Dive #11 - Rich Torkington's Dive Log

Rich and Linda
Photograph by Myron Johnson in Bonaire 1998

Dive Journal: It's 1:20PM already and time to get back on the boat. This dive will take us to Klein Bonaire, Dutch for "Little Bonaire," a small uninhabited island on the leeward side of the main island, and we are diving a site called Ebo's Special. Linda and I have donned our 3 mm shorties for this dive and we've both up'd our weight by 2 lb. I randomly select a tank on board the Ocean Freedom and am surprised to find it filled to 3700 psi, the highest pressure I've ever observed in a tank.

The four of us descend to around 63 feet and spend 49 minutes in the water. The reef scenery is fabulous. This dive we see a white spotted filefish that sports beautiful orange and white finery on his diamond-shaped body. This species is relatively uncommon, and secretive as well, and so we are lucky to get such a great perusal of one. I also spy my very first Nassau grouper, a medium-sized striped grouper that is often friendly to divers. Bonaire is known for its "small" creatures, and on this dive we begin to notice a few of the smaller critters, including numerous banded coral shrimp lurking behind ledges and coral overhangs. Nearing the end of the dive, I am briefly stung by a swarm of baby jellyfish on the face and neck, which feels like lots of tiny pin-pricks. Annoying only, since fortunately these stings leave no skin marks or lingering irritation.

I finish the dive with a whopping 2000 psi of air. Our shorties and weighting seem to be comfortably adjusted. During the boat ride back to Captain Don's, we begin to notice flying fish that streak away from the bow of the boat, gliding 20 to 50 yards and more away before dropping back into the water. There are dozens of them, especially near the land masses. Extremely cool - it is unbelieveable how far they can sail!

At Captain Don's, we sign up for 2 more boat dives for tomorrow, then do a little shopping at Sand Dollar Grocery for bread, rolls, and a bottle of rum, and pick up a rental minivan for the week. While Myron and Linda work on dinner preparation in the poorly-equipped kitchenette, Mercedes and I fill in our dive logs and study the various Caribbean fish books we've brought along. Shortly, we both doze off. It is the conspired effect of red-eye flights and scuba diving, and I am completely exhausted.

Dinner is finally served. Myron and Linda have prepared a delicious dish of gumbo-seasoned rice with big chunks of chicken thigh meat. Absolutely scrumptious - Linda and Myron have set the bar high as chefs. During dinner, Mercedes uses a delightful phrase we pick up on. Referring to the little secrets or closet skeletons shared by friends, Mercedes calls these "steers in the water."