Hans Hass is every bit the pioneer of self contained breathing apparatus as Captain Cousteau. His vision and exploration of the underwater world are breath taking, even today. He describes the mysteries of the sea and especially the consequences of mans intrusion into the sea. An older book, but the ideas should never be out of date.

I really wanted to pan this small book. Austrian dive pioneer Hans Hass' characterizations of the thrills of skewering live reef fish on spears is about appropriate today as wearing a leopard coat to the opera or maintaining separate drinking fountains for different races. Haas' description of Kralendijk and the local government are extremely unflattering and smacks of the German nationalism of that era. But it is also about Hans Haas, a true innovator who might have become as famous as Jacques Cousteau had The Axis won WW-II. It also incorporates a somewhat aggrandizing history of the Bonaire Marine Park and the dive industry by the former Park Manager Kalli DeMeyer, which is chock full of the kind of details BMP visitors want to know. Haas was directed to Bonaire by Curaçao fishermen who told him that there "the reefs were more beautiful and the fish more plentiful." When he arrived in July 1936 he found especially prolific sea life in the Point Vierkant area (because the locals thought the fish from there was poisonous, according to Haas) and on Klein Bonaire around Carl's Hill. He lived for six weeks on Klein Bonaire living off speared fish and fruit and fresh water brought over from the main island. While there he tried underwater breathing apparatus and perfected techniques for underwater photography with a homemade camera. He recorded a Klein Bonaire quite different from today. Sharks, including Hammerheads, were common. They only bothered Hans and his friends when they had a live speared fish or were trailing a bleeding stringer of fish. At the start of the war, Hass returned to Europe. It wasn't until 1953 that he returned to Bonaire. By this time he had competed his doctoral thesis in biology and had at his disposal the three-masted schooner, Xarifa. The expedition's diving was done with oxygen rebreathers at shallow depths and compressed air for the deeps. Some of the first color underwater movies were taken during this visit. The book is filled with first hand experiences of Bonaire underwater more than 60 years ago. Hass never forgot Bonaire. Three years ago he penned a personal note pleading for the preservation of Klein Bonaire. The slim volume is an important historical document. Hass' dialogue is barely 20 pages long and includes some fascinating photos, but it's descriptions of the reef life redeems its flaws and makes the book worth reading.

Hans Haas and his Journeys to Bonaire, by Michael Jung with a History of the Bonaire Marine Park and the Development of the Dive Industry on Bonaire by Kalli DeMeyer.©1999 by Verlag Andrea Kriesbach-Jung Merzig ISBN 3-933234-03-4.