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Cruising in Belize Not only did the sun come out and stay out as we approached Belize but a nice size of Tuna jumped onto the lure. After the weather we had been getting over the previous two weeks it seemed that we had discovered paradise. For sure the boat was going to miss all that Fresh Water up the Rio but we were happy to be able to see the bottom again and feel that lovely sea breeze blowing through the boat. We were all squared away by lunchtime and went ashore to check out the local scene. Paula found an Internet and we had a look to see if there was anything in our mailbox. There wasn't but we were impressed by the speed of their equipment. Guatemala had been cheap for Internet but it was incredibly slow, Belize was more expensive but at least things got done. We were at this time uploading pictures into our new Web Page (www.oocities.org/yachtmrjohnvi) and we decided that we would make use of our time here to complete this work. Our arrival was on a Saturday and due to a holiday on the Monday (Commonwealth Day!) it was the Tuesday 25th May before we went over to Big Creek and presented ourselves at the Customs for 'Clearing In'. My clearance from Livingston was almost ancient history by then so I was ready for a hard time. However the Customs Officer just asked me where I'd been in the intervening period and I told him Isle de Aves, bird watching. He seemed happy with that and there were no further questions. The officials, who were both quick and courteous, impressed me. I was even more impressed when they didn't charge anything! Whilst in Big Creek I 'checked it out' as a possible Hurricane Hole and concluded that it could be good depending on how many other boats were using it. I was concerned that the Moorings Operation in Placencia would run all their boats in and just leave them, as Charter Operators are wont to do. That would not be good. We motored back to the anchorage in Placencia and spent the rest of the day exploring both by dinghy and by foot. Whilst there seems to be a tendency to cater for the 'back-packers' and divers, the layout of the town is quite up-market. We rather liked the way it was all kept neat and tidy with flowers and bougainvillaea growing in nearly every garden. There were lots of small guesthouses and 'hotels'; these were all well painted and maintained, with colourful hand painted signs hung outside. Names like "Enchanted Garden" and "The Purple Parrot Hotel" were scattered along the town's boardwalk. There was also a lovely beach and in retrospect it was probably one of the best beaches in Belize, which, in our opinion, was somewhat (unexpectedly) short in that department. We did learn a little later that many of the Islands we were to visit had suffered badly through Hurricane damage. All the Palm Trees had been lost and the sandy beaches torn away leaving only the Mangroves which hung on tenaciously through the tempest. Even the reefs were badly damaged as big seas pounded them leaving areas of broken coral that would take hundreds of years to recover. Our first outer Island was Lagoon Cay, two hours Northeast of Placencia. We anchored as close in as we could and took the dinghy to explore over the shallow bar and into the interior of the Lagoon. It was cute but had little that tempted us to stay, it was a Mangrove Island and there was little else there except an Island of Mangroves. We did hear, but didn't see, an Osprey nesting somewhere in the middle of the Mangroves. There were a few other birds but not many and there were some little fish but nothing to get into the water for. We checked out the areas recommended in the guidebook for snorkelling but found the water murky and without fish. We decided to move on and see if things improved. The dinghy was re-stowed and we sailed off to the north to Blue Ground Range, which we passed through and then on to Twin Cays where we detoured into the Lagoon between the Cays to 'check it out'. Twin Cays is just another Mangrove Island and offers little other than a protected anchorage and a large crowd of very friendly mosquitoes! We moved on to South Water Cay and anchored in a sandy spot to the northwest of the Island. It was mid afternoon but we launched the dinghy and went exploring right away. The reef area to the south of the Island was quite nice. There were quite a lot of fish and plenty of colourful coral, it was also a 'protected area' so spear fishing was not allowed. Not that I saw much that was big enough to spear anyway! It kept us well occupied until the sun started to go down at which point we returned to the boat well worn out again. We spent a second day at South Water Cay and returned to the reef for some more snorkelling. Paula took a whole roll of film on the corals and the fish (which does tend to indicate that there was something to see!). In the shallow bay on the lee side of the Island we spotted a shoal of bonefish all over sixteen inches long. There must have been a hundred of them swimming in lazy circles and not paying us much attention. Ashore, South Water Cay is well occupied; there are two resorts and a few private houses. The Pelican Beach Resort on south end actually has some sand on its beach; guests can just swim out any time to the reef, which is just a short distance off. We went to look at the Blue Marlin Lodge on the north end, which had a restaurant, and bar open to the public, there was a little gift shop (closed on our visit). It was not the sort of place we were going to eat, or drink, on our budget! It seemed to me that unless you had very deep pockets and were heavily into diving, signing up at a place like this could be more a prison sentence than a vacation. The next day we decide to try getting out to Turneffe Island. Belize has three offshore Islands outside of the barrier reef and these are said to be the gems of this cruising area; so we thought we'd better do something about trying to get there. Once outside the reef however we decided otherwise. The wind was gusting 18-22knts and the sea was quite lumpy, whilst we felt that the boat could make it we were not in the right frame of mind to get bashed about for three hours. Thus we ducked back inside at Tobacco Cay Cut and reached off to anchor in the lee of Garbutt Cay. It was a very pretty anchorage and we did our usual exploration with the dinghy. The next day the winds were down to 15-18knts and we moved off north, it was a nice sail on a beam reach. I was able to test the inner headsail and came up hard on the wind for this. We purchased this special sail, a cross between a Blade and a Working Jib, to get us to windward in heavy airs. We were very pleased with the way it fitted; it was the right size for the conditions in which we expected to use it Our next stop was Colson Cays where we anchored and went exploring. We were again hampered by the weather, as with 15-18knts of wind it was a little rough for our small dinghy once we left the shelter of the Cay. After several attempts we did find some coral heads to dive on, the water visibility was down to about 12 / 15 feet but it was the best we had seen it for a while. I got a nice Hogfish for dinner so we would have some fresh meat but it was a lot of work for small reward. Next day was the 30th of May and the wind dropped to 15 knots, we heaved up and had a short sail north to Alligator Cay where we anchored off the Fish Camp that occupied the small beach on the western shore. There seem to be very few if any beaches out here on the Belizean islands and if you do find one it is guaranteed to have either a Fish Camp or Resort on it. Moments after we anchored we made the acquaintance of 'Clint', a young man (+/-20) who was caretaker for the Fish Camp. He was obviously in a bad way and definitely in the wrong job! Alone on this little patch of sand for weeks on end, he was suffering from hypertension and a weak heart, He said he ate Cornflakes for most of his meals and couldn't eat any shellfish at all. Some Lobsterman! He was lonely and needed someone to talk to, as we seemed to be getting little if any contact with the Belizeans I invited him aboard for a coffee and a chat. We learned that there are many of these fish camps that have caretakers and some of them stay out for six months at a time, mostly alone, awaiting the start of the Lobster Season when a team of seven or eight extras would join them. Then they would hunt Lobster, bringing in a hundred pounds, or more, per day. When we recounted the amount of Fish Camps we could see on the islands we'd passed and did a little arithmetic, we concluded that the poor lobsters didn't stand much chance and us poor, hungry, yachties even less chance! After a couple of hours of 'ear bending', we managed to get rid of 'Clint' and go exploring in the dinghy. I found us a Large Coral Crab with nice claws to give us something different for dinner. The small lagoon had nesting Frigate Birds and Shags however; the mosquitoes chased us off as the evening approached. The Last day of May and we heaved up anchor and motored the couple of miles across to Bluefield Range. It was blowing 20kts and the water clarity was poor, this made spotting the many coral heads along the way difficult. The official charts for this area are laughable and the Cruising Guide is not as accurate as it could be. The standard local weather forecast is "easterly 10-20 knots with higher gusts", that covers a lot of territory as far as small boat sailing is concerned (you can see how well we were getting 'stuck in' to the Belize experience)! We also have the semi-professional forecasts; these are actually the most accurate available but seem to rely on adding 5-10 knots to the official weather bureau forecasts. Anything from the WMO is hardly worth reading and none of this makes for easy cruising! We went hunting again in the afternoon but were hampered by the wind and the water clarity, which was now less than 10 feet. I came back with a Hogfish, a Grunt and a Dog Snapper, which we had to throw back having read in our fish book that it may be poisonous. The next day the first Easterly Wave of the season arrived and we decided that we would remain here and let it blow through. The wind went up to 20-25kts and it was gusty, none of the Mangrove Cays are very high so they don't stop a lot of the wind, they do however keep the sea down and offer secure anchorage often in mud. Paula baked bread in the early morning as she does every three days and I listened to the Nets and the weather forecasts. I was sorry to hear that a cruising boat, "Picasso", had been boarded off the Rio Tatin in the Rio Dulce, no one was injured but money and other items were stolen. Soon after we had anchored in that same spot another boat "Fairwyn" had been boarded. We were certainly very lucky! We were boat bound, the wind whistled through the rigging and the mast pumped in tune to the halyards clunking up above. In these conditions we always have things to do, there are always jobs on my list, which require doing and we find our computers occupy available time very well. Paula is working on her Slide Show; the first one was so good she is going to be hard pressed to improve on it. I was playing with my Navigation program, I'm having difficulty getting the GPS position to update the ship icon on MaxSea but I won't go in to further detail. We also spend quite a lot of time with correspondence, trying not to forget whom we have already written to and who is due for a letter. So even a bad day can pass quickly, but who has bad days when cruising in paradise? We were stuck for three days; the winds remained above 20kts gusting 25 and higher. There were showers and it was overcast for the most part however during the sunny spells we managed to swim around the boat. I guess we could have moved on if pushed however we were reluctant, as we would be saying goodbye to all chance of reaching one of the outer islands. In the end we were rewarded with a nice day and 15kt winds from the ENE, which gave us a good sail out to Turneffe Island. On arrival we anchored just ahead of an offshore patch of coral and veered scope on the anchor until we had little distance to swim when we went snorkelling. It was nice, although the water was far from clear; I got the impression that being here so late in the season everything worth eating had already been taken! After our swim we moved in towards Blue Creek where we anchored for the night. We had been invaded by Horse flies on arrival and they had a terrific bight, fortunately we got our mosquito nets in position early, otherwise we would have suffered another onslaught! By late evening there were hundreds of Horse flies and mosquitoes going crazy outside the nets so we watched a movie to drown out their buzzing sounds. Next morning I shovelled away a heap of dead mosquitoes and used half a tin of 'Raid' to get rid of the hangers-on, which lurked under our dodger etc? Having got here to this jewel of Belize cruising, we were determined to see a little more so heaved anchor and went through Blue Creek into the Lagoon. It would have been nice had it not been for the wind, which was still blowing fresh enough to put us off dinghy operations. After much consideration we decided to give up and return to the mainland before the next Easterly Wave arrived. Lighthouse reef was only eighteen miles to windward of us but I was fast losing interest in crashing out to far-flung Belizean destinations only to be disappointed. 'Lighthouse' didn't sound like the greatest of places to get stuck for a blow and we were forecast to get 25-30kts with thunderstorms! It was a great reach back to the English Cay Channel and back behind the barrier reef. On entry we went south down to Rendezvous Cay and anchored several times behind coral heads and coral patches. For some reason the wind in the afternoon dropped to 10kts and we had a great time. The water visibility still wasn't that great, it was further reduced by a large cloud covering the sun however I did find some nice coral. During those brief moments when the sun broke through I could see that this would be a really great place to spend time should the wind ever go below ten knots and the sun shine at the same time! Returning from the reef, we had no sun but the light was in our eyes. There was a period at the south end of Middle Long Cay where the depth below the keel was less than two feet for quite a while and we nudged forward carefully, feeling our way until the depth went back up to five feet plus. It was an example of how easy it is to get caught here. This is an easy place to come to grief and even loose a boat! We are collecting GPS Waypoints as we go along, if ever we come back they will be most useful but for now it's still a question of eyeball navigation and going carefully. We spent a quiet night behind Middle Long Cay and the next day had a spanking reach to the north in 15-20kts on a beam reach, I was sorry to arrive at the Drowned Cays and have to stop. Truly, if zooming up and down on a reach is all you want each day there is some magnificent sailing to be had in Belize. We picked one of the northern, unnamed Bogue's to go into and moved up to its furthest end where we found a nice anchorage which we thought would be a good place to hang out whilst waiting for a little bad weather to pass through. Soon after the anchor was down we had the dinghy afloat and were off exploring. There were miles of small channels and many larger channels to investigate and we hung close to the banks as we went along, looking for any indication that there may be fish about. We didn't see anything although later in the day I did see a Sports-fisherman trolling three lines in the main bogue so there must be something around! We didn't want to leave the boat unattended as close as we were to Belize City, thus we didn't venture very far but enjoyed what little we did. That evening it blew quite fresh at 20kts and more, it continued to blow into the night and through to the next morning. We decided that as the front was upon us, we would remain for a day and see if things improved. They didn't so we did a few jobs and worked on our computers. The forecast in the evening called for conditions deteriorating and remaining that way for some time so, in desperation, we watched Terminator III and went to bed! Tuesday 8th June dawned with the same stiff breeze blowing through the rigging and a forecast of 15-25kts with higher gusts. It was however a bright sunshiny day and we took advantage of that to move north again. We were lucky that during our preparations to leave, three Manatees appeared close by and were feeding off the bottom. Them came by a couple of times and if the water had been clearer I would have been tempted to jump in and join them. No sooner we were clear of the Bogue, but still under the lee of the island, we got gusts over 20kts but we pushed on regardless. We stopped the motor and sailed under 70% Genoa, as we cleared the Drowned Cays it was a close reach across to Porto Stuck. We could just hold the course line without the Genoa flopping and it was not a bad sail. The wind and sea had creamed up the shallow water to a milky white mix. It looked bright and wild but was very difficult to read! Once through Porto Stuck (named for the amount of vessels that have 'stuck' there) we furled the Genoa and motored up to Long Cay; which lay a couple of miles directly to windward. It was a bit of a thrash even under power! My guidebook says " if you can make it across the bar, you'll enjoy one of the most protected anchorage's in northern Belize". We anchored and took stock. Standing on the deck I could see over the island to seaward where the Blue Caribbean was crashing on the outer reef, there are just a couple of scattered palm trees and a hundred yards of land which was at best eighteen inches above the high water mark. The wind whistled through the rigging unhindered. That was not protection in my opinion but we were prepared to settle for it under the circumstances. In fact there is very little in way of protection anywhere in northern Belize and should a hurricane materialise from one of these 'Easterly Waves' that are marching in. We would have little choice but to run for the safety of the Rio Dulce now a hundred and twenty miles to the south. We launched the dinghy again and went for a look ashore. There is a small Fish-Camp at the entrance to the lagoon and another, known as 'Camp Oakley', at the head of a small boat dock on the Eastern Shore. This building has 'somewhat fallen down' and there is a shack beyond that where we were surprised to see a Belizean woman doing her washing. We talked to an old fisherman and were given permission to wander round, not that we could wander far. A hundred yards took us to the weather shore where there were the remains of a grander building, once over the water but now lying in it. A testimony of mans inability to build things that can withstand both time and weather. There was however an almost intact little bungalow, somewhat rotted but still standing. On its porch was a model, about eight feet long and four feet wide, covered in 'Plexiglas' and several layers of dirt. The Model depicted Long Cay with roads and waterfront properties, a small marina, an airstrip and all the trimmings. No doubt all that is left of someone's dream, a few hundred thousand dollars thrown into the wind. It is always sad to see these failed dreams but from the Bahamas to Belize we've seen a few! There was little to do ashore so I took Paula for a row around the lagoon and we took some pictures of the cormorants and the mangroves before returning to "Mr John" for afternoon coffee. It was still blowing in the late afternoon and I noticed that there was a boat some way outside the lagoon seemingly on passage south but not moving. After a while I could hear him on the radio trying to arrange a tow as he had grounded on a sandbar. There was little we could do to help, we could not see to move from this anchorage and our dinghy wouldn't make the trip. I gave him a call to let him know that we were in sight and monitoring his situation, also I said I'd put our mast light on to guide him into safe anchorage if it was dark when he got off (it was). He ended up paying $500 US for a workboat to give him a tow, it was a very short tow and we thought that he'd been ripped off. However it went to show that one must watch carefully the depth sounder! The next day we moved north again, when there was enough light to see our way out of the lagoon. We proceeded to Cay Chapel, where there is a Marina, from which we did hope to buy fuel. The Marina no longer sold fuel but gave us as much Fresh Water as we wanted. They were making sixty thousand gallons per day just to water their Golf Course! Next stop was Cay Caulker; it was the first place we could have a decent walk ashore since leaving Placencia two weeks earlier. Whilst here the weather did some strange things but most importantly we had two nice sunny periods with a very light breeze, which we used to get out to the barrier reef. It was a change for the better and we enjoyed every moment of it. We came back from the reef with both Lobster and fish wishing the weather had let us do more of this before. On the negative side, we also had rain and a thunderstorm with lightning, the wind swung around and blew into our anchorage for a while, bouncing us about, but the holding was good and only sleep was lost. We were however acutely aware that time had moved on and we were well into Hurricane season with few if any places to shelter. It was time for us to be gone! San Pedro, Belize was much talked about by the yachting crowd we had met heading south so both Paula and I were much looking forward to a visit before leaving the area. On the negative side of things, we had also heard that its anchorage could be very lumpy even in settled weather and that you were fully exposed to everything coming out of the NW Caribbean. I had looked very carefully for a back door but the lee side of the island was far to shallow for much too far out. With no alternatives we picked the best weather we could and sailed north. It's only a couple of hours but the water thins out along the way so one has to pay attention. Even paying attention we got very close to grounding on a couple of occasions and I was more than ever grateful for our shallow draft. Along the way we passed a couple of the local fishing boats, they still sail most of the fishing fleet out here and these small but sturdy craft are always a joy to behold as they flash up and down inside the reef. They are about twenty-eight feet long, have very low freeboard, carry lots of sail, usually have half a dozen dug out canoes on their deck and have nine or so crew. They even manage to find somewhere for everyone to sleep at night! We found a nice patch of sand for our Bruce Anchor off San Pedro so at least we were not concerned with dragging. The anchorage was however rolly, most of which caused by the commercial traffic that came passed in an endless stream. We did the only sensible thing to do in these circumstances, launched the dinghy and went ashore! It didn't take us long to view San Pedro, it was just a larger version of Cay Caulker and in our opinion more expensive! Having little interest in Bars and Restaurants we were soon done (for without the bars and the restaurants San Pedro is just a sand dune in the middle of nowhere). Paula took lots of photos and we spent the last of our Belizean money on goodies for the trip north. The weather was, 'as good as it was going to get'. Very good compared with much of what we had been getting during most of our visit! So we returned on board and prepared to get under way. I took a little time to clean off the hull underwater. The antifoul seemed to have found a new life since it visited in the fresh water of the Rio Dulce; I had little to do so we were quickly 'all stowed' and ready. At 1342hrs on the 14th June we started the engine, heaved up the anchor and headed out the cut to the open sea. This is not a reef opening for the faint hearted; I was glad we were outbound and not, inbound. With the sun behind us we could at least see the reef! There was a larger yacht on the ocean side looking for the passage in, I hope that we pointed the way to him during or exit. I don't think we shall ever be entering by that cut; I'm not that gung-ho! Out in the big ocean we found the wind still a touch North of East, it should have gone South of East a couple of months back but it seemed locked in this direction. We were soon under single reefed Mainsail and the inner headsail, crashing to windward in 15/17 kts of breeze. It wasn't a lot of fun and we were lucky to be crabbing offshore inch by inch to clear Rocky Point two hours to the north of us. Once in the lee of the Chinchorro Bank, the wind shifted more easterly and our situation became less tense. As we progressed further north we finally picked up the SE trades and progress picked up equally. Twenty-four hours after leaving San Pedro we anchored off the northern end of Cozamel and had arrived in Mexico. Looking back at Belize, I think we were unlucky with the weather. Maybe it wasn't the best time to be there. There is some good sailing to be had, the charter catamaran's zoom up and down behind the reef at great speed. Mostly on a reach but if things get tough they have the size and power to motor through it. For a smaller boat, especially one that’s loaded down with cruising gear, it can be hard going at times. I don't believe there are any islands in Belize that you can have to yourself. Sure, you can anchor alone behind some mangrove Cay but if you want to walk ashore you'll be hard pressed to do so alone. In fact, you'll be hard pressed to find anywhere that you can walk! If you meet a cruising boat that really enjoyed Belize I think you will find the following applies: Powerful boat over 42ft long, a big dinghy with a big outboard, dive tanks. Charges: Almost every boat we met had to pay for (and sometimes undertake) a quarantine inspection at a cost of between thirty and fifty USD. There is a 'Clearing Out' fee' of fifteen USD per passport (but sometimes more seems to be charged depending on when and where you clear). Would we go back? Maybe! But to be honest, it was better in the Bahamas! John & Paula |