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Where the Snorkeling is Grand!

Diary of the Offshore Cruising Club Adventure in Belize
December 2011 - by Doris Colgate

In misty rain, we landed at tiny Placencia Airport, a 35 minute flight ina 12-seater on Tropic Air from Belize City. We were a day early for our bareboat flotilla cruise – in company with our cruise leader Mike Huffer, Helene and Bob Pajek, John Culhane and Joan Cristini. For most of us it was a long day of traveling so settliing into our rooms at the Laru Beya Resort across from The Moorings base came as sweet relief. Small world! The driver of the jitney from the hotel management staff was a guy who owned a restaurant on Sanibel Island (where Steve and I used to live) for 7 years back in the eighties.

Before I go any further just want to remind everyone the next Offshore Cruising Club cruise is in CROATIA September 2012!

Saturday, December 3

Steve Colgate with cruise leader, Mike Huffer

This was the official start date of the cruise, a lazy day waiting for the rest of our bareboat flotilla group to arrive. The food at the hotel was great, though breakfast was served on island time.

We wandered over to the Moorings to talk with base manager, Renee Brown, a petite woman from South Africa. It turned out six boats traveling together can't fit into some of the anchorages we planned. No problem. Renee worked out a new itinerary with Mike and Steve.

Then we took a taxi into the village to have a look around. Mike had spent quite a lot of time here years ago and was eager to reconnect with Belize's happy and very accommodating villagers. We found all kinds of quaint shops and a modern ice cream parlor with delicious flavors. There were also many Menonites about. Mike told us they do all the dairy farming. And all but one of the many groceries was owned by Chinese families. Lunch at Wendy's was terrific - a huge salad and fabulous conch ceviche. Helene and Bob biked the six mile round trip with back packs full of goodies on their return leg.

By 5 p.m. all had arrived but one of the "skippers" assigned to a 4000. Craig Davis agreed to tak

Our group photo before setting sail

e over that job on Utopia. Our boats were four Moorings 4600s and two 4000s. We all had plenty of room to relax, party and just have a grand time. Here's the lineup:

Bonac Witch which later was switched to Luna Sea: Brian and Gina Kastner, Gordon Hastings, Brien Grow and Kathleen Baumann, Bryan Ferris
Amadeus II: Steve and me, Jim and Kim Wood, Bob and Helen Pajak, Ellen Bertels
King Cay Lady: Mike Huffer, Bob and Wendy Jickling, Ken King and Mary Cordova, William Vidaud
Reality: Russell Adams, Roger Smith, Nena-Joy Almodovar and David Zeuch, John Culhane
Utopia: Craig Davis, William Kreutrzjans, William Ross, Joan Cristini
Lisa Michelle: Henry Stewart, Jane Buyze, Gordon Schaefering

Before we could go off and party, skipppers and navigators and anyone else who could fit in their small briefing room gathered to learn about navigating these shallow waters. 1-1/2 hours later we knew it's a bad thing to hit any reefs: $5000 a square foot fine, $15,000 for not reporting groundin

Every morning Mike made rounds to discuss the day's route

gs.

By 5 p.m. everyone was aboard their boats, stowing provisions and getting to know one another. At 6:30 our party started at the resort with delicious hors d'ouevres around the pool, followed by a fantastic bufffet dinner (all part of the package for this cruise). Also included was a local band of drummers and singers in native dress. When the band left and dessert was served, we did the rounds - introducing ourselves, where we came from, what sailing we did. The Jicklings had flown in from the Yukon, Jane Buyze from Saskatchewan, Ken King and Mary Cordova were from Albuquerque as well as Nen-Joy Almodovar and David Zeuch.

Sunday, December 4

Morning weather report: winds ENE 10-20 knots, few showers, seas choppy, 3-5' waves. We made smoothies (yes we had a blender aboard) and enjoyed a light breakfast. Then inventoried everything in the refrigerator and freezer, and went through our boat check-out. Some did a grocery run for last minute items, while Mike ran a navigation meeting aboard our boat for all skippers and navigators. We put way points in our GPSs and discussed how wrong the "charts" were for this area and what to avoid.

Bob sweats up the mainsail as Ellen tails

A couple of last minute repairs (a windlass and GPS), crew shots on each boat and after our big group shot with everyone in the yellow cruise shirts - we were finally underway. In traditional Moorings fashion, ground crew took us out of the harbor, brought dinghies to our sterns and then we were off - one by one.

Munching yummy grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches prepared by Helene, Kim and Ellen on our boat - we motored about an hour to Lark Cay. Skies were overcast but no rain. By 4:30 p.m. we were having cocktails in the cockpit and telling sea and family stories. Some crews were out exploring by dinghy. We grilled our gigantic steaks and enjoyed a big salad, corn on the cob and garlic bread on our first night at anchor. Two big rainstorms during the night, but we were toasty dry below.

Monday, December 5

Up at 6:30 a.m., I made banana French toast. Mike started his rounds with our boat first and worked out a new route with Steve and Jim to Pelican Cay. We had sun and a light breeze. winds ENE, 5-15 knots, 2-4' seas - pretty much what we would hear most of the week.

Underway by 10:30 a.m. in clearing skies and a freshening breeze, we got our main up, then the genoa and had a lovely sail in about 20 knots of breeze, which eventually dropped to 5. Practically no clouds, gorgeous water color, but very flat "islands" made up mostly of mangroves. There are mountains and hills and the mainland far away.

Pelican Cay - sign ashore says "island for sale" and just beyond is great snorkeling

Pelican Cay i

At anchor in Twin Cays

s the home of Hideaway Caye, owned and operated by a very young couple who started cruising in their early 20s. Some of our group took advantage of their "open" flag flying on a tiny dock and visited their tiny home - all on stilts, reached by a planked walkway over mangroves. Apprently the couple rent out a cute bedroom to sailors who find out about them as we did. Mike and another of our group were already at the bar when our crew arrived.

Across the way was a beach with an "island for sale" sign on it and a great reef just beyond for snorkeling. Our group reported seeing huge starfish and a barracuda or two. While they were snorkeling an islander appeared with barking dogs. We heard him yelling but apparently all he wanted was a ride to Hideaway Caye across the way for cigarettes. The dogs tried to swim after the dinghy when he hitched a rid e with Mike over to the other side.

Tuesday, December 6

We arose to lots of warm sun. At 10 a.m. all boats were underway as clouds started to form again. Tried the AC last night, but the generator kept Kim and Jim up as it is right at the head of their cabin. The Pajeks cooked an omelette and toast as Mike made his pre-departure rounds. Jim is our "skipper of the day" today.

Kim and Jim (skipper of the day on Amadeus II)

With the wind on the nose from the north, we pulled out our genoa but started to overtake Mike on King Cay Lady on our way to Twin Cay. Very tricky navigation - only a foot under our hulls at one point. Yow! (We later found out they do have quite a fudge factor built in.) Our deal was Mike would lead us in, happily.

Twin Cay is a national park and the park ranger, Jason, was quick to appear in a blue skiff. A two-day pass cost $10 per person. He advised us not to swim here as this anchorage was known for crocodiles. Kim noticed big jelly fish swimming about the boat.

Jane on Utopia organized a water taxi to Blue Marlin for dinner and invited our crew to join them, but we were never picked up as the taxi had some sort of mechanical problems. So we pulled out the chicken and more steak for another great BBQ dinner.

Wednesday, December 7

The crew on Reality

We had a quiet night without having to put out the second anchor (a real project most nights), as we were only in 8' of water. Ellen, Kim and Steve were up early watching the sun rise. We all powered over to Cocoa Palm Cay, dead upwind in very shallow water -watching carefully for coral heads. Another gulp as we went over a 0.9' spot.

Winds north, 10-12 knots. We're headed south to Lagoon Cay with main and genny flying as winds increased to 20 knots and we surged in speed to close to 9 knots! At 3:30 we jibed onto starboard, Mike calling for everyone to "put the hammer down" as we were losing light.

It took a long time for some of us to anchor in very poor ground conditions. Tough to get the anchors to hold. Confident that our two anchors wer

Helene and Ellen get 2nd anchor up

e well in, we on Amadeus enjoyed our cocktails as Mike went to Utopia to help them get settled.

Then he noticed his own boat - King Cay Lady - was dragging. Russell headed his call to lend a hand and 2.5 hours later all was quiet. Feeling good about our anchors, we dined on baked snapper and mashed potatoes. But we hadn't put our dinghy in the davits and I was worried enough to wake up Steve and get us out there to winch it up in the dark of night, a smart move as in the morning we discovered Reality had lost theirs.

Thursday, December 8

At 4 a.m. the GPS alarm started beeping, telling us we were dragging. It was blowing like stink, everyone was up, motors on, waiting for first light. Coffee at 5 a.m. and at 7:30 we were off, after a lot of heaving on the second anchor which had really dug in.

The plan was for our boat and Bonac Witch to go to Rendezvous Cay, dead downwind, where supposedly there was good protection from northerlies. We were scouts to let Mike know if all 6 boats could fit in that anchorage. Winds were gusting to 30 as we motored the 7.5 miles in following seas - a realtively calm passage. Just as I hopped into the shower, our route took us 45 degrees to the north and I had to wedge myself in a corner to get the soap off.

We found absolutely no protection after poking around that barren, shallow area. There were h

A double rainbow blessed our fleet

ouses and an unfinished resort on one of the islands, with lots of palm trees, but nowhere to anchor. So we hailed Mike and headed back to Lark Cay on a reach in nasty seas with wind gusts to 30. Lots of propoises amused us on that passage.

Two more long hours with big waves hitting our starboard side and cra shing over the dinghy we were towing. And then we arrived to a totally calm harbor with just two other boats. The rest of our fleet voted for a day in Placencia harbor, but we were going nowhere. Much too nice here and our pizzas were getting hot.

Reality's dinghy was apparently found in Rangua, 16 miles due south of where we had been anchored. It was cloudy and cool. Bonac Witch's crew came over for drinks and we had a delightful evening - sea stories, more sea stories, work stories, snorkeling and dive stories, kids and their achievements. Chicken and improvised mac'n cheese that night. What a great sleep we all had, cool and quiet.

Friday, December 9

We hea

Gina, Kim, Kathleen and Ellen - our 2 boat party

ded over to Placencia and joined the rest of the fleet. Clouds alternated with sun. Just as we were leaving, Bonac Witch lost its port engine, finding oil in the bilge. Moorings base was hailed, and they sent out a mechanic as soon as she got into Placencia. In a native language that sounded like African, French and Creole all mixed together, I made out a few words: "port" and "seized". Renee decided to switch the crew off Bonac Witch to a brand new 4600 called Luna Sea that had just come in. Fantastic service!

Everyone seemed to have a grand time going into town and shopping for souvenirs and groceries. Our crew lunched at a shack right at the dinghy dock. By 1 p.m. Luna Sea had joined our flotilla, carrying a dinghy for Reality. Though most stayed in Placencia and enjoyed fun and games ashore and aboard, Luna Sea and our boat headed back to Lark Cay for snorkeling and swimming. The party that night was aboard Luna Sea, bedecked with blinking Christmas lights they bought in town, along with olives!

Jim reported the snorkeling was incredible: big lobsters, colorful local fish, huge fan coral, a live conch as big as a basketball. The moon was nearly full, stars were out and light sprinkled across the anchorage. But the wind was from the NW (not NNE) that night, creating rolly conditions where it was flat calm a few nights ago.

Saturday, December 10

Heading out to snorkel - Bonac Witch crew and Jim

The rest of the fleet joined us in Lark Cay mid-morning for more snorkeling. Jim took the grill pinchers and his big net bag to try to catch a lobster, to no avail. This was a serious snorkeling group.

Three of our boats decided to head back to the base that night. The other three went back to Placencia harbor. It was a beautiful day, calm and sunny as we set sail. We were warned about a big fund raiser next to the base (Misteltoe Ball to benefit tourism), and music that would go on until 3 a.m. but it didn't matter. In fact it was fun for many of our group who went to the party. The AC aboard drowned out the noise, and yes, the music stopped at 3 a.m. on the dot.

The cruise was over Sunday morning as we and the Kastners headed for an early Tropic Air flight to Belize City. Though most of the photos here were taken on or from our boat - Amadeus II - we will be posting more photos as we receive them from the rest of the group.

Our thanks go to the 30 graduates who joined us on this fun adventure and especially to our cruise leader Mike Huffer. I know we all have great memories to share with our friends and family back home, and a ton of photos to cull through.