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Wave System Update
First, we'd like to provide a clarification of some items in the E-Newsflash of two days ago. Kalli De Meyer of the Bonaire Marine Park
explained to us that Bonaire was not actually hit by Hurricane Lenny. Instead, she said, it was a wave surge caused by Lenny's passing. This is supported by the fact that no heavy winds or rain touched Bonaire
during the entire wave system event.
Second, we'd like to remind our readers that the Bonaire E-News is the result of the personal efforts and reporting of two individuals (Jake and Linda Richter), and items that appear here are our observations and
reports, and not any form of official statement by any organization, governmental entity, or tourism agency, unless explicitly attributed to such. The Bonaire E-News is perhaps the largest on-line only news service
covering a Caribbean island, and it is written and published by volunteers (okay, we sell a few classified ads occasionally, but those only cover the cost of the caffeine necessary to keep us alert while writing).
That said, the waves from the wave system which hit Bonaire on Tuesday subsided for the most part by Wednesday morning. As the normally placid west coast (leeward side) of the island was still too rough to dive in, a
number of dive operators took their customers to Bonaire's normally wild east coast for their dives (a rare and great opportunity, by the way).
Wednesday night we had our first rain on Bonaire in some time - it was much needed to wash all the salt water mist residue that had collected on windows, houses, cars, etc.
By this morning, seas, while still a bit rough, had calmed down to the point where we are seriously contemplating a dive to check things out underwater. We'll probably do that tomorrow (see article below).
In terms of the impact of the wave system on Bonaire's coastal zone, there's no question that some things have definitely changed, including where the beaches now are (we now have sand on our former iron shore, for
example). Also, many man-made structures built in the so-called surge or storm zone have been damaged, some significantly, but at this point, all northern resorts have their accommodations completely operational, as
do the resorts just south of Kralendijk. In Belnem, private residences were more heavily hit than the handful of coastal apartments/accommodations which are all expected to be back in full operation today or
tomorrow.
Dive operations which suffered pier damage will be starting boat dives as soon as the seas are fully calm again, and our understanding is that they will be operating out of the nearest marinas until repairs are
completed. We've also been told by the Sand Dollar Condominium Association that while the Green Parrot restaurant's waterfront location is in need of extensive repair, the world famous Green Parrot burgers, hot
dogs, drinks, and related items should be available starting next week at the Sand Dollar pool bar.
We've not had a chance to scan in the photos we took during the wave system, but will work to have these available as part of our December 8th issue. Where appropriate, we will also included photos of the same
locations taken a few weeks later.
The Tourism Corporation Bonaire released an official statement on the wave system last night. This statement can be found on the InfoBonaire Web site at
http://www.infobonaire.com/html/pressrelease-novemberstorm.html
The above link also includes contact information for the Tourism Corporation Bonaire's U.S. representative. Also, for those travelers planning on visiting Bonaire in the next few days, if you need further information
and assurances that all is well, contact your tour operator or travel agent, as these have likely already been briefed by the various properties they represent.
All in all, we are thankful Bonaire suffered minimal damage from the disruption of the sea in the wake of Hurricane Lenny but thankfully Lenny itself did not hit us.
Our prayers go out to our sister islands - Saba, St. Estatius, and St. Maarten northeast of us as well as all the rest of the Caribbean who are receiving the full brunt of that hurricane at present.
Post-Storm Beach/UW Clean Ups Scheduled
The editors of the Bonaire E-News and the Bonaire Dive Club would like to invite all E-News readers currently on
Bonaire to join them on Friday, November 19th at 2pm at the Green Submarine dive shop at Kaya Playa Lechi, for the first of several post-storm Beach and Underwater Clean-ups.
This week's storm left quite a bit of debris on our shores, and quite likely underwater as well. The plan it to meet at Green Submarine at the appointed time (2pm), and if it's determined that it is okay to dive
(i.e. water is not too rough) at one or more dive sites we'll designate, we'll get over to the sites and survey them, removing any new debris that has been deposited by the storm. If we don't think diving is viable
at the time, we'll instead start on a coastal clean-up, again at one or more dive sites to be determined. Non-divers are welcome to join the activities, and may help by doing beach clean-ups while divers are
underwater. Divers - please bring your own air/tanks. (Any Bonaire dive operators reading this - if you can provide complementary tanks & air for this and future efforts - please contact Eric at Green Submarine
at 2929).
Participants in this clean-up will also be learning about doing a little repair work underwater. Dee Scarr will be explaining what to do and not do, as she has quite a bit of experience in coastal repair after large
storms on Bonaire. (Also see article below.)
There are also plans to do a beach clean-up of the Sunset Beach Hotel area, as that is a place popular with Bonaire residents and visitors to go "beaching". Selibon has graciously agreed to place a
container at Sunset for the debris clean-up effort. This clean-up will occur on Saturday, November 20th, at 9am. All volunteers should plan to meet in front of the Den Laman restaurant at that time. Please pass the
word on this to all your friends, relatives, neighbors, etc. on Bonaire (to local news and radio operations reading this, please make an announcement in your media!).
If you have any questions about any of these activities, please e-mail them to JakeandLinda@BonaireENews.com
Bonaire Marine Park Asks for Assistance
The Bonaire Marine Park issued the following statement yesterday in the aftermath of the wave system which damaged
some properties on the island
"Whilst the damage to the near shore environment has been extensive, we are confident it will not impact unduly on our tourism industry. Reefs have evolved to withstand storms much greater than the one we
experienced this week and we are confident that within a month or two, our visitors will not even notice storm damage. There's abundant evidence that healthy reefs recover well from storm damage, boat groundings,
etc. However, this storm should send a clear message that the crucial thing for us now is sea water quality. We need to minimize the amount of unnatural sediment and nutrients that end up in our waters. We need to
modify our coastal zone construction practices, improve our waste treatment, and not modify the shoreline unduly, for example, by not allowing the creation of artificial beaches or landscaping within the coastal
zone. There will be a more thorough damage assessment in the next couple of days." Kalli De Meyer, Marine Park Manager.
Additionally, those finding themselves in the water here on Bonaire soon can help our coral reef in the following ways, per a Marine Park Bulletin issued today (which applies for whenever there is extra wave action
on the normally quiet west coast)
- Where you find pieces of elkhorn or staghorn coral on the shore which still have some color to them - put them back into the sea in 5 12 feet of water. These corals can regenerate from small pieces.
- If you find coral heads which have been knocked over or are upside down please turn them back up the right way so that their growth is not inhibited.
- If you find corals covered in sand try to gently waft the sand off without touching the coral itself. Make sure that you DO NOT TOUCH corals at this time.
First Anniversary of Monthly Underwater Clean-ups
On Saturday, December 4th, the monthly underwater clean-up sponsored by Green Submarine and
NetTech N.V. will be celebrating its first full year of removing trash from Bonaire's waters. As part of the celebration, Green Submarine and NetTech are throwing a party in conjunction with, you guessed it, another
clean-up dive. The festivities start at 10am with live music, coffee, juice, snacks and diver orientation at Green Submarine's facilities on Kaya Playa Lechi. The monthly clean-up dive will start at 11am, with a
focus on the area north of Regatta House.
After all the divers, supporting snorkelers, and ground assistants finish their clean-up efforts, the party starts in earnest with a full BBQ and potluck, more live music, and refreshments back at Green Submarine.
All people who have participated in the monthly clean-up dives over the last year, along with their families, are invited to attend the BBQ. And anyone wishing to help with the clean-up dive is welcome to join the
festivities as well. Free tanks of air will be provided to all diving participants.
The 12 prior monthly clean-ups, combined with last month's extra clean-ups organized by the Bonaire Dive Club, have resulted in over two tons of trash being collected from our waters, including nearly two thousand
glass bottles, a similar amount of beer cans, countless meters of rope and fishing line, and an incredible assortment of items ranging from shoes and clothing to kitchen appliances and rubber tires. And the result
of this on-going clean-up effort has definitely been noticeable along the reef in the Playa area.
To RSVP for the clean-up dive and confirm that a tank will be reserved for you, please call Danielle Groenhart of Green Submarine at 2929 or Jake Richter of NetTech at 6773, or contact them via e-mail at mailto:UWCleanUp@BonaireNature.com .
Photo of QE2
Two weeks ago, the fabled Queen Elizabeth 2 cruise ship visited Bonaire. It wasn't her first time here, and it's certainly not going to be her
last either. In viewing her from shore, we were astounded at her size (2025 passenger capacity), especially in comparison to the Freewinds cruise ship which carries up to 300 passengers. Unfortunately, we were
camera-less that day, but Shelly Craig (who also won a top prize in the Bonaire Dive Festival photo competition last week) was kind enough to loan us a great picture showing the incredible size contrast between the
two vessels (keep in mind the photo does show perspective, so the difference is even more dramatic). You can see it at
http://www.bonaireenews.com/photos/19991118-qe2.jpg
Thanks Shelly!
Queen's Visit to Bonaire
While we were unable to attend the festivities, Holland's (and Bonaire's) Queen Beatrix visited Bonaire yesterday, Wednesday, November 17th. We were told that while her tour of the island was modified due to the
results of the storm that hit us on Tuesday, she managed to see quite a bit of the island. If any of our readers took pictures of Queen Beatrix during her visit, please send us copies so we can share them with our
readers in the next issue of the E-News. E-mail photos and stories to mailto:editors@BonaireENews.com .
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