Bye Bye Belize

August 28, 2015 kate brand

The charter season is over in Belize and the boats are on their way to the Rio, in Guatemala, for their annual maintenance. I thought this would be the perfect time to post a selection of our favourite photos, from some of our most memorable experiences, while working for Belize Sailing Vacations.

So many great memories!

Photo Credit: some of the below photos were taken by guests, specifically Andreas and Andrea Jensen, and they have graciously allowed me to use them for this post, and include their two beautiful daughters :) Thank you, Jensen family!

the view from below... getting to know the local Nurse Sharks

these guys are so beautiful and peaceful, and they love their sea grass. Rufus and I affectionately refer to them as "sea cows" :)

our guide, Ally, interacting with one of the rays - they know her well and greet her personally whenever she gets in the water

these two photos were taken while under way, sailing to the next

island - perfectly calm and clear — island - perfectly calm and clear

the view from our cabin port hole, while we were sailing

seagull trying his luck for a seafood snack off the back of the boat

fresh shrimps prepared the Danish way, for our Danish guests. D is for DELICIOUS!

these two gorgeous girls stole my heart!

there was no one else on or around this island besides the two of us, our two guests and our boat anchored in the background.

chasing a crab up a tree, doing his best crab claw impression

a coconut is not the best hiding place, as it out...

exploring the curious and colourful town of San Pedro, on Ambergris Caye, in the north of Belize. definitely worth a visit, if only for the locally hand-made organic chocolate (!!!).

you can take us out of South Africa but you can't take us away from the braai! this is one of our favourite charter meals to prepare: chicken, sweet pepper and pineapple sosaties (kebabs) on the ideally charcoal, not gas, braai (barbecue)

making furry friends on South Water Caye

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

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!