05/30/2006 - Mike & Stephanie's Visit to Ambergris Caye, Belize

Belize……What a wonderful catamaran country. We are sailing in water with a foot to two feet of water under the boat which is a dream come true for catamaran owners and a dream to be envied by multihull owners whose draft is too deep to enter waters like this safely. We worked our way to northern Belize to meet Mike and Steph. They are due to arrive in San Pedro (Ambergris Caye) on Wednesday.

Just two days before their arrival while anchored in Caye Caulker we had a squall roll through from the west (winds here are normally ENE ). I recorded the winds reaching up to 45 knots. Several boat dragged anchor that night, not ours. The good thing is that the squall only lasted an hour and came in the middle of the night all while we were safe at anchor. Tuesday we sailed to Ambergris Caye. It was a wonderful sail and we arrived to a calm anchorage. We arrived not knowing what to expect to find at Ambergris Caye, and upon seeing all the boat traffic and jet skis it was a little disappointing at first. No worries though, it felt good that we were back in civilization.

Highlights of Mike and Stephanie’s visit:

To celebrate Mike and Steph’s 5-year anniversary we ate at Mambo’s Restaurant located in Ma Chica Resort, 10 miles north of San Pedro. Our means of transportation was a water taxi and it was not just any water taxi but a 200-turbo–fast-as–hell water taxi! After a ride in that we wanted to get an engine just like it and put it on the Woodduck.

We took a 2 hour sail to Sting Ray Valley of Caye Caulker. There are unexpected treats in this world of ours. The day started with disappointment. We tried and failed to lay down anchor and snorkel at Hol Chan Marine Reserve. Officials approached the boat and told us they wouldn’t let us pay for a mooring on site. We were supposed to have arrived with our tickets in hand AND they also said something about having a professional guide on board. We had neither, so after biting my tongue so as not to be banished for life, we picked up anchor and sailed to Caye Caulker (12 nm sail south) to String Ray Valley.

We hooked up to a mooring without a problem. We assume use of the mooring was free of charge. Either that or the workers at Caye Caulker were just too busy drinking a beer to bother with us. Within 2 minutes the boat was surrounded with nurse sharks and a dozen stingrays. Naturally, I slapped on my snorkel and fins and jumped in the water as fast as possible with the crew not far behind to experience these 4-5 foot nurse sharks swim towards you. This species of shark is shy by nature and thus harmless. The nurse sharks are one of the most famous sites for snorkeling and scuba here in Belize. Their eyes were yellow with black specks and they were not shy about checking us out. Then in the corner of your eye a sting ray just glides by to check you out, then another, and another, and another! 15 to 20 rays circled in schools underneath the boat. It was like an episode from National Geographic, but only alive in living color!

This I must say is the best scuba diving I have seen in a long time if not ever. The wildlife is out of this world. Mike and I decided to scuba dive off the reef on the third day. Up to that point we had been having a hell of a time with gear problems. First, we found out that Mike’s regulator fitting was not working. Then, my BCD breaks. I was determined to scuba dive with no more delays, so I rigged the break and we descended 50 feet to the bottom. My first fish encounter was a large Grouper, then another, and a lot of Yellow snapper. Mike and I swam down a canyon and back again, reaching a depth of 75 feet (Mike made it to 80 feet). We didn’t stay down long but the dive was very rewarding.

The next day was Monday. Mike and I took a tour with Bottom Time Diving. They took us to several canyons (Victoria’s and The Statue). The first dive was the whip. After descending, I look to see where Mike is ….. looooooook OUT a nurse shark swam up and past Mike! This thing must have been 5 feet. And after looking around, there must have been five or six of these guys swimming around us. The dive master fed them small sardines. We were diving with four other guys as well as the dive master. I am not sure what to think of the other divers. Two of these guys chased after the sharks to try to ride them. I was watching this stupidity and just waiting and hoping to see a shark get pissed and take an arm or at least a few fingers. These guys were the poster child for being a dumb ass of the world. Oh, and it didn’t stop there. One of these guys decides it would be a good idea to try to ride a small turtle. Two things wrong with this. First, the turtle was too small and struggled to try to get away causing it trauma. Secondly, it looked like the stupid guy was trying to hump the turtle. One or both of these yahoos need serious help. Later in the dive we saw the largest turtle I have ever seen. He was a little faster than the smaller turtle so nobody tried to chase or ride him. Luckily, this turtle won’t need any therapy. It did let the dive master pet its head and neck. On the second dive we only went to 60 feet, but swam through a small tunnel which was very impressive. Both dives were a drift dive and we were able to cover a lot of ground.

Cathy and Stephanie went on a dinghy ride that day and went snorkeling at Mexico Rocks. The 6 mile dinghy ride itself was an exciting experience. And then they found out that the snorkeling in this location was absolutely spectacular. It was so shallow that you had to make yourself absolutely flat on top of the water to avoid the coral. The number of colorful fish and coral was overwhelming. The highlight was a 6 foot eel that they saw.

Mike and I also tried spear fishing several times with no luck. We almost had a yellow snapper but it got away from Mike. The fish just toyed with me. They stayed just far enough and at the right angle so I never had a shot. Oh well, next time we may have better luck.

Alas, Mike and Steph had to return home to Colorado. It is always sad to say goodbye to guests especially when they are as much fun and as laid back as these two.

05/26/2006 - Mike and Steph left yesterday. So we are starting our way south to the Rio Dulce, Guatemala. I think the rains are officially here for we have been plagued by them ever since Mike and Steph took off. The good things is we are collecting rainwater again which is a bonus when living aboard a boat. But everything is damp and wet and difficult to get dry again with all of the humidity.

Viewer demand has asked for more pictures of the toe…. You saw what it looked like with the stitches in it… here is a picture of it the day Cathy removed the stitches for me.
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Mike and Stephanie and El Capitain Jake


Local fishing boat sporting their blue hand made sails and rig make for a beautiful site.


Mike wearing his Bob Marley hat to protect his head from the harsh tropical rays.


Steph wearing nothing but her teeny weeny bikini and a plethora of SPF30 sunscreen.


That’s Jake snorkeling on top of the water… the black blob underneath is either a nurse shark or a southern stingray, both of which were sighted that day.


Cathy took this shot from the deck of the sting rays circling underneath the boat.


El Gato is one of our favorite tour catamarans out of Ambergris Cay.. the guys on board were very friendly and always smiling. Tough not to enjoy a job like this.


Mike and Jake go diving with Bottom Time diving tours.


The crew heading out for a day of snorkeling.


Relax, mon! Happy Hour in Belize aboard the Woodduck