Sail Away by Paul Kimbel
Paul Kimbel, a member of Grapevine Sailing Club, is a recent guest that sailed with us for the first time in November. Paul had the following to say about his experiencing sailing Belize with our team at Belize Sailing Vacations. A great read if we do say so ourselves!
“As members of Grapevine Sailing Club, we all love to take the helm and trim the sheets and set out for new adventures. There are times when it’s great to let someone else take control and just enjoy the ride, especially if you’re not familiar with the area. Here I learned that the buoy and marker system we know doesn’t consistently exist in Belize. We were often following a channel in-between sticks, yes sticks, as I sailed us through a channel called Stuck Cut, assisted by dolphins on each side of the boat while we made our way through the cut at 4.5’ sounding depth.
The first week of November Katy and I shared a 4 night crewed charter provided by Belize Sailing Vacations. This was truly a white glove service from beginning to end. The moment we walked out of the airport we were greeted with a black SUV and a native Belizean to teach us a lot about the history of the country on our journey to the marina. When we arrived at the Leopard 4600 our captain and chef were there to greet us with snacks and drinks. Both were true professionals with extensive sailing experience and let us relax when we wanted and take the helm when we wanted.
We booked this during the low- season which made for a great secluded experience at anchorages and the islands.
Our first stop was Goff’s Caye (pronounced key) a nice 1-acre island set up for the big cruise ships with only us. Here
we snorkeled, saw plenty of life around the reef, and I saw the largest hermit crab living in a conch shell I’ve ever seen.
We had spectacular breakfast, lunch, and dinners every night including soul-rejuvenating sundowners. Our first night at sea was anchored right off St. George’s Caye that made for a great night of stargazing of shooting stars and seeing the Milky Way. The next morning after some paddle boarding and snorkeling we set sail for Caye Caulker, the whole sail was an easterly wind that put us on a beam reach as we headed north along the Belize Barrier Reef.
Caye Caulker is very much a tourist island and while we truly enjoyed ourselves as we experienced more of Belize; my wallet noticed tourist pricing.
Our last day was spent sailing from Caye Cauker to Starfish Island another big cruise ship tourist destination and yes we were the only ones on this island. The caretakers were happy to have us visit as we greeted them with rum. Here we saw huge star fish and another dark night to enjoy the stars.
As you look at different sailing experiences I recommend taking a break and let someone else do the driving and if the Western Caribbean is on your list I recommend Belize Sailing Vacations and tell Cliff that Paul Kimbel sent you.”
Thank you Paul for choosing Belize Sailing Vacations and for sharing your experience with others!
