My wife is an early riser...I mean EARLY! Like around 4:00AM. I on the other hand enjoy my moments between deep sleep and feet on the floor, if you know what I mean... Any way we (eh…she) started a new tradition on one of our trips to Bonaire several years ago. That is rising early (i.e. see about time)and suiting up then taking the giant stride off the dock behind the Black Durgon Inn to await the sunrise drifting off the Small Wall. I have to say that it is one of the most exciting things to experience, sunrise underwater and watching the changing of the guard, day fish and night fish swapping places.
I would like to hear other diver’s stories about this experience if you have done a dawn dive.

My favorite dawn dive is the Hilma Hooker. Not only do you get to watch a ton of tarpon wake up, you come around to the reef side and see lots of critters wake up. More than once, I got to see a green moray come out from hiding. Then, if you are really lucky, while you are taking your gear off the flamingoes fly overhead.

(Message edited by jeanineclark on December 31, 2008)

The dawn or morning transition dive is usually fantastic. Hilma is great as is Bari, Buddy's, Cliff, Small Wall. I think it beats evening transition dives which are usually and erroneously called night dives. I really like the night dives but on Bonaire they should start no earlier than about 9 pm. No one does boat dives that late to Klein that I know of but would love to do that kind of night dive on Klein if I can ever convince someone to do that.

Dawn dives are terrific; the reefs "turns over" faster than the end-of-day transition, so you get to see the night critters go away and the day critters finally get brave enough to come out. They are harder to time (when to go in?) but you get to have earned a nice big breakfast afterwards.

Be advised there are three meanings of "twilight": really dark ("astronomical" twilight), just light enough to make out the horizon and major features ("Nautical" twilight), and fairly light but the sun edge has not yet appeared (or disappeared, for sunset) at the horizon ("civil" twilight).

In Bonaire, civil twilight occurs some 20-22 minutes before sunrise, nautical occurs about 20-25 mins before that, and astronomical begins about 20-25 mins before that. The point is, if you go in when it is really really dark (before astronomical twilight), then it is really really early and you may run out of gas before sunrise. On March 10, 2009, for example, the three twilights and sunrise occur at 0533, 0558, 0622, and 0643. On that day, I would try and get in the water about 0545-0600, have a nice night dive for about 30 mins, then spend 15-30 mins near some good coral in the 40-30 ft range and watch all the little grunts and chromis edging their way out of the coral crevices.

Mel, that last paragraph gave me a headache.

I've been told I've done a dawn dive once or twice, but I dont' remember it cause i wasn't awake.

According to Mel's second paragraph, I guess it was really a "civil" twilight dawn dive...keyword here is CIVIL...lol...

Angel City is a great "civil twilight dawn dive"

Mel - fantastic information I had not heard before. Thanks. And I agree that morning "night" or transition dives are better than evening as you so aptly described. A good midnight dive at the Hilma is also quite awesome for those daring enough.

Have a great New Year y'all.

cynde, i think we will rarely see your name and "civil" at the same time before your morning coffee.

we have neighbors who were awakened early to do a "dawn" dive. unfortunately, the organizer miscalculated sunrise and had everyone up and in the water by about 330AM (they were too tired to figure out the miscalculation). by the time they were low on air and had to end the dive it was still really dark when they exited.

We got the opportunity to do morning dive at Eighteen Palms during our 2008 trip.
It was great to see the day begin underwater.

Entering the water at about 4:45 AM seems to work for us. At about the half way point of the dive you realize you can see without a light. A plus is that many fish you cannot get close to during the day are just waking and are much more approachable.

(Message edited by grunt on January 1, 2009)

We have done a few 5:00am dives but less so recently, great reminder to kick back the sheets early.

Warning to Tink....another "be advised":

Sunrise varies in Bonaire from 0607 (end of May, beginning of June) to 0659 (late January).

So if you want to do dawn dives and sleep in as long as possible, do them in late January, not late May!

I've found that I want to end the dive a little before actual sunrise time, hence the earlier start time. My dawn dives are typically done in May. If I gotta wake my wife (the very hardest one to get to go) a 1/2 hour earlier it won't matter. After every one of these dives the comment is the same: Why don't we do more of these?

Mel, another reason I love bonaire in january

Mel-Mel-Mel. OMG Mel. I'm going to have to re-read that and get it figured out when I have more time to assimilate all that information.

I just get in the water about a half an hour before the edge of the sun breaks the horizon and experience the sunrise from under the water.

That would be . . . lemme go back and look . . . um . . . CIVIL twilight!!! (WooHoo! I learned something today.)

At home, I love driving to work around 0530, too, because the lane dodging bozos are still snoring, there are very few cars, the traffic lights are all blinking yellow and I don't have to stop. It is so peaceful!

Oh, and I also love sleeping until noon and staying awake until um... ? nautical twilight? so I'm not that addicted to rising early.

My favorite place for a twilight dive (you choose the type!) is Buddy's because it is the closet dive venue to my bed. Then after the dive, dry clothes and a hot breakfast with plenty of coffee are right there.