Shared Responsibility in Belize?

[model 10]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Charter operarions do in fact bring significant $s into Belize:

1. Air Travel/Departure Taxes. Guests have to come and go and that generates revenue and employment

2. Transfer/Taxi services. Gotta to to the charter base.

3. Charter companies pay taxes (yes they do, including Moorings, I know first hand)

4. Provisions.

5. Fuel

6. Tours. Guests often want to mix in some land based activities so not uncommon to book a tour of some type during/before/after their charter or sometimes all the above.

7. Hotels. Many guests spend some days ashore before or after a charter.

8. Resturants/Bars. Guests often want to go ashore at least some for drinks/dinner.

....

You sound like a sales person. There are probably several thousand regular tourists in San Pedro and maybe 1 charter boat getting ready and another dozen regular sailboat people on any given day. Small potatoes. More so in Placencia, so perhaps only there do sailboats have a much impact. One small town. Good ice cream

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Guy

You sound like a sales person. There are probably several thousand regular tourists in San Pedro and maybe 1 charter boat getting ready and another dozen regular sailboat people on any given day. Small potatoes. More so in Placencia, so perhaps only there do sailboats have a much impact. One small town. Good ice cream

I have participated in this battle with Belizean authorities before (as has TMM in San Pedro) so its not the first time I've presented that argument. So, it may sound a bit less than spontaneous.

Yes, a lot more charter boats are based in Placencia, so more local impact there, but the fees/taxes paid by all charter boats/companies go into national accounts, not local. So they do have more than just a localized effect.

Oh man....Tuti Fruti....maybe I should go back and cover some charters in Belize! They could probably use some help at the Moorings base right about now. :-P

[Svdestiny]

Recent response from the Freunds

http://travelbelize.co/clarification/

[belizesailor]

Searched for more on the Freund's situation. Did not turn up much, but did find a written account of a similar situation from Feb 2014.

http://www.keyportyachtclub.com/Link...n8%3D&tabid=71

This one went about like I would expect. BZ$170K fine assesed at first, but settled for BZ$2K (US$1K). Maybe the officials are being pressed for better return ratios now. ;-) Immediately generating negative publicity may have hurt the Freunds situation also...a lot easier to quietly sort it out in private as the Feb 2014 case did.

Renee (base manager) was involved in helping to settle that one. She's been base manager for years and does an excellent job, but why she stays I can't fathom....Charter Base Manager is truly one of the worst jobs in the world (just in case anyone is considering such a job). For that level of constant crap and stress you could do something much more lucrative.

In the incident above they were anchored at Ranguana with winds from the N-NW...not a good place to be in those conditions. Miles of fetch and the holding is poor. Almost certainly, a cold front was passing. Don't go there in the case of a frontal passage. Regardless of what the forecast says, you are likely to get NW winds (no protection from any W quadrant at Ranguana).

He also implies that Freya's chart of Ranguana is not correct. I have not georeferenced and checked GPS references, but have been to Ranguana innumerable times and her chart is most certainly generally correct. There are some small coral heads/patches in very close in very shallow water not shown, but sounds like these folks went up on the charted, and larger, reef/shoals to the SE of the usual anchorage (as it sounds like the Freunds did also).

Both of these incidents do illustrate a strong case for having local knowledge aboard...no better navigation aid in Belize.

[Jim Cate]

One factor that has not been discussed above: the "insurance" that the Freunds thought they had paid for as part of the charter package. I've never chartered there, or anywhere for that matter, but I would have thought insurance would be part and parcel of the contract. If I am correct, would this insurance have covered the reef damage? Surely the charter company has coverage for the boat. With many areas beginning to value their reef structures so highly, I would insist on such coverage as part of a charter... wouldn't you?

Now I begin to wonder if my Aussie third party policy covers such things here in Oz! Better try to read the fine print!

Jim

[belizesailor]

Re insurance. Even the sales summary on the Moorings site only mentions trip cancelation and vessel damage coverage. I suspect the fine print goes down hill from there.

http://www.moorings.com/help/insurance

Certainly something to think about when booking a charter.

The underlying policy for the vessel itself would normally cover "environmemtal". Something the Freunds should pursue, but typically excludes acts by goverments like impounding the boat. So, extorsion of exorbitant fines might fall in the second category. Still something they should research...although Moorings may not willing part with a copy of the policy at this stage.