Trip Report - Huracan Diving

[chillyinCanada]

I'm with you Downing! I've spent long periods of time in Belize and when I need the air con, I need it and that's that. Yes, during cooler periods, I have been able to have it off part of the time.

But where I'm not with you, is that I do take long pants and a light sweater or zipped front hoodie. There are evenings when it's necessary. Those would be the times the locals are wearing toques and heavy jackets. Don't laugh, it happens. Looks funny as heck to us Northerners, I know.

Sometimes of an evening, I just like the light sweater to cover my shoulders when the breeze is blowing hard off the ocean.

 

[Pembina]

Is spearfishing allowed?

 

[Stoo]

Is spearfishing allowed?

At Huracan? The DMs regularly take lionfish (and we put them to good use at dinner). I'm not sure about other hunting. Halfmoon is a marine park, so I doubt it would be allowed there.

Get a camera instead.

 

[Pembina]

Glad to know that they cook lionfish. ummmm... lionfish good

 

[Stoo]

Glad to know that they cook lionfish. ummmm... lionfish good

And sometimes raw... they make a mean sushi

 

[Candiru]

I noticed in one of your pictures there was a nitrox tank in the dive shop. When I emailed the manager they said there was no nitrox. Is his the case?

 

[chillyinCanada]

No nitrox? Real deal killer even if I could bring myself to get over the no air con.

 

[Stoo]

I noticed in one of your pictures there was a nitrox tank in the dive shop. When I emailed the manager they said there was no nitrox. Is his the case?

I thought I had responded to this, but I guess it was in a PM, so I will answer here again...

As I have repeatedly said, Huracan is remote and as a result "everything" is more challenging for staff. Schlepping K bottles of oxygen would be challenging and expensive, but certainly possible.

Having said that, if they had nitrox, I suspect I'd only use it some of the time. I like to dive deep on some of the walls, especially if I am after some specific image. I don't want to be hampered by the limitations that nitrox presents. Of course the downside is a higher decompression obligation, but almost without exception, the reefs there end in shallow waters, so for the most part, you can simply work your way up into the shallows as your dive progresses. It's rare that we end up doing an actually "decompression stop" floating in the water column. (Bear in mind that Mrs. Stoo and I are very comfortable with this sort of diving. Even if we do need to complete a 5 or 10 minute deco stop while drifting in the open, we are completely at ease doing that. I have mentioned that she and I generally don't dive with the group, so it's not unusual for us to blow a bag and then surface 1/2 mile away from everyone else.)

I should contrast the diving with TIR because there, nitrox is critical. Around Turneffe, most of the reefs top out in perhaps 40' to 50'. Without nitrox, you would find yourself into mandatory deco by about day 2 and spend a lot of time drifting above the reef watching the action below.

 

[Stoo]

No nitrox? Real deal killer even if I could bring myself to get over the no air con.

As I have said several times, Huracan isn't for everyone.

My other favorite dive spot in earth is this place: Browning Pass HideAway Resort

The Hideaway makes Huracan look like a 7-star paradise. It's remote, it's shabby, and it's amazing. I run a group trip there every fall when it's cold and pretty much always raining. Hot water is "occasional" and heat in the rooms is almost non-existent. But if only I had one week left to dive in my life, this is the place I would go. Others clearly share my sentiment since my trip generally sells out in 48 hours, and most are return guests.

However, at my insistence, the operator there banks nitrox for us. It's a PITA, and we generally end up loading the bottles of O2 ourselves, but it's worth having there. The dives there are not deep as a rule, so nitrox really allows us to dive longer. I wear a steel 120 there, and most dives are about 70 minutes.

So each to their own. If you "must have" A/C and nitrox then you should not go to Huracan. Go to Turneffe instead. It's also an awesome spot and the diving is almost as nice.