For the last 8 months we have been planning our trip and now I have acquired a huge amount of gear for the upcoming trip and want to try and reduce the amount that I bring to just what i will need. I have been reading these boards and several others and think i have over bought just a little.

Anyway I know i will need my BC, Reg Set, Mask, Snorkel, Fins, Boots, Shorty Wetsuit, Compass, etc but what about other gear that is really necessary. I think i have just about everything you can think of so help and direction would be great on this.

Cannot wait to be on island in just a few short weeks!

Night lights..... if you are doing night dives. We both strap on a knife should we need it, (haven't), but it's louder than a tank banger. How about a skin? That's all I can think of other than you list!

We have the lights and a few rash guards and knives as well. Thanks for the info.

What about taking glow sticks for navigation back to the dive entrance at night? Is that allowed? We put them on the antenna for reference.

Brad, light sticks are not allowed (in the water). You can always attach an underwater strobe on the mooring line at the entrance/exit.

We take a dive repair kit as well, spare orings, one of those tire gauge thingies you can fill air into a flat tire from your BC hose and tank (I'm looking for a link and the right word but can't find it), and zip ties.

You might also bring a waterproof small case to slip on your bc pocket. i take one and put a cc and a few guilders just in case.

Ziplocs, mastercard and visa
They got duct tape and cheese.

Seriously, back when I started dive traveling I would agonize over forgetting something i'd need. On our first dive trip we traveled by wagon train to Cozumel (hey I'm old) and packed everything any human could use and almost let a trip be ruined by metric screws (vs the american kind) and a camcorder housing. Now I bring the feetsie things (fins), breathie thing (reg), lookie thing (mask), and floatie thing (BC)...oh yeah the picture thing (camera). BON is blessed with a number of well equiped shops and extremely helpful people....our first trip there I broke my glass and the guy from Chat and Browse spent an hour tracking down a screw and then finding me.
Don't worry about what to take.....wonder about what you're gonna see. It is, after all, a vacation.

Joe's got the poetic wax out tonite.

cheeseit

I like you......

Kobi.....are you flirting wif lil ole me (ok the "lil" might be a tad misleading.

I bask in the moment and live for the next.

I forgot something in the last post tho....we bring little packs of hardware..ink pins..screws, washers, bolts,short strips of wire, clean alligator clips, velcro sticky pads, plastic eating utinsils. Travel buds and I mix all the stuff up and distribute it among the group to see who can get the most or least stuff confuscated (yes Darlene I knows how to spell confiscated). It's great fun to giggle madly while they tear up your carryon buggage. And the winner (he/she who has the most...or least stuff after TSA) gets to keep all our airplane headphones


I love my job


um

Take any over the counter medication you might need. Last year I developed a very itchy rash. Liz, the owner of Golden Reef is a nurse, she said it was a reaction to something in the water & I needed Benadryl. I had to go to the Hospital, pay for a prescription, go to pharmacy where they only had a cream that was not as effective as the one I had brought with me.

Got medications on my lovely spreadsheet o'stuff to bring.

Joe, that sounds like fun but considering we leave at 5 in the morning and dont get to Bonaire till almost 9 at night, i dont think i will have the energy to play

Joe, I just love your "lil" posts LOL! We need a bit O humor here on occasion although we do giggle a lot already

Brad.....if the "sky police" is sleepin....that's the best time.....you might wanna add suppositoris to the mix...and lil bags of ...oops...never mind

enjoy your trip

Every day on my to work I pass a sign that says
.....SLOW SCHOOL ZONE
We need to stop picking on those kids....they might be mine

cheesit

Cheezy Joe, boy, have I ever missed you buddy. Kobi, CJ helped me through a very rough time in PR...he)), he actually lulled me to sleep after oh...three weeks???

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quote:

Now I bring the feetsie things (fins), breathie thing (reg), lookie thing (mask), and floatie thing (BC)...oh yeah the picture thing (camera).

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1. Feetsie things
2. Lookie thing
3. Floatie thing
4. Picture thing

L..M...D...F...A...O....

cEEzit...love ya buddy

On Medications, besure and bring any prescriptions with you. They do not always have on island what you need if you run out.

cheeseit I love your description of dive equipment, you and Dave would get along really well!

Truly Most Important:
a) Passport with at least six months left (can't get there w/o it)
b) Driver License (can't rent a car w/o it)
c) ATM card, credit card and some cash
d) Any must have prescription type items (meds, contacts, etc.) or particular OTC items
e) C-Cards
f) Copy of flight info, hotel info and car info. (If you don't already know, directions to the hotel and the car place are good ideas)
g) One bathing suit

You can replace or rent on Bonaire (or do without) almost anything else you might omit...

Dive Gear:
a) Reg w/octo, compass, and AI computer
b) 15 CuFt Pony Bottle, bracket, reg and pressure gauge. Check hydro and VIP
c) Booties and fins.
d) BC and weight belt (DUI)
e) Mask and Snorkel (and keeper)
f) Dive lights (sl4, PCa and the Q40) and batteries.
g) Surface signal stuff (sausage, dive alert, storm whistle, strobe)
h) Sea drops (often buy there)
i) Beanie (I skip the rest of the exposure suit...)
j) Attachment points for my octo, gauges, and pony reg
k) Some cutting tool such as EMT shears
l) C-card(s)

Clothes:
a) Several pairs of shorts (and underwear).
b) Several pairs of swim trunks.
c) One nicer outfit (i.e., shirt with collar and dockers)
d) One long sleeve shirt.
e) Lots of t-shorts
f) Tevas
g) Pair of good tennis shoes and a few pairs of socks.
h) sunglasses (I skip the hat but...)

Toiletries:
a) Contact lenses (w/spares and spare case and spare preferred solution)
b) Shampoo (unlike Steven Wright, I prefer shampoo over real poo)
c) Razor
d) Deoderant
e) Adequate supply of OTC and prescription meds
f) A decent first aid kit (mine includes stuff for jelly stings and insect stings and sunburn, cuts/scrapes, antibiotics, pain meds, etc.)
g) For many, bug juice and sun screen
h) Toothbrush and paste and floss
i) Hair brush

Other:
a) Photo related stuff (giant list there including tools for the housing, extra arm parts, plus a laptop and blank DVDs)
b) Save-a-dive kit (various o-rings including for the camera, mask strap, two complete sets of fin buckles/straps, etc.)
c) Combo word lock for the dive locker plus cable lock for the shoes (I attach them to my tank rack)
d) Ipod and charger and ear phones
e) Any food stuff I want to be 100% certain to have...including snacks for the plane ride down
f) pen and paper
g) some spare ziplock bags

Great list also the standard advice; bring cash, humor and patience, spend the cash, share the humor, practice the patience.

Cecil, good advise. You write those words of wisdom one finds in fortune cookies, don't you?

Joe,

(1) glad your back
(2) happy to read your hair came back
(3) hoping that when you head back (to Bonaire) in September, we might be able to meet.

Heck, I will bring you some real cheese (Cabot Private Stock) so you don't have to eat that orange plastic stuff. What is it called Velveeeyuck?

David added a bunch of that stuff to my excel spreadsheet ( i am little bit of a planner)and i appreciate it a bunch.

Everyone thanks for all the help, definetely a few things that i would have forgotten.

Thanks!

Brad:

Again, everything after those first few items on my list you can often do without (or buy/rent). With a passport, driver license, money, a credit card, a list of your reservations, any must have items (contacts, prescription mask, meds) you are golden.

At about four weeks from wheels up, I look over all of my gear. This gives me plenty of time to fix things.
a) Does everything (i.e., BC, wetsuit, trunks, booties, etc.) still fit?
b) Have I done all of my periodic duties (i.e., renewed my DAN card/insurance, gotten any reg or bc service done, gotten any recall work done, checked the dive computer battery, etc.)?
c) Have I inspected all items (including the luggage itself) for undue wear and replaced those items that need it (cracked plastic buckles, o-rings, hoses that are starting to crack or look bad, frayed or cracking straps, zippers, booties, etc.)
d) Do I need to order any harder to find items (i.e., ikelite brand lube for their camera housing o-rings, a unique battery, replacement bulb for the ikelite pca, etc.)

(Message edited by bonairetrip on July 25, 2008)

I used to haul enough spare parts and tools to rebuild a regulator and overhaul the engine on a 1963 Ford pickup truck.

Now I take the minimum, like Joe said. If I need parts, repairs, or other equipment off to Bruce I go. Most everything else I've needed I have been able to buy, find a good substitute, or do without.

For me less stuff = less stress.

Obviously there are many that're more organized than me....I'll just have to accept my assigned lot in life as spelling monitor....."deodOrant".

David....great list, I printed and laminated it...but...um....it's.....um.....lost under a pile of socks or something.

Tom..wowzah..a diety. I'd be glad to meet you but I have to esplain something first...

Velveeta was brought to earth by and named after Velveeticus the Norse God of Processed Cheese stuff and one of the three top Norse Dieties

Velveeticus-Father of Cheese-like stuff
Polyestrus-Father of Outlet Malls and Waffle Houses
Johnnycashicus-Father of Country Music

Bad words about Velveeta could be considered heresy but I lost the list laying out potential punishments.

Tom, I know your profile suggests vermont,but that thing about cuzzins....Arkansas? Oh yeah, I met your cuzzins.....not tuesdays either. If you're gonna be in Bonaire tween Sept 12 and 20 leave a magic rock next to the curb in front of Bobbejeans listing your IMCC (Intercranial Microchip Contact Continuum) or leave a message at Dive Friends (the old yellow submarine shop) and I'll shoot you a thought ray. I'm always up for a buddy.

Does anybody wonder how I lulled Cynde to sleep after three weeks?
Igotasecret

jeo

David,

How to you carry a pony bottle to Bonaire?

Inquiring minds want to know...

<ted>

Probably more than you wanted to know, but here is how I pack my pony bottle (never had an issue):
a) Drain the tank slowly (minimizes condensation)
b) Remove the valve (usually no wrench needed). This is a must-do.
c) I tape saran wrap over the hole in the tank (Other years, I put a piece of clear packing tape. Starting this year, I plan to skip the saran wrap and instead place the tank in a clear bag that I then tape shut.) They key is that it must be clear and allow for an inspection of the inside of the bottle.
d) I then put the valve in a zip-lock, bubble wrap and into a small box.
d) Both go in my dive bag. (typically, I wrap the TSA guidelines around the tank with a rubber band)
e) In Bonaire, I go to the shop and ask them to put it together (they usually don't charge me) and fill it up. I then attach the mounting bracket.

One year my tank was even out of hydro and I got that done on Bonaire (of course, before they filled it).

Here is the TSA link: http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/compressed_gas.shtm . I always have a copy with my travel docs.

On last quirk: The rule now is checked or carry-on. I have gotten zero hassles doing checked.

But, at one point, the rule was carry-on only (yes, I said carry only). I did have some hassles that year (I was always polite and they were always cleared up when I produced a copy of the TSA rules -- and they were also typically perplexed as to why it was carry-on only)

David,

Many thanks! I am surprised that you have not had troubles with the bottle and TSA. Perhaps taping the regs to it makes the difference.

I don't have anywhere near the luck that you do with TSA...

Thanks again!