Do you guys bring your own compass or do you rent one while on Bonaire? I've been told that compasses sold in the U.S. won't function properly that far south on the globe.

Sounds like you fell for an old April Fools joke, Eric.
*chuckle*

Actually, even Suunto states that their newest compass is calibrated for specific regions. If purchased in region 1 and used in region 4 it will not be accurate.

Eric, you simply have to recalibrate it once on Bonaire. I used my Suunto last fall with no problems. Found my way back to shore everytime. LOL

Get a wrist mount magnetic compass and use it as you were taught in your OW class. It's not like your are circumnavigating the globe. All you are trying to do is leave the beach from a specific point and return to that same point on exit. If the compass is off, so what? Magnetic North at entry and exit will get you there and back. And to your original question, I own my own.

If you leave with an uncalibrated compass, you will return with the same uncalibrated compass, thus getting you back to where you want Unless you are trying to come back to specific coordinates.

Personally, I ditched my compass on most dives on the leeward side. There's no need for one. If you come up too soon or too late, you just do a casual snorkel to your exit point.

I wouldn't worry about it.

For diving we are talking meters or yards, not kilometers or miles. Accuracy to magnetic north does not much matter. Eric, use the one you have with confidence.

A compass is part of my standard Suunto console, along with my Vyper computer and SPIG.

As others have ably posted , most Bonaire shore dives do not require a great dea of 'navigation'.

There is nothing wrong however with shooting a heading to the dive site market float as you enter and using the reverse heading to return from the float anchor block back to shore.

After a few dives I suspect you will really be watching your other gauges far more than your compass.

The calibration Suunto is referring to is the result of magnetic variation (also called magnetic declination). In a nutshell, the magnetic north pole (magnetic north) is not at the same location as the geographic north pole (true north), and magnetic compasses point at magnetic north while maps (aka charts) have longitude and latitude lines based on true north. Consequently different locations on the Earth's surface produce a magnetic reading that is usually different than if the compass pointed toward true north - different by the amount of the local magnetic variation. In some areas you might be in line with both poles and there would be no variation, but in most places the variation will be more than zero, about 13 degrees in Southern California for example (to one side or the other, i.e., east or west of true north). If your head (or compass) isn't spinning yet, consider that magnetic variation is steadily changing and the date must be factored in to get the exact magnetic variation!

If you want to use your compass and get the same readings as other compasses, they all have to be adjusted for the local variation.

On the other hand, if you are just using your own compass and you are not relating it to a map (chart) but rather using it to just obtain a relative bearing or a reciprocal course, then it is insignificant that you have not allowed for variation - and that's what most divers on Bonaire use their compasses for.

And then there is magnetic deviation, an alteration of the magnetic field caused by local disturbances like a steel boat hull, a truck, or so forth, but we won't go into that here.

I used to be a sailboat navigator and owner of a boating and navigation school... sorry about all the variation, deviation, declination, compensation, true and magnetic...

BTW, we use our own compasses and they function just fine for a diver's purposes even without adjusting for the local variation on Bonaire! And just in case you wondered, Bonaire's magnetic variation is about 12 degrees West, changing at a rate of 4 minutes West per year.

Eric..Use your own compass & really absolutely no need to worry about variance or deviation etc.
Now if you're a mariner on a boat & doing navigation that's a different story. But to get back to shore on Bonaire..as they say...fuhgettaboutit.

Thanks all. I was aware of magnetic North etc., but since it won't really matter for my purposes (as pointed out by several folks) I'll just bring my SK7 and if worse comes to worse; surface and look around! ;)