|
Home Port Our Logs The Crew Calendar Favorite Links The Boat Photo Album Route and Charts Miscellaneous Stuff |
Larry's LogSaturday we had another busy day in Bonaire. We went diving in the morning to Klein Bonaire at a site we had wanted to visit for a while called Forest. It seemed every time we wanted to go there a dive boat occupied it but we finally made it. It was a southeast wind though and that made the water on the south side of the island somewhat choppy, especially since this dive mooring was in relatively shallow water. Anyway, we went in and it was a very pretty site, with lots of interesting hard coral formations and soft coral as well. There were also lots of 'hills and valleys' that made it very picturesque. We saw some interesting fish, some large Tiger Groupers and Black Durgons but nothing really unusual. Still we enjoyed it very much. Going back from the site we went around the north side of Klein to get out of the chop and even though it was longer, it was a much easier ride for most of the way. After the dive shop we went back to the boat and had a quick lunch. We had some more errands to run in town and I needed to get some gasoline - we had used all the cheap Venezuelan gas so now we would be paying more than stateside prices. While Diane walked to town, I walked to the gas station. I got the gas and carried the 5 gallons back along the hot road. Getting back to the dock I called Diane on the FRS radios we have but she wasn't ready yet so I took the gas back to the boat, mixed in the oil and then went to get her. By the time all this was done, it was almost 5. We had been invited to Lady Diane for drinks and pizza at 5 so we called them and said we'd be a little late but got there by 5:30 (they were on the next mooring, not more than 60 feet away). We had a very nice time talking with them - Diane knew them a little from PLC before but I really hadn't talked to them very much before. Don had led a very interesting life as a PhD economist so we talked about Venezuela a little and the effects that Chavez was having on their economy. We stayed later than I really wanted though; I needed to run the engine even though we got back at 9 - the batteries were low. I try not to run the engine that late but it was unavoidable. There had been some kind of party on shore on Saturday night that kept us up but we woke up at about 7am anyway to what promised to be a nice day. Just a few clouds and the breeze was already blowing gently. We met Sally, from Zahi, at 9:30 and decided to go north to Witch's Hut, a site about 30 minutes dinghy ride north. We got our tanks and went off. The dive was very nice and the site was pretty but not really worth the extra distance. We did see a Bluespotted Cornetfish and a few Sunshinefish at about 70 feet but nothing really unusual - but then again maybe we're just getting jaded. After the dive, Sally said that the sites even further north, maybe another 15 minutes more, were much nicer, but I doubt if I can convince Diane to go there and use so much gasoline on one dive. Sally stopped on the way back at another dive site (she had brought 2 tanks) and we continued to WannaDive, where we did the usual but they filled the tanks right away so we could do our planned night dive without coming back. I also asked Karen, the very nice divemaster, about the sites further north and she confirmed that they were much nicer than where we had gone today. I also asked her about how she thought we were doing on air consumption; we were in the water that morning for 70 minutes and had been to about 70 feet for the first half of the dive and about 40 the second half, and she felt that was pretty good. I thought so too but I had read an article about people who would get over 100 minutes on one tank of air - maybe with more experience we'll get better. We got back to the boat, had lunch and relaxed. The wind was up a little, making coming back from the dive site a very wet ride, but the batteries were not too low based on the output from the wind generator. Diane seems to think that the refrigerator has a problem since it won't turn off, although the temperature drops also. Since I didn't get any gauges when we were in PLC, I can't tell if it's low on Freon or not. I had replaced the burned out fan with a slightly smaller one but compensated by leaving the door off the cabinet where the compressor sits (under the sink). We did our night dive as planned, going down about 6:30. There was very little current this time and we both enjoyed it. We didn't see any new fish but lots of interesting invertebrates like crabs, starfish etc. (no 'pet' Tarpon this time either). We also spotted the seahorse that's been there for a while now near the mooring next to us. There was still a breeze so we got cold once back in the dinghy and then going to the dive shop to rinse off the gear, but Diane had made some soup before we dove so we warmed up quickly once we were back aboard. Monday was fairly busy again since we went into town in the morning and went diving in the afternoon. We went to town so Diane could do some more shopping, getting things that are here but not in Venezuela like cheddar cheese and so I could get on the Internet once more and do some updates to my friend Joe's web site. By the time she got back to meet me and we went back to the boat, it was lunchtime. After lunch, we went back to Front Porch since Diane wanted to try to find the seahorse there. Diane, from Lady Diane, went with us in their dinghy. Of course, we couldn't find it again and when we went to see the wreck at 90 feet, there wasn't much interesting there either. The visibility in the shallows was only about 30 - 40 feet so D2 stayed in the shallows while D1 and I went on our planned profile. It was a bit disappointing but I did see a new species, a Sponge Cardinalfish, hiding inside a big purple tube sponge. I also saw my second Diamond Blenny in the shallows so that was nice. There was an underwater photo exhibit setup nearby and we went over to look at it briefly. The pictures were really large, about 20 feet long and 10 feet high, but I was unimpressed. The photographer had been at the dive shop but didn't speak English so we couldn't really ask him anything. By the time we got back to the boat it was 4:30. Kim, from Delphinus, came over to ask if we wanted to take the fish ID test for the first level of REEF fish observer expertise. I don't think Diane wanted to but she and I both took it - only I passed. Kim went over the results but Diane wasn't really interested in doing surveys - she just likes watching. On the other hand, I like to identify unusual fish and would probably start doing surveys except we plan to leave for Venezuela soon. Well, maybe if we come back next year. Kim left and we just relaxed the rest of the evening. I downloaded some weather and it appeared that Saturday the wind was starting to come down a little so we might plan on leaving then. We went diving Tuesday in the morning again and based on the advice from the dive shop, we went to Barcadera, a site just north of the ones we usually go to, Andrea 1 or 2. We got there a little before 11 so the dive boats were finishing their morning dives already. We got in and noticed that even the shallows were very pretty, with lots of coral. We went down the gently sloping coral hill and saw nothing particularly interesting until about 50 yards from the mooring. Then we saw a huge school of Boga, small fish about 5-8 inches long, very colorful with blue bodies and bronze stripes and a yellowish head. There musty have been thousands! They were swimming as a polarized school and it was amazing to swim through them. They let us get close but never too close. We continued along and then saw them again just as we were about to turn back toward the dinghy. It seemed like there were even more this time and we saw them come down through the water column toward the reef, being loosely pursued by three very large Crevalle Jacks; the largest was about 3 feet. The jacks were obviously hunting and the Boga knew this but we never saw an actual attack. Just watching the huge school move and undulate, as if they had one common mind, to avoid the jacks was incredible. We were getting low on air though so we turned back. It was probably the most fascinating thing we've seen underwater this year (last year we saw a Green Moray large enough to play in 'Jaws'). We got back to the boat about 1:30 and after lunch, went into town again. Diane wanted to go shopping and I wanted to get a magnifying glass to use underwater and a new underwater slate. I found both, the magnifier finally at the optical shop in the mall, right across from the Internet place I had been using. I had a plastic one but it didn't work underwater because the refractive index for the plastic is too close to water's. I also asked Karen at the dive shop to sign my dive logbook for completing 50 dives. At this point, we had done almost 70. Back at the boat, we heard the weather again and it still sounded like Saturday or Sunday would be good to leave - just 3 diving days left. Wednesday morning we went with Sally back to Jerry's Reef. There was a little more current today than the last time so we didn't go far, rather we just zigzagged across an area about 75 yards wide, although Diane and I went down to about 70 feet while Sally strayed shallow taking pictures. She took some pictures of us near the beautiful orange sponges that make the site so pretty and I did the same for her. All the activity and the slight current meant we used a little more air than we had been but we still had almost an hour in the water. Sally stayed to go dive with her second tank someplace else while we went back and had the tanks filled again so we could do another night dive. Then we just went back to the boat and relaxed. We started our night dive around 7pm on Bob's recommendation (he was the dive shop owner). The dive was very nice and although we didn't see as many fish as on the last one, but we did see the seahorse again and a Tarpon at the end of the dive but he didn't follow us at all. I also saw a new species, a Bridled Cardinalfish. Some other interesting things were a lobster crawling around and I noticed some small shrimp called Red Night Shrimp that were interesting and a small 'decorator' crab that I couldn't positively identify. They're called decorator crabs because there are various things that are attached to the shell of the crab, presumably for camouflage. Diane got very cold at the end of the dive so I came up a little sooner than I might have ordinarily, but we were still underwater about 60 minutes. After going to the dive shop, we came back to the boat and had some hot chocolate. It rained a little overnight - we had be closing the hatches at night before we went to sleep and it hadn't rained; last night we decided to leave them open. Before diving, we had some errands to run in the marina, dropping off the garbage, getting fuel for the dinghy and giving Sally a blank CDR so she could give us copies of the pictures she and I had taken at Jerry's Reef yesterday. We then went to Something Special again - I wanted to show Diane the Hovering Gobies and just look at the site again for interesting things. We went down to about 90 feet and found the gobies and Diane saw one and then we went along the reef as we usually do but then I decided to go shallower and see what was in the area there. I was glad we did since we finally saw a large Gray Angelfish (I saw another smaller one later) in about 35 feet. They are relatively uncommon on Bonaire so it was quite a find. As we got back towards the mooring we looked around the shallows in 15 to 25 feet and I saw my first Orangesided Goby, a little fish only about an inch in length but with bright orange and white coloration. We were in the water about 70 minutes again so we had an excellent dive. We went back to the shop and Bob said he would fill the tanks soon since we wanted to do another dive that afternoon. We had invited Diane (Lady Diane) to come to Petrie's Pillar with us. Back at the boat, we had lunch and a little before we planned to leave, our friend Ray on Drivers Wanted, who we had met in PLC, called us on the VHF that he was almost here. We had been expecting him since he emailed us but we didn't know what time. We waited to help him onto a mooring and it was good to see him and his friend Ramona again. We had met Ramona in NY at Diane's parents house when she came to pick up something we had brought back with us last year that Ray had sent. It was nice to see them both but it was already getting late for a dive so we said we would come back and maybe have them over for drinks later. They had to clear in and make some phone calls anyway. Leaving them, and just as we were leaving to go to get the tanks, a dinghy came by. They introduced themselves from a boat Pisces III and asked if they could 'tag along' on our intended trip back to PLC. They had tried sailing from here to Las Aves a few days ago, couldn't make it and had to come back because of the wind and current. We said we were planning to leave this weekend, probably Sunday and if they wanted to, they could come along. I'm not sure how they found out we were leaving but I suppose it doesn't matter. Anyway, we finally went to meet Diane at the dive shop, get our tanks and go up to the site. As we got there, Petrie's Pillar was occupied so we went to Andrea 1, the next site up. It was a good dive but I don't think it's as pretty as Petrie's. Anyway, we saw some nice things and I saw another new species, a Paleheaded Blenny. I also spotted a large crab, called a Batwing Coral Crab, about 5 inches across and bright red and white - very colorful. Since we stayed pretty shallow again, we were in the water for about 70 minutes. Unfortunately, the visibility wasn't to good, maybe only 50 feet, not the 100 feet we had last year at this site. As we finished at the dive shop, D2 couldn't start the outboard to get back to her boat so we towed her back, fortunately the shop isn't too far from the mooring field. After dropping her at Lady Diane and dropping off the equipment back at Destiny, we went back to Drivers Wanted (yes, Ray sold Volkswagens). We talked for a while but said we should get together tomorrow night since it was already after 6 and we still had to rinse ourselves and run the engine. They said sure and we got back to our boat finally, had dinner and collapsed. We had done 2 dives yesterday and 2 dives today and were pretty tired - I don't know how divers here on vacation do this for a week; of course, they don't have to carry tanks around. |