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Posted By: bywarren Arrogant Sky Divers - 03/02/12 03:54 PM
"At the 2011 Boogie in San Pedro, Grimm told The Sun, "My goal for this event is not just to bring people here to skydive, but to have them enjoy a true Belizean experience. Many of them have come back during the years and have also sent many friends to Belize for a vacation. We always want to leave the island with a smile on our face, a sunburn on our nose and longing to return." And although they do long to return, last week Grimm commented, "It's sad we aren't coming back, but without cooperation from the Government of Belize we won't return. I really love San Pedro and am sad we aren't there. Jumping over San Pedro is incredible. To bring this event back I would need a lot of help. We could jump each day over on Caye Caulker at the airstrip and we could base everyone on Ambergris Caye for the accommodations. I would need a US$40,000 commitment from the BTB and a lot of logistical and civil aviation help. The business community would have to step up like they always do. We would shuttle everyone over in the morning and back at night, with a few trips every couple of hours back and forth for folks that didn't want to stay all day."

Just part of the article appearing in this weeks paper.
Who in the hell do these people think they are and why they are so important. If the BTB and all the others that contirbuted to the 200 people coming did so for every 200 tourist coming, it surely would not be profitable. 200 sky divers are a miniscule number of the total tourists coming to Belize and why they should be given all the extras they ask for is arrogant. Grimm, and the other 199, enjoy Nicaragua. Belize will probabaly survive even without you. A thanks for all the support you received in the past would sufficient instead of your complaining about not be given enough.
Posted By: iluvbelize Re: Arrogant Ski Divers - 03/02/12 04:23 PM
I don't think the sky divers generally are arrogant. Grimm, however, has been known to expect a free ride plus pocketing a profit just for showing up. Asking for $40K to bring 200 folks for a week...damn, that's rich.
Posted By: Bear Re: Arrogant Ski Divers - 03/02/12 04:33 PM
Wait a minute...is this the gentleman that said last year they wouldn't be back because of landing zone issues...?

cutrate parachute sales r us...

PS I have to say I wasnt sure what a ski(sic) diver was...
Posted By: Bobber Re: Arrogant Ski Divers - 03/02/12 04:50 PM
Money is always an issue. Do I remember a couple of years back that JJW wanted a bunch of front money to do a benefit in SP, for the kids if I remember correctly

Follow the money
Posted By: iluvbelize Re: Arrogant Ski Divers - 03/02/12 05:04 PM
I'm curious as to why a sky diving tour enterprise would ask for and expect local business and government dollars to fund the tour. Wouldn't it be fitting for the participants to fund their own trip and sky diving outings - air, water taxi, entertainment, lodging, etc? I'm not aware of a charity associated with the Grimm sky diving enterprise, except for maybe Grimm. We pay our own way when we take junkets as tourists.
Posted By: bywarren Re: Arrogant Ski Divers - 03/02/12 05:29 PM
Thanks for being my spell checker, Bear.
Posted By: Judyann H. Re: Arrogant Ski Divers - 03/02/12 05:35 PM
Or was it a Freudian slip?....
Posted By: Amanda Syme Re: Arrogant Ski Divers - 03/02/12 06:29 PM
Rich Grimm and family are very nice people with real big hearts. They love the country and the especially the island. The sky diving events could have been an extra draw to the island that typically brings in around $1m US per boogie. I do think that a lot of people will miss the fun of watching the event, and some will miss the generous donations that the groups make to the schools and libraries.

Rich will be coming to San Pedro in May and he will no doubt be able to give us the feedback on his first boogie in Nicaragua.

I know I will miss watching the neat colourful parachutes over the island and the fun sky divers and their wild party antics!

The event is a draw for tourists. I have had a ton of annual visitors asking when the boogie is this year. They are very disappointed to hear that we aren't having one.
Posted By: chunkyruth Re: Arrogant Ski Divers - 03/02/12 06:32 PM
I totally agree, Amanda.
Posted By: reaper Re: Arrogant Ski Divers - 03/02/12 06:38 PM
Sorry if you all took it as complaining. It was not.The San Pedro Sun wanted to know the difference in organizing by the tourism entities.The article wasn´t quite written the way it was intended I think. I excplicitly told Tamara Sniffin that this wasn´t sour grapes, she just wanted the facts of the organizational help and the differences in assistance.

The local business community has always been fantastic to us in San Pedro. Some of the SP locals have tried to find us a new landing area, but the expense of the logistics is way too much.

And yes, when there have been skydiving events in Thailand and other exotic locations the tourism wing of the governments assist with huge dollars. Thailand sponsored the events for over $100,000.

I always tried to keep the cost as low as possible so the participants would spend more money while in Belize.


And I have made so many millions of dollars on my free ride in San Pedro I am going to buy a nice mansion in Beverly Hills and matching Ferraris.

And Bywarren, I expect a free drink out of you when I see you in May.
Posted By: Diane Campbell Re: Arrogant Ski Divers - 03/02/12 06:47 PM
Comparing the budget of Thailand and Belize makes no sense at all.
BTW - Thailand is a Kingdom and what the top guy says gets done - not so here.

People did love to watch the Boogie, and it was missed this year.

I think the difference with this tourist group is that they provide something for others to enjoy while they are doing their thing - this cannot be said for things like diving and snorkeling.

But yes - it is a little hard to justify to the public how the government would be spending money to subsidize a foreign tour group - even if the economics ultimately make sense, it's pretty hard to articulate and at this time even harder to find the dosh to do it.

Posted By: bywarren Re: Arrogant Ski Divers - 03/02/12 07:17 PM
OK Rich, one free drink for you. At least you are not expecting me to buy one for 199 others. grin
Posted By: KathyA Re: Arrogant Ski Divers - 03/02/12 08:02 PM
Personally, I miss the skydiving event. Regardless of whether or not I jumped it was a good time. Without it, I probably will not make the February trip. I would like to see it back in Belize.

It would give me a reason to go more than once a year. I'm sure others feel the same way.
Posted By: AT602 Re: Arrogant Sky Divers - 03/02/12 08:44 PM
I can only confirm what he says about the civil aviation board they offer no help in welcoming aircraft or owners. I flew here 20 years ago and was treated like a common criminal for wanting to vacation in Belize. I was persistant and flew several time from the US to Belize. Each time was a little easier as I began to understand they were just rude and didn't want this type of tourist arrival. The AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilot Assoc) does caravans of light aircraft and took Belize off the list of destinations years ago because of the way they were treated at the airport. I spoke to many people at the airport about how to make this a easier task. I got no feedback from them. They talk about overnight stays and this group of 20 aircraft would stay for 3 to 4 nights. For everyones info I own a home here and visit 3 to 4 times a year. Thank you for letting me post my comments.
Posted By: Belize-N-Us Re: Arrogant Sky Divers - 03/02/12 09:28 PM
I did a tandem jump with this group a few years back and I didn't come into contact with anyone in the group that seemed "arrogant". Everyone seemed very nice.

Rich even donated the money I paid for my jump to a San Pedro local school.

Why any government does some of the things they do remains a mystery to me.

Why the Belizean government seems to make it difficult for aircraft owner's to fly their private planes into Belize is certainly at the top of the difficult to understand list.

Although, a local Mississippi man made news a year or so ago by being one of the first international private flights direct to San Pedro. He's not very popular right now due to the clock tower / ad sign he paid for being erected "in the middle of a busy street".
Posted By: seashell Re: Arrogant Sky Divers - 03/02/12 09:51 PM
Frankly, I agree that BTB should have been more helpful, but not in a monetary way. They should have helped smooth out the landings, so to speak. Should have made sure that there weren't too many glitches with government and airport procedures, etc.

As far as financial assistance, well, until Belize can start helping with airfare for any tourist coming down (as is done in Mexico), we should just rely on service and not cash.

Service, wouldn't that have been helpful?
Posted By: Bear Re: Arrogant Ski Divers - 03/03/12 12:27 AM
Originally Posted by bywarren
Thanks for being my spell checker, Bear.


Lmao, Oh damn bW, you changed it! I liked "Arrogant Ski Divers" better! There was a certain j'ne sais quoi about that lead. It sucked the freshly awakened reader into the possibility of yet another Belizean experience! It sure got me curious at any rate...Man, I really need to knock back some Caye cafe before I venture on to the board in the mornings...
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