Oil Slick Leap

Easy in and out. Larger coral formations than the south. Visibility wasn’t so great today with all of the storms. Lots of usual reef fish

Determine the current, and begin to explore! As the main road heads to the right up the coast, just turn left and you are there. Parking is just meters from the entry. You can see the boat tie-up buoy about 50 meters off the shore. Entry is made easy with a sturdy ladder and a helping hand from your buddy.

This site remains one of my favorites on Bonaire and is just a few minutes drive from the main town. We used the ladder for both entry and exit and it is a breeze. The buoy is easily visible from the entry point so you can dive out to it, pick up the current direction (if any) and off you go. Extremely easy site to Navi so great as a first dive.

My first trip Bonaire. Amazing. Did shore dives at 23 different sites. This was a very good dive with lots of aquatic life. Saw a turtle and large barracuda. The ladder access is very easy and convenient. Make sure to check under the ladder when you return. I'm lucky my wife caught this. There was a large school of glassy sweepers just sort of hanging out. They weren't spooked at all so I got some great close-up video footage. I will definitely return.

When the tide is out, you have to climb down the ladder to the water instead of jumping the 8-10 feet. Getting out is an easy climb up the ladder. The dive was quite good. Almost no kick out to the reef. The reef edge is at 15 feet for an enjoyable safety stop. Saw lots of flamingo shells and good fish.

We love this site. The giant stride off the cliff is the best way to enter & the drop off is so close. Although some of the upper reef is damaged by the past storms there are pretty areas a little lower down that are worth checking out. The abundance of fish makes this dive very interesting. The exit up the ladder can be fun if the swell is up but as someone else said, it can help 'push you up' the 1st couple of rungs! Would recommend this site for all divers.

Beautiful site....very easy entry, either giant stride or ladder. Very pretty underwater!! One thing though.....watch what you leave in your vehicle here!!! I had a rental scooter and someone broke into the seat of the scooter and stole my camera. I don't know why Bonaire doesn't do something about these vehicle break-ins!! It does ruin your day!! There's always some scumbags that can't leave other people's property alone!!

Wonderful, relaxing late afternoon dive at this site. Fair amount of parking, all within 50 yards of entry. Giant stride entry off small concrete platform to north of ladder. Be prepared to don fins efficiently, as others may be waiting to enter. Unusual amount of swell due to Hurricane Tomas was present but manageable. No swim to reef. Area around entry down to 35ish feet, plus top of reef from 25 feet up, denuded of coral; instead lots of rubble, although can find fish and creatures to check out. Reef itself is reasonably healthy; we stayed around 45 feet and felt that deeper might be healthier. Lots of different fish species, particularly butterflies, parrots, hamlets, trumpet, sand diver, goat, spotted drum, moray eels (several varieties). Watched large school of doctor fish aggregate hunting with a goatfish, parrotfish, and trumpet fish, very cool. Also had a neat experience with a HUGE tarpon swimming right for me (if it had been chicken, he turned first). Very comfortable safety stop near exit, which is easy to find using mooring buoy anchor at 25 feet. Exit ladder a bit steep but easily navigated.

I'll mention this site because it's easiest to get in/out in the dark. Andrea II might actually be better to view Ostracods. On the night of the full-moon you want to enter the water at dusk. Make sure it's only 5-10min before dark sets in because this will only last 10-15min. Descend into the areas of soft coral (~10-15 meters) and keep your dive lights off. Be patient and wait until darkness sets in. The ocean will begin to light up in green phosphorescent dots. They will appear as if strung together like small glowing pearls and will fill the entire ocean around you. Most amazing phenomena I've ever stumbled onto. I'm even more amazed that more people don't know about it. Probably because they overuse their dive lights. Turn them off, it's worth it. PS - I'm guessing the areas around the slave huts are also great for this since there is plenty of soft coral. Oh, and I'm not talking about the little green dots that appear when you wave your hand under water.

Just a real fun dive. A simple giant stride from the ledge and you're just a few kicks from the marker buoy at the reef's edge. This is a relaxing dive with all the typical reef dwelling marine life. Exiting was a cinch with the iron ladder nearby.

A great dive site with lots of diving from the ledge.

The reef is very healthy below about 40 feet, though the storm damage from T.S Omar in 2008 is still quite evident in the bowl under the ladder. However, there are several moray eels living amid this rubble. Lots of large corals and sponges can be found here. We had little current, but the exit onto the ladder was a bit fun in the surge.

Good Site. It's fun to leap off the 8' cliff. Thick soled wetsuit boots should be worn. Drop-off starts rather quickly. Storm damage can be seen underwater with piles of broken coral. Lots of marine life on the dive. We did this dive as a night dive also. A light on the ladder and a small marker light at depth assist a night-time exit. Exiting the ladder could be challenging in a strong swell condition. The octopus under the ladder was still there in June.

Staying at the Caribbean Club this is the nearest site, so we took advantage of it. Omar (2008) really scoured the top of the bluff. Where there was once a little soil is now very pitted and rocky making your way to the jump off. Still a good site. There were a couple of octopus living in the cliff near the ladder.

What can be easier than leaping into the water? We did two dives here, plus a snorkel with our 7-year-old son. The shallows have been blasted pretty clean of branching corals and sea whips by Hurricane Omar, but we did see lots of parrotfish and a few morays in this bowl under the ladder. It is a very short swim to the reef, which drops off steeply. Coral life is rich and healthy here, with many sponges. We saw numerous species of fish, plus got to 'buddy' with a hawksbill turtle for about ten minutes on one dive. The exit is easy to find due to a mooring buoy and the ladder; ladder was missing a lower rung late in the week which my wife found to be a difficult exit. One of our favorite sites.

We were truly amazed at the variety of plant and animal life we found here. More so that other sites on the island that we were able to dive. There was some surge on the day we were there, but it just helped us up the ladder!

This was one of the best sites on the island. I made the leap a few times even after coming out of the water. It's a lot of fun to jump in as long as there are no incoming divers! I saw an octopus in 10' of water just snorkeling to the north of the ladder. My wife commented that she thought she could take up SCUBA diving after snorkeling there. She has previously been afraid of the water but this site was so welcoming that she felt she could take the plunge. The water in the shallows benefits from not having the sand to be stirred up at the shoreline so it is extremely clear in shallow water.

I've dived here 3 times during my last trip to Bonaire. Seahorse are in the area but unfortunately I was not able to find them. This is a good site with a little current, and with barracuda and turtles.

My wife entered the water using the stairs, and I took the leap. Someone just leaving told us there was a little current, but we did not feel any of the sort during our dive. The water temp was very nice (we were using 3mm and 2mm shorties with no problems), around 27C. We swam to the deep blue area and descended. I must say I had not seen such a beautiful underwater scene ever! Visibility was very good, and we just felt like we were in a fish tank. I may be biased since it was our first dive ever on Bonaire, but after diving a few other sites, this one remained my favorite, with lots of beautiful fishes. A wonderful dive.

Nice dive site. We did this one twice during our week. Just jump in about 10 feet right of the ladder, and then get out by the ladder (4 or 5 rungs only). Very easy and a very good site makes this one of my favorites.

This was the only dive we did twice (other than the Buddy Reef) during our week long visit. You can park your car basically right by the new ladder that can be used to enter or exit down the 4-6 foot cliff. It's really better to leap off the rocks and use the ladder only for exiting. A little tricky putting fins on on the cliff edge but it really is a short leap into 15 feet of water. Lots of fun! Lots of life, very healthy, great shallow areas, slight current that won't effect you, easy to find, and an all around great site. This site has a very remote feel to it. Spend some time in the shallows along the cliff wall underwater. Very nice view of the surf pounding the cliff wall while you dive and the giant parrot fish will also keep you company. Three spotted drum! It seems spotted drums in Bonaire are like grunts in Key Largo. Well, not that many but we did see over 20 in one week!

Great dive....did it twice during my stay. If you're looking for a seahorse, this is the place. Swim out to the buoy, then follow north about 200 meters where you will find a submerged tire. Follow that tire north about 5 meters more where there is a large coral formation with many sea fans. Look at the base of the sea fans as the seahorse could be on any one of the fans. Worth the trip!

Simply a great dive. Great "giant stride" to the water into 15 feet. The reef is real close by, and a ladder and wooden platform make it easy to get out of the water. We started our dive against the negligible current, to 90-100 feet then went back to 30 feet, where there's a tire in the water. At the tire area, we were told to look out for a seahorse, but could not find it... Great dive!

I used to be afraid of heights; since I started diving I have learned to love doing giant strides from "high places" It is such a rush and this one is awesome. Nice cement pads make the base stable and as for the exit… the ladder and platform were top notch. The dive itself is spectacular! I love the Northern sites! The reef seems closer and more abundant life. I did this site 3 times during the week, and there also seemed to be a lot of snorkelers, so that should speak for the ease of the dive.

Oil slick was a great experience. Just about everyone in our group chose to giant stride; this made the dive really fun for me! It was even fun for the snorkelers in our group, who not only liked the animal life, but also liked the giant stride themselves.

This was my favorite dive on the trip. The entry is not only easy, it's also a lot of fun and very beautiful. There's a platform there, and the ladder makes it really easy to exit. There's almost no kick out to the reef, so don't count on a leisurely swim to shore to be your safety stop, if you need it. We were diving, but I would imagine that it would be a great place to snorkel, too. We swam to the right, and we met a huge green moray who swam all the way out from the reef to say "hello". GREAT!

The photo at the site must be updated; there is a new platform (wood) and a new ladder, that makes the entrance and exit one of the easiest in the island. I did the dive 3 times (morning early afternoon and late afternoon) no currents, lots of marine life, conveniently near drop off, crystal clear water makes this point my and my buddy's preferred point in Bonaire

I rated the entry fairly low because I don't like ladders! And I wasn't about to "leap". So, I'm a bit wimpy. My husband would rate it a 5. But once I was in, I thought that the site was great. Lots of nooks & crannies for things to hide in. Cool sights: two Spotted Drums, Sharp-tail Eel, small turtle. My son had fun after the dive leaping into the water repeatedly.

This was one of our favorite dive sites on Bonaire. Provided you are OK with the giant stride off of the rocks into about 15 feet of water, the entry is extremely easy. The reef is a little further out than at some sites, but there are coral heads and lots of juvenile fish to see on the way out and back. A longsnout seahorse had taken up residence near the buoy when we were there in Oct 2003. This small wall is just as good at 40 feet or over 100 feet. The entry area also has great snorkling, but was a little crowded with local snorklers during one of our dives here.

We did this dive several times. Usually the conditions were pretty calm--very little surf or current, but the last time we did this dive the surf was up and was breaking over the platform. It almost carried some gear off the platform. Very nice platform and ladder. Makes entry/exit quite easy under all but the above conditions. Not one of our favorite north dives, but better than average.

Marvelous dive site! Nice coral and many fish. Besides entry through stainless steel ladder, it is safe to enter by "marine jump" from the stony coast 2m above sea level. Spots are well indicated by a small concrete slab. Dive site is now indicated with the yellow stone. Thanks to Bart & Jos for taking our pictures and good buddy-ship. Agnes & Guido (22 Jul 2003).

A new ladder and cement slab make a giant stride entry easier and exit much safer. Surge and wave conditions can vary so anyone but a rank beginner should not have any problems. Off the beaten path, but not far from the main road. Very healthy reef. NO yellow stone to mark the entry off the road, just turn left at the bottom of the hill where the main road goes right.

Great dive with the easiest most exciting entry-LEAP! Exciting can be difficult with camera and full gear. The ladder here is a little unstable. In general the ladder is easier than most shore entries/exits-no sea urchins to step on, no rocks to slip on, no waves crashing your expensive camera against the hard rocks. Wear a very stiff soled bottie-you'll need it when you climb up and out on the thin rails of the ladder.

Just to tell everybody that the ladder still has not been replaced! so no shore diving(30-08-02) I do not have an outlook on when it will be replaced, kindly ask your boat crew to bring you there, and you can still enjoy it? If any body has any questions please feel free to write me on the e-mail and I'll gladly reply.

I have dove this area in 2001 and loved it. You definitely need a ladder to get out but if your careful where you leap from, it's a really easy entry by stride jump. I was here in 3/2002 and the ladder is gone, "under repair" so it is currently not a shore dive.

Great dive site. All in our group chose to jump off the ledge (About a 8 foot jump, make sure and watch the tide and depth. Jumping not for beginners.) We saw two seahorses on both dives here by the boat mooring buoy. Fish and plant life is fantastic. Water clarity was great about 80 feet. Water was cool in January (78). Would highly recomend this dive.