Warning: Bad Belize Dive Experience

[Tigerman]

...
I assumed it was a venue designed for intelligent discussion about diving which might benefit and inform the entire community
...

And as such there has been quite a few questions asked that have not been answered..

 

[Doc]

Although I rarely use this site, I assumed it was a venue designed for intelligent discussion about diving which might benefit and inform the entire community....

You use this site previously to gather trip information, but until now you have never presented a trip report.

When your first trip report post is negative, it does engender certain responses.

BTW- local laws may obviate the "requirement" for individual emergency life jackets.

 

[vladimir]

If you buy the $99 special, you should probably expect a few compromises. The dive operators I used in Belize, Turneffe Island Resort and Aggressor, twice, had exemplary dive operations and regard to safety.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I don't have enough data to generalize about Belize dive ops, but I'll add my own couple of data points. I took a Blue Hole trip out of Ambergris and, judging from reading about others' experiences, it was one of the safest. The group's depth maxed at just over 120 feet, for example, and the boat, briefing and everything else seemed top notch. In contrast, I took another trip from a place off the beaten track, and it was felt like the least safe trip I've taken anywhere. The weather was rough, yet to save gas they decided to take the small boat rather than the big boat. We ended up having to turn back to take the big boat instead, as the small boat was in danger of swamping in the waves. The rental BCs and wetsuits were threadbare. O-rings leaking all over the place. The divemaster took off like a rocket, leaving much of the group behind. I could go on. I wouldn't go so far as to call Belize "The Wild West of diving," but I suspect there is a LOT of variability among dive ops in Belize.

 

[flareside]

BTW- local laws may obviate the "requirement" for individual emergency life jackets.

Actually that would only be due to a "lack" of local laws. No country is going to legislate such an obviously unsafe standard.

 

[nimoh]

Actually that would only be due to a "lack" of local laws. No country is going to legislate such an obviously unsafe standard.

I think we are both nit-picking here, but I think RoatanMan's statement is correct.

There may be a law that requires life jackets unless superseded by local laws, and local laws might be that no life jackets are required, in essence removing the requirement for emergency life jackets.

As an example, in Wisconsin, the law states that all vessels must have at least one USCG-approved life vest for each passenger, however, and exception is given to windsurfers (which is technically also a vessel). Thus, windsurfers by law, are not required to wear a life jacket, but are encouraged to.

 

[Downing]

Bravo to the OP and/or the Mod for changing the title to more accurately and fairly reflect the thread's subject.

 

[ScubaSteve]

Bravo to the [-]OP and/or the[/-] Mod for changing the title to more accurately and fairly reflect the thread's subject.

There ya go

 

[nimoh]

Bravo to the Mod for correcting the poster congratulating the Mod for changing the title to more accurately and fairly reflect the thread's subject

 

[Mike]

The guy started a thread and titled it like he chose, somebody has to screw with it like it really matters, to correct it based on their own personal bias.

It's the OP's opinion, can't someone have an opinion, or do opinions have to first be approved by scubaboard mods?