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Bonaire Trip Report 2008"Colorado Scuba Bash" |
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The annual Colorado Scuba Bash, a joint effort between five dive stores in the area, headed to Bonaire this year. Our adventure began a week before we even boarded our flight with news that a mean storm by the name of Omar had torn through town and made a mess of this little island paradise. Reports of destroyed piers and grounded boats brought fears that our vacation plans would be put on hold, but the amazing people of Bonaire went straight to work, cleaning up the island and getting everything ready for the Bash. |
| Our Motley Crew all decided to go ahead with our plans, and we were pleasantly surprised. Beyond the damage to one of the restaurants on property, I would have never guessed a Tropical Storm had ripped through the resort. The staff worked overtime to get everything working and ready for action for our arrival. The dive crew performed miracles to come up with not one, but two extra boats to handle our large diving crowd from Colorado, and with very little ado, we were on our way to our first dives. |
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YouTube video courtesy of |
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Although famous for it's shore diving, our package included 3 boat dives a day. Add a night dive on the Divi Reef and our weary divers were tuckered out! Although the damage on several sites was severe in the shallows above 20', we were all impressed with how well the reef weathered the storm. We were greeted with the usual assortment of Creole Wrasse, Chromis, Tarpons, Barracudas and some of the healthiest coral in the Caribbean. We were also delighted with several seahorse, Spotted Drums and Juvenile Trunkfish. |
| Congratulations are in order for several people who started or continued their diving education during our trip: Shirley and Dale - Open Water Certification Kristin, Shum, Shirley and Lance - Advanced Open Water Certification Bill and Bonnie Anthony - Fish ID Certification John Oldefest - Night Diver and Peak Performance Buoyancy Certification Kristen and Shum - Peak Performance Buoyancy Marvin Floyd - Night Diver and Digital Underwater Photograpther Certification Lawrence Medina - Digital Underwater Photographer Certification |
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As is tradition, our festivities ended with our Halloween Party. Although I have no idea how some people fit their costumes in their bags, several people really outdid themselves this year and many laughs and haunts were had. Way to go, Dale, on your Grand Prize win! I hope you enjoyed continually being fondled by everyone at the party! |
| We've been involved in the Bash since it's inception, but amazingly it seems to improve each year. Our group had a blast this year, evidenced by the full log books, wide smiles, and plans to head out on our next dive adventure as soon as possible! We hope you join us next year! |  |
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All photos courtesy of Keith Thompson
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Our fringing reef begins close to the shore, usually a short 30 foot swim or less, making Bonaire world renowned for its shore diving.
We'll be spending 7 nights at the DIVI Flamingo Beach Resort, located right on the water! The rooms feature air conditioning, great balconies, TV, refrigerator & coffee maker. The resort is excellent for shore diving and continuing education
6 days of boat diving as well as unlimited shore diving will fully enable us to take advantage of Bonaire's legendary diving. The water is warm and generally flat calm. This lack of surface turbulence and the fact that Bonaire's surrounding reef wall lies directly offshore make this one of the world's easiest and most enjoyable diving destinations. In addition, there are many opportunities for a variety of shore excursions.
Call or stop by the shop for more information or to see video on the diving in Bonaire. There is always a lot of interest in the Colorado Bash Trips, so please don't delay in signing up. A $300 deposit and a signed trip agreement are required to hold your spot with us in the shore diving capital |
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You are invited to join Underwater Phantaseas for the 10th Annual Colorado Scuba Bash in the "divers paradise" of Bonaire. Bonaire's sea abounds with beautiful marine life and a fascinating variety of multi-colored tropical fish.
Bonaire has more than 80 dive sites listed by the Bonaire Marine Park! The islands implementation of marine
conservation efforts more than 30 years ago have helped to keep Bonaire's reef system extremely healthy.