Robert Crow's Dive Log

OK, Diver Dudes and Dudettes, I just got back from a killer vacation in Bonaire, and this is one of the most challenging sites I ever dived here! I guess when the weather is right, it's a pretty easy entry, but there were some swells we had to fight. Reminded me of California diving. There are lots of big rocks around, so you got to watch your step, and its not fun when a wave crashes you into them! So don't dive this site unless the weather is good there are other sites in the park that are easier if the weather is bad. Anyway, head out slightly to the left and you'll find a slope heading down to some coral heads under a 100 feet. We actually saw a pretty good size grouper, and a school of Barracuda swimming in the current just sorta hanging out. I heard some bigger stuff can be found around here, but we didn't want to go out too far out, since there was a current. Be careful following the bottom cause you can go too deep without knowing it. We didn't make it all the way down to the coral heads, but stayed in shallower and headed south with the current to end up a the south end of the beach.. Along the way, we saw sea fans and sponges, all were in pretty good condition, since this site isn't dived too much. Matter of fact, there was no one else there the whole time. This is a great place to bring a lunch, especially on the south side of the beach. If you do want to do your exit on the south, make sure you scope it out first since there are a lot of rocks and coral channels to swim through. There are some more awesome dives in the park, and I'll write about those later. Have fun, it's a great dive!

Man, did I ever find out why they call this Wet Suit City! I don't Even need to look in my logbook to remember this one. It was my first experience with fire coral. Funny that I had seen lots of fire coral in pictures, but I didn't realize it would be so small and innocent looking in real life. It took about 2 seconds after brushing my hand against it to realize, wow, this is probably fire coral! The pain wasn't as intense as getting a sea urchin spike in your hand, but it got my attention. The pain went away after about 15 minutes, and life was good again -- so wear your wet suit!!! Anyway, the dive was really neat. We went down to about a 100 feet since it was the first dive of the day. Sea fans, sponges, and moray eels. The best was the garden eels. Way cool creatures! I think I used up most of my air just laying there waiting for them to poke their little heads out of the sand. I gotta get a camera! There were a lot of Grunts in the area looking for handouts, too. They seemed pretty aggressive, maybe because this is a resort area and they are used to people handing out food. If you're gonna feed the fish, wear gloves, they will bite you to make you drop the food! We saw a great Spotted Drum in the shallows, and did our safety stop watching him flutter about. So, underwater, you will have a good time- guaranteed! This is a resort here, but we laid out on the beach after the dive anyway. I don't think they minded. There is a dive shop there, so you can get more tanks if you want to dive some more in the area. Also, there are boats overhead, since there is that small boat launch nearby, so listen for motor sounds and surface carefully. Dive-On, Dude!