Cover and Belize Article

S p o r t
c r u i s e r s
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k e e p
southernboating.com
he
est
Tof B
Belize
2013
Annapolis
Boat Show Preview
Charters
for Everyone
Discover Your Paradise This Year
y o u r
e y e
o n
SEPTEMBER 2013
Departments
SEPTEMBER 2013 / Volume XLI Number 12
Columns
Regions
Technical
8
20 Chesapeake/Mid-Atlantic Report
By Christopher Knauss
36 Engine Room
By Frank Lanier
View From The Pilothouse
By Skip Allen, Sr.
10 Mail From Readers
14 Stem To Stern
22 Southeast Seaboard News
By Nancy Spraker
24 Bahamas Update
By Kimberly Grant
26 Caribbean Currents
By Carol Bareuther
28 East Gulf Coast Report
By Troy Gilbert
38 What’s New In Electronics
By Lawrence Husick
30 West Gulf Coast Report
By Mike Holmes
40 Weekend Workshop
By Doug Thompson
On the Cover
18 Boating Log
32 Racing Roundup
By Michael Tamulaites
64 Place: Key West, Florida
By Liz Pasch
66 Events: Annapolis
Boat Shows
By Laura Dunn
68 At Ease In The Galley
By Carrie Hanna
96Scuttlebutt
4 • SOUTHERN BOATING • S eptember 2013
Photo by Astrum Helicopters, who create
unforgettable adventures to the Blue Hole,
Glovers Reef, Turneffe Islands, Victoria
Peak, Altun Ha, Carocol, Lamanai, and
many other attractions in Belize. Go to
astrumhelicopters.com, email info@
astrumhelicopters.com, or call toll-free in
the U.S. +1 (888) 278-7864 or while in
Belize +501-222-5100.
SOUTHERN BOATING magazine (Volume 41. N0.
12) (ISSN 0192-3579) (USPS 938-620) is published
monthly by Southern Boating and Yachting, Inc., 330
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Belize
D e s t i n at i o n
Charter options
sites in Belize. Day tripping to sites before or after cruising or island
hopping is easy since Belize is only 185 miles long and 75 miles wide.
Hotels and charter companies are happy to arrange excursions.
Boat travel up winding rivers to both Altun Ha and Lamanai in Northern
Belize is a treat. Altun Ha—Mayan for “water of the rock”—was a small
but important ceremonial and trading center located 31 miles north of
Belize City where archeologists found the largest Mayan carved jade
object, a jade head. Lamanai (“submerged crocodile” in Mayan) appears
out of the rainforest after a 26-mile boat ride on the New River. It is
famous for a stela of a Mayan ruler wearing a crocodile headdress. The
Mayans occupied this site for 3,000 years.
Landlubbers are content to stay ashore, but mariners come to life
on the water and Belize has plenty of that. Along its entire Caribbean
coastline lays the longest unbroken barrier reef in the Western
Hemisphere—a UNESCO World Heritage site. More than 100 species
Sunsail
Laru Beya Resort, Placencia
Phone: (888) 350-3568; local 011 (501) 523-4057
[email protected]
sunsail.com
The Moorings
Laru Beya Resort, Placencia Peninsula
Phone: (888) 952-8420; local 011 (501) 523-3351
moorings.com
TMM Charters
San Pedro, Ambergris Caye
Phone: (800) 633-0155; local 011 (501) 226-3026
[email protected]
sailtmm.com/Belize
nancy spraker
“It’s unBelizeable!”
Belize Sailing Vacations
Belize City
Phone: (866) 873-1171; local 011 (501) 664-5300
[email protected]
belizesailingvacations.com
There
is a lengthy list of sensible reasons
brings one close to water birds and crocodiles. The country
why Belize belongs on the must-do list
is chock-full of limestone caves and sinkholes to hike and
when it comes to Caribbean cruising. First, a two-hour flight
swim in, some of which even contain Mayan treasures. Belize
from the United States to Belize City makes it easy to travel
has a baboon sanctuary and one of the only jaguar preserves
to, English is the official language and it is one of the most
in the world. Howler monkeys and toucans peer out of
affordable destinations in the Caribbean—the U.S. dollar
its verdant rainforests. With hundreds of offshore islands,
is widely accepted and is worth twice the Belizean dollar.
beachcombing, diving, snorkeling, and boating are superb.
Second (or fourth, depending on how you count), electricity
Belize tourism board
One of the Caribbean’s best, best-kept secrets
Above: The Great Blue Hole is 980 feet wide and 407 feet deep.
Opposite: The “High Temple” at Lamanai is more than 100 feet tall.
The more than 321,000 people of Belize come from eight
is the same as in the U.S., and you can drink the water. (Visit
distinct cultures: Maya, Mestizo, Creole, Garifuna, East
travelbelize.org for details.) But most of all, besides all of the
Indian, German Mennonite, Arab, and Chinese, all of which
sensible reasons to visit Belize, the country’s overwhelming
add their distinct seasoning to the dish of Belizean music,
of coral and 500 species of fish call the area home. Eight
town of San Pedro, is a little livelier than Caye Caulker where
draw is the natural beauty of its islands, waters and
cuisine and art. The Mayan culture is ever present. From
protected marine reserves, including the famous Blue
the motto “Go Slow” says it all. Both places have access to
rainforests, along with its intriguing Mayan culture, all of which
250-900 A.D. the mathematically brilliant Mayan civilization
Hole—a 1,000-foot-wide sinkhole in the sea—provide
the mainland with $20 round-trip water taxis (45 minutes) and
are wrapped up in an intoxicatingly relaxed way of life.
flourished in Central America leaving 1,400 archeological
SCUBA divers and snorkelers wondrous guided experiences
$138 round-trip Tropic Air flights (15 minutes). The charter
year round.
company TMM is based in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye. Both
Belize is the pioneer of sustainable tourism and, proud
of its abundance of natural wonders, it pampers them and
shows them off well. Boating on ancient Mayan waterways
50 • SOUTHERN BOATING • S eptember 2013
By Nancy E. Spraker
Caye Caulker and Ambergris Caye are the largest and
islands are good places to provision, gas up and top off the
most populated islands of Belize. Ambergris Caye, with the
water tank. Required diving and snorkel guides are available
S eptember 2013 • SOUTHERN BOATING • 51
At right: Traditional Belizean sailing sloops in Belize City are used
for fishing.
nancy spraker
Clockwise from top left: A veritable
treasure chest of Mother Nature’s
beauty rewards scuba divers; a sea
turtle cruises in Shark Ray Alley;
Placencia in the Stann Creek District;
kayakers on the Sibun river; Big Rock
Falls on the Privassion River; the
Keel-Billed Toucan,
Belize’s national bird;
of fish swim just offshore. A favorite place for mingling with
to the Placencia Peninsula in southern Belize. Uninhabited
people and fish on Caye Caulker is at The Split. This small
islands provide dot-to-dot sailing in uncluttered water. From
channel separates the island and it is here that people hang
April to June people come to swim with whale sharks, and
out all day at the Lazy Lizard Bar. Snorkel in the morning with
drums beat during the celebration of the Garifuna in November,
starfish, eat curried lobster, coconut rice and beans with a
but most of the time tranquility is the main attraction.
Belikin Beer for lunch, and then return to the water where a
Chartering a catamaran for a week in Belize is possible
float is the perfect means of transportation.
through Sunsail and The Moorings based in Placencia, TMM
Life becomes more peaceful as one travels down the coast
Yacht Charters on Ambergris Caye, and other local charter
THE 2 BEST SOLUTIONS FOR ULTRA
LOW SULFUR DIESEL PROBLEMS
Belize tourism board photos
Ultra low sulfur diesel & biodiesel, now sold at marinas, can
cause real problems for your marine diesel engine, your boating
enjoyment, and pocketbook. ValvTect BioGuard7 Plus 6 and
ValvTect Marine Diesel Fuel both contain BioGuard 7
micro-biocide, plus six additional additives that provide
complete protection from bacteria and all other harmful effects
of today’s ultra low sulfur diesel and biodiesel.
ValvTect BioGuard7 Plus 6
and ValvTect Marine Diesel Fuel Will Help:
on both islands for visits to several nearby marine reserves.
Ragamuffin Tours on Caye Caulker offers the unique
Dolphins play with the sloop’s bow wave en route to snorkel
adventures with nurse sharks, stingrays, sea turtles, blue
experience of sailing on an authentic Belizean sailing sloop
tangs, moray eels, goatfish, trunk fish, blueheads, butterfly fish,
all day, visiting Hol Chan Reserve, Coral Gardens and Shark
and the list goes on. Ragamuffin insists that all footwear be left
Ray Alley sites for only $70. Included meals could be stewed
at the dock before departure. By the time the pile of flip-flops
chicken, coconut rice or freshly-made shrimp ceviche washed
are returned, life is seen in a better light!
down with rum punch mixed in an oversized water jug.
52 • SOUTHERN BOATING • S eptember 2013
All beaches on Ambergris and Caulker are public and plenty
✓ Prevent bacteria
✓ Clean-up carbon deposits
✓ Reduce fuel consumption
✓ Disperse moisture
✓ Prevent rust & corrosion
✓ Lubricate fuel pumps & injectors
✓ Stabilize fuel for up to 2 years
VALVTECT PETROLEUM PRODUCTS (800) 728-8258 . WWW.VALVTECT.COM
S eptember 2013 • SOUTHERN BOATING • 53
Nancy Spraker
Sharing a Belizean sunset: the end to a perfect day on Caye Caulker near the Iguana Reef Inn
companies. Whether you bareboat or hire a captain and crew,
reef protects sailors from ocean swells, and trade winds
charter is a great way to experience Belizean waters. Just
almost guarantee 20 knots of wind every day. The Cruising
keep in mind that charter companies insist that bareboaters
Guide to Belize and Mexico’s Caribbean Coast by Freya
stay within the barrier reef unless accompanied by a local
Rauscher (3rd Edition) is the guide of choice and can be
captain. Navigational aids are sparse and navigation by sight
ordered from [email protected]. Most companies
with a bow watch is highly recommended due to “skinny”
provide copies onboard but TMM and The Moorings give a
waters and coral reefs. The place is remote beyond the cayes
copy to charters.
and communication is sketchy at times on both cellphone
Perhaps “Mother Nature’s Best Kept Secret” is less of
and VHF. Gas, water, ice, and provisions should be conserved
a secret now. Once this country’s natural playground is
since replenishment is spotty. On the bright side, the barrier
experienced it could be said, “It’s unBelizeable!”
54 • SOUTHERN BOATING • S eptember 2013