Dive Review of Captain Don's Habitat in
Bonaire

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Captain Don's Habitat: "Excellent Caribbean diving", Mar, 2019, by Harvey Cohen, NJ, US ( Sr. Contributor 25 reports with 18 Helpful votes). Report 10992 has 1 Helpful vote.
Photos Submitted with this Report Click on an image to see an enlarged version and captions
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	I went with a group of about 17 divers from my LDS, Divers Two (Avon, NJ), so Captain Don's reserved a boat just for us on the three daily dives. Some of our group rented a truck and did shore dives as well, but I only did the boat dives. Some photos and videos at [flic.kr link] The reefs were the healthiest I've seen in the Caribbean in recent years, and there were somewhat more large fish. I saw very few sharks, though. The Hilma Hooker, Bonaire's premier wreck, was easy to swim through, with beautiful tarpon inside. On the outside of the hull were sergeant majors guarding their egg patches, lots of schooling fish, and a few barracuda. Buddy teams could follow the dive guide or go off on their own. Dive guides did a good job of pointing out interesting subjects. The usual plan for a guided dive was to turn around when the first diver was down to 1/2 tank, return to the mooring, and then explore unguided. Dives normally lasted around an hour -- half guided and half not. The dive boat had a marine head, but not a lot of shade to accommodate a full load of divers. Sun in Bonaire is intense, and it's a good idea to limit exposure. The dive boat had benches down either side, with sockets for tanks. The benches were quite narrow, so I had to either don my rig with the tank in the socket or balance my tank precariously on the part of the bench to my side. Standing up with the tank in the socket was very strenuous, and balancing the tank on the bench constantly risked the tank either sliding into a socket or falling onto the deck. Over 18 dives, I had 1 O-ring blow when I opened the tank valve, and several leak audibly. The staff seems to feel that an O-ring which merely leaks doesn't cost a significant amount of air, so it's not worth replacing. I feel that an O-ring leaking audibly can lead to a catastrophic failure in the water, so I insisted on replacing them. Staff on the boat used a rusty old kitchen knife to remove the old O-ring, which might roughen the metal of the tank valve and lead to more leaky O-rings. If you're shore diving, I suggest you carry plenty of spares and a real O-ring pick. The resort provides lockers next to the pier, with good rinse tanks. Boat divers carry their gear between the locker and the boat but can leave gear on the boat between dives. The staff do all the tank handling for boat dives. The restaurant on site is nice, and there are also a few restaurants within walking distance and many more within a short drive. Dives: 18 Total Dive Time: 18:41 hh:mm Average Dive Time: 62:16 min Longest Dive: 67:00 min Shortest Dive: 49:30 min Max. Depth: 102.4 ft Min. Depth: 39.7 ft Average Depth: 63.5 ft max. Water Temperature: 80.4 °F min. Water Temperature: 78.3 °F ø Water Temperature: 79.5 °F max. Air Temperature: 90.7 °F min. Air Temperature: 81.5 °F ø Air Temperature: 84 °F
Websites	Captain Don's Habitat
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Gulf of Eilat, Bali, Komodo, Raja Ampat, Banda Sea, Red Sea, Fiji, Palau, Coral Sea, Galapagos, many Caribbean locations, New Jersey, Florida, National Aquarium, Dutch Springs, Silfra (Iceland), Panama (Pacific)
Closest Airport	Bonaire	Getting There	United has excellent direct flights between Newark (EWR) and Bonaire.
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm, choppy, surge
Water Temp	78-80°F / 26-27°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	40-80 Ft/ 12-24 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	[Unspecified]
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish	N/A
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	The resort makes no special provision for UWPs, although there were lots of divers shooting and I saw a number of high-end camera rigs. No dry table, no compressed air, no really good desk or table in the hotel rooms, and feeble unreliable wi-fi.

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

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Dive Review of Captain Don's Habitat in Bonaire

Captain Don's Habitat: "Excellent Caribbean diving", Mar, 2019,

Photos Submitted with this Report

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Captain Don's Habitat in
Bonaire