Diving from a Moorings bareboat charter

[geoff w]

Four of us, all experienced sailors and divers, are planning a bareboat sailing vacation with the Moorings out of Placencia toward the end of June for 9 days. Anyone have any recommendations for dive operators that will pick up/drop off from our boat while we're cruising there? I just sent inquiries to Avadon and Splash.

While we would love to see whale sharks, I'm not sure if our timing (dependent on being able to get away from work) will work with moon phase when the whale sharks are expected. We're going anyways

Any avid sailors that have done both Belize bareboat charters and liveaboard dive boats and have any strong feelings about the two one way or another? For an overall vacation, not just a dive trip

 

[AWMIII]

Four of us, all experienced sailors and divers, are planning a bareboat sailing vacation with the Moorings out of Placencia toward the end of June for 9 days. Anyone have any recommendations for dive operators that will pick up/drop off from our boat while we're cruising there? I just sent inquiries to Avadon and Splash.

While we would love to see whale sharks, I'm not sure if our timing (dependent on being able to get away from work) will work with moon phase when the whale sharks are expected. We're going anyways

Any avid sailors that have done both Belize bareboat charters and liveaboard dive boats and have any strong feelings about the two one way or another? For an overall vacation, not just a dive trip

I am a fairly serious racing and cruising sailor, but I have not sailed in Belize other than my honeymoon on a windjammer in 1997. I have used the water taxi between Belize City , Caye Caulker, and Ambergris Caye. What struck me was how shallow the whole place is. There are barely any formal navigational marks. I am also not used to sailing where the bottom was so visable. It must be deeper in general down south on the inside of the reef than it is up near Caulker and Ambergris.

The good side is the place is really empty, beautiful, and breezy. I was suppossed to go on a charter down there about 10 years ago with a local group. The group was underwhelmed. I tried to prepare them for the fact that it was a not a place where you sail from shopping and restaurant venue to shopping and restaurant venue, but they still found it to too desolate.

I would also want to know more about the pirate attack on a Moorings boat two monthes ago, before I committed to going down there.

I am sure than any of the dive operations will be happy to take you diving if you are close to their operation. If I were going, I would head to Turneffe and Lighthouse Reef for diving. I am sure that diving can be arranged with any of the operators/resorts in those locations.

 

[geoff w]

Update - Avadon has been extremely responsive to inquiries, others not at all, so it looks like we're going with Avadon (also recommended by the Moorings). They seem to be fine with pick up/drop off from our chartered sailboat, and recommended we get together with them to coordinate cruising / diving so schedules and locations align. Shallow isn't a problem, as we've done lots of bareboat charters in the south Pacific where everything is visual navigation, the charts are rough approximations and it's like a maze working our way through the coral reefs. The couple going with us also sailed their boat around the world

The pirate attack incident is pretty scary, and nothing said anytime by the Moorings

---------- Post added May 14th, 2012 at 11:42 AM ----------

...
I would also want to know more about the pirate attack on a Moorings boat two monthes ago, before I committed to going down there...

After checking in to the pirate attack, everyone in my group decided against Belize. Only one side of the story was published, but that was enough for my wife. I was really looking forward to the diving Belize. Fortunately the Moorings is working with on an alternate location, probably Abacos, Bahamas.

 

[peterbj7]

I'm not even sure of the provenance of that reported attack, but it sure sounded scary and would put me off. Because of the culture here of hushing up anything bad that happens it's hard to put reports when you do hear them into perspective. But I'm surprised The Moorings didn't warn about it, since it was one of their boats involved.