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Larry's LogThe next morning was busy. I went in the water to clean the hull using the remaining air in Diane's tank while she did some things aboard. I also cleaned the bottom of the dinghy - it had gotten some growth even though we haul it out of the water almost every day. We then went to the dive shop where we got the tanks filled right away. After lunch we went diving just around the boat - the reef just behind the mooring field was very good. We saw a new species, a Greater Soapfish, but the best for the day was yet to come. We finished the dive around 3 (another 51 minutes of bottom time to log) and got ready to bring the tanks back to the dive shop to get refilled and to rinse off the gear and us. As we were going though, we saw Peter and Vicky who had just come from diving and they told us they saw a seahorse near some mooring blocks nearby. We went over and saw Ray, Gail and Michael from Nightwinds (Michael and Brian had just come in a day or so ago) at the mooring. We tied up to a line and they described where the seahorse was. It was shallow enough to free dive so we just put on our masks and went in. Bruce, from Skyus, also came over to see it. He dove down and didn't see it initially but on the 3rd or 4th try, he said he did. Diane tried several times and finally saw it also and told me where to look. I tried about 8 or 9 times and finally saw it clinging to a piece of coral near the bottom. It was almost parallel with the bottom as he was probably trying to hide from all the commotion. It was really great to finally see one and I went back down again just to have another look. Once you knew where it was, it was easy to spot but the camouflage was very good. We could try to find it again tomorrow with our Scuba equipment to get a better look. We finally went back to the dinghy and made it to the dive shop just as they were closing. We dropped off the tanks so we could pick them up tomorrow and rinsed everything off and got back to Destiny by about 5. A very nice day. We went diving in the morning the next day to have better light. We went to pick up the tanks around 10, and put the dinghy on the dive mooring called 'Something Special', where we had been a few times before. A large dive boat came over and asked us if we were diving and if we were attached to the mooring - I guess they didn't want to share because they went someplace else. Anyway, we got in the water and snorkeled to the mooring blocks where we saw the seahorse yesterday. It was a tough swim against the current with all the gear - it really makes a difference having all the dive gear on since with just mask and fins, we swim the 250 yards easily. I did see some Bonefish on the way; we finally got there, went down and it was still there and of course, we got a better look today. We then went south along the reef for about 45 minutes and although there was nothing new, we saw lots of interesting things and really colorful coral. After the dive, we brought the tanks back, got them refilled, rinsed everything and went back to the boat and had lunch. We didn't do much in the afternoon - I read a little and Diane napped (but made some brownies later). Another day - another dive, but in the morning we ran errands. Diane went shopping with Suzanne from Skyus and she called me from shore after she telephoned the store that was getting the bulbs we needed. They said they had them so I went to shore and walked over. It was a nice walk since the breeze was about 15 knots although there wasn't much scenery. I got the special fluorescent bulbs and some other things (it was a big hardware store) and then went to a variety store nearby. Allen had said to go in and check out the amount and diversity of things they had. The store definitely had an eclectic assortment of merchandise. I walked back, took a few pictures of the boat from the shore, and went back to the boat - I had put the dinghy at the green dock very near Destiny's mooring, which made everything easy. I just got back when Suzanne dropped off Diane and I helped her with the groceries. We had lunch and got the gear together to go diving at a site called Small Wall. The dive was very nice although the visibility was just OK, probably because of the rain this morning. I saw a new species, a Belted Cardinalfish, and some other interesting things. Diane got nervous for some reason and wanted to start back when she still had plenty of air left. I wanted to keep going for a bit since I also had plenty of air left so we went on for another 5 minutes. We finally headed back but Diane complained later that we should have come back when she wanted - she only had 500 psi of air left in the tank when she finished and she thought that was too low. She later asked Ray, our instructor, about it but he also said that 500 psi was fine. She did tend to go to the surface at the end of the dive but that's normal and maybe she just needs a little more weight. I have the same tendency but I think its just inexperience right now although I may try another pound on the dive tomorrow. We dropped off the tanks at the dive shop, rinsed off the gear and went back to the boat. We had planned to go to town for the barbeque ribs tonight but we found out that nobody we knew was going so we stayed onboard and Diane made some nice quesadillas for dinner. The next day was a very interesting one. The morning was quiet - we went to get our filled dive tanks and then Diane did some cooking in preparation for the evening. In the afternoon though, we did a clean-up dive on the Town Pier, one of the most interesting places to dive in Bonaire because of the variety of life there. The Town Pier is usually done as a night dive and costs about $20-30 per person because you must go with a divemaster from a dive shop. We however, had signed up to do a clean up dive (collecting garbage), which is a monthly event sponsored by the Yellow Submarine Dive Shop. This month also marked the fifth anniversary of doing clean-up dives so they were also going to have a party afterward. We wanted to do one of these dives anyway and the location and timing couldn't have been better. We had signed up last week. We went in to the green dock with our gear at 1pm and walked to the shop (just in front of the boat) and got a briefing about what to do, what and how to collect and, just as important, what to leave alone on the bottom. Basically, we should just collect 'recent' garbage - anything that had coral growing on it should be left, as should anything that was now the home of any sea life: fish, crabs, sponges, etc. We were given gloves and a collecting bag, as well as full tanks. We, and about 40 other people, loaded the gear into vans and trucks and went down to the pier. We got on our gear and everyone got in. Diane and I had never done an entry like that (the 'giant stride' into the water) but it was quite easy actually. I collected while Diane held the bag and shoved stuff in. We collected a fair amount but, like everyone else, also looked around. I saw a couple of new species and the growth of coral on the pylons was terrific. Diane had some problems with her tank strap (the tank slipped out twice) but we worked through it (turned out that the strap was setup wrong - sorry). She also had a problem with not being able to get to the north side of the pier after the dive to exit the water onto some steps that were there (couldn't descend). She had to take her gear off and the support crew lifted it with a line they used to take up the collecting bags. She then swam to a ramp and got up to the pier that way. In any event, it was a very nice dive and very different from anything we had done. The divers (and some snorkelers) had collected a fair amount of garbage - old tires, clothes, but mostly beer bottles and cans. All of it was placed in a dumpster and catalogued so they knew what they had collected and could also report it to an organization in the States that studies pollution in the world's oceans. After loading everything back onto the vehicles, we drove back to the shop, rinsed off the gear, took showers there also and went back to the boat. The party/potluck started at 5:30 so we waited a bit and then went back to the green dock with the cake Diane made that morning and walked back to the shop. It was a very nice party - they supplied beer and soda, ribs, some steak and chicken as well. The participants came with various dishes they had prepared and some were very good. There was certainly plenty of food. They even had live music for a couple of hours. Everyone had a good time and we didn't leave until almost 9. Sunday we had a pretty quiet morning after getting up once for some light rain at 5am. The wind picked up nicely at about 8 and it was very pleasant just relaxing on the boat for a while. I read while Diane did some sewing and worked on her logs. After lunch, we went diving again to a site called Andrea 1. About 5 minutes after we tied to the mooring, a large dive boat came in and they tied on to the mooring also. Actually, they tied us to their boat after picking up the mooring. It wasn't a problem though and the captain and divemaster told us where to find a seahorse. We had a nice dive but couldn't find the seahorse. During the dive, a diver from the boat signaled to Diane to come over at one point but she unfortunately misunderstood and didn't - he later said he was signaling to come see a frogfish, something we hadn't seen before - oh well. We did see a new species though, hidden inside a large sponge, a Sponge Cardinalfish. After the dive, we went to the dive shop but couldn't get our tanks refilled as they were closed already, but we rinsed everything and took showers and went back to the boat. There were no mishaps or even any raised voices on this dive - we were getting better. We went into town the next morning to run some errands, make phone calls and get 'tank bangers', little gadgets that attach to the dive tank that will make a noise underwater so you can signal your partner. We saw Peter from Halliday Girl in the Internet place and he invited us to go on a night dive to the Town Pier. He had gotten a deal since he was getting a group together. We got back around noon and thought over Peter's invitation but I told Diane I didn't think we were ready for a night dive and certainly not under a pier, so we called him to say thanks, but we weren't confident enough yet. We went diving around 2 but first had to get our tanks filled. We decided to go back to Andrea 1 and it was a very nice dive. We looked for the seahorse again but couldn't find it but I did see another new species, a Glasseye Snapper. We then saw some other interesting things like a Goldentail Moray, a Slender Filefish and a large crab (about 1 foot across). I had put on the tank bangers and mine worked OK but Diane tried using hers and it broke immediately. Hopefully the store will exchange it. We got back to the marina dive shop, rinsed our gear and went back to the boat. Diane called Precocious Gale to see what they would recommend next as a dive site - we had been to the ones close to the boat several times and it was time for a change. We went to shore at the green dock Tuesday morning to walk to the hardware store and Eastern Trading; Diane bought some little things and I bought another gasoline jerry jug. We went with the small jerry jug as well and on the way back, bought some gasoline at the gas station - it was a little over a dollar per gallon cheaper than the marina, but of course, you had to walk there and back with the jugs - and they were pretty heavy (I carried the larger one with 20 liters and the smaller one with 10 liters). By the time we got back, it was lunchtime. After we ate, I first mixed the oil into the gas and then we went to get our tanks filled (had to replace the o-rings again). We stopped at the dive shop where we bought the tank bangers and they didn't have another in pink but the guy fixed the one we had so we were ready. We went to another site called Front Porch. It was very close to the dive shop and so we thought we would try it. The coral there wasn't very good but there was a lot of fish life and we did see another new species called a HighHat. Peter and Vicky were also diving at that site but they went to the small wreck that was at about 80 feet, a little too deep for us right now. I was more interested in the fish life anyway. We got back to the dinghy and Diane was at 500psi while I had almost 900, so I went back down just in the vicinity of the mooring for another few minutes. We finished with our new 'routine' of my getting my equipment off while in the water, getting in the dinghy and putting things away while Diane stayed in the water and then handed me her stuff. It seemed to work better that way since Diane couldn't lift the tanks, BCD and regulator into the boat. We then went to the dive shop, dropped off our tanks (they were just closing) rinsed our stuff and went back to the boat. It had been very breezy all day and still was but it was starting to calm down now that evening was approaching. The guy from the Norwegian boat moored next to us came over just as I was about to hoist the dinghy up (to prevent growth not for security) to ask about the KISS wind generator. He had one also but just bought it and wanted to listen to ours and asked about the noise it made. We talked about it for a bit and then he went back to his boat and I continued with my hauling. The wind calmed down to about 5 - 8 knots by sunset but we still got some amps from the wind gen. The wind had been up for a few days now and we could run the water maker for an hour or 2 without running the engine; hopefully the breeze will continue. |