very difficult doing the entries from shore with bad knees. Sometimes, I have a very rough time with good knees! Busted my butt more than once!! And I commend you on hanging tough, and finding a way to get in the water.

I don't think any of us have a problem with using a kayak to dive, either for medical necessity......or just the fun of it!! I haven't tried it yet....but would LOVE TOO!!

Again, my point is that there may be 6,8,10,.....whatever number of people on a dive boat wanting to dive a site, and they cannot because of 2 people in a kayak. If the BMP would allow a boat to tie up at the same buoy as a kayak, I LOVE IT!! I'd rent one myself the next time down, just to try it out!!

Again, what about small powered boats, Zodiaks or other, with 2 divers aboard, that frequently tie up at dive sites? Why are kayaks being singled out by those who think LOVs (low occupancy vessels) shouldn't use the moorings? As I wrote before, I have not yet used a mooring for a kayak. I just raised the question, and am now trying to understand why some are opposed to kayakers using the moorings but haven't indicated any problem with motorized LOVs using the moorings. BTW, it's not just kayak divers who might be interested tying up to the moorings. Kayak snorkelers also may be interested. As Peter said, it's just one more way to enjoy Bonaire.

It is against Marine Park rules to rent a boat and use it for diving on Bonaire. I checked into renting a boat for diving, and you have to be a Captian, and agree not to dive off the rental. Only registered Dive boats are allowed to moore on the marked Dive Buoys. If you notice, in the past, you have never seen a pleasure boat tied to a Dive Marker. I don't know if that rule would include non motorized boats? I think that would be a question for the Rangers.

(Message edited by ronindiana on February 12, 2008)

Kayaks, Zodiacs, a 42 foot resort dive boat or Paul Allen's yacht....people, please.....the island has more than one mooring, just move along to the next one if the one you want is occupied. All the sites are stellar anyway.

Of course, if mooring selection is critical, perhaps the ancient ritual of a duel would settle the issue as to who has mooring "priority" -- the kayaks, the Zodiacs, or the resort dive boats. Wait....spear guns are illegal...oh, never mind then.

Okay, I've got it.....presuming your kayak or Zodiac or whatever is a "registered dive boat" and since marine park rules seem to permit this ("up to three small boats of 12 feet (3 meters)"), do what boaters in any populated place do when mooring or pier space is scarce, and raft off to each other to accommodate everyone. (Do kayaks have cleats?)

The more the merrier, I say.

(Message edited by lizard0924 on February 12, 2008)

I did not realize the stone anchor thing had been changed until I looked at the regulations just now. I wonder what local guys do now.
Mick

"Mick,
Just got around to checking out the link you posted above http://kayakdiver.com/kayakdiving
Great site. Thanks."

Ah, yes! Jim Spears(aka Kayakdiver, aka Gilligan). I have traded emails with him for some time. A nice guy, retired police officer and really knows his stuff. Also an excellent u/w photographer. Great site with info for anyone wanting to learn to dive from that platform.

As for Kayaks on the moorings, I say if they are allowed by the rules then they were there first and that's that. The head count on a dive boat should not dictate who gets priority. There would be no end to the issues if that were the case.

It's called sharing.

Here are Laurie and Me in kayak with gear