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. A liveaboard trip is for the serious scuba diver who wants diving time in belize above all other conditions. 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. Survivors recall 17 divers lost in 01 belize disaster. 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.
If i do go to belize ever, i think id be tempted to pick sun dancer ii over the belize. Nearly a year after the wave dancer diveboat disaster in belize, an insurance settlement has been reached that has left peter hughes diving. As with peter hughes and aggressor, the nekton pilot is an extremely. Business email directory for belize, website directory for belize. Lionfish are moving quickly throughout the caribbean and have now shown up in belize. Survivors recall 17 divers lost in 01 belize disaster archive. Of these maybe 250 tops offered diving in conjunction with an operator. 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.
Seventeen divers from the richmond, virginia, dive club and three crew. 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. The name peter hughes has become synonymous with luxury liveaboard dive travel and for good reason. Peter hughes boats were approximate the same price and the nekton much cheaper. I had detected some inaccuracies in the previous edition and offered to proofread the new edition. The wave dancer tragedy belize releases its final report from undercurrent april, 2005 issue. The settlement money was distributed among victims and their. Peter hughes diving cruises since its set up in 1986, this liner has been favorite cruise liner for scuba diving enthusiasts. The upcoming peter hughes belize lionfish awarenessoutreach trip turns to lionfish researchremoval after the first lionfish was discovered in central american waters. 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. Hurricane kills virginia dive club members in belize the new. We had 5 doctors, a dentist and several nurses aboard, so there was no lack of good stories and dark humor. Isma teamed up with peter hughes for a 7 day diving adventure in belize, one of the smallest countries in central america. From personal experiences, can any of you put in your 2 cents about which operation you prefer overall.
Check out our indonesia dive liveaboards traveling to raja ampat, komodo and the. 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. 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. Patricia rose, a spokeswoman for peter hughes diving in miami said the boat had been chartered by the richmond dive club of richmond. When a liveaboard trip is cancelled the day you arrive. Compiled by belize development email list this directory is a public benefit project of the new belize development email list. Despite its size, the country offers a wealth of opportunities for. One womans fight to save the worlds most beautiful bird by bruc. Debarger had gone to his cabin on the middle deck to look for a book and stow some diving gear. 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.
Peter hughes resigns from peter hughes diving and the dancer. Belize aggressor iv scuba diving travel, dive news and. 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. Nekton diving cruises usa vessel operating in belize from november 2000 may 2001 bahamas may 2001 nov 2001. 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. Along with the name change is a rebranding of the entire organization that incorporates the new name and logo. Liveaboard padi travel padi travel scuba diving vacations. There were a total of 20 divers on the wave dancer from all around the us and canada. 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. Peter hughes knows a thing or two about liveaboards, and he has a spot in the dema hall of fame to prove it.
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. For over 25 years, hughes ran the most recognized liveaboard. Paul humanns book reports bluestripe lizardfish as being rare, but i must have seen 7 10 of them. Aggressor will do almost all those things but in a slightly less over the top way either company is awesome. Peter hughes diving changes its name to dancer fleet. Travel to familiar, easy to access places in the caribbean like the bahamas and british virgin islands bvi. In 2011, hughes received the dema reaching out award for helping to evolve the liveaboard diving industry over the past three decades. We arrived in belize city, belize one night early from the day our liveaboard was supposed to depart. Very spacious cabins, huge ac salon, well laid out dive platform with great photography facilities. Peter hughes diving changes its name to dancer fleet sport.
The tragic loss of twenty lives on october 8, 2001, when peter hughes wave dancer. 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. George dock, located in the heart of downtown belize city for a week. Reserve your space on the galapagos master today your luxury liveaboard diving vacation starts here.
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. Belize scuba diving vacations belize scuba travel adventures. For over 25 years, hughes ran the most recognized liveaboard company in the world and his name still stands for excellence in dive travel. They damaged many divers equipment, including mine. Belize is a wall divers paradise adorned with huge crimson gorgonians and giant orange elephant ear sponges. Patricia rose, a vice president with peter hughes diving, said the boats crew followed a procedure that they and commercial vessels had. 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. Things to do near hugh parkeys belize dive connection. Liveaboard fleet with vessels in bali indonesia, belize, galapagos, grenada, maldives, north sulawesiraja ampat, papua new guinea, and tobago.
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. Another powerful influence on young hughes at this time was a book his. Very spacious cabins, huge ac salon, well laid out dive platform with great. Having built the liveaboard dive boat company from scratch over the past 25 years, hughes. 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. 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. Belize liveaboards, nekton pilot, belize agressor and wave dancer. Direct from the author, the newest lp book was supposed to have been published mid2010. We chose peter hughes s sun dancer for our week long scuba diving trip, with aspirations to see the famous blue hole. Join reef and peter hughes diving in a special research, education and removal project in belize this june. The sundancer ii is the mercedes of liveaboard in terms of layout and accommodations. By 3pm the wave dancer was at big creek more than 120 miles to the south east. 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.
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. 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. Peter hughes diving scuba diving skip to main content. Or you can literally watch from the water with a liveaboard dive boat such as peter hughes diving or the agressor fleet. 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. In 1990, the gold book an essential listing of all resorts listed 600 resorts in the caribbean basin. Our 100 to 148foot live aboard yachts host 14 to 26 guests with luxury accommodations and the highest attention to safety. Belize liveaboards, nekton pilot, belize agressor and wave. Diving is a great option if you have an interest in the underwater world. 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. Specialized travel agents or wholesalers were about the only way to book these locales, few booked direct with resorts. Phdi says, they were too far south to turn around and head for belize city.
Feb 07, 2006 if thats not enough time in the water, consider a liveaboard boat such as peter hughes diving s sun dancer ii. The aggressor fleet brings its trademark professionalism to belize diving cruises in the form of the impressive belize aggressor iii liveaboard. The suit alleges that peter hughes, owner of peter hughes diving inc. I have read extensively on the websites about the aggressor boats and the peter hughes boats. Thirty members of the richmond dive club were involved in an accident in belize last night about 11. 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. Philip martin arrogantly and illegally ignored government orders to evacuate the boat as iris blew into belize. Peter hughes diving, operator of the boat, stayed in business.
It taught me that no matter where we are and what we are doing, we each must take responsibility for our own safety. At 9am, the decision was made to continue on to big creek. About william cline cline group advertising, marketing. Join reef aboard the sun dancer ii from june 20 for this exciting and fun diving. Embark on thrilling scuba diving adventures aboard aggressor liveaboards, a fleet of 23. The most visited destinations of peter hughes diving cruises are galapagos, belize. The author didnt seem interested, so that turned me off lp. I dont know if it has been i havent yet bought a guide book for belize. Exploring papua new guineas bismarck sea and beyond. Dive club settlement insufficient, lawyer says street. 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. Future events past events 2011 portage 2011 belize. For 36 years, weve designed adventure vacations around the world.
The story of the richmond dive club tragedy in belize touched my heart. The diving belize trip report april 2001 page 2 the boat. At play in the realm of the wave dancer skin diver. Beka lamb by zee edgell, the last flight of the scarlet macaw. Discussion in basic scuba discussions started by sdiver02, sep 29, 2002. Liveaboard dive charters are luxury vessels that take anything from 18 30 divers on 6 day6 night cruises to belize atolls and lighthouse reef. Last year 17 of my personal friends lost their lives on a dive boat named the wave dancer in belize. They were high most of the time and lacked basic diving knowledge. That same year, after spending more than 25 years building his former liveaboard company, 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. Hurricane kills virginia dive club members in belize the. In 2011, hughes received the dema reaching out award for helping to evolve the liveaboard diving. Wave dancer investigative report ambergris caye belize.
I have enjoyed three trips here on both the aggressor and peter hughes live aboard dive boats. Then peter hughes without advising us in advance, subcontracting the whale shark encounter to a local dive shop. Peter hughes is a diving pioneer and has been for several decades. They were high most of the time and lacked basic diving. From owning a resort to an equipment company to a fleet of liveaboards, his passion for. Peter hughes resigns from peter hughes diving and the. 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. These dive boats can range from spartan to luxurious, with three dives per day. They did not care about the divers or their equipment. You dont need to be an avid birder to enjoy the sight of toucans. With 618 known species of bird found in belize at least part of the year. From ambergris caye to the dedicated outisland dive resorts, island dreams brings you the best of belize. 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. Embark on thrilling scuba diving adventures aboard aggressor liveaboards, a fleet of 23 yachts offering over 40 unique itineraries in 19 countries.
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. This month the company has announced they are formally changing their name to dancer fleet, inc. Now the dancer is only a few hundred more than what the nekton used to run. Of the nearly two dozen boats that sought shelter from the storm at big creek harbor only one sank. Hugh parkeys belize dive connection san pedro 2020 all. Belize dive travel vacations belize scuba diving adventure values. I have enjoyed three trips here on both the aggressor and peter hughes. Miami, florida peter hughes recently announced his resignation as president of peter hughes diving, inc. 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. The luxurious belize aggressor iv formerly sun dancer ii casts off from the radisson ft. 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.
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