DIVING

Belize offers some of the world's best diving. As an official PADI Dive Center, Blue Marlin Lodge offers its guests the best diving variety along with the best in dive service and equipment. Blue Marlin's experienced staff is always prepared allowing guests more leisure time before, during and after dives.

The focus of the dive operations at Blue Marlin is the gear shack and boat dock, where a variety of dive boats are berthed. The main dive vessel, featuring a design that is the best combination of speed, practicality and trim for Belizean waters, is the MISS MARIEL, a 42 foot custom V-hull with twin cats outfitted with tank racks for 20-25 divers. This vessel is used for larger groups and all day dive trips to Glovers Reef.

A second vessel is the NAUTILUS, a 30 foot Mexican skiff powered by twin 150 outboards for up to ten divers. Blue Marlin's Pro 42 Jet Drive Reef Cruiser is state-of-the-art in diver comfort, safety, and convenience. Easy exit and entry on the boat is just one of many features that makes it a premium dive vessel.

Morning and afternoon single tank boat trips are the normal daily offering. One or two night dives are available each week. Trips to the reef sites average 5 to 25 minutes, with the only really rough seas encountered are when going out through the cut during high winds.

All boat dives are drift dives, not because of current, but because this infrequently dived section of the barrier reef is without any permanent moorings.

Nearly every site is a wall dive or at least adjacent a wall. Deep dives are planned "over the wall" while shallow divers are conducted at the top or just inside the outer reef crest. An unusual aspect of Blue Marlin is the very generous bottom time allowed; dives start deep and end shallow, allowing for about 50 minutes of average bottom time per dive. Computer diving is encouraged. The divemaster leads the dive but there is freedom of movement within the buddy teams.

The diving is quite spectacular, with walls, marine life and visibility being the highlights of nearly every dive. The types of fish that can be seen on any one dive include spotted eagle rays, moray eels, dolphins, rock snappers, and smaller species of fish.

Snorkeling is as spectacular for the diver and non-diver alike. The lagoon and forereef habitats have healthy coral reefs. Patch reefs and mound-like formations called spur & groove abound throughout the barrier reef making it ideal for snorkelers. Even those that do not swim well will find plenty of shallow, protected reefs. Wearing of a life preserver is encouraged for those that cannot swim or are uncomfortable in the water.

Blue Marlin Divers is a PADI Dive Center, complete with rental equipment and a menu of instruction and specialty courses, including:

• Open Water
• Advanced Open Water
• Search & Salvage
• Underwater Hunter
• Night Diver
• Deep Diver
• Wreck Diver
• Underwater Photography

The Southern Cayes of Belize rates as one of the top dive destinations in this hemisphere. Southwater Caye, in particular, offers access to some of the most spectacular wall dives and ocean drop-offs anywhere in the world. Wall dives range from 30 to 120 feet with water visibility averaging 80 to 100 feet and water temperatures between 80 to 85 degrees year around.

The Barrier Reef of Belize is alive and well. Many International Associations, the Government of Belize, and the people of Belize are impassioned with keeping Belize pristine for future generations. We urge visitors to do their part in preserving the natural treasures of Belize.

FISHING

Belize is known as a top destination for sport fishermen from around the world. The variety of different species as well as the numerous types of tackle used provides a wide selection of activities for both the novice and the expert fishermen.

South Water Caye is an Angler's Paradise. The front side is as close as 120 feet to Belize's Barrier Reef. behind the island spreads a large lagoon full of coral reefs and seagrass beds. Huge schools of bonefish spread out over the lagoon. Tailing these large bonefish schools will provide hours of fly-rod action a few steps out of your room. Bonefish can normally be caught in the shallows from November to March.

Your experienced guides can take you to visit neighboring flats in the mangrove and by the Sittee river mouth for Snook, Permit and Tarpon. Tarpon is most abundant from February through August in the many rivers along the coast.

Deep-sea fishing for big game fish is a favorite at Blue Marlin Lodge. In fact, the name for the lodge came from a blue marlin caught right in front of the island by the lodge owners before the lodge was even operational. Besides blue marlin, there are many other oceanic species that can be caught right off the island, including yellowfin and blackfin tuna, mackerel, bonito, wahoo, white marlin and sailfish. Most of these oceanic species can be caught year around at the Blue Marlin Lodge.

Reef fishing is good year around also. Barracuda is a guaranteed catch near the edges of the reef crest along many of the cuts through the barrier reef. Other species frequenting the reefs of the lagoon are grouper, snappers, and many different species of jacks.

Blue Marlin's experienced fishing guides can arrange for various angling adventures. Whether you're deep sea fishing or fly fishing the flats, Blue Marlin is rigged to handle the request. You can also expect to eat what you catch. The cooks at the Blue Marlin Lodge are use to waiting for the catch of the day to come in before preparing your evening dinner.

Remember that all the joy and fun associated with the oceans can be found here at Blue Marlin Lodge. Any kind of fishing - spin, fly or trolling - can be enjoyed year around. The abundance and variety of fish guarantees that you will have an excellent time sport fishing. Some of our guest have left saying that "...it is impossible to go fishing in Belize without catching something...!"