Bareboat Cruising: Beautiful Belize with Offshore Sailing School

This cruise is now filled. Look for a diary in mid-December and announcement of 2012 cruise dates.

Call 888-454-7015 or email info@OffshoreSailing.com to put your name on the 2012 cruise list now.   

Cruise Hosts — Steve and Doris Colgate
Cruise Leader — Mike Huffer

The Colgates are sharing this adventure with graduates as they have done on over 70 cruises with Offshore Sailing School graduates since 1972!

Many of you know Mike Huffer, manager of our British Virgin Islands location. You won't find a more affable, caring individual than Mike. And he LOVES Belize, has spent quite a lot of time there and will share his experiences with you!

Six yachts in Belize flotilla

These beautiful yachts are well-suited for the shallow waters of this area. We are sailing in company on four Moorings 4600 (46') and two Moorings 4000 (40') catamarans. The 4600s have four private cabins, each with a private head. The 4000s have four private cabins with two heads.

Both have large mainsails and roller furling genoas, powerful twin engines and 360 degree visiblity from the helm station. There's plenty of protection from the sun with a hard bimini and full access through the cockpit area to the swim platform. Both yachts have chartplotters, wind instruments, stereo/CDs, comfortable seating and a large table in the cockpit.

Large doors enter into the salon, with a spacious galley, cocktail bar, panoramic views, large settee and dining table, plenty of storage, ventilation and light. Cabins have en suite dressing areas and will will be assigned by the cruise leader with a mix of experienced and recent Offshore graduates and other sailors on each yacht. Mike and the Colgates will be on two of the 4600s. 

Packages per cabin

Moorings 4600

• $2195 per person in a shared cabin (maximum 2)
• $3195 single in a private cabin

Moorings 4000

• $1995 per person in a shared cabin (maximum 2)
• $2395 single in a private cabin

Packages includes:

• Your cabin (private or shared as noted above) with private head and shower per cabin on 4600 (shared on 4000)
• Full provisioning for eight days during the cruise (all meals including breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks)
• Meet and greet dinner arrival night
• Commerative hat and polo shirt
• Cruising taxes and gratuities
• Damage waiver fee
• Fuel and water (topped off before leaving)
• Tour Leader guides accompanying you on this voyage
• Impromptu parties and gatherings during the cruise
• Great sailing and superb snorkeling (masks and fins included)

• Payment Details: Full payment is due with your reservation, along with a $150 refundable security deposit.   

A World Heritage Site 

In 1996 the United Nations World Heritage Committee approved the Belizean barrier reef as a World Heritage Site, now called the Belize Barrier Reef System. The developed cays and coral reef atolls are reminiscent of the South Pacific and only a short plane ride away. All of the destinations on this cruise provide incredible sailing conditions and great exploration within reef-lined atolls. Below is our suggested itinerary (subject to change of course).

• Day 1, Sunday, Dec. 4 Laru Beya Marina (where we pick up the boats) to Wippari Cay – 14 nm
• Day 2, Monday, Dec. 5 to South Water Cay – 22 nm
• Day 3, Tuesday, Dec. 6 to Cocoa Plum Cay – 11 nm
• Day 4, Wednesday, Dec. 7 to Lagoon Cay – 16 nm
• Day 5, Thursday, Dec. 8 to Queen Cay – 17 nm
• Day 6, Friday, Dec. 9 to Ranguana Cay – 8 nm
• Day 7, Saturday, Dec. 10 to No Name Point – 18 nm
• Day 8, Sunday, Dec. 11 to Laru Beya Marina, Placencia Harbour (by noon) – 10 nm 

WIPPARI CAY – As you leave the marina, you motor into the heart of the exquisitely beautiful Placencia Lagoon, an almost landlocked finger of water running along the Belizean coast. Once you’re clear of the lagoon, set sail and head northeast to Wippari Cay, where you can pick up a mooring for the night and relax in the cockpit and sip a refreshing cocktail before dinner. Stopping at Wippari Cay will put you in a good position for the sail to South Water Cay the next morning. Wippari Cay offers good snorkeling to the northeast and northwest, and great fishing as well.

SOUTH WATER CAY – Fisherman plying these waters named this stop for the fresh water wells on the island. As you head north-northeast up the Inner Channel to Blue Ground Range, shallow water navigation skills come into play. Though part of the Belizean marine preserve, the island is inhabited with three restaurants and gret snorkeling, especially near Carrie Bow Cay. The main lodge of Pelican Bay Resorts was a convent for Sisters of Mercy, built in the forties. The Frangipani House is said to have a resident friendly ghost. At the north end of the island is the Blue Marlin Lodge, with a restaurant and bar, and dive excursions. In the island's center you'll find an educational facility, International Zoological Expeditions (with accommodations for students studying tropical biology and reef ecology). This facility also serves breakfast, lunch and dinner for boaters.

COCOA PLUM CAY – Sailing north inside the barrier reef, brings you to beautiful Tobacco Cay, where you can drop anchor and enjoy superlative snorkeling. Continuing on you'll sail toward the southern tip and then south to the moorings at Thatch Cay Resort. There's a great restaurant here and internet access and is particularly popular because of the coatamundi that roam freely around the cay.

LAGOON CAY – Today takes you on an easy broad reach down the Inner Channel, with the picturesque Belizean coast stretching out before you across brilliant turquoise waters. You enter the Victoria Channel just south of Quamino Cay and make a short tack to the northeast to reach your overnight anchorage. Here you'll enjoy great for swimming and fishing. Bird watching is a must with frigate birds, pelicans and cormorants roosting on the trees of the inner lagoon. 

QUEEN CAY – Also called Silk Cay, this area offers unforgettable snorkeling and diving along the edge of the barrier reef. The best beach and anchorage is off the southern cay, where you can picnic ashore among tall palms.

RANGUANA CAY – Today you head southwest across clear, open waters for an excellent overnight anchorage and dinner ashore at a small resort if you like. The beauty of this retreat is only second to a great day of open water sailing.

NO NAME POINT – Just 8 NM from Placencia Harbour, this is a well-protected anchorage and good jump off point for a Monkey River Tour. We may choose to stop here or go on to Placencia Harbour where exploring the village is fun. There are many restaurants serving a variety of fare including Creole, Italian, French and Indian. Home of the endangered manatee, Placencia Harbour is picturesque and quaint. Fishing is the keystone of local economy, with about 600 people living in the village and surrounding area. The mile-long, pedestrian-only sidewalk meanders among houses built on stilts, but there are also new luxury beachfront resorts offering numerous amenities and fine dining.

LARU BEYA MARINA – As The Moorings says, "although you won't want to sail back to reality," the final leg of this flotilla Club cruise is an easy sail north back to The Moorings base.

You may have heard of the Great Blue Hole, one of the world's most unique geological phenomena.  If you have the time to come in a day or two early or stay a day or two after the cruise, you'll find the snorkeling and diving superb. Lying 60 miles southeast of Belize City in Lighthouse Reef, a guided excursion is required by Belize law to visit this reef. You may also wish to go on a sightseeing tour of the Mayan ruins inland, datiing back to at least 2500 B.C. However, you will need to go on line and Google these extra adventures for how to make reservations in advance.