Diving Salt Pier Bonaire | The Shore Dive Collection | TropicLens - 4K

Salt Pier very popular. If a cargo ship isn’t docked, there are often more than a dozen vehicles are parked here at any given time during the day. Over 100 pilings make up the seven platforms supporting the pier which means there is a lot to explore. As an added benefit, the bottom slope is gradual making this a terrific site for snorkeling as well.
And the night diving was incredible! In one action packed hour, we saw a huge school of fish, southern stingray, spotted eagle ray, several kinds of crab, Spanish lobster, a couple of frogfish and lots of other creatures. On top of that, I spotted a lettered olive which was a first time capture.
We want to encourage more shore diving, so this video provides some guidance where the site is, how to dive it and what you may see there. If you want to skip to or review specific topics, the section timings are as follows.
0:30 Site Background/Description
2:33 Site Logistics
5:30 Dive Profile
8:29 Sea Life
10:58 Night Diving
Please add a comment and let us know what you saw there.

[@bennyrobles9194]

2:29 nice shot of a frogfish.!!

[@TropicLens]

Thanks. We haven't seen them around the pier for a long time, but there are others on the island. :-)

[@Richard1976]

Great video

[@nickgroen89]

Great video's! I like the voice over with site description and comments while diving! Hope your channel may grow a lot!

[@TropicLens]

Thanks so much Nick. We hope so as well! :-)

[@cherylamie]

Enjoyed

[@TropicLens]

Thanks again! We're very glad you are enjoying these. Salt Pier is a favorite of ours.

[@bellosilvio3204]

Hi, what camera did you use?

[@CarneyFelonLawyer]

One of the drawbacks of being a DIY diving destination is no supervision by dive operators. We gave up on Bonaire due to the heavy coral destruction by divers years ago.

[@TropicLens]

Well Salt Pier has a number of challenges as an active port, but a lack of diver awareness and/or skills does undermine the quality and experience for other divers. Still, as a shore diving destination, Bonaire remains one of the top spots in the world...at least for us. Always looking for other recommendations, however, if you have some. :-)

[@pablogc2008]

Your videos are great! Which easy dive sites do you recommend (easy entrance and not so deep) to take two of my friends who have just completed their Open Water course?

[@TropicLens]

"Easy" is a bit of a relative term, isn't it. :-) There are some books and other online resources that have their own ratings, but our late 50's/early 60's bodies define easy as short gear hauls over even terrain with either a walk-in sandy entry or nice ladder. So, using that definition, the south entrance at Salt Pier qualifies, as does Pink Beach, Cha Cha Cha, Something Special, Yellow Submarine and Buddy's Reef. Oil Slick Leap also has a ladder (like Buddy's Reef), but it is straight up and down, whereas Buddy's is more like a staircase. Also, the terrain can be a bit uneven...so let's call Oil Slick Leap "Easy+". There may be others. We haven't been to them all, but will be back again in June to do more videos. :-) Let us know if you have any other questions. Hope this helps.

[@tt658]

Absolutely beautiful footage. What type of camera system/set up are you using? Great job.

[@TropicLens]

Thank you T T. For the last several months, I have been using an iPhone in the SeLife SportDiver housing and the Deep Photo app. I also recently upgraded my lights to the Kraken Hydra 8000. I also carry a GoPro 9 with a Flip 9 filter system with a +10 Close Up lens (both from Backscatter). I get this question every once in a while and plan to do a video on it in the coming weeks. Let me know if you have any questions. Hope this helps.

[@ak6143]

@@TropicLens i run my iphone 15 promax in an oceanic+ case as well as a gopro 12. Would u recommend just keeping the iphone in photo mode and using gopro exclusively for video or do u use the phone for video too? Im just thinking about conserving battery and trying to use the best tool for the job.

[@TropicLens]

Since my reply above two years ago, I have shifted some equipment. The gear I have been using mostly for the last year is the Divevolk Seatouch 4 Max with iPhones. (Currently on the 15 Pro Max.) I bring the GoPro for Leslie when I want to get some B-roll of me underwater; but I don't really take the GoPro much for these videos. While the color and stability are awesome with the GoPro, I really wanted to start capturing smaller things and the Flip Filter system, while good, just didn't cut it. With respect to keeping the iPhone in photo or video mode, I suggest you try out video to see if you like it. You will definitely be able to get smaller things; but keep in mind the 13mm/120mm lenses have inferior sensors (12mp) so there is a trade off. Also, check out the Divevolk housing if have some spare funds. You won't have to choose between photo and video because you can do both -- and almost everything else on the iPhone -- underwater. I have a couple of videos on it and the iPhone Settings video covers battery life. I could go on and on; but I won't here. Let me know if you have specific questions. I would be happy to answer them. :-)

[@ak6143]

@@TropicLens thanks thats helpful. I actually have a Divevolk ST4 too. Had to buy it before my fall trip bec the Oceanic+ wasnt going to make it in time. I didnt really have any complaints about it but I dont need 2 now. Maybe Ill take both and try to do a good comparison. I like the idea of having full access to my cameras menu and being able to run other photo software with the divevolk. Thx again

[@shotsbyscott6243]

Nice video! What camera and lights are you using?

[@TropicLens]

Thanks Scott. For the Bonaire sites, I have mostly been using an iPhone 12 Pro Max in a SeaLife SportDiver housing. The default app is nice, but for the last week, I have been experimenting with Deep Photo which also works with that housing. It's crashed a few times, but the developer has been quite responsive and is providing an update tomorrow. There are differences with the interfaces. The lens changing is faster and you can configure more with Deep Photo, but the image of what you are shooting is larger with the SeaLife app. As for lights, I have been using the Kraken Hydra 5000S+ WSRU for years. They are awesome as they have wide, spot, red and UV for flouro diving. I just ordered a couple of the Kraken Hydra 8000 WRGBU which will not only be brighter, but can cycle through a rainbow of colors. Given Bonaire time, I'll probably get them next month. :-) Sorry if that is more that you were looking for. :-)

[@shotsbyscott6243]

@@TropicLens Thank you for the detailed answer :-) I dove in Bonaire in 2018 and 2019, and going back in a few weeks. Last time I used a GoPro Hero 7 with a pair of Kraken lights similar to yours. I believe my model is 4500+. I have read about the SeaLife housing for the iphone and considering this. In the past I considered the Olympus TG-6 but did not feel I would like the quality of the still photos. I may upgrade to the GoPro Hero 9 for my trip to Bonaire. Thanks again and great videos! Scott

[@dmc3750]

Whats the name of the divingschool you make the guided dives with? 😊

[@TropicLens]

Beyond The Corals (beyondthecorals.com/) is the shop we are using. We've checked out a number of shops through the ABC islands. Certainly price, equipment, service, etc. are important and BTC is very good in those aspects; but we have found that knowledgeable guides that actually point stuff out (instead of just leading a dive) and get just as excited as we do are the shops we tend to go back to again and again.