Would appreciate any recommendations for doing this 2-3 nights in February. I've checked out Raggamuffin - has anyone done this? Belize Sailing Charters is pricey, like TMM. Thanks.
You want a bareboat charter, or to be a passenger on a boat sailed by someone else, or guidance on how to sail your own boat?
No problem, Placencia is a 12-14 hour straight run down, 2 or 3 nights makes it nice and relaxing. On the pricing side you get what you pay for.
None of us have sailed on our own before, so we need a captain. We want a one way trip down. Someone recommended Luis Nunez, LaGaviota. Thanks for your help, guys.
You could check with Tradewinds, they are great to go out with.
http://www.tradewindscruiseclub.com/htmlpages/belize.html
Tradewinds is operating out of Placencia now.
You could try contacting all of the sailing companies to see whether they can accommodate a one-way south when you want it. They might have a request for a one-way in the other direction just before or just after! I think (tho' I'm no expert) that only TMM operates out of SP now - all the others have relocated to Placencia.
Partially correct, TMM is the only Bareboat operation based in SP. Rick runs captained charters as does La Gaviota. For TMM there is a $600US drop off fee for a one way to cover the cost of fuel and staff on the way back.
Thank you Simon - I knew my knowledge was patchy, but it's still better than that of the OP. They wouldn't be allowed to captain their own boat anyway, would they? Too many reefs to hit. They should add Rick and La Gaviota to their list of firms to contact.
No they couldn't captain their own boat unless they could show a sailing resume with sufficent experience. The chart briefings for the bareboat charters are very in depth and all "no go" areas are clearly marked on the provided charts so hitting the reef is an very unusual occurence.
"On the pricing side you get what you pay for."
Good point, Simon. TMM cats are the high quality lines and pretty new models.
May be a little late in response but a friend and myself did the Raggamuffin 3 day trip to Placencia from Caye Caulker a few years ago, 2004. We enjoyed it and especially the camping on the small islands at nite. As we were the only US folks in the dozen on that trip we found it unique and made new friends. I'd do it again if i return in the next few years.
Did a trip report that summer if you want to dig in the history for it.
Look for "trip repost" on 5/30/04.