Sanctuary Belize

Wahoo sailing along the coast of Belize

Well yes, Belize is a sanctuary but the title actually refers to an amazing project in Sapodilla Lagoon which is North of Placencia and where Roy's dad, Walter, ran a sawmill for his uncle. For those of you who remember Walter's story of being stranded in a small boat for 5 days with no food - this is where it happened. (the hand shake, "Well that's breakfast, followed by another, "Well that's dinner", then the plane fly-over that dropped food in the salty water - good story, lovely man!)

Unplugged under sail

The night before we were to leave Placencia for cays on the reef we had a big storm. Winds were clocked at 47 knots and several sailboats, including Unplugged, dragged their anchors. One of the dive boats sank (no injuries). Unplugged is Tom and Coleen's boat and we were going together out to the reef. After the storm everyone felt the need to be totally enclosed and spend a night or two without any drama. So having heard about an unfinished marina in Sapodilla Lagoon with great all around protection, we decided to head that way. Unplugged, Wahoo and two UK sailboats headed to this protected harbor.

Happy Hour on Wahoo

John and Lucy, the future marina managers, welcomed us so warmly that it was 3 days before we all left. They set up pot-luck dinners, allowed us access to the pool, drove us into Dangria Town and gave us a grand tour of the entire development. John and Lucy, were hired by Sanctuary and sailed to Belize a year ago from Vancouver. They sail and live aboard their 70 ft ferro cement boat, Stone Age, while helping to get the marina up and running. The entire Sanctuary Belize site is a 21,000 acre park of which 10% is being developed for homesteads, a cabana style  hotel, beautiful clubhouse with a salt water pool and marina. They are using lots of solar and bio-fuel for power, some of the houses are even made of native bamboo. Of course, Roy knew the family of the man in charge, John Usher, who is a nephew of Mrs Jane Usher. 

Thatching a Roof

As usual, few days go by without an incident. While Wahoo didn't experience the seriously unpleasant sensation of an anchor dragging and the subsequent effort to keep your boat away from shore, docks and other boats in the torrential rain and winds that cause the experience to begin with, we did manage to have our own little experience.

John with a welcome wave on Stone Age

 Here we are motoring up to Sopodilla in very light winds with a clear blue sky above when "thunk!, ba-baump!' "What the hell is that? The engine is vibrating, turn it off fast!! " We're in 90 ft of water in the inner passage - can't be a coral head. Guess someone has to have a look. That means stopping the boat and going into the water while we are NOT at anchor, yikes! This is another of Roy's tasks. Which leaves me making sure we don't sail away and he can get back onboard. Now here's the cool part. This was our first example of traveling with a "buddy boat". Roy raised Tom on the VHF radio to tell him what had happened and he offered to come to our assistance. But we asked that he just standby. It ended up being some coconut fronds which were quickly freed from the propeller  but it did feel good to know that someone WAS standing by.

Salt Water pool overlooks the Caribbean

Coleen and Dale

We stayed with Unplugged for the 3 nights in Sapodilla then 2 nights at Whipray Cay where we enjoyed some good snorkeling, dinner together and a movie night. Yesterday, the 8th, we separated as they were heading to cays we'd already visited for a few days prior to sailing on to the Rio for hurricane season. Tom and Coleen are seasoned sailors who spent 5 years living aboard and sailing the East Coast and the Eastern Caribbean. After a few years back in St Pete they are out and continuing the sailing life, at least for awhile. Its fun to make new friends while sailing, a little sad as you part ways, but then you try to keep up and stay in touch as your wakes may meet again.

A bamboo house

We came back into Placencia for water, a generator repair, some Wifi and time on our Belize phone. This morning we are heading back out and hopefully will make it not only to the cays but beyond to Glover's Reef, one of Belize's 3 atolls.

(News Flash -At 8am on June 9th,  for the first time, we were able to, not only listen, but check in to the NorthWest Caribbean Net! This is a big step forward in our attempt to conquer the SSB!!)