From the Magnum Belize Newsletter:

Imagine a silent, bubble free dive allowing you to swim so close to exotic fish, you almost have to push them away. It’s now possible, as the future of diving has arrived at Protech, the first truly technical dive center anywhere in Belize, located at the Belize Yacht Club in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye.

Roni Liberman and Peter Jones head up Protech. Both have been in the diving business for over 20 years, and are well traveled throughout the diving world. For several years, Liberman and Jones have been searching for a location to headquarter a world-class, state-of-the-art diving center. They decided on Belize.

"The diving is incredible here. English is the first language, there is no political unrest, and there is a variety of other things to do. Belize is very different from other diving locations in that respect," says Liberman. One of the top diving experts in the world, Liberman is a diving "instructor-trainer," meaning he is qualified to train other diving instructors. He also has a background in management, serving as vice president of operations for a U.S. manufacturing company. And along with being a diving instructor, Peter is a certified public accountant. "Most diving centers don’t have a CPA working as a diving instructor," says Liberman. "We both have diving and business experience that compliments one another."

Protech features the best diving equipment you will see anywhere, bar none, including closed-circuit rebreathers, which enable breathing gas to be continuously recycled in a closed loop. This is in contrast to conventional open circuit diving, in which the bulk of the exhaled breath is wasted by venting it out into the surrounding water.

"Rebreathers represent an evolution in scuba diving," Liberman says. "They recycle the air you breathe, and as a result, there’s no bubbles to scare away marine life." Rebreathers also allow divers to stay under water longer: as much as six hours.

All dive customers of Protech have a wrist-attached dive computer to help divers keep track of their diving time. And divers will be offered nitrox, which Liberman says is dramatically better than breathing on air." Above all, it means safer diving. You’re less likely to get decompression sickness, and less fatigued."

Protech features rental and training on all sorts of toys, including underwater still cameras, tiny underwater video cameras, even underwater scooters. Protech also offers certification and training on technical or deep diving, and free diving, which is diving underwater without a breathing tank. "Some divers can go down as far as 60 to 80 feet after our two-day course that teaches swimming and breathing techniques, "Liberman says. Protech has a coffee shop with its diving center "where divers can tell their fish stories," and a laid-back learning environment.

The Belize Yacht Club is a perfect home for Protech: As the name implies, the resort boasts one of the finest marinas on the coast. It offers about 40 apartment-type suites with fully equipped kitchens, air conditioning, and cable TV. Get your sports fix at the resort’s Coral Sand Sports Bar. The Belize Yacht Club also offers the three-story Coral Sand Convention Center, the finest convention facility in town.

The "convention center" at the Coral Sands is now the medical school. No more convention center.

The Medical School permanent campus is currently under construction across from Victoria House. In a few months the Coral Sand Convention Center will be vacant.