I assume the underwater cam's temperature sensor has been fixed, and is now correct?

Me and my husband Danny are travelling to Bonaire Dec. 22, 2004 to visit daughter and family for Christmas and New Year's. Would anyone know email address for Bonaire Excel? Would like to know baggage allowance and extra weight charges.

Carol,

Not really the right place for your question, (See the topic "Getting to Bonaire"), but here is an answer.
www.bonairexel.com and fly@bonairexel.an

Mind the different writing of the name!

It will be possible to book online through the website, but a few days ago they still had problems.
I have the experience that answering on e-mail-questions is "Antillean"-style, so late or not. They are growing fast at the moment, and experience problems due to that.
On the website there are also telephone-numbers.
As far as I know the bagage-allowence is 20kgs (about 40 pounds) per person, not per bag!

Good luck!

Temp is correct. A new sensor was installed last month.

Smack, was that the "probe"? <wink>

Cynde, it certainly wasn't Martin's gadget...<wink>

Mare...LOL...twirling red twizzlers in my hand...hee hee

I was just there over the last couple of weeks, and can verify that the temperature shown is pretty close. We recorded UW temps in the 82-84F range, no matter where we dived. I'd expect it to be a little cooler towards the end of December, but not more than 2 or 3 degrees F. I used to have a link with the average UW temperatures over the year, but I'll be darned if I can find it right now. There's a pretty good climate chart at http://www.bonaire-travelguide.com/weather/index.shtml but it doesn't list the UW temperature. I'd expect the UW temp to lag the air temp by around a month.

We had a weird one at Hilma Hooker or Angel City (can't remember which) towards the end of the dive. In the shallows around 10 to 25 feet, we had a couple of "hot flashes" that my comps didn't record, although all 3 of us remarked on it later. Did we hit the outflow from a warm spring, or were we just peed on by a large transparent whale? You decide...

Stan, I love those unexpected warmer thermoclines, especially after a long dive and I'm starting to feel chilled.
A while back, Jake gave us a fine word that describes, not changes in temperature but, a tangible change in salinity in the ocean. some folks had come across a 'field' of extra salty water while diving that actually caused some discomfort it was so saline.

That would be a "halocline" you're thinking of... The interface between non- or low saline water and noticably saline water. At the halocline, looking through it, the water on the other side looks almost oily.

Jake

Thanks Jake!
I watched a documentary about Cocos Island wherein they described a phenomenon that prevented filming -- and they described it as being caused by a change in water temperature. They showed the attempts at filming and the fishes were blurry.
I've been in many thermoclines and never experienced any visual oddities -- except for some wonderful warm waters churning up from a dive site in Dominica. One can see where the vents are from the 'ripples' in the water. The dive site is called Champagne, and there are some thermal vents in the water that one can warm one's hands on in the shallows. MMMmmmm, toasty.
Has anyone ever experienced any visual oddities due to thermoclines or haloclines?
Just curious.....

My husband and I experienced one or the other (don't know if it was salinity or temp) in Cozumel one year.....very strange couldn't see through it, actually made me claustrophobic!!! Just like seeing the waves of heat you see off of hot asphalt in the summer.....pretty weird!

LaDonna

Mare - I see what we call wavy water when hitting a thermocline - I have seen it in Bonaire, at the keys and at the quarry - so it happens in both fresh and salt water.

Funny thing is no one talks about it until one person mentions it - everyone thinks they were just seeing things - until they realize that everyone else experienced the same thing.

I've seen it frequently here in New England waters when swimming through various thermoclines. One site in Gloucester, Folly Cove, had -vertical- thermoclines one day! Swimming at the same depth, we passed through at least 3 different temperature regions, with vertical shimmering effect. Very cool...

Faith