Bankies in Bonaire

In April 2009, a party of 8 divers plus 3 non divers from Clydebank Sub Aqua Club went to Bonaire, in the Dutch Antilles in the Caribbean. The island is situated to the north of Venezuela, in the southern Caribbean. After a short flight from Glasgow to Amsterdam, a 4 hour wait then a gruelling 9 hour flight from Amsterdam to Bonaire, we finally arrived at the Eden Beach Resort at around 3 o’clock in the morning (Bonaire time). The plan was to sleep until about mid-day, however by 9 o’clock everyone was up and about. So much for “jet-lag”, and by 1245 we had checked in at the Dive Centre, collected weights, belts and 12 litre cylinders and we were in the water at the quite spectacular Eden Beach “Front Porch” dive site.

The Wannadive Dive Centre at Eden Beach is very relaxed about diving. You fill in a “Disclaimer Form”. A Dive Guide points to the sea and says, “there it is, go dive!”

The diving on Bonaire is also very easy. Most of the diving is on the sheltered west side of the island. All the dive site car parks are marked with boulders painted with yellow paint, with the name of the site painted in black. Off shore there is a marker buoy. All you have to do is pick a site, kit up, swim a short distance across coral sand to the start of the reef “drop-off” (marked by the buoy) and dive.

The weather on Bonaire varies little. Air temperature is between 28^oc and 32^oc all year round. The water is 27^oc all year with underwater visibility at around 40metres. I reckon that this is slightly better than Loch Fyne. The weather forecasters must have a boring job.

The wind seems to blow fairly constantly but lightly from the east, hence the reason why virtually all the dive sites are on the sheltered west coast.

The map of the Bonaire Dive sites has them all numbered and named. We soon found that we could just about pick any number and we were bound to get a great dive site, though all the sites were very similar. The corals were in very good condition with very few broken, unlike the Northern Red Sea. The fish life was prolific and remarkably tame – great for the photographers amongst us. The main problem each day was the decision on whether to go north from Eden Beach or south. The Dive package included a boat dive over on the small island of Klein Bonaire. The day we went it was a little windier than usual so it made a slightly more interesting trip.

One of the best dive sites for me was the wreck of the Hilmer Hooker. It was “allowed” to sink after it had been found carrying drugs in 1984. The full story can be read at http://www.caribinn.com/hilmahooker.html  The wreck lies on its starboard side in 29metres depth and is very easy and safe to penetrate. There were 3 large Tarpon in residence on the 2 dives we had on it.

The fish life was quite prolific, though we didn’t see any sharks. Dolphins were sited from the Eden Beach Bar on a number of occasions, but sadly not underwater. The marine life consisted of Blue & Midnight Parrotfish, French Angelfish, Banded & Foureye Butterflyfish, Moray Eels, a Spotted Stingray, Barracuda, a Turtle, French & Smallmouth Grunt, Jolthead Porgy, Bigeye, Squirrelfish, Spotted Drum, Schoolmaster, Spanish Hogfish, various Cardinalfish, Trumpetfish, Scorpionfish, Graysby, various Basslet, a Seahorse, Lizardfish, Goatfish, Damselfish, Tarpon, Scrawled Filefish, Porcupinefish, Smooth Trunkfish, Spotted Trunkfish, Peacock Flounder, Blue Tang, Whitespotted Filefish, Honeycomb Cowfish, Rock Beauty and probably many more. Bonaire Fun Travel provided us with a very useful Fish Identification Guide.

Most of us were diving over the hour on most dives as the water was so warm and the fish life and corals so mesmerising. 

In the evenings most of the party went in to the main town of Kralendijk (pronounced – Kralendijk) where there were plenty of Restaurants serving everything from Pasta to Steaks to Seafood. The Eden Beach Bar also served a selection of meals where one or two of us occasionally had a rest from big meals. It seemed that we had a reputation of being “that big party of 11” at two or three Restaurants in Kralendijk.

It is not quite the main season for tourists yet, though there were regular visits from Cruise Ships, so the town was not too busy most of the time. We knew when a Cruise ship had arrived as the beach at Eden Beach filled up with large, wealthy Europeans and Americans.

On the last morning, Tom and Brian braved the difficult, challenging conditions and had a dive "au naturalle", well almost - they went in the water without a wetsuit. Just trunks and T-shirt. They came out smiling so it must have been enjoyable. I have done this in the past and it is great not to be bothered with buoyancy changes.

The holiday was organised by our friendly Branch Chairman Tom Burke, and the party consisted of Brian Tierney, Gordon Downie, Keith Waugh, Michelle & John Morgan, Brenda & Iain Kennedy, their children Matthew & Scott and Brenda’s mum Brenda. On behalf of everyone in the group, thanks Tom for organising a great holiday. Any plans for 2010!?   

Below is a selection of photos taken on the holiday. As you can see, the fish life was prolific and the diving conditions were indeed, quite difficult. Thank goodness for all those "conditioning  dives" in Loch Long and Loch Fyne during the winter!