January 25, 2012

Kudos to Dive Friends!

Due to circumstances beyond our control, we had to change dive operations after 14 years of diving on Bonaire, and were blessed to discover the joys of the Dive Friends operation.  We were pleasantly surprised to find such a customer friendly, helpful, and competent operation!  "Yes, we can" should be their motto because they take ownership to resolve issues with their statement "not a problem!"

They have gone out of their way to make our diving experience easy, pleasurable and even helped us with equipment issues on the spot!  When the backplate of one of our old BCD's fell apart, Asko at Yellow Sub immediately stepped up and found a quick solution, fixing it with a part that works beautifully and at no charge!  When one of our computers died, and it turned out to be irreparable, Chris at Dive Inn's location lent us a computer for the rest of our stay. Because we have Din valve, high pressure tanks to fill, they have a system for filling them easily and quickly, and that is outside of the realm of their daily operation.  Full tanks have been a new pleasure.

We were so impressed with their operation that we also joined in their "reef clean-up day", and were again amazed at the professional organization of the project.  With that many divers in the water, we were wondering if it would be a chaotic situation, but no, every part was planned and executed with safe precision.  We've both been diving for over 20 years all over the world, and have never found such a friendly, customer-oriented, professional dive operation. Dive Friends will be our "dive friends" for a lifetime, and is a true asset to Bonaire.

Diane Amos and Dee Lawrence

 

November 25, 2011

Hi dear Dive Friends,

Back again at Bonaire and Dive-Friends after 3 (too) long years, it was good to see that the good humored and joyful atmosphere persists at Dive-Friends-Bonaire! Thanks for all the nice little chats after diving, giving us tips about where to go when collecting tanks, and providing us with enough coffee and tea to keep hydrated.

Diving Bonairian style took us back to some of our favorite dives and the general relaxed atmosphere of the island. Your support was a big help so thank you again, especially to Patrick, Patrick and Maria.

Looking forward to see you all again soon!

Dorine and Derk

 

August 25, 2011

Hi guys and girls,

I have to say that you guys from Netherlands are absolutely friendly and customer-oriented!

We spent 4 weeks over easter this year on the island and found, with Chris and Astrid, the perfect diving-location.

Always friendly, always helping, and always giving answers on every stupid question! (smile)

So we want to thank you for your relaxation and reliability, best regards from the "4 from Hamburg."

Tina, Bernhard, Peter and Wolfgang.

 

 

July 31, 2011

Hi Guys,

Just writing to say sorry that we didn't see you to say goodbye to you on  Friday before we left. We enjoyed meeting you and hope to see you again next year.  We're  looking forward to it already!

Best wishes and happy diving!
Jane and Carsten

 

July 28, 2011

I’d like to send a big thanks to Chris and Astrid at Dive Friends @ Dive-Inn for the very pleasant, relaxing way they made this former water polo player into a diver.

I came to get my PADI certification, because I know what a good organization that is. After the first dive, I wanted to quit because I had slept badly and the adrenaline still roared through my body. Chris reassured me and said that I could manage to get to the PADI OWD. I also had problems with my ears but it all worked out.

By the time I left Bonaire, I also had my Advanced and Nitrox certification cards in my pocket. Also, and perhaps more importantly, I had survived all the lessons from Chris. This is actually not so difficult, as you listen carefully, look around you, and Chris always makes you swim.

Throughout my stay in Bonaire, I felt at home at Dive Friends @ Dive-inn. If I did not have to work, I could always drop in for a cup of coffee or water. Many thanks for this. It’s not for nothing that some of the other guests at Dive Friends @ Dive-Inn made up a new verb in the Dutch language!  "Edwinn"'=coffee @ Dive Inn. But, I'm not so far gone yet that I have the slogan of Chris: "No dive, no life."

But, one slogan I already use: "Dive Friends @ Dive-Inn, a way of life."

I'll be back to dive and "Edwinn.” Of course I also want to thank Lisa and Lindy and wish them success with their further training at Dive Friends Bonaire.

Edwin Huuskes

 

July 28, 2011

Hello everyone,

I am a Marine Biologist participating in a project called FORCE, Future of the Reefs in a Changing Environment. Bonaire was one of the study sites for this Caribbean-wide project. Since the beginning, when planning the trip, our ecological field team (four of us) received full support from Dive Friends Bonaire. They gave us good service and prices. Thanks, Frederique!!! We visited Bonaire in January, 2011, and this was one of the best diving experiences we have had in the Caribbean. Logistics were really easy and the reefs were amazing, especially Klein Bonaire. Also, the staff (captains and divemaster) were really nice. We definitely recommend Dive Friends Bonaire if you planning on visiting Bonaire. We hope to come back soon!

Cristina Sanchez
Universidad de Costa Rica, Bióloga Marina Proyecto FORCE

 

May 1, 2011

I´m just writing to you to say thank you all for a fantastic diving week ! Tell Patric that we are so greatful! (And Anton found their logbooks in the Advanced manual!). We really hope to come back one day.

Yours,
Mats Bäcker

 

April 30, 2011

Hey folks,

Today I received a broadcast mail from Project AWARE foundation I'm signed in. Nothing special one would say, but not at this time. I was so excited to see Dive Friends Bonaire on the headline making the Earth Day Cleanup Dive. Like a flashback from my own fantastic vacation last September, I saw Yellow Sub timetable whiteboard, briefing area, all the places I remember and most importantly, my fellow dive instructors from Yellow Sub, especially Patrick, and Marylou, and everybody else.

I'm back in a cold and gloomy Moscow where even rainbows are in grayscale, captured by my job and every day's boring stuff, but for a good reason.

I've done my Advanced Open Water in Egypt this winter, and later in March I enjoyed the beautiful Fiji Islands where I did Wreck Diver specialty, saw a lot of sharks, a B-26 bomber wreck, and many other things. So in a brief, I keep up diving and I'm so happy that I came to Yellow Sub one day when there was no wind on Bonaire.

Thank you so much and I hope to see you again one day.

Linar

 

April 4, 2011

Thanks for the perfect service at Hamlet Oasis and Dive Inn. We will be back!

Geert and Danny.

 

March 24, 2011

Thanks for the friendly and helpful staff at Yellow Submarine. We really enjoyed the diving there!

Suzanne Campbell & Family

 

March 12, 2011

Dived today (excellent dive with Frank) at Yellow Sub. I've dived many years with Yellow Sub in the past and have always liked it there! Very professional.

Steve K

 

February 25, 2011

Thank you, Donna and I had our usual fantastic time diving. Hope we can be back soon.

Tom

 

February 22, 2011

Dear Dive Friends Bonaire,

My brother and I did a two tank dive recently. Our instructor (I am not certified) was very professional and I felt I was in very good hands. We thoroughly enjoyed the Port dive and then the Yellow Submarine. Thanks for everything.

Paris Morfopoulos
Clearwater, Florida

 

February 22, 2011

Dear Friends,

It was a real pleasure to get to visit your island and get to know your wonderful diving . We enjoied amazing dives with your professional, friendly, and lovely team; everyone was so nice! Unfortunately, we are now home and the weather is so horrible.... raining and grey skies! We are dreaming of when we can come back to Bonaire.

A big embrace,
Dada & Carlo & Giulia

 

February 16, 2011

Frank & Asko,

A few pics from our trip. Thanks for the dive package and letting us join your clean-up, we had a good time. When we come back again, we will definetly be hooking up with you. Till then, get those lionfish!

Dave & Debbie Glidden

 

January 27, 2011

Susie and I had a great time (again) on Bonaire and discovering Dive Friends Bonaire was part of this trip's pleasure.

Hope to dive with you again soon! Attached are a few mementos of our trip to share with our Dive Friends.

Tom & Susie Hales
Mt Green, UT

 

January 27, 2011

Dear Frederique:

Al asked me to forward this photo of a harlequin pipefish that I found at Angel City. I was very excited to get this picture.

Lisa Krajicek

 

January 23, 2011

Hi Friends,

Thanks again for all the beautiful dives I did with you! Besides the pictures of a lot of fish, I also captured some of Peter and Frank.

Greetings and Ayo

Richard van der Kraan

 

January 12, 2011

Thank you for a great week of diving! Guus, Frank, Thomas and both Martins made everything very enjoyable.

We will certainly recommend your shop to other divers!

Thanks again,

Brian and Tracy

 

January 9, 2011

Hello Dive Friends Bonaire,

During my Christmas Holiday I was in Bonaire and received my certification with a 100% score on the theory. My teacher was Yori and I learned everything I know about diving from him! I didn't see only one sea turtle, but two next to each other and that is special!

But that wasn't all, because in your dive course I had to watch five videos in five days. And you had to understand the depth and pressure groups as well and write down the answers correctly.

The most beautiful were the reefs with the corals and the fish. Greetings and until next year.

Sjoerd Kelder

 

January 4, 2011

Dear Dive Friends,

I just wanted to let you know that I had an awesome time at your dive center! And I especially would like to thank Yori, Henry, and Paul. It was an amazing experience to dive with you all!

We started out with Astrid, but, after a day, Yori took over together with Paul. And that was just the right choice. I had a really swell time. And I have a picture!

Thijs and family!

 

January 4, 2011

Hey Guys,

We had an awesome time at the Dive Inn! Keep up the good work and the good spirit.

Cheers,

Rob and Manon

 

December 24, 2010

To whom it may concern,

We recently were on holiday to Bonaire and had the pleasure of using your company. We were very pleased with your staff and services at all locations, every one we encountered was very friendly and helpful. Thank you for making our recent dive trip a great success.

We will be returning to Bonaire at the end of May. During this time we will bring my 13 year old son, who will be completing his SSI referral.

Thanks,

Randy Tatum-Mintz

 

December 13, 2010

Hey guys, How are you doing in the heat. We are back in the cold and expecting 40 - 45 cm. of snow on the week-end.

Here are a couple of pictures that Peter wanted to have. If it is Arelis reading this, HELLO!!!!

Eric and Sylvie

 

December 9, 2010

Asko, Frederique and all the staff at Dive Friends Bonaire,

I just wanted to let you know that I thoroughly enjoyed my fourth visit to Bonaire and Dive Friends Bonaire. As usual, the boat dives were marvelous. This year was especially enjoyable with the chance meeting with Kirsten, the dive buddy Asko found for me. Having a buddy enabled me to do 14 dives during the week since I was able to do shore diving, something I had not done much of in the past. I'm also very appreciative of the support you all gave me regarding my Divemaster candidacy. I truly believe that when I see you in 2011 I will have completed the process. I was also very pleased to see Carolyn back with your organization even if it's not in a primarily diving role.

Frederique, I thought you might like to see the note Kirsten put in my logbook. While it is a nice compliment for me, I think it also reflects well on Dive Friends Bonaire as it shows the faith Asko had in me when pairing me with Kirsten. At the bottom she wrote "Thanks for diving. It was fun and I felt safe."

As I look forward to 2011, I would like to make this offer to you. If Dive Friends plans to be an exhibitor at the Beneath the Seas show in Secaucus, NJ in late March please let me know. I would be more than happy to come over one of the two days and spend an hour or two in your booth.

I want to wish all of you a very merry Christmas and hope that 2011 is a good year for all of you and Dive Friends Bonaire. Hopefully I'll see you in July!

Kind regards,

Jonathan R. Bolton

 

November 22, 2010

Really loved Bonaire and especially diving @ Dive Friends Bonaire. Great crew under the smile-management of übermensch Chris Verstappen (aks the frontman of midnight oil).

Lots of laughs, great atmosphere, all really approachable people, but, most of all, very professional! I took my Padi Open Water course here and had 3 great personal trainers (Frank, Marvellous, and Chris).

Great explanations and even though you learn to dive at the main breakwater of Kralendijk you are able to see great things like a stingray, a sea-horse, a tarpon and lots of colorful fishes and coral (even when Chris makes you wear sun-glasses instead of a divingmask).

So a special thanks to the whole crew, keep up the good work! To other divers: don’t hesitate, just go to Dive Friends @ Bonaire, and enjoy the ride!

Raf

 

October 29, 2010

To the wonderful crew at Dive Friends, Bonaire, especially Chris, & Frederique, Marvelous, and the crew at Dive Inn –

I am so sorry we did not write sooner to thank you and recount the flawless time you provided on our first trip to Bonaire. My family of 4 came down in July 2010 with plans for my son and I to complete our open water referral and for my wife and younger son to snorkel.

We stayed at Bellafonte and thankfully they recommended you to us. Chris is, I think, part fish, part professor, part philosopher, and part comedian, which is a perfect mix for a diving instructor. He was so very reassuring and patient and got us through the week in an enjoyable and stress-free manner. When I thought all was not going well due to my ears, he slowed us up and ensured that we completed everything safely, leaving us well prepared to finish off our week diving independently from both shore and boat.

Frederique is a very patient and easygoing instructor, but what we appreciated most was that everything that she promised as we emailed back and forth was waiting and delivered. The equipment was in fine shape and access was easy, even when we ran a bit late. The advice was of course expert with regard to where to go for snorkeling as well, and the boat trip to Klein with Martin was a thrill.

Everyone in the Dive Inn family, including the folks in the dive shops, where we bought our foot saving booties, was a pleasure to see, talk to, and deal with. The quality of equipment and instruction, and the important personal extras that just don’t show up on an invoice, left us yearning to return, which we will.

I am sure there are many fine providers in "Diver’s Paradise” but I can’t think of any reason to ever consider diving with anyone else. Your rates and packaging are also the best, which is great when we think of how much diving we want to do. Knowing that we will be able to dive with you is a big part of what will bring us back to the island.

Marc, Jeff, Faith, and Matthew from Maryland

 

 

October 28, 2010

Dear Dive Friends,

I would like to send you these two pictures for placement on your web site. These are images commemorating my 100th dive on October 9th, earlier this year.

Why so special? In April, 2009, I met Chris (Verstappen) on Bonaire and he was the one training me to become an Open Water Diver. The process was a bit tedious and problematic, because on an earlier trip to Thailand, I had tried to get certified, but because I didn't dare to take my mask off, I did not succeed.

When Chris began my training, I had been practicing in a pool in Holland for a long time, taking off my mask. Now nothing could stop me...at least that was what I though!

Then Chris told me one of the requirements for the Open Water certification was turning of the tank. Well ... I didn't dare to that! Chris just went quietly through the course, until at one point he had to turn of the tank.. and you can guess what happened.... no problem!

Since then I enjoy diving and Chris also certified me as Advanced Diver and Nitrox diver. And this is how I came to make 100th dive on October 9th 2010, with a T-shirt that read: My 100th Dive Bonaire... and on the back : Thank you Chris!

We are both proud and next year we will go for the Wreck Specialty--of course, with Chris as our instructor. (This anecdote is regularly told by Chris to new divers, he knows that copyrights are based on it).

Greetings,

Ellen Vranken

 

October 27, 2010

Hi Everyone!

My wife and I would like to thank the whole crew of Dive Friends, who made our diving in Bonaire great. I had the luck to travel to many nice dive places in the world and I can assure that the kindness of your people, the service you provide, and the excellent and well maintained gear you rent is not found elsewhere. There is always a full tank (both air and nitrox) waiting for you and someone willing to help decide your next dive site at Dive Friends Bonaire.

Thanks!

Mariano

 

October 20, 2010

We write to give our sincere compliments on the level and nature of the service that your dive shop provided during our time in Bonaire, and to express our profound appreciation for the courtesies extended to Barbara when Chuck developed such sore shoulders that he could no longer carry scuba tanks to/from the dinghy to the shop.

The staff was not only professionally competent, but also genuinely friendly, and we departed Bonaire feeling like we had left behind good friends. We were also quite impressed with the helpfulness of Asko and others in a whole host of minor repairs to our equipment. You all, from top to bottom, can be proud of the way you run your business. We look forward to our return.

Best wishes,

Charles and Barbara Shipley
Tusen Takk II

 

 

October 18, 2010

Hi,

Just a short note to thank your staff, in particular Asko, Frank, and Patrick. for the friendly help and advice which helped to make our holiday memorable. This was our second visit to Bonaire and the second time we used the Yellow Sub shop; we will be back in 2012 for more of your excellent diving and of course your great hospitality.

Thanks,

Nigel Young and Jan Cottington

 

 

September 27, 2010

Dear Dive Friends Bonaire Team,

To everyone, but especially Astrid, Yori, Martin, Asko, Wim, Chris (and Kees) many thanks for your expertise and enthusiasm. Sanne was instructed by Yori in a very pleasant way, for which we compliment him!

Stijn was more into the "male" way of learning, with Martin and Asko. Both are very proud of their achieved certifications. The relaxed approach certainly contributed to an unforgettable vacation on Bonaire. This was our fourth time on Bonaire, but we hope that there is a sequel to come! So probably see you soon!

Sporting regards,

Stijn, Sanne, Renata & Peter

 

 

September 27, 2010

Dive Friends Bonaire team, thanks for a fine week on Bonaire!

Due to the crowds from the cruise boat, we had no opportunity to thank Asko for his good care. So: Asko thank you for your efforts during our week as your guests. Let us know by email what your wishes are for future cooperation. Also the possible collaboration with Martin and his son-in for NOB courses and specialty trainings is certainly a good opportunity. Let's keep in touch, so we can organize something!

Regards,

Jolanda & Peter

 

 

September 24, 2010

Greetings to All,

Thank you so much for the fantastic dive experience that I had with Dive Friends Bonaire. I was able to shoot many nice images and videos, and I enclose a few.

The cleanup dive was a great event. Thanks again, and I'll hopefully see you next year.

Kind regards,

Pieter

 

 

 

September 20, 2010

Good day, Dive Friends!

It was great to be on Bonaire and your service was wonderful, too! There was always enough air/nitrox and weights, and you were always ready to answer our questions. We were with a big group (36 people), but that wasn't any problem for you!

I am looking on Facebook for Patrick van Hoogdonk (the hyper Brabander), but I cannot find him.

Again for everyone at DFB, special thanks!

Kind regards,

Jan Harteveld and the rest of the Amphibians!

 

 

September 13, 2010

We've been diving with Dive Friends since 2007 and love their friendly service and well-maintaned dive equipment. The people at Dive Friends are genuinely interested in getting you into the water without a fuss. The four locations provide easy air pick-ups.

Lisa and Phil
New York

 

 

September 13, 2010

Hey Asko!

Kenny and I want to thank you for saving us on our last trip to Bonaire just a couple of weeks ago. We really loved Djambo and Dick and Lot and Ilse and Martin. Their accommodations are very unique and we found the entire place very refreshing.

Of course, it goes without saying, that the service we always get from you and all the crew at Dive Friends Bonaire is unsurpassed. We really love you guys. See you next year some time.

Kenny and Faithe Evans
Bastrop, TX

 

 

August, 2010

Greetings,

A few pictures from last August.

Regards,

Eric

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

August 30, 2010

I have greatly enjoyed doing my diving certification with Martin and Asko at Dive Friends.

Thank you so much, Frederique, for your flexibility and offering me the chance to discover diving in my short stay in Bonaire :) I LOVED IT!

Mireille Najm

 

 

August 24, 2010

We did our Padi wreck speciality with Dive Friends Bonaire and that was great.

We dove the Hilma Hooker wreck five times with wreck expert Chris who has been to the wreck over 500 times. Although we were a bit nervous at first, Chris made us feel relaxed and the experience was great.

The other staff at the office at Dive Inn were really friendly and helpful. We had a great holiday on Bonaire!

Edwin

 

 

August 24, 2010

Thanks so much for the tank and weight rental. When we arrived we were staying at the Hamlet Villas and not at one of the resorts, so we were a bit confused as to where to go to rent tanks and weights. We were glad to have the Dive Friends location right next to our place, and the staff there assisted our party of 8 divers in a very flexible and accommodating manner, allowing us to sign up, check out buoyancy, and pick up tanks out-of-sequence.

My sister’s bag arrived on the island 3 days late and they were able to rent us some gear for diving and snorkeling gear for children. The availability of tanks was very good and we were able to exchange tanks at the Yellow Submarine location as well. Some of the valves were leaky so we had to check them at the store but typically the fills were excellent and ranged from 3200 to 3400 PSI.

In the warm Bonaire water my average dive time was 58.25 minutes with a 51.5’ average depth. Thanks to the ease of getting filled tanks in 6 days of diving I dove 21 times; twice I dove 5 times in a day. When we dove late on our last day and made it back to the Dive Friends, the store was closed for half an hour, but they were nice enough to open up again and let us do our final returns, buy some souvenir shirts and close out our bill.

Thanks again! I will recommend Dive Friends to all my diving friends and we’ll see you next time around.

Keith Rootsaert

 

 

August 24, 2010

 

My brother and I had an amazing experience taking the PADI course with Dive Friends. From the professional and humorous instruction to the first venture into the deep blue, we felt safe, confident and ready to enter an entirely new world.

Thanks so much to Chris and his team-- you made our vacation one we will never forget and gave us a skill set that we will continue to build upon.

Naomi Gourlay

 

 

May 20, 2010

Dear Pascal and Staff,

The past two weeks we spent our holiday on Bonaire and we enjoyed the diving! We usually picked up our tanks at Port Bonaire. We want to let you know that we enjoyed your friendly approach. Each time we had questions, we were surrounded by information and good care. One of us also did a boat dive to Klein Bonaire and this was also a very good experience.

We want to thank you all --especially the staff at Port Bonaire--because you have contributed to the fun during our holiday.

Until next year.

Kind regards,

Hans and Edith Westmijze

 

 

May 19, 2010

Mary and I had such a wonderful time diving with the great people of Dive Friends! This was not my first time and we plan for it to not be the last--we can't wait until we next return.

We enjoyed the professionalism and concern for safety with the sensitivity to the beauty and safeguarding of the treasures below. We also appreciated the way you were able to accommodate a couple with one diver and one snorkeler. Great job!

Dimitri G

 

 

April 2, 2010

Greetings!

Recently, my husband, Jeff, our crew member, Julia, and I spent time on our sailboat "Gryphon" in Bonaire. We are avid divers and since we had our own gear and our own tanks we only needed airfills. We spent 5 days diving and had our tanks filled several times each day with Dive Friends.

The staff was incredibly helpful and we have only positive things to say about our experience with the organization. Derek, Joost, Asko, Astrid, Mark, Christel, Anna ( I believe she was getting some additional certifications) and Arelis in the main office were so friendly and so helpful. Many thanks to the staff for making our diving experience a true pleasure.

Raine

 

 

March 8, 2010

Dear all @ Dive Friends Bonaire,

Thank you for making our holiday a great diving experience--21 dives in 7 days and we enjoyed every minute of it!

We loved the relaxed atmosphere and felt at home right from the start. The trainee staff at Dive Friends @ Hamlet were all very kind and helpful. Thank you! We did various early morning dives, late afternoon dives and a true night dive at The Cliff, spotted many tarpons, schools of jacks, giant groupers, eagle rays, and discovered even a cute white frogfish.

Further, we particularly enjoyed the boat dives with Peter at Klein Bonaire and at the northwestern part of the Island. Peter, thank you for your pleasant way of guiding the dives and making sure we were able to enjoy the most amazing underwater creatures including a seahorse! 

Here in the Netherlands we are back in our dry suits and suffering the 3 degrees centigrade waters whilst thinking back at the great times at your place.

Thanks again! We hope to be able to dive with you again one day.

Best regards,

Diederik and Liane

PS. Please find attached some pictures of recent ice dives at home and a link to our Bonaire web album.

 

February 22, 2010

Dear Gerrie,

Thank you very much for contacting us. I would like to tell you that it was a very pleasing experience to dive with Dive Friends Bonaire @ The Dive Inn.

Beb and Frederique were simply perfect, wonderful. We will certainly be with you again the next time. Please forward this message to Beb and Frederique, or tell them that we say hello, and we miss them.

Best regards,

Tales & Kelen

 

 

January 18, 2010

Angela,

It was great to meet you in Bonaire! We were very happy with the dive shop. Jour, Carol and F were very helpful! Your help in developing this course was also invaluable and greatly appreciated!

It is my intent to come back next year with a new group. We would probably arrive somewhere in December. As I develop better dates I'll email you to update prices if that is necessary. I have attached 2 group photos taken at the dive shop - Enjoy!

Thanks again!

Rene

 

 

January 8, 2010

 

Loved our trip, thanks for your help. Tthe directions to the frogfish (see image attached) were excellent, the 63 alums were the perfect tanks for Elaine and me, Rob dove the 80s. Your tank service met our needs perfectly, and we also enjoyed your boat the Frenzy for 2 trips.

Yyour staff was helpful and a pleasure to do business with! Thanks for a memorable two weeks!

Susan, Rob, and Elaine (52 dives on Bonaire this last trip)

We look forward to seeing you again

 

 

January 7, 2010

Angela,

I’ve now dived at Bonaire eleven times. I dived with my wife, two sons, and many friends. And I’ve dived with numerous dive operators which have all been excellent!

However, I will continue to dive with Dive Friends Bonaire because of your commitment to customer service. I left a case of Heineken at the Yellow Submarine before leaving just as a way to thank the team. I like the upbeat, “how can we help you,” attitude of the staff.  YS and Dive Friends have helped make our diving fun. I hope to see you later in the year.

Bill

 

 

December 25, 2009

 

Hello Dive-Friends,

Attached you’ll find a nice picture of something you will never see on Bonaire!

Happy Holidays, hopefully (and yes, probably) see you next year!!!!!!!!

Regards from two Bonaire-supporters,

Ingrid & Gert

P.S. By the way, the snow is real, not fake!

 

 

December 21, 2009

Team Dive Friends,

Thank you very much. Merry Christmas, and happy new year to you also. We shall soon return to Bonaire in 2010. We often dream of Bonaire's divering paradise in our so cold winter with rain, wind, and snow. See you soon for new dives.

Best regards.

Elisabeth and Richard

 

 

December 20, 2009

Dive Friends,

We, parents of Martijn (yes, the one who worked for you guys), want to wish you a Merry Christmas and a good and healthful 2010 with a lot of satisfied customers and healthy reefs. We hope to visit your dive shop soon.

Maybe we can meet at the dive show in the Netherlands.

Kind regards,

Jan en Truus Hickmann

 

 

December 19, 2009

Dear Dive Friends,

Thank you for the Christmas wish and a merry christmas and happy new year to
you, the whole gang.

Also, we hope to return in 2010 for another wonderful dive season which is all the time with Dive Friends.

Sincerely,

Joe and Diane Avoli

 

 

December 7, 2009

Angela,

This will just be a short note to once again express my thanks to Asko, Jan Villem, Carolyn, and all the members of the Dive Friends Bonaire staff for a wonderful time during my recent visit to Bonaire (November 29- December 5).

This was my third visit to Bonaire and my third time diving with Dive Friends. As always, the boat trips are very well run and the dive sites magnificent. Having Carolyn as an instructor again this year, this time for the PADI Underwater Naturalist specialty, was a special treat. Carolyn gave me a much better understanding of the inhabitants of the Bonaire National Marine Park as well as a realization of just how interconnected we are with the marine environment. I will never look at a reef the same way again.

As I have said before, Dive Friends is a highly professional and well run dive organization. As a three-time customer, I am looking forward to a return visit next year. In the meantime, a joyous holiday season to all of you and hopes for a prosperous New Year.

Kind regards,
Jonathan R. Bolton
Quakertown, PA USA

 

 

December 3, 2009

Dear Dive Friends,

In April 2008 I was certified as a Padi open water diver. However, it wasn't until November 2009 that I was able to visit Bonaire, I haven't been diving. By accident I came into contact with Dive Friends Bonaire at the Dive Friends @ Yellow Sub location, and it felt like I was part of one big family.

Because I hadn’t been diving for a long time, I decided to start with a scuba review by Vincent. As my swimming skills could be improved, in the afternoon I took the Peak Performance Buoyancy Specialty by Jan Willem. This day was very instructive and the course information was given in a pleasant and enthusiastic way.

Two days later, I made a fantastic guided dive to the wreck of the Hilma Hooker, guided by Joost. This was great! We saw two big tarpons and jacks. In the meantime I’m back on Texel and this winter I will work on my swimming skills. I’m sure that I'll return next year for a lot of more dives at Dive Friends Bonaire.

By this note, I want to thank Jan Willem, Joost, and Vincent and all the other crew at Dive Friends whom I met for the pleasant way everyone helped me. See you next year!

Louw Nijhuis.

 

 

November 10, 2009

Good morning Beb, Frederieke and co!

Finally a message from us. We want to thank you for all the beautiful dives we did. Thanks to you and Frederieke, Peter isn't going into the water with any fear.

In the meantime we're back to work and are missing Bonaire. To remember the good times, we now and then look the underwater pictures we made. The best ones are attached. We hope we will visit you again and we wish you all the best with the dive school.

Lots of love,

Jessy and Peter from Nieuwegein!

 

 

October 28, 2009

Gerrie,

Thanks for the connection I had a wonderful time again in Bonaire. Hope your new floor and any other structure work is going along smoothly! Probably see you again sometime.

Frank

 

 

October 21, 2009

Thanks for the news letter and update. We can’t wait to get back to the warm Caribbean water for diving.

I have a few more dives to attend to here in Alberta, Canada. Here are some pictures from a dive we did on Sunday, October 18; we dropped down to 100 feet looking for something on the bottom of this lake just south-west of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Didn’t find what we wanted but managed to practice some tech skills and do a deco dive, approximately a 70 minute dive. The bottom temperature was about 38° F; (3° C) the surface temperature was about 45° F (7° C). Great day for diving, the snow from earlier on in the week had melted, and no ice to deal with yet!

We have tried every dive shop in Bonaire and your shop is the only repeat, keep up the good work! We are looking forward to the renovations and more nitrox. See you November 14th!

Regards,

Doug and Dianne

 

 

October 20, 2009

Hi Angela,

I want you to know how much our group appreciated the efforts of the Dive Friends staff and also your personal efforts in planning and coordinating our needs. The staff was great. We had a few equipment issues along the way and they were very prompt and helpful in resolving everything so that we could continue diving with minimal loss of time.

In general, we had a spectacular time and really fell in love with the island. I'm not sure when we will return but I know that we will...and we won't hesitate to use Dive Friends again. It was an excellent experience.

Thanks so much for all your help. Maybe we can meet you next time!

Best regards,

Gene

 

 

October 20, 2009

Hi Angela,

What a fantastic News Splash! You did a great job.

Every time when I receive mailings from Dive Friends Bonaire, I get homesick for Bonaire. I have read that you are offering IDCs and IEs, too. Maybe a good reason to come back somewhere in the future, you never know?!

Keep on going! Have fun and hope to see you soon.

Regards,

Dennis van der Velden (former intern Dive Friends Bonaire)

 

 

September 25, 2009

Dear all,

Thanks to Dive Friends Bonaire, my holiday on Bonaire was a big success. I came on the island as a beginning diver, but after one week I was already certified in Advanced Open Water, including Nitrox Diver with nine logged dives! One of the dives was to the Hilma Hooker....so far, the best one I had.

Besides the whole team of Dive Friends Bonaire who made this all happen, I especially want to thank my instructor (and kind of a buddy), Jur. Good job, buddy! Of course I also want to thank Bep and Freek, because they made me feel home.

I want to recommend all people who are travelling to Bonaire and who wish to dive not to hesitate, but just do it! It is an unforgettable experience and please choose Dive Friends Bonaire as the place to be, because this team rules.

Be careful because it’s addictive....I’m wondering....shall I take money from my account and do a boat dive next week to Klein Bonaire?

Regards,

Frank Dujardin

 

 

September 22, 2009

Hello Angela!

We had a grand time and are very excited to be certified.  Thanks for  your help!  We had the benefit of instruction from both Jan Willem and  Carolyn; Jan Willem was a good task master in the early lessons, Carolyn was excellent and patient at the end. The team at YS were very pleasant, laid-back, and yet professional.....

Thanks so much!

Chip

 

 

September 18, 2009

Angela, Asko, Astrid, Beb, Michelle, Jan, Gerrie, and all the others whose names have slipped my mind,

Hi all!  We had a great time on a holiday, and I just wanted to thank you for each of your parts in helping us have a wonderful trip, a successful Enriched Air course, and for helping us finally recover our AOW certs from record oblivion.  All our certification cards for both courses arrived today.

We had  great time.  We took many photos and video, and captured some pretty unusual critters  (I had never seen a Black Brotula or an octopus out hunting before). We're still in the process of photo/video processing.  Do you all want a copy of a compilation CD, when it's all complete?

Thanks especially to Beb for hosting us all over at Dive Inn.  (My son was a pistol, and in his sheer excitement, he was running all over inside and outside the shop, trying to take it all in.  We left a great deal of water all over that floor.)  You know I was serious when I offered to clean up our mess, but you were very gracious and gentle in insisting that you'd mop the floor.  I really appreciate your letting us camp out there for an afternoon.  That was the afternoon that Soren decided he liked the sea. After that, he was running right in to play in the waves all by himself!  My mom had a great time as well.

So, thank you for all your hospitality.  We hope to see each of you again, and hope that it is sometime soon.  Until then, we send our best wishes (with best video & photos to follow)!

Cheers!

Michelle, Leif, Soren, & Marie

 

 

August 22, 2009

Angela, Gerri, and everyone at Dive-Friends,

What a great evening! I'll post more pictures on Facebook soon, but in the meantime please accept a giant Guyana-Punch-Thanks for a totally fun evening on (and in) the water.  Once again, you guys exceeded our expectations in every way.

All the best!

Michael, Erica, Jacob, Meera, Kevin, Sandra, and little Sabina

 

July 10, 2009

Hi guys and ladies, too,

Read your newsletter. Nice job , very interesting, so keep up the hard work--I enjoyed reading it.

Hope I can return for diving and recreation. Thanks!

Sincerely,

Joe Avoli

 

June 10, 2009

Bon dia Dive Friends!

Unfortunately we are already back home from our holiday, but again we want to thank you guys for the hospitality, the recommendations, boat trips to Klein Bonaire (specially because of the seashore-specialists Martijn and Ingeborg), the ultimate cup of coffee from Bep at Port Bonaire, and for taking care of us so well.

In short: Where do you find a great dive school like this? Yes Dive Friends Bonaire!!!!

Hope to see you next time! See you, ayo!

Herman en Renate Spoorendonk, Leeuwarden

 

June 4, 2009

I had a GREAT experience diving with your staff (and equipment). You run a great shop... and seriously, I have never seen such a clean, neat, well-stocked, and well-organized gear shack! Angela, I am sorry I haven't been able to meet you in person, but your personalized and super-fast email responses made all the difference to me when choosing a dive operator in Bonaire.

Michael McCrystal

 

May 29, 2009

We did have a good time and will return soon.

Henry Jones

 

May 26, 2009

Thank you for the kind treatment.  All of your staff were very helpful.  We enjoyed our stay very much and hope to return next year.

Jim Dickey

 

May 18, 2009

We just returned from a week in divers' paradise and wanted to drop you a quick note to let you know how much we appreciated your friendly and helpful staff during our stay.

Our home base was the Yellow Sub, and Asko in particular deserves mention for his unwavering patience and thoughtfulness throughout our stay.

We had a wonderful time in Bonaire. Would recommend it and Dive-Friends to any scuba diver!

Best to y'all,

Marty & Lynn in Atlanta, Georgia

 

May 15, 2009

Thanks to everybody at Yellow Sub, you are amazing. Thanks for your help and good advice about diving, equipment, and dive sites.

Special thanks for the patience and all the answers we got from you regarding the used-equipment we bought from you. It will remind us of a great vacation.

Thanks for making us feel welcome--we had a great time on Bonaire! Next time again, for sure...

Silvia & Marina

 

April 22, 2009

Hello to all my friends on Bonaire!

My name is Yeira Chen, and I was with you last March 6. I just started to dive recently and when I was in Bonaire, I enjoyed my third recreational dive after my Open Water Course here in Panama.

I want to thank everyone at Dive Friends Bonaire, but especially the divemaster (sorry, I don`t remember his name) who guided us throughout the dive. Also, thanks to Asko, who made me laugh and especially thanks to my super super Master Diver Job for all your care to me all the time and for making me comfortable and safe. Job, I love you and hope to see you soon again, thank you for everything, you are a professional.

Asko, you're in my Facebook, don't be jealous! I have recommended Dive Friends Bonaire to all my friends here in Panama.

I love you very much and hope to return again soon to Bonaire. I will continue writing, please recommend places to stay as perhaps in September I'll be able to return and will take a new course with you. I really love my new sport ......... I am a banker for the past 14 years and I am working as Credit Manager. Next time I write I'll send photos for all of you, to Job and Asko.

Thanks,

Yeira E. Chen

 

April 5, 2009

Dear Angela,

What can I say, what others didn’t mention yet? You run a very nice dive-school with a very friendly team, and taking my course as one-to-one lessons from Carolyn was the best that could ever happen to me. Due to her careful attention during the dive lessons and her good mood at all times, I felt always safe and secure and comfortable. I had too much fun to feel any fear and I enjoyed it very much. Thank you all for this beautiful experience, I’ll be back as soon as I get the money ;-)

Many greetings,

Michael

 

April 3, 2009

Thanks to all of you!

We will certainly go back next year again to your beautiful island and your wonderful diving spots.

Elisabeth and Richard Mazataud

 

March 27, 2009

Hello Dive Friends,

My son and I had a wonderful time on the island, and your hospitality was second to none.  We talk about the trip every time we get together.  Thanks, and hope to see you very soon again!

Bill & Keith O'Brien

 

March 27, 2009

Just a quick note to say hi, and Monique (Mo) and I wish that we were there instead of here in Idaho.

I would like to say thanks again to everyone who helped out with my certification. I left my e-mail address, but have not gotten anything from anyone yet.

Hope all are doing ok and hope to see everyone soon. If anyone gets a chance, drop me an e-mail once in a while. Where I work here in Wyoming, we were shut down for four days because of snow!

Thanks again.

Travis Wages

 

March 24, 2009

We just got back from a fantastic vacation to Bonaire diving with Dive Friends. All of the people we met at Dive Friends were very helpful and friendly and having 4 places to go to retrieve and return scuba tanks was especially convenient. We even paid a couple visits to the retail shop and had to purchase an octopus replacement which was quickly remedied.

We want to pay special accolades to Beb at the Port Bonarie shop who was very helpful during our stay in Bonaire. She was incredibly thorough during our orientation dive and provided fantastic information about the dive sites and always greeted us each day with a smile and interesting stories.

The shore diving was fantastic and Beb’s tips about the sites were right on point. We also enjoyed two mornings of boat trips to the North Shore and to Klein Bonaire which were excellent as well. We absolutely will be using Dive Friends during our next trip to Bonaire.

Deb Garber

 

March 17, 2009

Greetings Everyone,

Just wanted to convey to all of you that I really appreciated your service, cordiality and professionalism during my visit to Bonaire last week. During one of the days when you didn't have a boat available I went to another dive shop, and the difference was profoundly evident. Their attention to safety in particular was certainly not on par with yours. Your briefings on the boat regarding the dive site, location of safety equipment, safety procedures during the dive were all textbook perfect. For those of us who only dive once or twice a year, the attention to safety procedures is paramount.

I wish you have a wonderful year and thank you for a wonderful diving experience. I hope to see you again, soon I hope.

Best Regards,

Roy R. Doyon

 

 

March 12, 2009

Thanks!

Greatings for all of you! We had a great time!

Lutz, Lena, Felix, and Daniela Schuth

 

 

March 8, 2009

Dive Friends @ Port Bonaire,

We recently got back from our first trip to Bonaire and had a great time. Thank you all so much (especially Beb) for making our trip more memorable and effortless.

The free nitrox upgrade was wonderful and the ease of getting tanks, etc.. was very nice.

One question... What is the name of the reef that is just north of your PB site? It's the one you can do your check out dive on. It seem like Beb called it by name.

Thanks Again,

Scottie Smith

 

 

March 5, 2009

Hi there!

Thank you for some fabulous dives with your company - I really have enjoyed both your professionalism and friendliness! If you are ever in my part of the world (Durban - South Africa), give me a shout - or if I am away at sea look up the dive charter that I usually dive with - Oceans Alive Diving. You are welcome at any time!

Kind regards,

Carol

Dr Carolyn Lewis
Senior Doctor

 

 

March 5, 2009

Thank you, Denise, on behalf of my group. You guys from Dive Friends helped us to have a wonderful week in Bonaire.

Like Arnold Schwarzenegger....."we'll be back!" There are more than 40 points to be logged.....and some others to be repeated!!

Denis Guimaraes - Squalus Mergulho

 

 

March 3, 2009

Thanks for your help on my recent trip!!  Your staff does a GREAT job!!

David Rollins and Lloyd Haskell

 

February 14, 2009

Hi, Guys,

We visited Bonaire in February and took the Discover Scuba Diving activity….I hope this is the right one I’m writing to!

We had a nice instructor, I think his name was Willem, but you'll see him in the picture.

I just wanted to tell you that we had an amazing time, well I did anyway, it was my first experience underwater…I was scared and excited at the same time…And I wanted to share with you my comment. I felt I was in good hands from the minute I got in contact with the staff…A very professional team… And guided by a very handsome Willem.

And I want to go back! Thank you again and I will remember this experience for the rest of my life…Next time I’ll have my PADI cards and we’ll be back for a new challenge…

xx

Josee

February 12, 2009

Hi Dive Friends @ Yellow Submarine,

We received our PADI cards yesterday, whiehoe, now it's really official! The pictures with our "Hawaii necklace" turned out great.

Thanks again to Patrick and Jan Willem for teaching us to "feel the fear and do it anyway." Learning how to dive and discover the beautiful underwater world of Bonaire was an amazing experience. Fréderique captured our DSD on photo, we're so glad we did that!!

We can't wait to come back...

Annika & Joep

First, thanks for sending me an email! We enjoyed a really good experience with the dive school, and we are looking forward to visiting Dive Friends and Bonaire again in the future. Keep up the good service. Have a safe day!

Alex Angela

 

January 26, 2009

We took the Discover Diving class a week ago.  Traveled on the Celebrity Summit. Patrick was a very good instructor, and we hope to visit you again.  Question: What camera would you suggest for underwater photos (novice)?

David McCutcheon

Thanks to you!

Actually our favorite dive was "Cliff," right by our home at Hamlet.  I liked your dive leaders and store keepers, etc., will recommend you to any and all potential customers!

Mark Gibian

 

Dear Dive Friends @ Yellow Submarine,

You are all LEGENDS! As a family we had an amazing time diving with you and will no doubt be back for more!

I'd like to thank Inke for qualifying me as an Advanced OW Diver, and for all her really cool dive stories. I'd also like to thank Asko Tabasco for just being Asko Tabasco and qualifying my sister and I for Nitrox L2 (thanks for coloring in my pic!!! lol), as well and his charming girlfriend Denise and their dog, Kees! (Hope you didn't mind that!!!).

Although we had but one dive with this gentleman from Sweden, we'd like to thank Patrick for taking us on an awesome night dive at YS - his enthusiasm was electric, not to forget the relaxing drinks my Dad and I had at Karel's together with him and Maria - what lovely people they are!

Last but not least we'd like to thank Martijn, Beth, Jop, JW, Peter, basically everyone, and especially Gerrie for running a silky smooth dive operation just like he rides his motorbike!

We'll be back...

David, Susie and Robert van Baarsel

 

Hi Angela,

Once again I want to thank you all for everything. A special thanks to Gerrie, Asko, and Denise.

I really had a great time diving.

Love,

Tamara

 

Hello, Dive Friends!

We are back in france now, after spending two weeks in Bonaire. Very cool place indeed!

First, thanks for your nice service (especially Beb)and teaching (Jonathan). Here are two pictures of our last dives in Bonaire, saw the rays in Red slave, which were just great!

I was wondering about that weird stuff hanging on a rope, found between Bachelor's Beach and Chez Hines, maybe you can identify it for me?

Best regards,

Christine Huynh
Thierry Miramont

 

Dear Gerrie,

On behalf of all ESKO Diveworld divers, it was a pleasure, and we hope to see you next time. Again, we enjoyed our time with Dive Friends Bonaire, and we hope to be back soon.

For the whole staff of Dive Friends Bonaire: Happy Holidays and a good start of the new year!

Can you please thank Beb one more time for all her efforts? She did a great job for us.

With kind regards,

Jack Vijgen
ESKO Diveworld

 

We just wanted to write to you guys and let you know what a good time we had in Bonaire and diving with Yellow Sub. Daniela was very nervous about her certification, but once she was in the water, Jonathan and Patrick made her feel comfortable and at ease. On our boat dive, Job did a really nice job pulling a couple of inattentive divers off the reef.

A special thank-you to Jonathan and Patrick for working so nicely with Daniela on her certification! Also, could you please have Jonathan send me a link to his website so we can see his underwater photography? Also want to thank Maria...she was always very friendly to us.

Thanks again!

Jeff and Daniela Korte

ps: we also had a great time at the rum punch party! :)

 

Angela,

I want to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to Job, Jur, Peter and, of course, Carolyn for the fine dives and training I had during my recent trip to Bonaire.  Having Carolyn as my instructor for the PADI Wreck Specialty course and doing four dives on the Hilma Hooker was undoubtedly the high point of my time with Dive Friends @ Yellow Submarine.  Carolyn is an excellent instructor, and I am planning to return next year for her Underwater Naturalist specialty course.

The boat dives with Job, Jur and Peter were just as good in that the sites (among them Nearest Point and Bon Bini na Cas) were beautiful.  At Bon Bini na Cas we had a sighting of a sea turtle during the dive.  The dive boats were comfortable and easy to dive from.

This was my second visit to Bonaire and the second time I dove with Dive Friends.  I look forward to returning again in 2009 and plan to dive again with your organization.  Many thanks for some fine dives.

Kind regards,

Jonathan R. Bolton

 

We had a wonderful time and hope to return in June of 2009.

Happy holidays.

Ingrid and George Dawson

 

Good morning Perry, Gerrie, and Angela,

After a tiring flight, we’re back home in a cold and wet Antwerpen. This is just a short email to thank you for taking care of us, and we hope to see you next time we're on Bonaire.

Regards, also on behalf of Marianne.

ScubaFred van der Hoek

 

Good afternoon, 

My wife and I participated in your Discovery Dive Program on 11/26/08, as we were aboard the Queen Mary II.  The experience at your facility was great, Inka was our instructor and she was fabulous as well.

We are planning to come back for our certification; we are gathering information on lodging – etc.  If you could steer us in the right direction, we would certainly appreciate the help.  We are hoping that upon our return, Inka would be available as our instructor, as her personality and skills were great.  Please e-mail me with any information in planning our return trip.

Thank you,

John & Barbara Lahrs

 

Angela,

Hi!  We had a wonderful trip. The weather was so nice the week we were there, the diving was great, and everyone had a wonderful trip.

Everything went fine with check-in and the dive shop staff at Port Bonaire was very helpful.

Thank you and we hope to see you soon!

Tammy

 

Thanks – I did enjoy the trip and generally had a good experience diving.

Out of your control – certainly Omar’s impact meant that diving was not really up to Bonaire standards.

And I want to commend a couple of your staff – Asko and G.  Asko because he did my initial check dive, and prior to the dive fixed a couple of equipment issues I had, even though I had just had my regulators serviced.  And G – because he was the only dive lead who actually did what we asked, which was to not spend the hour finning our way across the ocean but rather stop, look and find things that Bonaire diving has to offer.  On other days, and despite my requests to stop swimming the ocean, the divemasters never once in the hour underwater stopped moving forward.  This is a common problem with divemasters – I was hoping for a better experience this time but to no avail.

Otherwise – the service was great – easy to get set up before the dive and clear out afterwards.  Checking in and out at the office (Yellow Sub office) worked really easy.  And the boats were not overflowing with divers so it made for a generally nice experience.  Again--my only suggestion--have the dive guides spend more time showing off the fine things that Bonaire has to offer as opposed to covering as much of the reef at speed as they can.

Hoping to be back some day .

Bob

 

We had a wonderful time.  Thanks for your excellent staff and the beautiful weather. 

 

November 17, 2008

We also had some great diving on Bonaire. Attached you will find some nice pictures.

Regards,

Jurgen, Guus, and Ineke.

 

Hello Dive Friends Bonaire,

It was a wonderful dive trip, despite the Omar having passed nearby just before I arrived. Per's laid-back but serious attitude helped me, as this was my first diving since receiving my PADI Open Water certification.

You have friendly staff at the office too, eager to help. If I come back to Bonaire I'd definately dive with you guys!

Cheers, Michiel

PS I really like your motto "Feel the fear, do it anyway!"

 

Hi!
 
Last Saturday, my brother in law and I made a guided dive at your dive-school, and I just wanted to let you know how much we really enjoyed it.

And to Per, if you still have plans to visit Aruba, and would like to have some tips about what to do and where to stay, let me know!
 
Kind regards,
Sylvia Bijl

 

Hey everybody on beautiful Bonaire,

Well, we’re back home again and we are getting used to the bad weather again....although some things you never get used to....

I want to thank you again for the warm welcome and the great and relaxing instruction we had. This made the diving so terrific, since I didn't have that much experience with diving beforehand.

Thanks to Asko and Jur, I'm thinking about joining a dive club here in The Netherlands.

We had the time of our lives, thanks and thanks again!

Regards to Asko, Jur, and Denise and, of course, to the bear of Lemmer, Frank, and a shake for Kees.

From a cold Holland,

Marco (the guy with the motorhead t-shirt)

SEE YOU AGAIN!

 

Hi Denise,

I really want to thank you all for the great experience I had last Sunday when I went diving for the first time. It was so exiting! Thank you, Dive Friends, you made my dream come true.

Tamara

On behalf of our group I would like to thank you, thank you, thank you for the great time we had in Bonaire last week during Diving Madness 2008. The accommodations were wonderful and how can you beat the great locations of Dive-Friends Bonaire and, of course, the superb Bonaire diving.  We have all been to Bonaire many times before, but have never had such a nice time.

We are planning on coming back next year.

Thanks again.

Tom Riordan

My friend, Bernie, and I were on Bonaire from August 9th through August 24th. We enjoyed our dives with you and the school is run is very professionally.

Thanks to both the management and staff; we had a great time, and we are looking forward to coming back some day.

Thanks a bunch!

Jan

 

Thanks so much for your e-mail.  We had a wonderful time while on Bonaire and hope to return again.  Dealing with your establishment was very convenient, and each of your staff members were great to work with.  Thanks for all your accommodations and hope to see you in the future.

Susan Davenport

From Hoorn, Noord-Holland, we would like to thank all the people from Yellow Submarine for an amazing experience! In September this year, we did the open water and advanced course with this cozy, friendly dive school!

The personal attention and relaxing ambiance made this experience the best of our holiday on the beautiful island Bonaire.

We already are missing Bonaire a lot and think back on those fantastic weeks, and of course we have a new hobby now.

A special thanks for Niels, Francesca, Gerry, Asko, and Regina! Thanks to them, we had a great holiday! We will definitely come back to Bonaire and for sure to Dive Friends!

Ayo, and a big hug to Kees!

Davy Kuipers & Mariska Schoo

Hi,
 
Thanks for the nice time. We will come back!!!
 
Lots of love;

Angracia & Guido

We had a wonderful time in Bonaire and we would definitely dive with Dive Friends again.  We liked all the dive masters and especially Joe, who made every trip on the boat extremely enjoyable. My son has been telling everyone about the frog fish and the huge eel that Joe found. Dive-friends has friendly, competent, and accommodating staff and good, quality equipment.

Thank you!

Jessica Smith

Hey Angela –

I am back home with Max who is taking his Latin exam tomorrow and then reporting to military academy on Thursday! Bridgette is STILL on vacation. What a life--she has not been home since early JULY!!! Currently she is visiting friends in New Jersey. We will travel to get her this weekend as school starts for her on the 2nd.

Our experience with Dive Friends was magnificent! I cannot recommend the crew more highly. Great folks, friendly, very professional and service oriented. It was a pleasure to be with you for the month and we will not only re-book with you for our next visit, but confidently recommend you to all other divers.

Please also share with Carolyn that Bridgette’s card arrived – PERFECT! She had a blast finishing out her diving on Bonaire with trips to Hilma Hooker and to Klein for lots of frogfish photo opportunities. She is already making plans for her next diving adventure and continued diving education.

Best of luck to you at the University in Amsterdam – keep warm thoughts of Bonaire with you, Christmas will be just around the corner!

Best regards,

Barbara and the Soucy Family

Dear Dive Friends,

First of all, many thank for the guided dives I did with you two weeks ago. A special thank you to Jan-Willem, Marc, and Stefano. They made it possible for me to dive the Hilma Hooker one day before I had to leave.

It was also perfect and special that I had a private boat to Klein Bonaire. Many thanks for those great experiences!

Kind regards,

W.N.

 

Please know that I had a wonderful experience.

Carolyn is an awesome instructor and a very friendly and fun-to-be-with person. You are very luck to have her!

Jim McNulty

 

Team Dive Friends Bonaire,

Our stay was memorable ...thank you!

Michael and Ginette

 

August 1, 2008

Hi everyone at Yellow Sub,

We had an amazing time doing our PADI open water course with you guys. A special thanks to Niels and Job who were very patient with the "oldies." We will be back next year and hope to catch up with you all then and get some more diving in those beautiful waters of Bonaire!

Take care.

Nige and Jan

 

July 19, 2008

For the 4th time in 5  years, we have most enjoyed diving with you--February 2004, February 2005, June 2005, and most recently this past June 2008.

I have many underwater DVDs videos to send to you. I will be mailing to you this week. My wife and I recorded 22 hours of dives while we were there. Our three night dives (in at 4:30 am out at 6:00 am at 40 feet/12 meters) were very, very good.

Also our boat dives at Divi Tree, Rock Pile, Hands Off, Just A Nice Dive, and the two Bokas. I will have at least 30 DVDs for you from Bonaire, Cozumel and Florida Keys in a small box/package.  

Thanks!

Bill Wojcik & Suzanne Wojcik

 

 

July 4, 2008

Hello!

Tthank you very much, we had a very pretty trip and excellent diving!

Soon I will send some of our photos on the Hilma Hooker!! jaja..

We were charmed with.

Regards! bye!!
 
Maria

 

July 3, 2008

Thanks for your email.  We did have a great time.  The dive staff at Port Bonaire are great.  We will be back very soon and again and again.

 Denny & Cheryl Daniels

 

May 27, 2008

 

 Dear Gerrie,

Thanks for your email. This week we received our Padi cards. We had great time on Bonaire, and we would definitely recommend DFB to everybody. Also, the boat trip to Klein Bonaire was great!

Regards,

Arjan and Martine van der Staal

 

May 21, 2008

Wow!  The birthday greeting was a nice surprise.  I tell lots of people about how terrific Bonaire is and that you are the only place to dive with (that is, for the best place for diving)!

Ludmila Brott

 

May 12, 2008

Thank you! We had a wonderful time and would love to come back some day.

Rob Carpenter

 

April 14, 2008

We had an awesome time!

Thanks to you.

Sincerely,

Vlad Kogan

 

March 20, 2008

Hello !!!

I just got your information about the opening of your new location, of which I'm sure you're very proud, and thought I might just write back to thank you again for the amazing experience it was to dive in Bonaire!

We (Laurent, Nicolas, Lucie and Bettina) were in Bonaire in February, 2006, and our instructor was Leo, who made it possible for us to become qualified open divers!

We hope everything for you is fine, we wish you all the best, and hopefully will see you soon !!

Kind regards,

Bettina, Nicolas, and Laurent

 

March 19, 2008

Hello Angela,

On behalf of all our divers, I want to thank you for the great weekend we had. We really enjoyed our time, and we made terrific dives.

Unfortunately, you were not on Bonaire at the time, but maybe we will meet you next time when we return. I hope everybody enjoyed Monday's Rum Punch Party (I guess so, because the beer was running out).

It was great, and we will keep in touch for the next time when we are on Bonaire.

Regards,

Yoni

 

March 7, 2008

Thanks for everything.
 
We had a great week diving and we will be back later on in the year.  We'd particularly like to thank you for the help you gave my husband, who had problems with his regs.
 
We are going to the London Dive Exhibition tomorrow and I shall be proudly wearing my Yellow Submarine T shirt!
 
See you all again soon.
 
Linda and Alan England

 

March 5, 2008

Hello YS Staff,

I wanted to drop you a line and tell you how much we greatly appreciate Port Bonaire and the Yellow Submarine staff going above and beyond to make our stay the best possible.

If you remember, we had a terrible time with our air flight and a terrible stay at another facilty on the island the week prior. Thankfully some our group of 20 were able to stay for an extra week to attempt to enjoy ourselves. We did so, thanks to you!!

I can not speak highly enough of how you treated us and made a week there memorable. I have already started spreading the word to all the dive groups, friends and the scuba boards/ScubaToys forums. Many of my online friends will be contacting your soon for booking. I have posted a rather lenghty thread discussing and detailing our entire trip.

I would especially like to thank your staff members; Chris, Case, Ani, and Hanesse for being especially helpful and kind.

If there is anything that I can do for the YS staff, please fell free to let me know. 

This was my second time diving with YS and wont be the last, I am already planning on an October return. 

Again, thank you for everything!

Respectfully,

Victor McAlister Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

 

March 1, 2008

Hello, everybody,

Hereby I send you a photo from our dive holiday. Thanks again for the great diving.

Frank Miedema
Diveschool Minke-Dive

February 27, 2008

Hello Gerrie,

We had a great holiday! The diving was especially, for me, amazing. It was the first time for me and I

thought, "Well, I might be seeing some fish," but you can understand that it was more than just a fish!

Beautiful!

Bonaire is a unique island and perfect for a tranquil vacation. The tranquillity of the island is magnificent.

Good luck with the dive school. If we ever get a chance, then for sure we will come back to Bonaire. I have attached some photos from the dive school.

Kind regards,

Harrie Krol

January 31, 2008

Just wanted to let you folks know that the Burbank Dive Club and I have been working for years, and now it has finally happened: We have been successful in placing "Farnsworth Banks"
on the "Marine Protected Area!"

This means that we can now work to protect the "Stylactus Californicus", or the Purple Hydro Coral, which is unique to the area ... . http://www.burbankdiveclub.com/news/January08.pdf
 
Check it out here guys ...  Save the Reefs !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
We all miss Bonaire  ...  were trying to figure out if we sell everything and go to Bonaire ... well you know ...
 
You friends ...

Enrique and the Burbank Dive Club ...

January 16, 2008

Thanks Gerrie,

We had a gas!! Yellow Sub was perfect. Not only will we likely be returning next year (and forcing my wife to dive with us as well), but we will be recommending you to everyone we know in the meantime.

Everyone at your place was helpful, knowledgeable, and your employees were sweethearts!!! We appreciate you cutting us a good enough deal that we could dive for two weeks. The tank card was perfect for us. Your place has a really fabulous vibe and for an old hipster like me, thats really important.

Congratulations!!!

Thanks again,

Jeff and Rae Millikan

 

January 14, 2008

Hi Gerrie,

I would like to thank you and your team for making our stay at Bonaire Dive Friends an enjoyable and memorable one. Being back home in the cold Switzerland (yes, currently -4C, but no snow) is still shocking and browsing the many underwater pictures we took seems unreal now.

We published some of the pictures on bonaire2007.fotopic.net for everybody to share. I can't wait to jump into our cold rivers and lakes for some more bubble time, but I will sure miss Bonaire.

Keep up the good work and maybe see you soon.

Stefan & Fabienne

 

January 2, 2008

Dear Dive Friends, (especially for Gerrie):

Thank you for your kind card on my birthday. I liked it so much. We really want to go to Bonaire in March or April this year. It is so beautiful.

Gerrie, We took many pictures when there, but they are too big to send by email, so we will put them on a cd.

But now we want to say to you:

Happy New Year.
May all your wishes come true.
Thanks for everything.

This is a photo taken from your place, we hope you like it.

Kind regards,

Gerard and Joke from Holland

 

December 8, 2007

Thanks again for your professional help when my cousin and I were diving there before Thanksgiving. The boat dive to Klein Bonaire on this trip was especially rewarding for us. I'm also wanting to ask if there has been any information concerning my lost dry box while night diving at Witches. I'm sure you'd let me know if something turned up. Thanks again and I hope to dive with you all again in the future.

Sincerely,

Dixon F. Burden

December 4, 2007

Dear Folks: Your service was exemplary ... your patience with our group was phenomenal ... your facility was totally easy for divers ... your personnel were wonderful ...

We apologize for any undue impatience ... and we all adore the island and its treasures ... We all do not know why we don't came back ... May God bless you all and keep the reefs safe ... (and maybe take some of those tires out of the water ... )

Enrique Zuniga, Superdivemaster

.... Oh, and as soon as wee got home, we started playing "Yellow Submarine" all over the place ... Be cool ... EZ

P.S., were all figuring out how we can get back there asap ... I know the reefs are in good hands .... Take care everyone ...

 

December 4, 2007

Dear Gerrie,

Thanks for your message. We had a wonderful time thanks to the staff of your dive school. The staff is always friendly and helpful. We hope you always stay just the way you are!

Regards,

Jan and Conny van der Poll
The Netherlands

 

November 25, 2007

Thank you for your services. Everyone enjoyed their time very much! The experimental boat was a good time, too!   :)

It was great to have Nitrox, and that there were always tanks readily available! I know that filling all of them can seem like a never ending battle. Ha ha ha...

 I'll have to find some way to come visit again!

Thanks so much,

Donnie

 

November 11, 2007

Good morning, everybody,

Great to receive an email from you. Thanks to you, we have had a great time on Bonaire, and we fell in love with the underwater world more then before!

We are sure to come back! Have a good time on Bonaire and see you again.

Gerard Zweekhorst
Mariette Endel

 

October 25, 2007

Dear Dive Friends,

Once again we want to thank you for a wonderful dive holiday.

Even though our holiday is over now, but for sure we will be back.

Again thanks for the wonderful time and please send our regards to Dick and Jurjen.

Ceriel and Janine

 

September 24, 2007

Hi Gerrie

Just returned to a cold and wet holland.

We all want to thank you and the staff of Port Bonaire for the excellent service.

Also our thanks to Jenne, we did a wonderful boat trip with him to Klein Bonaire.

We will recommed your dive center to everyone who is going to dive on Bonaire.

See you again in may 2008!

Greetings from

Louis, Elly, Jeroen, Karel, Marco, Ton, Reno, Hans, Myriam, Martin and Winnie

September 17, 2007

Hello Angela,

We just came back from Bonaire and I get certified for Rescue, Deep, EFR and Photo. Szusanna, Ronald and Gerrie are great instructors. It was a pleasure to do the dive courses with them. I had a really good time.

In short: we had a great week and we have learned a lot. We will be back in March.

Kind regards and thanks for all.

Thuur.

August 28, 2007

Dear, dear , dear Yellow Sub family,

We had a really, really wonderfull time at your dive center and for that we can't thank you enough!!!!!!!!

SO a really big hug and kiss from us!

We really miss you and we hope to see you soon!

xxxxxxx

Robin, Dominique and Jimmy

 

 

August 27, 2007

Hey,

My wife Shawna and I just returned from a week of diving there. We had a blast!

Thanks for lining up a great time.

Thanks again,

Nathan

 

August 20, 2007

Hey everybody at Yellow Submarine,

We really enjoyed our holiday on Bonaire and for sure we enjoyed the Discover Scuba Dive we did, it was amazing!

At this moment we are back home and it looks like we had a wonderful dream.

Hopefully next year we will meet you again!

Please send our regards to all staff at Yellow Submarine and good luck with everything.

Jack, Nel, Nico and Yvonne

 

August 14, 2007

Dear Yellow Sub family,

We have been diving with Yellow Sub for several years. Gerrie and company have done a fantastic job and you should check them out.

We use them for several courses (open water / advanced / rescue) and their teachers are first rate. In addition, they are courteous and helpful.

And how about those rum punch parties (I don’t drink, but the sunsets are great).

Keep up the great work!

And keep smiling.

Uncle Bob

 

August 7, 2007

Hi Angela, Our trip ended way too soon for us all. None of us had our fill of Bonaire, which, I guess means we'll need to return!

Thank you for making this trip a vacation to remember. Your crew at both Port Bonaire and Yellow Sub were professional, helpful, and just fun to dive with! Keep up the great work. We are already telling our friends who they need to dive with in Bonaire.

Again thanks for everything, and already missing Bonaire.......

Brad, Lisa, Mark, Julia, Kevin and Lisa

 

July 26, 2007

Dear Gerrie, Angela, Jenne, Dennis, Jur, Tom, Suus, Leo, Kees, Freek, Sander, Laura, Geertje, Ellen, Tim, Ronald, Jo, Frouke, Chris, Follow & Gismo,

Big kiss for everbody!!!

Ilona

 

July 21, 2007

July 19, 2007

July 8, 2007

July 7, 2007

June 30, 2007

June 25, 2007

May 25, 2007

May 2, 2007

April 25, 2007

April 21, 2007

April 21, 2007

Just wanted to say Hi and tell you how much we miss you all and Bonaire. We returned to the coldest, stormiest weather we have ever experienced in Maine. Yesterday was the first time the temperature was above 60 and one of the few times since we have been back that the temperature has been above 45!

Our Best to Frowke (sp?), Albert, G(enady) -- we love the trouble he creates in the Bonaire Reporter - - and of course Jo, from whom we know we can learn much about truly living in Bonaire, as well as all the others at Dive Friends.

See you in January of 2008 --can it be that far away??

Sandy Carraher and Bob Cronin

March 5, 2007

Hello- I would love for you to add the comment. My family and I love Bonaire so much and consider all of you at the Yellow Submarine as our second family. We hope to come back sometime this summer. Things are great though. Chrisinna and Amanda and I are in Turkey right now with college and are having an amazing time. We miss you all so very much. Talk to you soon!!!

Love,

Erica Valley

February 22, 2007

Dear Gerry, Angela, Fraugh ( I am not sure of the spelling), Chris, Jenne & everyone at Yellow Sub (as we know it & still call it) all of whom we remember but not necessarily their names! I wonder if you remember David & I (Jyothi)? I just wanted to send you an email and say hello from Kuwait, which is where we are now . We think & talk so often of all of you, remember with great fondness our diving in Bonaire and how superb it is, our stay there and how much we miss our spotted eagle ray, turtle and squid friends that we saw on almost every dive. We know that we will return to Bonaire at some point and certainly to dive again with you (you are assured of our business as long as you want us & we will recommend you to all our friends). After all, we only used up 6 tank cards and we are sure you have plenty more for us!!

Our warm regards to everyone there and remember us at the Rum Punch party.

Jyothi & David

February 17, 2007

Thank you to all the crew especially Sylvester at Yellow Submarine and Chris and Frowka at Port Bonaire. We had a great 5 weeks thanks to you. We will be back next winter and now that we know a bit more about Bonaire, we are planning on running a dive charter and bringing a group of out divers.

Thank you very much!

Dennis and Julie Warren,
Copper Island Diving
Salmon Arm, British Columbia, Canada

December 1, 2006

Dear Staff Dive Friends,

We want to thank you for the dives we made and for the kindly service you gave us. Moreover the atmosphere at the club is very good and in a way unique.

Greetings from Dick and Arie

September 6, 2006 (translated from Dutch)

Hello Dive Friends,

It’s almost unbelievable. Last week we were still on Bonaire and doing a sunset trip with you, and now, one week later, we are back to normal life with all stress and a lot of rush here in The Netherlands.

Our farewell party, the sunset trip (excellent organization, by the way, Angela!) added so much to our holiday--first of all, it was a beautiful ending to the holiday, and second of all, we slept very well during the flight back to Holland.

Well, as you can see we are back to normal, but are enjoying our good memories of Bonaire.

We can look back to a very pleasant and wonderful relaxing experience which all of you at Dive Friends made happen.

Jan and Willy

August 28, 2006 (translated from Dutch)

Hey Gerrie, Clément, Angela, Jenne, Roxy and of course all the other staff!

I already miss you and Bonaire so much. Here the weather is really bad--lots of rain and it is freezing!

I enjoyed my time on Bonaire and specially the diving--thanks so much J.

I want to come back to Bonaire and probably will want to work with you, but it will take a few years I think since I have to finish my studies first.

 

Big hug, Christa Bijl

August 8, 2006 (translated from Dutch)

Hello Dive Friends,

We want to thank you for the really nice, instructive, and pleasant dive course which we did last week at your dive school. It was unfortunate that not all of us were able to complete the course, but hopefully we will next time.

It is definite that we are coming back to Bonaire, and for sure to your dive school!

Kind regards,

Theo, Hanneke, Thijmen, Rogier, Bibi

May 15, 2006

Dear Angela,

Thank you for your email, of course we enjoyed it!!!! Everything was OK, and people from Yellow Submarine are really kind.

I´m looking forward to coming back soon. And maybe next time we can meet each other.

My best regards to you and Gerry.

Ernesto

May 10, 2006

Angela,

Thank you so much. We had a great teacher in Andrea and a wonderful time in
Bonaire! Thanks for all your help!

Kind Regards,

John and Jacqueline

May 1, 2006

Angela,

We had a great time (thanks to the staff at Yellow Sub). Nicole completed her OWD training and had an excellent experience with Andrea and also Ger who took us both out for Nicole's last check out dive. Gerrie took good care of my planning 14 dives (boat and shore).

To sum it all up - I can't thank the team at Yellow Sub enough for all they did for us. We plan to return either next year or the year after - this time with both Nicole and our son Ryan. He will be the next family member to recieve OWD training at Yellow Sub. When we decide on our plans, I will be getting back in touch with you to schedule his training.

Thanks again and send our best wishes to Gerrie, Andrea and Ger!

Randy