hi,

i am under the impression that the "Invisibles" dive site is characterized by a couple of structures that appear out of nowhere while traversing the sand. is this accurate? anyone care to comment on this dive site?

thanks,

Well, this site is on part of the double reef system seen in the South.
A divemaster briefing I heard once said something about people boating over the site in the early days and not realizing that a good dive site was down there, but I don't know how true it is.
There is a pretty large sandy area at the mooring and the visibilty often seems to be low right at the mooring, improving as you get to the reef.
I know it can sometimes be a little interesting finding the boat at the end of the dive (for me anyway).

thanks...sounds like for a short trip anyway i can scratch this sight off the list - i didn't want miss anything that was structurally/topographically dramatic or whatever - this does not quite sound that way...

thanks again,

If I remember correctly, once you cross the white sandy area you come to the second, deeper part of the double reef system...let's see, my dive log has the second reef at 80 and 90 feet deep. It's sort of like three or four cupcakes rising out of the sand. Dive log says I saw damselfish, porcupinefish, rainbow wrasse and squids. There were also a lot of garden eels in the sand between the reef systems. I liked it as a dive site.

Ask your dive op about the condition of the coral area south of the entry. It was one of my favorites three years ago. A patch of broken elkhorn coral infested with juveniles and small fish. Trumpetfish (vertical) circling overhead on invisible fins stalking the litle ones. Depends on what you are looking for. 'It is all in the eyes of the beholder.'

That is 'south of the entry' in 15 feet of water on the first sand floor. Like so much of Bonaire diving, everyone immediately goes out and down. Did it myself until I learned better. Even the bare sand areas yield razorfish if you wait a little. 'All things come to those who wait' applies to patient divers also. Let your dive guide swim on and just watch.

Children, dogs, cats and underwater animals will come to you if you wait, and run if you chase. Their curiosity gets the better of them.

In response to the original question: As mentioned earlier in the thread it is part of the double reef system and the larger of the islands is not visible from the in-shore reef if you go in at the mooring and go down the reef. Only after you have proceeded about half-way across the intervening sand flat does it come into view.

I think it is a very good spot. More often than not you will see large schools of boga flashing around being pursued by jacks and groupers at the top of the first island. The best time to go on the site is mid-day when the sun is high.

This is one of my favorite sites on Bonaire. To me it's the easiest one to do, thus the one I try to do as my first dive of the vacation. I have seen rays swiming between the underwater islands many times. The elkhorn coral patch that Glen mentioned was a great place to spend some time and the rest of my air. I have seen turtles resting or swiming in that area. Squid would hang out there too. The sandy area was a fun place to practive my navigation skills.

ok...maybe i need to re-consider this site...i'm not real good at finding the boat either but i do have a dry snorkel and don't mind a little surface swim;-)

can anyone say this site offers anything much over the other double reef sites, i.e. "alice in wonderland" or "aquarius" or "angel city"?