Down Time

August 15, 2015 kate brand

Some charters are full on, with hardly a moment to spare in between all the activities, meal preparation, cleaning, sailing and entertaining guests. Others, however, are more low key and the crew get a little extra time to do the chores and maintenance and then take some down time if possible.

On our first charter, back in Belize, our guests were off the boat fly-fishing for most of the daylight hours, unless the weather was bad. We used the majority of that time for maintenance, cleaning and basic boat admin but, on one particular day, we had a bit of extra free time and we made the most of it.

The owner and his guests used the skiff for their fly-fishing every day so we were mostly boat bound, unless we anchored close enough to an island to swim to land. On this day we took a mooring ball in the Pelican Cayes Range and it was close enough to a little deserted island, to snorkel there and back.

We had only been here once before, with Ken and Elizabeth almost 4 months prior, but that was basically an overnight stop on our way down south to Placencia. `This was our first chance to do a little exploring during the day and enjoy the water too. So we grabbed the GoPro and and did some investigating for an hour or two.

Rufus on the foredeck, during the sail up to Ambergris Caye, from Belize City, to collect Palometta's owner and his guests

preparing some lunch, tropical shrimp salad, for the guest's return

our view of San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, from the anchorage

passage planning for our next destination

these beauties were everywhere, in an array of bright colours

snorkel faces, after the swim across the bay from the boat

we had the whole island to ourself. heaven.

soaking up the sun with Plometta in the background

the water was so warm you hardly notice it going in

Back to Belize

August 15, 2015 kate brand

We got straight back to work as soon as we arrived in Belize. We seriously enjoy our jobs, running charters, and after 3 months in cold Cape Town, South Africa, we were more than ready to switch our jeans and hoodies for boardies and bikinis on a boat!

Our first charter was for one of the owners of the catamarans in the company fleet. Jon is a serious fly fisherman and the whole boat was kitted and geared specifically towards finding Permit. His friend, Peter Morse, joined him as well as Omar Arceo, a professional Belizean fishing guide with many years of experience in the local waters.

All three men, although extremely experienced and well known in their fields, were humble and down to earth. It took us a while to figure out (I eventually googled him, while the team was out scouting for Permit) that Peter is in fact an internationally renowned IFFF Master Casting Instructor. Omar, also known as "Doctor of the Flats", is an internationally sought after guide and enthusiasts fly halfway across the globe to fish with him in Belize. Jon is in the process of writing his second book on fly fishing and astounded us with the list of countries he has travelled to and fished in over the years.

The part of the charter I enjoyed most was dinner time, when all five of us shared great conversation on a diverse range of topics, made especially interesting because of the 4 different nationalities - USA, Australia, Belize and South Africa.

We learnt a lot about Belize, it's history and it's current political situation from Omar. He was the quiet one, out of the bunch, and didnt ever talk just for the sake of it, only when he felt he had something worthwhile to say. So when he complimented the dinner I prepared for them one night, which was my own take on a local Belizean dish with beans I was extremely humbled: "I've had a lot of beans and yours were very very good." For me, that is a big deal, coming from a local, with beans as one of their staple foods in practically every meal of the day!

Peter regaled us with tales from his life before fly fishing and his family in Australia. South Africans generally get on well with Australians, we share a similar sense of humour (and Rugby) and Peter was no exception. Jon managed to spark Rufus and my interest in fly fishing, through his pure passion and devotion to the sport. Rufus even got a few casting lessons from Peter and he apparently has a natural talent for it ;)

All three had a great sense of humour and their passion for the sport was infectious. Rufus and I started the charter knowing absolutely nothing about fishing in general but, after that week, we have a new appreciation and respect for the sport.

Thank you Jon, for trusting us with your boat and sharing your inspiring passion and dedication to fly fishing. Thank you Peter for generously sharing your time and expertise and, thank you Omar for sharing your knowledge about and love for Belize and its waters.

the pros  scouting for permit — the pros scouting for permit

all these are hand made for specific fish

Omar found these guys on deck. unfortunately none were big enough to barbecue :(

another teeny creature from the sugar scoops out back

Peter offered to do a pole dance as a farewell gift... he never went through with it but he did have an grip on that pole ...

Rufus is no longer impressed by all my photo taking

the gentlemen off to the airport in Dangriga, to return home

National Geographic Traveller Magazine

June 21, 2015 kate brand

At the beginning of the year Helen Warwick, deputy editor of Nat Geo Traveller UK, and her husband joined BSV for a honeymoon charter. Rufus and I didn't run the charter ourselves but when Helen started putting her article together she approached Rachael (our boss' wife and owner of Absolute Belize, a luxury travel company, who coordinated Helen's Belizean vacation) and asked if we would submit some of our photos to accompany it, along with another photographer.

I wasn't sure if Helen would choose any of my shots, especially alongside a pro photographer, so it was exciting to see a couple of my photos published for the first time, especially in a travel magazine and most especially in a National Geographic publication!

When I showed Rufus the July/August 2015 edition, and he saw himself in the pages, he asked me in a slightly worried tone: "Does this mean I'm famous now?". I laughed so hard I almost dropped my laptop! Luckily I don't think he has anything to worry about just yet...

Thank you Helen and Rachael for the opportunity to be part of this!

Lobster Love

January 17, 2015 kate brand

As mentioned in the previous post, we are currently based in Belize, running catamaran charters up and down the islands. On every charter I prepare a lobster dinner for our guests. We normally get our seafood from the local fishing co-op in Belize City. I usually serve the lobster tails with coconut rice and rum flambéd plantain for dinner, on the first night of most charters.

This time however we weren't able to source good sized tails from the local suppliers (we never buy undersized) so we left port without it. Fortunately we came across a couple of friendly fishermen, in a new (to us) snorkel spot, near Bluefield range.

The fishermen gave us 6 just caught, whole, live ones and Rufus got the opportunity to butcher his first lobsters! It turns out that murdering lobster is rather simple: decapitation.

We barbecued them on the beach today, at Goff's Caye. (no photos of the finished product because we were too busy eating it). Simple and delicious.

...capi...

Happy New Year

January 2, 2015 kate brand

We are working in Belize at the moment, running all inclusive catamaran charters. Belize is an idyllic sailing ground, with the second longest barrier reef in the world, after Australia.

For this New Year's charter we have a brilliant 30-something couple onboard from San Fransisco. They have a great sense of humour and are a blast to be around. So far we have snorkelled with sharks, turtles, rays and a myriad of fish. We have spear fished and made fresh sashimi and ceviche from the catches. We swim in warm chrystal clear waters every day and we have dolphins escorting our catamaran as we sail from one island to the next.

For New Year's Eve, we anchored off Ambergis Caye, in front of the town of San Pedro. We took the dinghy to land, after dinner, to check out the festivities. Unfortunately it was so crowded and there wasn't much of a festive atmosphere, apart from the hundreds of kids playing in the town square...

After a drink at a local bar, with some live music, we decided to return to our boat to watch the midnight fireworks. What we didn't realize was that the barge which was carrying all the pyrotechnics was anchored 100m from the bow of our catamaran!

We layed out some towels on the trampolines and used fenders for pillows. Cocktails in hand and music in the background, lying under the stars, we stretched out front row centre for a spectacular show of lights. What an awesome way to ring in the new year.

How did your 2015 start?

our view of San Pedro - night shots are not easy from a boat, even a stable catamaran!