The Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve is the southernmost group of atolls in Belize. They consist of 14 mostly uninhabited islands within a section of the Mesoamerican reef measuring about 39,000 acres in size. These islands include Sapodilla Caye, Hunting Caye, Lime Caye, Franks Caye, South Cay, Nicolas Cay, North Spot, Red Rock Cay, Tom Owens Cay and the Seal Cayes. The others are as yet unnamed.
Along with the 14 islands, the Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve also contains several crystal clear lagoons and a shallow reef, making it an ideal place to enjoy activities like snorkelling and scuba diving. Some of the islands are composed primarily of sand while others are dense mangrove forests. On those islands, the labyrinth of mangrove tree roots offer shelter and nesting sites for fish, one of the many reasons why the marine ecosystem is so vibrant in this area.
One of the most enchanting aspects of Sapodilla Cayes is its crystal clear turquoise waters and it’s remoteness.
Where are the Sapodilla Cayes?
The Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve is located approximately 40 miles offshore of Placencia in southern Belize.
The only way to get to there is by boat so we loaded up the Catamaran (above) and off we went.
Two If By Sea
This adventure came about because we had recently spent several weekends teaching aboard Two If By Sea around the Silk Cayes and Stu was the only non-diver and we all felt he should be in and under the water with us so Yim, Fran and myself talked him into learning to dive. It was time for him to get into the water with us.
So we chose to visit the Sapodilla Cayes. This would be a good secluded location to teach him. Since we were completely mobile aboard the 47 foot cat, we could choose any location we wanted, and as far away from any other boats that may be in the area in order to make Stu feel more comfortable on his first dives.
Leaving from Roberts Grove at the time, it took us almost four hours to arrive, which is exactly why we went. The sheer remoteness and unspoiled beauty of the cayes ensures an unforgettable experience and the spectacular beaches and vibrant coral gardens are worth it.
The outer portion of the reserve is characterized by shallow water reefs, which occur as a fringe around the cayes, which can be easily seen in the photo below. The depth of water over these fringing reefs often starts in less then 15 feet, even exposed at low tide. Where we dropped anchor, the front of the Cat was in 15 feet of water. The back was in over 70 feet of water.
The Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve
The Reserve is managed by the Belize Fisheries Department, and for good reason. The clear waters in this area, especially around the lagoon, are simply brimming with schools of fish, including angelfish, snapper, parrotfish, spadefish, and jacks. In the reef area, you can also spot creatures like manta rays, sea turtles, dolphins, and even the occasional whale shark. The Reserve is also a good place to see unusual kinds of coral, including the delicate lettuce coral.
Stu’s First Dive
So… we arrive. Stu is nervous but willing. I ask him what he is afraid of and he tells me he is more concerned about gear failure. I explain to him that I have been diving for close to 20 years at this point and I have never experienced gear failure, and since we were using gear from my shop, he should feel secure about that.
We gear up and get ready to do a gentle walk in from the back of the Cat. The transom has steps and rather than risk the gear moving during a giant stride entry, I tell Stu we will simply walk down the ladders at the back and fill the BCD’s so we remain buoyant until he is ready.
We get in the water and look at each other and I give the thumbs down signal and away we go. We begin our first descent.
Less than a minute into the dive, we are just below maybe 30 feet and the O Ring on Stu’s tank bursts and air is being violently pushed out of the tank and Stu starts to be swirled around. The air is streaming wildly out of his tank and I can see his eyes are the size of saucers and since we are only just under the surface, my initial reaction is that I find this very funny but quickly realize that unless I get a good hold of Stu and calm him down, he may never get back in the water.
The girls are right above us watching. They have no idea why there is an explosion of bubbles coming our of the ocean right below them and a minute later, Stu and I pop up to the surface. I look at him and say, “It’s just a burst O Ring’, and burst out laughing.
To Stu, it wasn’t funny but it did teach him a good lesson. By staying calm, we assessed the situation, determined what the issue was and came back to the surface in a controlled ascent and fixed the problem.
It is with a great deal of pride that I say that Stu then went on the become a Scuba Diving Instructor and led dives are over the world from Panama to Tonga to the British Virgin islands, where the four of us were united again in 2005.
On Our Way Home
After our two dives, we decided that we would sail over and tuck into a protected harbour on Hunting Caye (below), which had a natural protected harbour, providing the winds were blowing from the north, west or south and we thought we’d spend the night there but it was a little further than we expected and the sunset before we arrived.
We knew there were some coral areas that we would have to avoid so we made our way in slowly – very slowly at time. Then it started to rain, quite hard so visibility was poor. At least once, even though our gauges told us we were in enough water, we heard scratching under the boat. Nothing serious but enough to let us know we had to take a different route, which meant a considerable detour. You can see from the photo below that there was a lot of coral surrounding this little caye and at one point, we just figured, what the hell, let’s anchor here and stay inside and drink some rum.
Next morning we headed back towards Placencia by way of Ranguana Caye and Yim got to do some boat driving.
Stu passed away suddenly in 2015, one week before the four of us were set to celebrate both mine and Stu’s 60th Birthdays in the British Virgin Islands.
We had quite a few really good adventures.
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