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Diving Bonaire: Navigation
Bonaire Talk: Diving Bonaire: Archives: Archives 2008-2009: Archives - 2008-03-01 to 2008-07-31: Navigation
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Eric Mock (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #3) on Friday, May 30, 2008 - 11:28 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

I must admit my navigation skills are sub par. What is the best way to navigate back to entry point for shore diving in bonaire? I know it is best to make a reference point upon entry. Does anyone have anything they use to make it easier to identify the entry point?

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Gerald Huppertz (BonaireTalker - Post #67) on Friday, May 30, 2008 - 12:32 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

When get in the water we take a quick bearing back to shore, sometimes when you are in the sand flats it can be disorienting and its good to have a compass heading to follow. Then we swim out towards the reef. If there is a Buoy at the site we aim for it and us it as our reference. If not I look for a very distinct coral formation. Such as 2 cup corals side by side, or a very large head of coral. I look at my wife, point to the coral and then my head, That is our signal for, "remember this". We then check what depth we are at. As we pass the coral we take a look back at it, sometimes they are not as obvious from the backside as from the front!! We then start heading down deeper and along the reef in our chosen direction. We monitor how long we had been diving before we turned in order to give us an idea of when we should expect to see our sign on the way back. This can be +/- many minutes as we stop to take photos, so we us time as a rough measure. As we are heading back we come up shallower to the depth of our coral. That way we don't miss it because we are down deeper or too shallow. This has worked great for many dives and on the rare occasion that we do miss (or don't reach) or marker we just turn to our shore bearing and head in.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By David Johnson (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #400) on Saturday, May 31, 2008 - 12:07 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Gerald gives great advice.

Here is what I tend to do:
a) Take a reciprocal bearing straight back into shore. I do this before I get in the water.

b) I tend to walk out to chest deep and then fin up. I take this opportunity to look at what shore looks like. Are there any bushes I want to surface left or right of? Can I see my truck?

c) Then I submerge. I usually turn around when I am about 50 feet from shore and pay attention to the UW topography going back in. Then I turn back to sea, and using my compass, sight something in the distance I can keep my eyes on, swim to that point, look at your compass and find another point, repeat).

d) When I get to the reef area, I do what the previous poster said (look for distinctive features and note the depth).

e) I then descend to my target depth and swim left or right. I time how long before I turn around. (I try to factor in things like current, swimming speed, etc.) Some count fin kicks.

f) A few minutes before I think I am at my exit point, I ascend to the depth of the distinctive item. I keep swimming until I think I am just past the distinctive item. If I cannot find it (rare), I usually surface to confirm where I am at.

g) I swim in (submerged) using my compass. As I get close, I try to look for my entry point (or a good exit point). I take careful note of any urchins, coral heads, holes, etc. I surface in just less than chest deep water. Take off fins (leave mask on and reg in). I then walk out. Pull off the mask and spit out the reg.

This sounds harder than it really is. These are all things I pretty much instinctively do without thinking about it. I usually surface within ten feet of my exit point. (And at many sites this is *way* more precise than you need to be.)

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John "Smack" Anderson (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1561) on Saturday, May 31, 2008 - 11:26 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

What David said.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By David Mandelbaum (BonaireTalker - Post #14) on Sunday, June 1, 2008 - 1:41 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

what they said on reference points

swim one direction to 1500 psi (60-70ft)
turn around
swim back to 600 psi (30-40ft)
safety stop/go to shore

don't know why - but worked every time

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tribs, Live From Bonaire (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #5999) on Sunday, June 1, 2008 - 8:06 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Agreed on above...cannot stress how important it is to keep on mask and reg in mouth. You don't know how many buddies I have had that don't and then take a tumble and come up sputtering and rubbing their eyes. You may never trip, but it is better to be safe than sorry. :-)

If you are nervous about navigating Bonaire, go with the sites that have a mooring buoy until you are comfortable. Take a heading to the buoy, go out to it and take note of the depth. Use whatever for your dive 1500 psi out, 30 minutes out, etc....at depth and then come back shallow for the second half of dive (great way to REALLY off gas). Just be sure to be at the depth of the mooring buoy and then follow the compass back to shore. Be sure to look in the sand and rubble...lots of cool stuff there!

Remember you are dealing with a reef that rings the island, go out with the slope on one side and return with it on the other and you will be good! :-)

 


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