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Captain's Logs
Yacht: M/Y Sun Dancer II
Log Date: SEPTEMBER 11, 2010
Entry By: Capt. Eddy Anderson
 Sun Dancer II. Belize: Charter week Sep 11, 18, 2010
Crew: Capt Eddy, Chef Jerry, Assist Carlos, Steward Barbara, Eng Terance, DM Fermin, Host/DM Aaron & First Mate/DM John
AVERAGE WIND FOR THE WEEK /5/10 NM Air Temp 86º F /Water temp 84º F Visibility 90ft
Saturday morning after taking a week off for maintenance, we were surely ready for a week of good diving and mingling with new friends, so we were more than happy to welcome Barney, Deborah, Ron, Ricky, Justin, Craig, Melissa, Alexander, Carrie & Donald to their new home at least for a week, and we hope for near future as well. After a safety brief with all our guest and crew we then departed from Fort George in Belize, while the crew serve a big hearty meal prepare by Chef Jerry and Carlos we motor on, to arrived to the famous and exclusive light house reef.
Sunday With the weather condition being so good we decided to stay at dive site Long Caye Ridge, were we did our first morning dives. Very good morning of diving all our guest were all experience hard core divers, as a mater a fact they encourage us to go Lion Fish hunting, on the two first afternoon dive, and so we did, we manage to successfully remove 29 Lion Fish on just two dives that day.
Monday we visited Long caye wall, a site that always leave memories, of its splendor and beauty, One Reef Shark, Turtles, Eagle Rays and all the little reef creature that keeps the action of the reef always same to come out to play, this site just same to keep its magic of its beauty.
Tuesday we had plans to go to the blue hole but was not possible because of the wind not being in our favor, do to the fact of Tropical storm Carl, a new storm that started up in the Gulf, so we then move over to Half moon Caye, Light House Wall. Half moon Caye is one of the outer Islands which makes it exposed to the wind, but on the other hand it also provides the possibility of Manta rays, big Eagle Rays, and a few Sharks ranging in size up to Seven / Eight feet, this day we did not see any sharks but we sure did saw a few Spotted Eagle Rays, Turtles, a few big Grouper, Barracudas, and at least twelve Southern Sting Ray's.
Wednesday we visited Tarpon caves and again lots was seen, fun was had by all, swimming thru the canyons on the wall in a visibility of 120ft, Tarpons that can easily exceed five to six feet, for the rest of the day we dedicated our choice to the best visibility and request of our guest, by 1900hr wind was back to the East, and we new Blue Hole was still in site.
Thursday was our last day off being able to visit the Blue Hole, so we arise with great hopes and stamina, and yes today the magic of Mother Nature was on our side, Blue Hole was again proven to be, not only famous for its geographical position but for its beauty and majestic Stalactites that forms an underwater cathedral.
Friday we dove the reef of Turneffe Island and then head back to port. And so, another wonderful week of diving comes to an end here on the SDF. Thank you for joining us and letting us be a part of your vacation, we sincerely
HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL AGAIN, SOON..
Yacht: M/Y Island Dancer II
Log Date: SEPTEMBER 04, 2010
Entry By: From Island Dancer II, NI SA MOCE.
 We had a great group of people onboard this week and plenty of dive experiences to excite them!
Our itinerary took us to Wakaya Island in the Lomaiviti group for diving the Wakaya Passage, the Wakaya Wall and Vatu Vai. We then headed in the direction of Makogai Island. The crossing provided calm seas, sunny skies with dolphin and whale sightings. Sea life at dive site Christine's Place included anthina and many different types of nudibranchs, lion fish, arrowhead crabs, cleaner shrimp and large plura braches in comfortable 80 degree water. Next stop for the Island Dancer II was Namenalala Marine Reserve Park and dives at Kansas, Black Forest, Chimneys, Dominos and Half Pipe. All were enjoyed by the group and plenty of images were captured. For our onshore adventure, we were warmly received by the Makogai Chief and villagers for the traditional Fijian Welcome including the Yaqona drinking ceremony. Everyone enjoyed the village tour of giant clams and turtle breeding pools in addition to dancing, dancing lessons and entertainment by the school children. With the group back onboard the Island Dancer - the Fijian Feast was served and a welcome treat for everyone. We then cruised to Gau Island and dove Jim's Alley and did the shark feeding at Nigali Passage. Day 6 greeted everyone with a mother humpback and baby calf just meters from the boat - so everyone quickly donned their snorkel gear, grabbed their cameras and gently entered the water to get close up shots of the pair. We had about 30 minutes face time with the whales - before they swam away. It was a very exciting way to start the day before we later headed back to Suva. Once there, some shopped, some explored - but all were relaxed and content after a great week of diving Fiji's waters. 0900 the next morning we sang Isa Lei and bid them all farewell and safe travels until their return.
Yacht: M/Y Wind Dancer - Cocos
Log Date: AUGUST 19, 2010
Entry By: Wind Dancer Crew
Water temp: 25- 26|°C
Wetsuit: 3-5 mil
This week our guests come from Italy, Germany, France, Denmark and Japan, our crossing to the island took around 37hours.
We started our dive week in Manuelita. The people spend the entire dive looking around and enjoying this beautiful and calm place. We saw ours firsts white tip sharks, marble rays and two big Galapagos Shark! Once in the Wind Dancer our guests were talking about what they saw.
After the check dive we went to Manuelita deep and big school of hammerheads came to as pretty close, the divers couldn’t belive it!!!!! The night dive in Manuelita shallow was, as always, spectacular… hundred of white tip sharks hunting everywhere!! Amazing
In our second day we went to Punta Maria and it was simply incredible. We found a strong current there and it was good because the sharks love swim against current. We saw two Galapagos sharks very close to the pinnacle!!! We were in the bottom, at 25 meters (90 feet) hold to the rocks just looking around, amazing!!!!!!! Then, we went to Dirty Rock, one of the bests sites in the island. We found our first school of hammerhead, 40 more or less!!!!! What a day! At night the people enjoyed a delicious dinner in the Wind Dancer.
Third day. We went to Alcyone .. this dive site is in the blue, and in the blue everything can happens……. What a dive! Hundred of hammerheads, maybe more! Two black tip sharks, many white tip sharks, school of jack fish….… We went to Alcyone again in our second dive. The water was pretty warm those days but wasn’t inconvenient to see again many school of hammerhead and many white tip sharks. In the blue we saw 5 or 6 tunas swimming really fast!! On the evening the night dive was again spectacular and again the white tips sharks were there in Manuelita.
We moved the boat from Chataham to Iglesias Bay on our fourth day in paradise and we dove submerged rock and lone stone from here. In the first one we found strong current and it was good to see a really big school of jack fish in the blue. The divers had a great time swimming throw the beautiful arch in submerged rock.
In lone stone we saw many hammerheads and two spotted eagle rays!
In our last days in the island our divers can pick up where the want to dive, and they choose Alcyone and Dirty rock. In Alcyone the dive was one of the bests in this trip. Hundred of hammerheads swimming close to us coming from the buttom…. Nos stop activity, was great!!!!!!!! Our third and lat dive was in Dirty rock, as always spectacular!!!
Another brilliant week in Cocos island! We’ll see the next week.
Do you want to check it with us??
Yacht: M/Y Sun Dancer II
Log Date: AUGUST 14, 2010
Entry By: Capt. Simon
 Steaming back to Belize City from our last dives on Turneffe Islands and its been a fantastic week for our guests. The water is like bathwater at 84 degrees, with surface temperatures touching 86 in places. The vis, as always, varied, but peaked yesterday with two beautiful clear dives on QueBrada, giving perfect conditions to view the stunning sponges and tunicates that cover this wall on the west side of Long Cay. A bright orange Seahorse completed the scene, posing for its picture and showing its best side!
Topside was breezy but sunny and we all have a tan to prove it.
Our ongoing battle against the invading Lionfish yielded 16 dead this week and Sun Dancer is currently third in the Belize Lionfish league which is run by the local Audubon Society.
Nearly back to dock and just time to thanks all of our guests for a great week and congratulate Lisl on her 100th dive, Greg on his Underwater Photography & Deep dive specialties, Linda on her birthday and Jo and Julie on their recent wedding!
Hope to see you aboard one day soon…
Capt Simon
Yacht: M/Y Sun Dancer II
Log Date: AUGUST 07, 2010
Entry By: Capt. Simon
A fantastic week of diving awaited this week guests! The weather was very co-operative with beautiful sunny days and moderate winds providing near perfect diving conditions on Lighthouse Reef, the vis was variable depending on tide and ranged from a beautiful 100 feet to a more modest 50 feet at times, water temperature was 84 degrees. Of course bad vis is not always a bad thing as we had a small krill bloom in the area and a Giant Manta was reported, perhaps the same one that passed by some weeks ago!
Our regular reef fish sightings were boosted by the delicate Seahorses (two) and the impressive sharks (one Black Tip and three Reef), we also had excellent encounters with Pipehorses, a close relative of the Pipefish and Seahorse, Sailfin Blennies and menacing Tarpon!
As our guests make their way home later today we will miss their excellent attitude, always determined to have the best time possible. We also say congratulations to Bob and Gweneth on their 41st wedding anniversary, Tiger on his birthday and especially Laura Mae on attaining her Open Water certification with us in such style! Make she continue to show the love for diving it has been our pleasure to watch grow this week.
The crew of Sun Dancer II wish you good vis and calm seas....
Capt Simon
Yacht: M/Y Wind Dancer - Cocos
Log Date: JULY 29, 2010
Entry By: Wind Dancer Crew
 Water temp: 25- 26|°C
Wetsuit: 3-5 mil
This week our guests come from Japan, Argentina, Italy, United States, France an UK, our crossing to the island took around 35hours.
Here we are again, in the most beautiful island in the world…. We dove in Chatham bay for the check dive, no currents and calm water, perfect for our purpose. Many colorful fishes, white tips and parrot fish….
After the check dive we went to Manuelita deep and the first hammerheads came to as pretty close to say hello. The second dive was in Manuelita again but now we dove with the rock in our right hand. We saw a huge Galapagos shark really close!!!! The night dive in Manuelita shallow was, as always, spectacular… hundred of white tip sharks hunting everywhere!! Amazing!
In our second day in the island we went to Dirty Rock, one of my favorites dives sites. We usually find some currents there but not this morning. We saw our first hammerhead school of the week, few eagle rays, and one dolphin in the surface, Dirty rock never disappointed us!!!! Our second dive was in Punta Maria. We found a countless white tips sharks swimming everywhere, it was colorful!!!
Third day. We went to Alcyone .. this dive site is in the blue, and in the blue everything can happens……. What a dive! Hundred of hammerheads, maybe more! Two black tip sharks, many white tip sharks, school of jack fish, and…. Suddenly, came to us like a shallow in the dark something really big….. yes, Whale shark!!! ! And huge, more than 10 meters (30 feet)!!!!! We dove with this amazing animal more than 4 minutes, and very close! Once one the dingy I saw few tears dropping in ours gests eyes……. Of course we did our third dive there again in our third dive and the whale shark was there waiting for us!!!! Spectacular!!!
We went to Dirty Rock again in our fourth day in the island, first and second dive. The water was pretty warm. In the pinnacle we found a huge school of jack fish just allow our heads, and two maybe three, black jack fish hunting!!! Just five minutes later we saw a really big school of hammerheads and two Galapagos… what beautiful dive… again!!!
On the evening the night dive was again spectacular and again the white tips sharks were there in Manuelita
A delicious BBQ where waiting for us in the sun deck of the beautiful Wind Dancer, the people spend all the dinner time talking about all the things they saw today!!
Last day in Cocos! We woke up very and we went to alcyone, first and second dive. We saw the whale shark again!!!!!
Spectacular week in Cocos island, impossible better than this!!! Stop read this and book your trip now!!! We will be here waiting for you!!!!!!! See you in the next trip. Safe dive.
Yacht: M/Y Sun Dancer II
Log Date: JULY 16, 2010
Entry By: Capt. Simon
 We had a mixed group in this week and folks from Jupiter Dive Center in Florida combined with a lovely family from Utah, amongst others, to provide a highly entertaining week for all.
Highlights of the week included multiple sightings of a solitary Scalloped Hammerhead cruising off Half Moon Cay, Loggerhead Turtles, Eagle Rays on almost every site and the removal of almost 20 lionfish from the waters of Belize. The score in the end, however, was "Lionfish 1, Sun Dancer II 20" as First Mate and chief Lionfish killer, John Garroway, managed to get stung by one of the feistier fish as he was bagging it up. As this Captain can testify, this was incredibly painful for him for at least 12 hours, and he is now making a good recovery... the Lionfish, however, is now in the freezer and not in the best of health!
The visibility is recovering slowly following the passing of TS Alex and the weather was a little breezy this week, the wind dropping off as the week progressed. The trip to the amazing Blue Hole went smoothly and a great time was had by all on Half Moon Cay, where the baby Boobies are now as big as their parents and exercising their wings.
The week was wrapped up on Thursday night with a spontaneous "robe night" when all our guests dressed down for the evening!
Sadly we loose this lovely group of people back to their real lives and we look forward to welcoming our next group of guests in to our home, the magnificent Sun Dancer II. We look forward to welcoming you too one day!
Capt. Simon
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