As with peter hughes and aggressor, the nekton pilot is an extremely. The ship, however, capsized and 20 people who had stayed onboard died. Two live aboard dive boats were carrying members of the club, the mv wave dancer, owned and operated by peter hughes diving, and the belize aggressor, owned and operated by the aggressor fleet. These dive boats can range from spartan to luxurious, with three dives per day. Hurricane kills virginia dive club members in belize the new. Survivors recall 17 divers lost in 01 belize disaster. If i do go to belize ever, i think id be tempted to pick sun dancer ii over the belize. Embark on thrilling scuba diving adventures aboard aggressor liveaboards, a fleet of 23 yachts offering over 40 unique itineraries in 19 countries. The luxurious belize aggressor iv formerly sun dancer ii casts off from the radisson ft. Last year 17 of my personal friends lost their lives on a dive boat named the wave dancer in belize. Now the dancer is only a few hundred more than what the nekton used to run. The aggressor fleet brings its trademark professionalism to belize diving cruises in the form of the impressive belize aggressor iii liveaboard.
Big creek, belize winds nearing 200 mph and surging seas from hurricane iris hurled a chartered boat into the air over a belize mangrove forest, capsizing the vessel and killing as. Isma teamed up with peter hughes for a 7 day diving adventure in belize, one of the smallest countries in central america. Direct from the author, the newest lp book was supposed to have been published mid2010. Wave dancer investigative report ambergris caye belize. Phdi says, they were too far south to turn around and head for belize city. Business email directory for belize, website directory for belize. Dive club settlement insufficient, lawyer says the 20 victims died on a dive expedition to belize aboard the wave dancer, a 120footlong ship owned by miamibased peter hughes diving inc. You will enjoy a week of hasslefree diving at lighthouse reef and half moon caye where the moray eels, spiny lobsters and tiny arrow crabs hide in every crack, crevice, cave and tunnel of these beautiful coral formations and then theres the mystical blue hole. Oct 09, 2001 according to peter hughes, the most concentrated part of the hurricane struck a 15mile wide section of belize coast, including big creek and placencia, a small fishing village inflicting massive.
As many as 20 people, mostly americans on a diving vacation in belize, died on monday night after their chartered luxury boat capsized when 15foot tidal surges whipped by hurricane iriss 140mileperhour winds overwhelmed the dock where they had sought safe haven. In 2011, hughes received the dema reaching out award for helping to evolve the liveaboard diving industry over the past three decades. Enjoy diving one of the worlds most biodiverse marine environments with the indo aggressor, bringing you the topquality service you expect from the aggressor fleet. Survivors recall 17 divers lost in 01 belize disaster archive. Exploring papua new guineas bismarck sea and beyond. Very spacious cabins, huge ac salon, well laid out dive platform with great. The newly renovated febrina is truly one of the worlds great liveaboards and her affiliation with peter hughes diving makes her even easier to book. Peter hughes is a diving pioneer and has been for several decades. The liveaboard dive vessel mv wave dancer of the peter hughes diving dancer fleet was capsized by a combination of strong wind and surging water while moored in big creek, an area of southern belize. I had detected some inaccuracies in the previous edition and offered to proofread the new edition. Of the nearly two dozen boats that sought shelter from the storm at big creek harbor only one sank. At 9am, the decision was made to continue on to big creek. Another powerful influence on young hughes at this time was a book his.
For over 25 years, hughes ran the most recognized liveaboard company in the world and his name still stands for excellence in dive travel. The settlement money was distributed among victims and their. Belize liveaboards, nekton pilot, belize agressor and wave. For 36 years, weve designed adventure vacations around the world. Future events past events 2011 portage 2011 belize. Peter hughes boats were approximate the same price and the nekton much cheaper. Peter hughes diving cruises since its set up in 1986, this liner has been favorite cruise liner for scuba diving enthusiasts.
Weve been there ourselves and have the knowledge and experience to help you select the hotel, resort, and dive operation best suited to your personal needs. Liveaboard padi travel padi travel scuba diving vacations. Peter hughes diving, operator of the boat, stayed in business. Compiled by belize development email list this directory is a public benefit project of the new belize development email list. The sundancer ii is the mercedes of liveaboard in terms of layout and accommodations. At play in the realm of the wave dancer skin diver. Check out our indonesia dive liveaboards traveling to raja ampat, komodo and the. Miami, florida peter hughes recently announced his resignation as president of peter hughes diving, inc. You dont need to be an avid birder to enjoy the sight of toucans.
Paul humanns book reports bluestripe lizardfish as being rare, but i must have seen 7 10 of them. Of these maybe 250 tops offered diving in conjunction with an operator. I dont know if it has been i havent yet bought a guide book for belize. The wave dancer tragedy belize releases its final report from undercurrent april, 2005 issue. Specialized travel agents or wholesalers were about the only way to book these locales, few booked direct with resorts. Reserve your space on the galapagos master today your luxury liveaboard diving vacation starts here. Huge dive variety, including vertical walls, deep water trenches, submerged and exploding volcanoes and the chance to see everything from sharks and mantas to thousands of species of fish. From personal experiences, can any of you put in your 2 cents about which operation you prefer overall. Nearly a year after the wave dancer diveboat disaster in belize, an insurance settlement has been reached that has left peter hughes diving. Peter hughes diving changes its name to dancer fleet. That same year, after spending more than 25 years building his former liveaboard company, peter hughes diving, inc. The diving belize trip report april 2001 page 2 the boat. Belize scuba diving vacations belize scuba travel adventures.
George dock, located in the heart of downtown belize city for a week. Seventeen divers from the richmond, virginia, dive club and three crew. Lionfish are moving quickly throughout the caribbean and have now shown up in belize. The author didnt seem interested, so that turned me off lp. In 2011, hughes received the dema reaching out award for helping to evolve the liveaboard diving.
Patricia rose, a spokeswoman for peter hughes diving in miami said the boat had been chartered by the richmond dive club of richmond. Despite its size, the country offers a wealth of opportunities for. The story of the richmond dive club tragedy in belize touched my heart. Along with the name change is a rebranding of the entire organization that incorporates the new name and logo. From ambergris caye to the dedicated outisland dive resorts, island dreams brings you the best of belize. I have read extensively on the websites about the aggressor boats and the peter hughes boats. The tragic loss of twenty lives on october 8, 2001, when peter hughes wave dancer. The suit alleges that peter hughes, owner of peter hughes diving inc. We had a room with a king bed and there was still enough space for two end tables on either side of the bed for books and personal items. I bought and read this book after returning from a scuba diving trip on the peter hughes diving ship sky dancer in the galapagos islands. With this passion in mind, terri decided in 1998 that corporate banking was no longer where she belonged, and decided to turn her love of diving into a career. Peter recalls that two major things happened in his life while working in bonaire, both involving the venerable capt don stewart, his sole dive shop rival. For over 25 years, hughes ran the most recognized liveaboard. Belize enjoys the worlds second longest barrier reef and the diving around turneffe islands and lighthouse reef atolls is worth revisiting time and time again.
The name peter hughes has become synonymous with luxury liveaboard dive travel and for good reason. One womans fight to save the worlds most beautiful bird by bruc. No safe harbor describes the turn of events that brought the live aboard dive ship wave dancer into a small harbor in belize where it sought safety from hurricane iris in october of 2001. She also capsized a luxury yacht carrying 20 members of the richmond virginia dive club who were in belize for a week of rest, relaxation, and scuba diving. Diving is a great option if you have an interest in the underwater world.
Nekton diving cruises usa vessel operating in belize from november 2000 may 2001 bahamas may 2001 nov 2001. There were a total of 20 divers on the wave dancer from all around the us and canada. They were high most of the time and lacked basic diving knowledge. Patricia rose, a vice president with peter hughes diving, said the boats crew followed a procedure that they and commercial vessels had.
They damaged many divers equipment, including mine. Peter hughes resigns from peter hughes diving and the dancer. I have enjoyed three trips here on both the aggressor and peter hughes live aboard dive boats. Departing every saturday, you will visit the best sites around turneffe and lighthouse reefs as well as the worldfamous blue hole, provided weather conditions allow. Hurricane kills virginia dive club members in belize the.
Having built the liveaboard dive boat company from scratch over the past 25 years, hughes. We arrived in belize city, belize one night early from the day our liveaboard was supposed to depart. Belize is a wall divers paradise adorned with huge crimson gorgonians and giant orange elephant ear sponges. In 1990, the gold book an essential listing of all resorts listed 600 resorts in the caribbean basin.
Debarger had gone to his cabin on the middle deck to look for a book and stow some diving gear. Belize liveaboards, nekton pilot, belize agressor and wave dancer. The rough guide to belize paperback by rough guides author september 29, 2014 authored by british raf pilot stationed in belize peter eltringham, the rough guide to belize is the ultimate travel guide to this unique country, with clear maps and detailed coverage of all the best attractions, from the beautiful, sunwashed cayes to the soaring mayan pyramids. According to peter hughes, the most concentrated part of the hurricane struck a 15mile wide section of belize coast, including big creek and placencia, a small fishing village. With 618 known species of bird found in belize at least part of the year. We had 5 doctors, a dentist and several nurses aboard, so there was no lack of good stories and dark humor. Our 100 to 148foot live aboard yachts host 14 to 26 guests with luxury accommodations and the highest attention to safety. Aggressor will do almost all those things but in a slightly less over the top way either company is awesome. Belize diving adventures is located on the beautiful island of ambergris caye pronounced key in a small quaint town named san pedro, next to the belize yacht club resort and changes in latitude, only a 15minute flight from belize city on the dock of the isla bonita yacht club formerly the belize yacht club. Embark on thrilling scuba diving adventures aboard aggressor liveaboards, a fleet of 23.
Dive club settlement insufficient, lawyer says street. With 618 known species of bird found in belize at least part of the year, this little country is one of the worlds top spots for exotic bird watching. The most visited destinations of peter hughes diving cruises are galapagos, belize. Peter hughes diving changes its name to dancer fleet sport. Then peter hughes without advising us in advance, subcontracting the whale shark encounter to a local dive shop. We had a room with a king bed and there was still enough space for two end tables on either side of the bed for books.
When hughes was younger, his focus was on getting as many kids to learn to dive as possible, but it was in bonaire that his focus shifted to getting more women into diving. Hugh parkeys belize dive connection san pedro 2020 all. Belize dive travel vacations belize scuba diving adventure values. Diving up to 4 times per day you can expect to see schooling hammerheads, galapagos sharks, tuna, sea lions, iguanas, eagle rays and much more. Belize aggressor iv scuba diving travel, dive news and.
Join reef and peter hughes diving in a special research, education and removal project in belize this june. The story of the richmond dive club tragedy in belize. Travel to familiar, easy to access places in the caribbean like the bahamas and british virgin islands bvi. Harry deals with hughes net as well and is much closer.
Peter hughes began his diplomatic career in 1985 as desk officer in defence department and has served overseas in australia, the caribbean, south asia, afghanistan and north east asia. From owning a resort to an equipment company to a fleet of liveaboards, his passion for. It taught me that no matter where we are and what we are doing, we each must take responsibility for our own safety. They did not care about the divers or their equipment. This month the company has announced they are formally changing their name to dancer fleet, inc. The upcoming peter hughes belize lionfish awarenessoutreach trip turns to lionfish researchremoval after the first lionfish was discovered in central american waters. Peter hughes resigns from peter hughes diving and the.
Liveaboard fleet with vessels in bali indonesia, belize, galapagos, grenada, maldives, north sulawesiraja ampat, papua new guinea, and tobago. Theres actually one more name you can trust for internet or solar systems or computer stuff in belize and that is computer ranch in spanish lookout. George dock, located in the heart of downtown belize city for a week of hasslefree diving to lighthouse reef, half moon cay and the famous blue hole. By 3pm the wave dancer was at big creek more than 120 miles to the south east. I currently would not hesitate to re book a trip on the belize aggressor that used to be a hughes boat, and we actually spent a very pleasant week diving with peter his. Or you can literally watch from the water with a liveaboard dive boat such as peter hughes diving or the agressor fleet. Liveaboard dive charters are luxury vessels that take anything from 18 30 divers on 6 day6 night cruises to belize atolls and lighthouse reef. Peter hughes diving scuba diving skip to main content. Peter hughes knows a thing or two about liveaboards, and he has a spot in the dema hall of fame to prove it. Discussion in basic scuba discussions started by sdiver02, sep 29, 2002. About william cline cline group advertising, marketing. Feb 07, 2006 if thats not enough time in the water, consider a liveaboard boat such as peter hughes diving s sun dancer ii. American airlines provides service from miami and continental flies to belize from houston. Having built the liveaboard dive boat company from scratch over the past 25 years, hughes reluctantly knew he had to sell the company in 2008 as a result of mounting debts due to the rapidly collapsing global economy.
We chose peter hughes s sun dancer for our week long scuba diving trip, with aspirations to see the famous blue hole. I have enjoyed three trips here on both the aggressor and peter hughes. Philip martin arrogantly and illegally ignored government orders to evacuate the boat as iris blew into belize. Beka lamb by zee edgell, the last flight of the scarlet macaw. A liveaboard trip is for the serious scuba diver who wants diving time in belize above all other conditions. Isla marisol resort dive resort isla marisol, a private island resort and one of the last true paradises in the caribbean offering the best diving in our world heritage site.
Things to do near hugh parkeys belize dive connection. As with peter hughes and aggressor, the nekton pilot is an extremely comfortable liveaboard vessel designed to maximise your diving in some of the most pristine waters around belize. The liveaboard dive vessel mv wave dancer of the peter hughes diving dancer fleet was capsized by a combination of strong wind and surging water while moored in big creek, an area of southern belize well known to boaters for its protection from storms. Join reef aboard the sun dancer ii from june 20 for this exciting and fun diving. Submit a free request for information with one of these 11 scuba dive centers in belize who offer scuba lessons, fun dives and scuba dive packages with accommodation in belize or contact us directly. When a liveaboard trip is cancelled the day you arrive. In the unlikely event youre unfamiliar with email lists, when any subscriber posts a message to the lists email address, its automatically mailed to all other subscribers. Very spacious cabins, huge ac salon, well laid out dive platform with great photography facilities. They were high most of the time and lacked basic diving.
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