| All
of us at TCB wish you a prosperous and happy new
year for 2003! (And we hope to see you our way
soon!)
Bonaire
Chosen Top Dive Destination in the Caribbean by
Reader's of Rodale's Scuba Diving Magazine
Confirming what many of us already know, over
6,000 subscribers and web users of Rodale's Scuba
Diving Magazine voted Bonaire the top dive destination
in the Caribbean/Atlantic in the 2003 Reader's
Choice Awards Bonaire.
Bonaire has swept the 2003 Rodale's Scuba Diving
Reader's Choice Awards receiving the #1 rating
in 7 out of 15 categories, including Top Dive
Destination and Healthiest Marine Environment
for the Caribbean/Atlantic.
Bonaire was also ranked as the #2 destination
for Top Snorkeling, the #2 destination that people
would return to (Repeat Performance), #3 for Top
Underwater Visibility, and #5 for Top Value.
#1 Top Dive Destination - 95.1%
#1 Top Shore Diving - 97.8%
#1 Healthiest Marine Environment - 95.9%
#1 Top Fish Life - 93.5%
#1 Top Macro Life - 91.9%
#1 Top Underwater Photography - 95.9%
#1 Top Beginner Diving - 94.2%
Buddy Dive Resort (#11) and Toucan Divers (#16)
were also recognized as Top Dive Operators, and
Plaza Resort Bonaire (#13), Buddy Dive Resort
(#15), Sand Dollar Condominium Resort (#17) and
Captain Don's Habitat (#19) were also rated as
Top Dive Resorts.
The results of the 2003 Awards are
featured in the January/February 2003 issue of
Rodale’s Scuba Diving.
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New
Bonaire Ambassadors
On December 30th, both John Wall and Susie Schmidt
upgraded their silver medals to gold! Having received
their silver medals earlier in 2002, their return
holiday trip encompassing January 2003, brought
them to the gold!
Additionally, their daughter, Christine Wall,
more commonly known as Tina, received her bronze
medal. Tina first started coming to Bonaire 15
years ago, and has returned for at least one visit
(and many years had multiple visits) each year.
Further, guests of Bon Bini Divers who visited
Bonaire during the summer months, may remember
Tina from the boats, as she interned with Bon
Bini Divers for the summers of 2001 and 2002 as
a divemaster and later an instructor.
Tina returns frequently to Bonaire,
as it is one of her favorite places, but unfortunately,
her return visits are dictated by her college
schedule. Tina is majoring in Photography and
Visual Arts. She needs only to return once more
in 2003 so that she, too, can upgrade her bronze
for a silver medal!
Another Ambassador, Gene Geer, received
his medal on December 14th, 2002, after visiting
Bonaire to dive from 1971 through 2002! Gene tells
us:
"It was a great feeling to receive
the Ambassador award. I think this program is
a good idea; it should help encourage more people
to return as well as make more people aware of
what is offered here.
"I first came to Bonaire in 1971 because
Maurice Coutts and some dive buddies had spoken
of the beautiful weather, great dive spots, and
the pleasant, quiet atmosphere.
"When we arrived, there were only six divers
on the island. We stayed in the old internment
camp at the Flamingo Hotel and had a great week
with Captain Don Stewart, Ebo Domacasse, Percy
(the skin diver who found the wreck of the Windjammer),
and Kiki (who late became Bonaire’s official greeter.)
"I was an avid YMCA instructor, as was Coutts,
so we invited Don to our instructor’s institute
in New Jersey where he earned his instructor rating.
In the class with him was Bruce Bowker who soon
came to work for Don.
"I returned in 1972 to dive with Don at
the Hotel Bonaire and, in later years, at Habitat
(which earlier was called the DeBonaire cottages).
After coming on my own a few times, I began taking
groups from the American Littoral (Seashore) Society
(ALS.) The ALS is a conservation education organization.
Don's work in trying to preserve Bonaire's reefs
and its wildlife brought us back year after year.
"His ideas on using permanent moorings for
dive boats (this practice has spread to many other
diving areas as well), being instrumental in making
the entire reef system a national park, instructing
divers on proper buoyancy techniques (photographers
please take notice), and respect for the reef's
fragility have made Bonaire the great place to
dive it still is today.
"Over the years we have made a great many
friends here, including the young and smiling
Eddie Statia. Another good friend, Al Catalfumo,
whom I first met in New Jersey in 1969, now runs
the Black Durgon Inn. Al says that he came here
because I had so many good things to say about
Bonaire. After diving with Dee Scarr in San Salvador
in the Bahamas it was good to see her settle here.
"Recently, I finally got married (at 60
years old) to Panseluta, a beautiful lady from
Romania; she has been with me the last three trips.
"There have been many highlights on the
Bonaire dive trips: cavorting with porpoises two
days in a row at Alice-In-Wonderland, manta rays
at the Willemstoren Lighthouse and while travelling
to a dive spot, the original Karpata, giant green
morays, Don's high tails (some perhaps even true),
going with Ebo on fishing and diving trips, seeing
paraplegics happily diving at Habitat, diving
the Windjammer, finding an old wreck complete
with canons, and long drift dives.
"People have often asked me why I keep coming
back to Bonaire and I tell them that it is a great
vacation. I have dived many of the well-known
places around the Caribbean and they each have
something unique to offer. I have enjoyed all
of them, but Bonaire is the only place I have
returned to 33 times.
Back to the top
Strong
Start for King of the Caribbean
 The
first annual King of the Caribbean PWA World Championship
Freestyle Finals ended on a high note as Bonairean
Tonky Frans took top honors in the windsurfing
event. But the best is yet to come as the publicity
for the event spreads around the world to the
more than 11 million windsurfers and sports TV
viewers in over 200 countries.
Two television crews filmed the entire week and
will release two separate 25 minute sports programs.
SBS6 television sports channel for Holland will
air its program eight times in the coming weeks.
Then at the end of January the SportShows TV program
will be sent to over 120 countries around the
world.
A six minute TV news summary has already been
sent to Reuters and SNTV from London. SNTV reaches
over 800 million homes in 192 countries including
all of Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, Australia
and some of the Caribbean.
Also covering the event were reporters and photographers
for 15 windsurfing and sailing magazines from
England, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Spain,
Japan, Austria, Venezuela, United States and Canada.
Stories about the event and the island will begin
appearing in January and should run for several
months. The PWA website was getting over 65,000
hits each day and the Bonaire
site had over 162,000 for the week.
"If any of the 11 million windsurfers do
not know about Bonaire in the next few months
I will be surprised," said Delno Tromp from
TCB. "And what they will hear is all the
professionals and judges saying Bonaire is the
best place in the world for freestyle. It will
mean more visitors for this sport and tremendous
awareness of Bonaire."
Results from a survey of the pros and judges
showed that all were extremely happy with the
event. One judge from France who has also organized
events said: "I have been to over 80 professional
events and this is among the top three ever!"
Several said the Bonaire event was the best on
the PWA World Tour and all are hoping to return
next year!
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|
announce
the launching of a new Bonaire website
for The Bar & Restaurant Swiss
Chalet, located in Kralendijk.
At
the next nest, he was troubled because
he dug into the sand about one meter
and found no turtles. He began to
dig sideways and then he found the
next group of hatchlings. Apparently
hard sand and a rock prevented them
from leaving the nest. All of the
hatchlings had been trapped and
were ready to go. There was so many
we had to use Robert’s hat as a
turtle transporter. The first hat
full of hatchlings were taken to
the shore and tenderly placed on
the water’s edge and released. Tom
watched them to make sure they swam
with no problems.