Sand Dog VIII Bonaire- April 16-23, 2011
Ok all you Sand Doggers, it’s time to start signing up for Sand Dog VIII. I have been elected (railroaded?? ) into setting up the trip. This time we are headed to the shore diving capital of the world, Bonaire. The diving is 24/7 and all you can stand so plan to max out your bottom time. This will be my 18th trip to Bonaire, I know the island and it’s people well . We will be staying at Buddy Diver Resort http://www.buddydive.com/index.php/resort , voted one of the best dive resorts every year. Included in the package price is a full condo, buffet breakfast, unlimited nitrox (or air) for shore diving,4 dr pickup truck per condo, airport pickups and taxes. Boat dives can be added if you like when you arrive at the dive shop, they can be purchased as a package or al-a-cart .
For those of you who have not been to Bonaire , there are over 80 marked dive sites and more unmarked site as well. Your dive profile can be anything from very shallow to over 300 ft . My personal profile ranges between 30 and 60 feet with the occasional drop to around 100. The basic routine is to pull your truck up to a site, gear up and dive, the diving off our resort is also very good. Walking distances for your truck to the water vary but 20 to 50 ft is about average. The diving is prefect for novice divers as well as old timer. There are no dive nannies or scuba police to deal with, so we can dive as we like. In addition, I have personally spoken with the dive operation’s manager at Buddy Dive and he has no issues are all with us diving vintage equipment. His 2 request are we use a SPG and stay off the reef, fair enough I think. While it is a vintage trip, non-divers and non-vintage divers are welcome .
At present I am holding 30 spaces. I have 7- 2 br (4 persons) rooms and 1 -1 br(2 persons). The final date for me to drop rooms is Feb 5, 2011. After than date, I will be dropping any rooms that have not been paid for, I don’t want to have to pay that $25,000 bill that is hovering over my credit card. I may can add some back it the need arises but for a confirmed space you must pay Buddy Dive by Feb 5.
The rates for the rooms are:
4 persons in a 2 BR condo-- $870 (non-divers $724)
2 persons in a 1 BR condo-- $1075 (non divers- $929)
-----The rooms can be configured with 2 single or 1 standard bed, sharing a room does not mean sharing a bed….unless you want to
Because we are listed as a group we are eligible for comped rooms. Basically, for every 9 divers we get a “free” bed (breakfast/diving/taxes ext are not included). I plan to spread the value of this out between everyone that goes so the final cost may be slightly less ($40pp ish), how much depends on the number of spots and the number of rooms we fill. There is one exception to this, the first comped spot is to be given to Anna if she is back in time. If you don’t know who she is, ask.
I will need the names of those in your party before you call/email Buddy Dive. I will forward the names on to them and send you a reservation number so we all get grouped together.
There are several way to get to Bonaire. Here is a brief run down.
Continental has flights from Newark NJ and Houston , these are red eye flight leaving NJ/Tx at just before midnight and arriving on Bonaire around 4:30 AM. These flights are rough but will give you an extra day of diving.
…..Delta flies from Atlanta to Bonaire on Sat. This flight tends to be the more expensive option but has better flight times. It leaves Atlanta at 9:45 and arrives at 2 pm.
…….Insel Air has a Sat flight out of Miami , leaving around 3pm and arriving on Bonaire at 7pm.
…… Last but not least is to take one of several airlines into either Curacao or Aruba then catch one of several inter-island commuter planes to Bonaire. This is often the least expensive route and if you don’t mind small planes it can be a nice way to go. Odds are this is the route I will take.
I will NOT be handling anyone’s money, arranging airline tickets or finding roomies. You will need to do this on your own. I will be happy to assist you in any way I can to find airfare, solve issues with Buddy Dive and I plan to keep a buddy list so I can give you names of others who are looking for roomies.
I would like for all of you who plan to go or have specific questions to PM me with your email address.
Please note that I will be out of town diving from Jan 3 to Jan 8 so it is very likely I will NOT have internet access so if you have a question, expect a little delay in my response.