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Ol' Blue
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Ol' Blue is a great beach for sunning. The diving is spectacular, of course, so bring a lunch and enjoy the scenery while off-gassing.
Directions: On the stretch of road between Columbia and Karpata, 7 km North of Kralendijk.
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Diver
Reviews: (Please share your
own experiences by clicking
here!)
03/23/2007 Colleen Haggart (Avg: 4.18 Review) - Reef is just feet from entry, which can be tricky if there's lots of surf. It's worth the effort as it is a good dive. We saw rays, eels and puffer fish.
05/22/2006 Jason NYC (Avg: 4.57 Review) - Yet another lovely Bonaire shore dive. Entry not too bad down a sandy/coral rubble beach to the water where the swim to the drop off is short. Busy this day with 5+ cars and divers sitting under the trees along the beach. Spotted Drum and more of the usuals! Very healthy reef! Entry was best on the far right or left of the beach where it wasn't as rocky. Writing reviews for 20 Bonaire shore dives makes me feel like I am repeating myself. Poly want a great shore dive? ANY shore dive on Bonaire is what Poly wants, LOL!.
07/25/2004 JoAn (Avg: 3.78 Review) - Very short swim out to the reef. Lots of dark brown plate coral.
04/08/2004 Jim Homan (Avg: 3.62 Review) - Care should be taken getting in and out. Booties are a must, as is the case for almost all shore diving in Bonaire. The drop-off is nice, but he shallows took a beating during the storm a few years ago, which is a shame, because there had been a lot of life in water less than 30 feet deep. But even that is starting to recover.
01/03/2004 Deborah Norton (Avg: 3.90 Review) - This is a great dive! Getting gear up and down the small cliff on shore is a little work, but not difficult if you hand gear to your buddy. The shallows are a little rocky, but not too bad. Dive is a wall dive that is great even as a shallow dive (50 -60 feet).
11/04/2002 John Kurre (Avg: 4.57 Review) - Site is right next to paved road. Parking is limited but adequate. There are no facilities. There is a small cliff - 10 feet high and a small stone beach all very close to the road. Once you get your gear down the cliff, it is easy. The dive is a wall dive and the top of the wall is about 15' from the beach. Top of wall is 10' below surface and goes straight down to deep blue. Coral, Sponges, Sea fans and other plant life are all very healthy. Fish tend to be more of the larger variety as there is no shallow area for smaller tropical types. This is my favorite dive on Bonaire. I would caution all divers however to be careful about going too deep and then coming up to fast. It is easy to forget that the top of the reef is only 10 or 15' deep and only a few feet from the beach. There is a lot to see and the dive almost lures you down to deeper water.
08/21/2002 Fiona Rattray (Avg: 4.10 Review) - Lots of macro critters and fish. Easy entry, turtles in the shallows.
06/04/2002 Dave Rambo (Avg: 4.16 Review) - One of the easiest entries on Bonaire. My wife is not the most agile on shore dives, but she did great on this one. Great reef in very good condition. Saw a large number of fish and what impressed me was the number of juvenile fish on the reef and in the shallows.
09/10/2001 Charles Ackerman (Avg: 3.78 Review) - First dove this during the surge from Lenny, it was one of the few west coast spots you could dive during that surge. Very nice, big tube sponges, lots of fish, colorful. The 'beach' is really small pieces of rounded coral, these can tend to roll under your feet and if the surf's up can make existing a bit troublesome.
08/02/2001 Bill Duncan (Avg: 4.10 Review) - This reef started in about 10 feet of water. It was a quick and easy swim to the reef. The coral was in great shape.
04/27/2001 Remko Fortgens (Avg: 3.84 Review) - One of the untouched sites by the tidal wave in 1999. Everything intact, very beautiful, compared to other sites.
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Site Photos
Maps
(what is GPS?) |
Photo
(click photo for a larger version) |
Comments |
| Parking
Map
Sat
GPS: NB1001
N12°12.6481'
W068°19.3087'
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The parking is on hard-packed coral and sand.
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| Right Entry
Map
Sat
GPS: NB1002
N12°12.9462'
W068°20.2654'
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The entry is off a sandy beach, with the drop off only meters away.
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| Left Entry
Map
Sat
GPS: NB1003
N12°12.9249'
W068°20.2592'
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Divers return quite happy, we're sure!
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| Aerial
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(click photo for details)
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This is the easiest access for some of the world's best shore diving.
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Last Verification: February, 2001
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3.82
4.27
4.64
2.36
3.36