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Landfall: 21 May 1962 Organized diving began on Bonaire 21 May 1962, at 1630 hours. How do we know the exact time? "Well, we cleared customs at 1430 and I would guess it took me about an hour to greet the local officials and visitors. Then another hour to move up to Heit's pier, secure my vessel, gear up and get into the water," says Captain Don Stewart, recognized as the father of Bonaire diving. "I could see the reef as we tied up. I could hear it calling my name." In 1962, there were only
4,000 people living on Bonaire
and about 300 cars. There was no compressor for filling air tanks because there
were no tanks. Except for the six Captain Don brought ashore. Now, 34 years after Captain Don first enjoyed the reefs of Bonaire, tourism is the primary industry with 70,000 visitors a year. And the core of that tourism is centered on diving the still-magnificent reefs. Thanks, in large part, to Captain Don. Born Donal A. Stewart in California in 1925, Don was the son of a Scottish inventor who had 37 patents to his name. His mother was an actress, as were a great aunt and cousin. This combination of drama and invention would be two key factors that would shape his more than three decades of contributions to the island of Bonaire and its diving trade.
Despite his success, Don took a sabbatical from his business for a full year to explore the Mississippi River, searching for the adventure he needed. Satisfied for now, Don returned to California and his business but not for long. In 1955, before he had turned 30, Don sold it all and left the window screen for the silver screen. He had decided to become a film star. As with everything in his life, Don had a plan for breaking into Hollywood. Part of that plan called for a barter deal with his dentist. Don traded boat rides to dive Catalina Island for a set of caps and a celluloid smile. And he learned to scuba dive in the bargain. But in a few years, when the movie roles didn't materialize and Don was broke, it was time for Plan Two. He sold all his belongings to buy a two-masted, gaff-rigged, 70- foot schooner; a wooden hull built in 1912. With this sturdy boat he would offer sailing charters and adventure tours. He might even make his own movie aboard ship. As a matter of fact, he had already written the script. So, in 1959 he set sail from San Francisco with a charter to the Panama Canal and South America. Time for some real adventure, but that's another book. Plan three kicked in en route from South America to Antigua after almost three years of chartering. Why not settle down on a quiet little island where the people are nice, the weather perfect all year and magnificent reefs surround you? Why not, indeed, if your 50-year-old boat needs to "rest a while" for repairs. Don dropped anchor and then dropped onto the reefs of Bonaire. There was no need to travel on. Everything he needed for his recently started aquarium fish business was here. And besides, he couldn't go backward because he had been "invited to leave" both Aruba arid Curaçao for working without permission.
With the six tanks he brought with him, Don started the first official dive operation on Bonaire. For several months, air was ferried in from Curaçao and cascaded down into these now infamous tanks One of the cascade tanks, which Don has to this day, was first used in 1916. He thinks it could still pass hydro. All of his early diving activity was without depth gauges, without any kind of gauge for that matter. So Don invented his own. When he needed to measure depth, Captain Don would simply tie a red ribbon to his mask strap. As the red turned darker the color gauge in his head would tell him when to turn back. Bonaire's first dive "boats" were whatever old trucks were available. These rusty vehicles would rattle over the rutted dirt roads that led to Bonaire's famous, close-in dive sites. Truly, "getting there was half the fun." Later he got three dive boats - but only one motor. That didn't stop him from putting three boats of divers in the water each day. He simply towed two boats and dropped them at various sites along the way. Divers had to swim their boat over to the mooring, take their dive and then wait for the sea-train to pick them up on the way back. Shore dives were much simpler. Divers only had to push the truck up every other hill. But what wonderfully outfitted trucks they were, with benches built around the perimeter and individual, hand-crafted wooden boxes for gear. During those early years developing the diving trade, Captain Don would often have to improvise: plugging leaks in the tanks with chewing gum, jury-rigging the compressor to keep on pumping, patching gear and endlessly tap-dancing.
It was not until 1976 that he opened Captain Don's Habitat, a 100% dive and ocean-oriented resort. His concept of "total diving freedom" has since been copied around the world. But in 1976, it was Visionary. When Habitat opened, rooms cost $7 per day! Not only was Don the manager and dive guide, he also served as plumber, electrician, gardener, bartender and, sometimes, cook. As he struggled to establish the diving industry, he also worked hard to foster protection of and responsibility for the reefs of the world. He co-founded CURO (Caribbean Underwater Resort Operators) in the early 1970s, uniting 18 Caribbean islands to encourage total conservation. But Don didn't restrict himself to the reef alone. He was equally concerned about the environment above water level. A great portion of the Habitat property was converted to a nursery where Don raised local and well-adapted species of plants. He placed these, with his "wicked mind's eye" in arrangements that seem so natural, it's hard to tell where they begin and nature ends. Another dramatic Captain Don contribution was the Bonaire Regatta, held each year since 1968. It started as a two-boat race around Klein Bonaire between Captain Don and Ebo Domacasse to see whose boat was faster. The winner got 27 cases of beer. Ebo won that first race but generously shared the beer. The stakes are somewhat higher today for the week-long international event which annually brings nearly 100 boats from around the world to Kralendijk. In 1980, Don seriously injured his leg during a salvage operation and had to wear a cast for six years. This didn't stop his diving, though. Dive Master Dave Serlin simply rigged a spring-loaded fin to his cast and Don jumped back in. It was during the early days that special dive sites were discovered and named. Sometimes they were named for the people who were present that first time out. Or, just as often, they were named for some adventure that took place there. What follows is a collection of short stories about many of those first favorite dive sites and how some of them got their names. In all, Captain Don has had a hand in naming almost 30 percent of Bonaire's dive sites.
Despite the "Nos" his vision was not restrictive. Don still believes that, with careful management and protection, the coral reefs of the world can accommodate all the divers who want to enjoy them. While he doesn't dive regularly now, Don is still very busy trying to preserve his vision for Bonaire, above and below the water. He writes and speaks regularly about reef protection, and runs a landscaping business called Island Grower N.V. In 1995, Bonaire was rated the Number One environmentally preserved dive destination in the world. Although many people have worked hard to make this possible, it all started with Captain Don. |
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Content © Donal A. Stewart 1996 - Copyright © CaribSeek 2003 - All Rights Reserved - Web Published: September 26, 2003 |
