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Well we’ve only been in Belize less than a week but it’s already been quite the adventure. We arrived in San Pedro after an uncomfortable sail from Cuba and scary passage through a very narrow break in the reef. Most of Belize is protected by a barrier reef, which is the second longest in the world. The waters inside the reef are protected from the waves and the swell of the Caribbean Sea so the water is very calm. We’ve been sailing in 6 to 10 ft of bright blue water and dodging coral heads; it’s been the best sailing of the entire trip.
From San Pedro we sailed south to Caye Caulker which is near the Hol Chan Marine Reserve and is meant to have some of the best snorkeling in Belize. We decided to go on a snorkeling tour boat, which promised to guarantee lots of marine life, unlimited rum punch, and non-stop reggae music – this was actually one of their selling points. With high spirits we set sail on the Ragga King, a Belizean made wooden sailboat, a cup in our hand and music blasting from the cockpit. The first stop on the tour was The Coral Gardens where we saw incredible coral formations and had a traditional Creole lunch. Unfortunately, Caribbean cuisine is not so veggie friendly and our lunch consisted of the not so traditional chopped up lettuce. The next stop was Shark Ray Alley where we swam with sting rays and nurse sharks. The guides brought along a bucket of sardines and created a bit of a feeding frenzy in the water while about twenty of us swam around them - it was pandemonium. When the bait ran out things calmed down a bit and we got to touch a ray and a nurse shark. Apparently Adam also pushed a big grouper fish; he was very pleased. Our last stop of the day was a guided tour of the oldest part of the reserve where we saw loads of fish, turtles, and a spotted eagle ray. As the sun started to set we had a great sail back to Caye Caulker; the crew plied us with rum punch and captain Ellis even let Adam steer the boat.
On our third night in Caye Caulker there was a big thunderstorm. We had been fishtailing around quite a bit but around 1 am the boat started to hobby horse and it felt like we were thumping the bottom. The wind changed direction during the storm, turning us around about 180 degrees. We think that the anchor must have popped out of the sand and dragged us into the shallow water – we were definitely hard aground. We tried to motor off but we weren’t able to make any progress with just the engine. Adam rowed anchors out in the dinghy to various spots around the boat, in various combinations, to try to help pull us off. Next we used the boom to hoist the dinghy, which Adam filled with water and an anchor, and then I got inside and hung from the ropes to try to get the boat to heel. When that didn’t work Adam locked the wheel, put the boat in forward, and joined me in the dinghy. After that Adam ran the anchor line up the mast and, using a multi level snatchblock system, used the anchor to heel the boat as much as possible to the right (starboard) and then to the left (port). As it started to get light we re-assessed the situation and came up with magic combination that managed to give us enough forward momentum to get the boat moving. Unfortunately, we had two anchors out at the time and they prevented us from going very far so there was a bit of a scramble to get free. We quickly abandoned the bow anchor, along with 150 ft of chain, and Adam dove overboard with the tail end of the second anchor line in one hand and the painter for the dinghy in the other. I was able to get us out of the shallows and then do circles around the deeper water while Adam collected both anchors and rowed out to meet me. In the end we were quite pleased with ourselves and more than a little surprised that it worked. The whole process, from start to finish, took just under 8 hours so we were also exhausted. Our main goal for the rest of the trip has changed from seeing a manatee to avoiding ever running aground again. Obviously if we can train a manatee to tow us, then all bets are off.
From San Pedro we sailed south to Caye Caulker which is near the Hol Chan Marine Reserve and is meant to have some of the best snorkeling in Belize. We decided to go on a snorkeling tour boat, which promised to guarantee lots of marine life, unlimited rum punch, and non-stop reggae music – this was actually one of their selling points. With high spirits we set sail on the Ragga King, a Belizean made wooden sailboat, a cup in our hand and music blasting from the cockpit. The first stop on the tour was The Coral Gardens where we saw incredible coral formations and had a traditional Creole lunch. Unfortunately, Caribbean cuisine is not so veggie friendly and our lunch consisted of the not so traditional chopped up lettuce. The next stop was Shark Ray Alley where we swam with sting rays and nurse sharks. The guides brought along a bucket of sardines and created a bit of a feeding frenzy in the water while about twenty of us swam around them - it was pandemonium. When the bait ran out things calmed down a bit and we got to touch a ray and a nurse shark. Apparently Adam also pushed a big grouper fish; he was very pleased. Our last stop of the day was a guided tour of the oldest part of the reserve where we saw loads of fish, turtles, and a spotted eagle ray. As the sun started to set we had a great sail back to Caye Caulker; the crew plied us with rum punch and captain Ellis even let Adam steer the boat.
On our third night in Caye Caulker there was a big thunderstorm. We had been fishtailing around quite a bit but around 1 am the boat started to hobby horse and it felt like we were thumping the bottom. The wind changed direction during the storm, turning us around about 180 degrees. We think that the anchor must have popped out of the sand and dragged us into the shallow water – we were definitely hard aground. We tried to motor off but we weren’t able to make any progress with just the engine. Adam rowed anchors out in the dinghy to various spots around the boat, in various combinations, to try to help pull us off. Next we used the boom to hoist the dinghy, which Adam filled with water and an anchor, and then I got inside and hung from the ropes to try to get the boat to heel. When that didn’t work Adam locked the wheel, put the boat in forward, and joined me in the dinghy. After that Adam ran the anchor line up the mast and, using a multi level snatchblock system, used the anchor to heel the boat as much as possible to the right (starboard) and then to the left (port). As it started to get light we re-assessed the situation and came up with magic combination that managed to give us enough forward momentum to get the boat moving. Unfortunately, we had two anchors out at the time and they prevented us from going very far so there was a bit of a scramble to get free. We quickly abandoned the bow anchor, along with 150 ft of chain, and Adam dove overboard with the tail end of the second anchor line in one hand and the painter for the dinghy in the other. I was able to get us out of the shallows and then do circles around the deeper water while Adam collected both anchors and rowed out to meet me. In the end we were quite pleased with ourselves and more than a little surprised that it worked. The whole process, from start to finish, took just under 8 hours so we were also exhausted. Our main goal for the rest of the trip has changed from seeing a manatee to avoiding ever running aground again. Obviously if we can train a manatee to tow us, then all bets are off.