Blue Hole A Gimmick?

[terrydarc]

Is the deep dive (135'-140') in Belize a gimmick as claimed by one of the guide books? Belize Diving on Cay Caulker will not go there b/c the lady that runs the shop believes it's too dangerous.

We went with Paradise Down and were very carefully handled - 2 DM's per group of 8 divers, one leading and one behind? Actually, I must confess I felt a bit disoriented at 140', but was conscious of the possibility of being so and don't feel I was in any more danger than in the 110' dives I've made before.

I thought the experience of going over the sheer edge of the hole, the rush of upwelling cold water, the nifty groupers we saw, the beuaty of a reef shark, and bottoming out on the stalactites made it a very interesting dive?

Testing the limits and worth the time/$'s/effort/risk? Or is it pure foolishness? What do you think?
=Terry

 

[Doc]

What's most important is that you had a positive experience. It sounds like it was worth it to you and that's good enough... no doubt! :sappy:

Me? It is highly over rated. Being quite deep and very remote, necessitating a long trip for a visit... or a long time for an evacuation. The length of the trip is probably the real reason for any shop declining the trip. If the customer demands to go, shops will take you there- if they hqave the wherewithall and equipment available.

It is, as one here so aptly put it before, a "log book dive". I refer to it as "having your ticket punched". Been there, done that, got the T-Shirt.

I did it twice- many many years ago after an entry hole was blasted into the rim so as to allow a French minesweeper inside to pose for a picture, and again in the early 90's. You can see stalactite thingies much shallower, elsewhere.

The best view of the Blue Hole is afforded from 16,000 feet as TACA is flying over it on descent into Roatan from Houston. Sit on the port side, not over the wing, maybe 35 minutes out. Spectacular.

 

[gj62]

I agree with RoatanMan that the best view is from a plane and that it is a log-book dive - but I would also say it is worthwhile if you have any inkling to do it...

I did it last month. I thought it was cool - lots of big fish - easy descent, no currents and no hard overhead to speak of (at least where we were, the shelf was only 6' in). If you are going to go deep, it is good conditions for that, with the drawback of remoteness.

What is often not mentioned is that there is some GREAT diving in that area besides the Blue Hole - Half Moon Caye, Long Caye Wall, etc. Nekton does alot of diving in that area, even though they don't do the Blue Hole.

I went out from Turneffe - a much easier ride than from the mainland...

 

[coolazul]

Is the deep dive (135'-140') in Belize a gimmick as claimed by one of the guide books? Belize Diving on Cay Caulker will not go there b/c the lady that runs the shop believes it's too dangerous.

We went with Paradise Down and were very carefully handled - 2 DM's per group of 8 divers, one leading and one behind? Actually, I must confess I felt a bit disoriented at 140', but was conscious of the possibility of being so and don't feel I was in any more danger than in the 110' dives I've made before.

I thought the experience of going over the sheer edge of the hole, the rush of upwelling cold water, the nifty groupers we saw, the beuaty of a reef shark, and bottoming out on the stalactites made it a very interesting dive?

Testing the limits and worth the time/$'s/effort/risk? Or is it pure foolishness? What do you think?
=Terry

i dived blue hole a couple years ago and was unemprsssed. however, i beleive it is an advanced dive. I dive mostly cold water and I spear fish, the game i often go after are common at 110 ft. there is a big difference between 110 and 130+ ft. I get "narked" at 115-125 and don't really like it. consequently, i accend to a comfortable level. I also have a fair amount of dives. the problem in belize that i have seen, is they will take anybody down to these depths. I think it is an unsafe dive unless you are trained or have experience on deep diving. Glad you had a good experience terry. My opinion only

 

[gj62]

i dived blue hole a couple years ago and was unemprsssed. however, i beleive it is an advanced dive. I think it is an unsafe dive unless you are trained or have experience on deep diving. Glad you had a good experience terry. My opinion only

Of course it is advanced - 130'!. Of course, you don't need to go that deep - you can go 110' and see alot, if that's all your comfortable with (you probably can't get under the overhang at that depth). However, it is only unsafe if you make it so. It is a *very* contained spot - you are unlikely to get a current of any type, nor are you likely to drift off and get lost. Pick a diver operator you are comfortable with and ask the appropriate questions.

I can't stress enough how important it is to get there early - by the time we left people were lined up to get in the water - it can get crowded!

 

[Mako Mark]

overall rating? "one of the top ten dive sites in the world."

BUT and this is the big BUT,

I dived it seven years ago, and I have ever since said it was one of the most dangerous guided dives I have ever seen.

this is a serious deep dive and novices would not enjoy it, and sholdnt be taken there, although the dollar reigns supreme and they end up there anyhow.

The air was toxic, the divers were novices and ended up at 55 meters, the guides were oblivious and most of the divers should not have been there.

I really hope that things have improved since I was there. First go check the dive stores compressor. If it is as oily as the landrover engine running it, then look for another store.

I never saw the blue hole from the air, but I did see half moon caye wall, flying in an old russian 10 seater from roatan to Belize city. I nearly fell out of my seat I was so excited to see this placed and promised myself to dive it, three days later I did and I would rank that as the best Caribbean reef dive I have ever done. Imagine Cozumel 30-40 years ago.

Belize is funky, but it seems the advice on this board says, go with the internationally run liveaboards, but when there is a hurricane comming, head for the hills, 'cause even the live aboards are not safe then.

 

[DennisS]

I did it twice- many many years ago after an entry hole was blasted into the rim so as to allow a French minesweeper inside to pose for a picture, and again in the early 90's. You can see stalactite thingies much shallower, elsewhere.

The name of the former french minesweeper that blasted the channel was Calypso.

 

[gj62]

overall rating? "one of the top ten dive sites in the world."

BUT and this is the big BUT,

I dived it seven years ago, and I have ever since said it was one of the most dangerous guided dives I have ever seen.

this is a serious deep dive and novices would not enjoy it, and sholdnt be taken there, although the dollar reigns supreme and they end up there anyhow.

The air was toxic, the divers were novices and ended up at 55 meters, the guides were oblivious and most of the divers should not have been there.

I really hope that things have improved since I was there. First go check the dive stores compressor. If it is as oily as the landrover engine running it, then look for another store.

I never saw the blue hole from the air, but I did see half moon caye wall, flying in an old russian 10 seater from roatan to Belize city. I nearly fell out of my seat I was so excited to see this placed and promised myself to dive it, three days later I did and I would rank that as the best Caribbean reef dive I have ever done. Imagine Cozumel 30-40 years ago.

Belize is funky, but it seems the advice on this board says, go with the internationally run liveaboards, but when there is a hurricane comming, head for the hills, 'cause even the live aboards are not safe then.

Sounds like you had more issues about the dive operation you used, than the dive itself.

Folks, it is 130' DEEP dive. That alone says it is for advanced divers. Look into your head and heart and determine if you are ready for this type of dive. You owe it to yourself (and your family) to go with a top-shelf dive op - check around, ask on this board, etc. That said - alot of dives in Coz I think are more dangerous for a variety of reasons, and the ops/DMs more questionable...

We dove it last month out of Turneffe Island Lodge. If anyone has a bad thing to say about that operation, I've yet to hear it. Drawback is it is expensive, and since you are on a private island 90+ minutes from the mainland, you've got to commit to 4 days minimum with them. However, I guarantee you won't regret it...

Yes - the other dives on Lighthouse are some of the best. Be aware that conditions can vary - wind is ever-present in that area.

 

[gj62]

Here's a good "plane's eye view" of the Blue Hole - I like this one more than the one you usually see, because it gives you more perspective...

http://www.belizenews.com/files/pages/town/artpark/blueholemed.jpg

 

[cyklon_300]

(Turneffe) conducted the Blue Hole dive as a decompression dive. The profile was 155' with stops at 30'/20'/10'.

There was zero life observed at depth and only a few reef fish at the surface. It was an underwhelming experience for the most part.