I have once again had the pleasure of spending a week onboard Sun Dancer II with our great crew. This was Simon & Andrina’s first charter at the helm after taking over from James & Marnie who are moving to Tropic Dancer Palau. Along with DM’s John and Fermin, Chef’s Jerry and Carlos, hostess Elia and tireless engineer Terrance, we hosted 14 Divers from Jack’s Dive Center along with Pastor Pam who was returning from a mission trip in central Belize and Dr. Bob & Sherra, two of our most frequent travelers and of course, Aqua Lung CEO Don Rockwell and engineer Robbert Bruins.

This is Jack’s 35th year in business so we had to start out with a celebratory cake. He has amassed quite a story over his years in business and has proven success is found in our great industry with the proper amount of dedication and hard work. Aqua Lung spoiled everyone with their daily gifts they bestowed on us from rashguards, shirts, hats, flash drives, water bottles (in the shape of a scuba tank of course) to providing prizes for our ‘Quirky Aqua Lung Photo Contest’ with their new Zuma Travel BC, Octo and masks. Entries had to use the Aqua Lung and Sun Dancer II logos and gear to create a story of their passion for both. We had a great time reviewing the zany entries! Aqua Lung also brought along plenty of their latest gear for every to try as well as not yet to market BC’s and Fins. They have some great items in the pipeline making our travels and diving more enjoyable and gathered invaluable feedback from everyone.

We visited the Blue Hole and had another great dive through the depths of this World Heritage site. Our post off-gassing stroll on Half Moon Caye allowed us to see and photograph the resident Boobies, Frigates and Iguanas. They have built new staff quarters and a campsite kitchen and have plans to continue to upgrade the minimal facilities they will keep on Half Moon to support visitors. The diving was exceptional this week with great visibility, schools of eagle rays (up to five at a time!) and Jacks, multiple turtles, pipe fish, prolific cleaning stations and the always interesting night dives.

 I took the new Bladefish underwater propulsion device to try and was very impressed. We will have two available for our guests to enjoy during charters at no cost as part of our always-expanding services.

We are always looking for ways of giving back to the local communities we operate in. In Belize, we have found the Liberty Children’s Home www.libertychildrenbelize.org . This was founded to help abused and abandoned children recuperate while the state works with their families so they can possibly be reunited or be adopted should that not be feasible. Delfina Mitchell, who certainly has the passion and vision to make it a success, runs the home. They are extremely diligent with their finances and have amassed five acres and multiple dormitories, learning facility and a dining hall along with sustaining their own garden and livestock. Please consider a donation this worthy organization.

Thanks again to all our guests this week as well as Aqua Lung for the chance to try your new/test items and provide feedback to ensure you remain as the gear of choice.

Wayne B. Brown