Scuba Diving Belize: Turneffe Trip Report

ABOVE: Few places on earth offer the magic combination of crystal-clear waters and unspoilt barrier reef diving found in Belize.

The Huron SCUBA Diving Team makes frequent visits to Belize. Their most recent trip report:

Huron Scuba Dive Team Expedition: June 17-24, 2000

Built in 1962, Turneffe Island Lodge resort was the first offshore resort in what is now known as Belize.  This island has a long history of outstanding diving and fishing, and is located in the Turneffe Atoll (a circular coral reef that encloses a shallow lagoon and extends from a very great depth).

The Island:

On this 12 acre island, there are six cabins with two or three rooms each.  Further down the beach, there are larger one-room cabins still in the works.  Owners Bobbie and Dallas Gay, who also vacation on the island, say they do not want to add much more, so as not to overcrowd the island.  The lodges, built on stilts, have spacious bathrooms and plenty of room.  After a day of diving, everyone seemed happy to retreat early to their rooms.

The island is surrounded by mangroves, where you can explore in search of manatees and crocodiles.  Kayaks and sailboats are provided; between dives is a great time to take advantage of these other opportunities.  Otherwise, you can snorkel the grass flats like Rusty and Dave, who found barrels full of lobster and a few brittle stars. Or, like Mike and Pat, you can stake out a hammock all week, in which no one else would dare sit.

The Lodge:

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are provided for you, announced by the ringing of a bell.  The food is something to look forward to!  Special dietary needs are accommodated in style, such as Jeff's non-dairy meals, or Al's no meat or cheese request (remembered from his last visit by the staff).  Snapper and Belizean chicken are specialties; these recipes and more can be found in the Turneffe Island Cookbook.

The Diving:

The first diving of the week was exciting for the whole Huron Scuba Dive Team.   Once we set up our gear the first time, the staff took care of it for the rest of the trip.  The BCD's and regulators were rinsed and set up in time for the next dive.  Talk about a vacation!  It was never too crowded underwater, as our two boats went to different sites.  Each group-leading divemaster pointed out the big and the little treasures of the ocean.  Each buddy group surfaced when ready, and signaled to their boat captain to come pick them up.  Everyone was amazed that boat captains Marcel and Ricky could follow our bubbles and know where we would surface.

Diving included sites such as the Elbow, Blue Hole, Jill's Thrill, and Three Amigos.  All the sites (with the exception of the Blue Hole), were no more than 15 minutes away.  The Elbow, a site that we visited a few times, was an exciting 80 to 90 foot drift dive with large schools of bar jacks and dog snapper, as well as schools of large fish such as chub.  Just what the fishermen were looking for!  And right at the end, there were a few reef sharks swimming for our video and picture-taking pleasure.  Jill's Thrill, which was named after Jill and a sharksucker, almost repeated what it was famous for.  While Jeff was finishing an open water dive, a good-sized sharksucker took a liking to him and followed him everywhere.  The rest of us were secretly hoping it would attach to Jeff so we could get it on video!

Despite weather challenges, we made it to the Blue Hole and were even accompanied by spinner dolphins.  While Al and Iva (who had visited the Blue Hole on a previous trip to Turneffe Island) snorkeled above with Rusty, the rest of the Huron Scuba Dive Team took an underwater trip to around 130 feet to look at the stalagmites (deposits of calcium carbonate formed on the floor of a cave by the dripping of calcareous water).  While we ascended, we were surrounded by as many as 10 reef sharks, swimming around us as if they knew how excited we were to see them.  The Blue Hole was worth the trip!

At the end of each day, the group gathered around and watched Dave's video of the recent diving.  Everyone tried to identify fish that some of us have never seen before, or helped new hopeful ecologists learn the basic fish.  This ritual would help all of us fill out our log books with great detail.  It was a great learning experience and just plain fun to see ourselves underwater.

Finally, for our last day, the Huron Scuba Dive Team enjoyed a barbeque, with plenty of food and a late night Hermit Crab Race.  Pat the referee caught our champions when they fell off the table, while Jim had his prized Hermit Crab attached to his shirt.  It was a great ending to a great trip!

Photos courtesy Dave Kasper.  Trip report by Jenna Gillmore.