Belize Cruising

[belizesailor]

Hep A (& B) is not uncommon in Central America so probably not bad advise.

[keioki]

Got the Hep A shot. Felt like my arm was hit by a baseball bat. Gearing up for our visit in few weeks. Any long range weather forecasts?

[belizesailor]

Even with today's tech, forecasts more than a few days out arent reliable...just too many variables that can change.

Feb, sometimes into March, is still cold front season. Other than fronts weather is likely to be good.

Im doing weather/checkins via InReach for a friend working his way up from Belize to the USA now. They just had a great sail up to Xalack in E-SE winds of about 15 knots.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Even with today's tech, forecasts more than a few days out arent reliable...just too many variables that can change.

Feb, sometimes into March, is still cold front season. Other than fronts weather is likely to be good.

Im doing weather/checkins via InReach for a friend working his way up from Belize to the USA now. They just had a great sail up to Xalack in E-SE winds of about 15 knots.

Typo correction: Xcalak

[keioki]

Starting to watch the weather for Belize. E-SE winds seems like a winner for now. Some chop. Temps look great!

[belizesailor]

Yes, fresh E-SE winds have been blowing for several days now. SE winds are unusual in winter months...a combination of a big fat High pressure area in the Atlantic and cold fronts in the USA are creating the SE winds.

Im doing weather routing for a friend who is heading N. They've been ripping along in these lovely conditions and a push from the Yucatan/Gulf Loop Currents. The approaching cold front is going to spoil their fun later today/weds.

What are the dates of your trip?

[keioki]

Arriving in a week and a half. For 10 days on the cat, we have people all over the place as to how much clothing to take. I figure we'll live in swimwear much of the time. And mostly T-shirts and shorts. Large hats and plenty of sunscreen. Are there soaps and shampoos to buy in Placencia applicable for cruising? Not harmful to reefs and wildlife? What types of items should we bring versus buying in town?

[Boatguy30]

Generally just find low end, dollar store type cosmetic/housewares stuff in most these stores. Maybe slots changed since I was last there?

[belizesailor]

Hats, T-shirts, etc are available at full on tourist prices...I suggest you bring your own. Soaps, shampoos etc are available in the grocery stores (called "Chinos"), but likely not the name brands you know, if big name USA brand then expensive. If anyone is picky then they should bring their own.

[sabinarawlings]

We are going to Belize from Mexico in the next month or so.
I know that there are restrictions on fresh fruit and vegetables but what is the situation with alcohol?

Are there any restrictions on wine and gin/vodka?

Thanks,
Sabina.

PS Sorry to bring the tone down

[belizesailor]

Any reasonable amount should just be treated as ship's stores (as long as it stays aboard). And, its highly unlikely anyone will actually check. Ive moved boats in and out of Belize countless times over many years and never had a Belizean official board, not even once.

[keioki]

Just got back from our trip to Belize. Chartered a 40 ft. cat from SunSail. We bought all of our beer and liquor in the village. Went to 7 islands in 7 days. The best meals on land were at the Hideaway cafe in Pelican Caye, and the Lionfish on Hatchet Caye. Lots of snorkeling, sailing, eating, and drinking. Not in that order! We spent most of the time in a couple of marine reserves, but no ranger ever came to collect our fees.
We'd return again in the future.

[srbell55]

ROBERTS GROVE MARINA< Placencia, Belize: They say one can get in with a 6' draft, but charts look shallower. Any advice getting a monohull w 5'6" draft up to Roberts?

[belizesailor]

Yes, you can get into Robert's Grove (RG) with 5'6". I used to liveaboard there and Ive piloted two monohulls with similar draft up to RG. I know of at least one vessel with a 7' draft that got in there...local knowledge aboard, high tide, a couple of attempts, but they got in. With 5'6" you will be close to the bottom at times, but you should not run aground unless you get off track and into shoals. The bottom is soft at least if you do run aground.

While there are updated surveys of the Placencia area due to planned cruise ship traffic, these surveys did not include the back lagoon. So, there arent any detailed charts of the back lagoon, dont rely on any electronic chart there. Best to have local knowledge aboard.

The trickest part is negotiating the entrance to the lagoon. From there N its pretty straight forward, stay well away from banks and points and well out in mid lagoon. The next spot that will likely take a little negotiating is the final approach into RG. The lagoon gets shallower as you approach the banks there. Do not approach at an angle, from well out in the lagoon line up on their channel and come straight in slowly. I have not been in there in a long time so dont know the current state of their channel.

RG runs a dive shop, so maybe one of their boat captains can pilot you in on his off time. If not, I can help with local recommendations.

The Moorings provides way points for their charter guests. I suspect they would share if you asked. That would get you to Laura Beya where their base is located, just S of RG. They could also recommend a local captain to pilot you in.

[belizesailor]

Detailed waypoints and descriptions for navigating the back lagoon with deep draft are provided in Appendix A in my Western Caribbean Cruising Notes. The full text of my Notes can be found the link below.

https://www.amazon.com/Curtis-Collin..._cont_ebooks_1

These waypoints were contributed by SV Triumphant and SV Stone Age. A link to an extract of the relevant section below:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/h9puay8zdu...oints.pdf?dl=0