Belize Tragedy

[Damselfish]

agree, you can't tell much from the pictures. The boats look fine from what you can see but you can't tell how they're equipped or anything. The "shop" is certainly quaint - but I've seen, well, quainter places that were actually quite good.

 

[Cudabait]

>>>>>> Absolutely insane to abandon ship in rough seas. Ill bet the crew didnt attempt to swim. I believe we are all responsible for our personal decisions but this outfit needs to be investigated. As a charter boat owner I would never allow anyone to leave my vessel after a loss of power even under ideal circumstances.<<<<<<<

Neither would I......it would seem this will rest smack on the shoulders of the operator.

Regards,
__________________

 

[Hank49]

As a charter boat owner I would never allow anyone to leave my vessel after a loss of power even under ideal circumstances.<<<<<<<

Neither would I......it would seem this will rest smack on the shoulders of the operator.

Regards,
__________________

How would you stop four people from jumping overboard if they're bound and determined even against your insistance that they don't?

 

[Cudabait]

OOOOOps........were you on the boat?

Regards,

 

[Hank49]

OOOOOps........were you on the boat?

Regards,

No. But thank you for even considering that possibility.

I've read a few other posts where people say it's the operator's fault for allowing them to jump overboard. I can't see how you could stop them. I would try like hell to talk them out of it and explain all the logical reasoning of why it's a bad idea but if they want to go........

 

[DiveMaven]

I think if nothing else, this is a hard reminder to all of us to check out the dive operator and boat that we're planning to dive from. When I heard that the boat had no emergency equipment, no first aid equipment, only 2 life jackets, and worse, NO WATER, my first thought was why these people got on board in the first place.

I wasn't there, so I'm not going to judge or second guess their decisions....they have obviously suffered horribly. This is just an excellent reinforcer of what I've always done...make sure any boat I'm boarding has the essential safety and emergency equipment on board.

My heart goes out to the family of the young woman who died. :-(

 

[Diver0001]

No Disrespect to the divers involved with this incident, but if I walked up and saw that boat, my survival instincts would kick in and I would find another opporator.
After seing the photo though, I do have a slight understanding why they abandoned ship, they were probably being baked alive sitting on a boat with no top!

And it that is a full-service dive shop, I'd hate to see what a bare bones one looks like!

I have not dove Belieze, is this type of opporation common?

I wouldn't. I like rustic. I've been on much more dodgy forms on transport than that before.... on land, sea and air....

I don't konw much about Belize but one of the nice things about diving in Central America and Mexico is that for the price you pay for a shop the local fishermen (hence my comment about dodgy transport) will take you anywhere you want to go.... and on *your* terms.

This story (getting back to the point) is really sad though, but I can somehow understand how something like that would happen. They were probably only a km from shore (give or take) if they could still see the quay as clearly as they said and the tropical conditions can lure even the most cautious of us into doing things that we otherwise might not do.....

R..

 

[Scottri]

I can't imagine jumping overboard from a boat that wasn't sinking. Common sense tells me I'm better off on the boat than swimming for it. Jumping in would be an option only if the boat was going down. Sad to hear it turned out the way it did.

 

[LavaSurfer]

Im struggling to see why people are saying those boats look so bad on the photos. Look like a standard planing type craft to me.

I wouldnt get on them with no radio/flares/SOLAS certification but looking at those photos if i didnt already know that i cant see the problem.

I think the real issue is that if there were high seas and small craft warning out that morning, those boats would probably fit into the small craft category and they never should have been taken out in the first place.

I have dove belize once and used SeasportsBelize in Belize City and they had a fairly small boat but big enough for 6 divers and two operators. The seas were 2-3 feet and it was a rough but safe ride. If there were a hurricaine sturring to the north and there were high seas warnings I would not have ever boarded.

Yes, I believe that the operator was at fault and should be penalized in whatever way they do it there in belize but why did the divers get on the boat in the first place.

Didn't they watch the weather and look at the boat?
Why did they leave a floating boat?
There has to some personal resposibility as well...

 

[Hank49]

They were probably only a km from shore (give or take) if they could still see the quay as clearly as they said and the tropical conditions can lure even the most cautious of us into doing things that we otherwise might not do.....

R..

Silk Caye, where they apparently tried to make for, is about 13 miles from shore (Placencia) but inside the reef. There are other cayes within a few miles of each other in the area. But Gladden, just to the north, is kind of like a funnel pointing out to sea. The potential currents are indicated by the abundance of sea life that accumulates there....the whale sharks, among other large amounts of fish. With west winds and an outgoing tide the current could have been pretty strong. I hear they found them 25 miles out at sea.