AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums The Cayes Caye Caulker Snorkeling Accident

There is blame and there is responsibility. The safety of your clients is the main responsibiliy of a tour guide. There is no question they failed in that responsibiliy. The facts will determine how much blame is appropriate. Having said that, it is hard for me to believe there could be any circumstances that would not put blame on the tour guides.

Originally Posted By: collyk
Gaining wisdom and using that knowledge to help reduce the risk of further accidents is constructive and helpful...

That "wisdom and knowledge" is what a tour guide is suppose to have.

I think it may be wise to take the responsibility of bad weather/water conditions out of the hands of tour operators as stated by Bear. This is practiced in most all beach areas, Red Fag. However I know how some officials handle things here, how laws are not inforced, and closing the reef due to weather can become anything but. It could become personal, stopping a large tour of an officials family member rival tour group. Bribes to not red flag. This has been a hard week on Caye Caulker. There are laws on the Belize books the police wont enforce. Its all so sad.

Enough Is Enough Everyone is speculating as to what happened every time something happens in the area every one speculates So what happens every one who wants to come to Belize gets the wrong impression after reading all the posts so what happens is that they go somewhere else So a lot of people lose money due to the posts Every one loses like tour companies, hotels, bars even the street vendors Oh by the way I live in Indiana & Goshen is in the northern part of state & made an article in my local paper P.S. maybe not every one but some will go other places

Unfortunately there are too many people like you who put economic gain as a higher priority than the safety of their clients. To not report incidences like this the height of irresponsibility. Tourist have every right to know as much about the places they choose to visit, both the good and the bad. If Belize cannot attract tourists based on factual information, then it does not deserve that business.

You ruffled my feathers. Education & training is paramount to running a tour company or any business. Sure The Almighty Dollar is in the Equation. Speculation is bad for business I have seen too many businesses go under because of bad speculation & negative news about the businesses P.S. I have said it all everyone can go back to speculating & run Belize right into the ocean

So by your logic, the drug related murders in Mexico should be kept out of the news so tourists would continue to visit those destinations unaware of the danger.

I agree with the suggestion that an advisory system for current strength should be in place at Hol Chan. There are no other local/popular dive sites over deep cuts - and it is the current in the cuts that creates the danger we're discussing.
Displaying a flag should be sufficient --
green for calm/novice swimmers are ok -
yellow for moderate/lifejackets optional/elderly and poor swimmers to stay close in
red / strong currents, lifejackets and ropes recommended - two dive guides per group
And - "closed" for the really really bad days. On "closed" days have Hol Chan rangers put out an internet message to the dive shops per a list of licensed operators - and have them stationed in the park telling errant operators that the place is closed. If the tourists hear it's closed/dangerous from the rangers they will probably take head and accept a nice exploration of coral gardens and shark-ray alley.
Inevitably we will still have some people going in the water (just like the passionate surfers who go out in a hurricane in Florida or wherever) - I don't think the rangers should arrest anybody - but they should clearly advise that this is an "at your own risk" and issue a citation to the operator for being there.
Then let it be - the divers will have been warned and will either take care or they won't - at that point they will be responsible for the outcome.

You are diverting the main subject which is Belize I know Mexico has problems with the drug murders & drug related problems Sure the public should aware but in a positive way based on facts & not speculation oh by the way last August our state fair had a bad accident & a lot of speculation & finger pointing is being done to this day even though their are several investigations going on to find the the cause attorneys are lining up like vultures their are several attorneys trying sue Mother Nature???

It is not "speculation" that two tourists died.
And to your points Diane, they are good points. But as one who has snorkled Hol Chan many times, the currents can be excessive many of the days based on how strong the winds and the tides. I would find it hard to determine what conditions would merit closing the area. The knowledge of the tour guide and his assesment of the abilities of his clients based on the conditions should be the determining factor. The conditions could very well be dangerous to novice swimmers, but acceptable to the more experienced and accomplished ones. The idea of flags is a good one, but I still the responsibiliy is on the guides to make the determination.

Diane, in every instance I can think of where red is displayed as a safety condition it means "NO", and closure.

My experience in regulatory development has been that simpler is better; the less interpretation the better, for example adding additonal restrictions such as the number of tour groups in the water etc. I just wouldnt complicate the issue.

No flag means no restrictions, Sure perhaps yellow flag to address your "difficult" conditions if you want, but I would never fly a red and allow people in the water. Red should be closure and whatever means works best for disseminating that information so be it. I would suggest a Hol CHan conditions phone number with a recording updated on a daily basis (or more frequent basis if needed). Everyone seems to have a cell and internet may or may not be available to the smaller guides.

With respect to the Rangers duties in such matters, if its closed its closed. It's easier for an enforcment officer to say "no" than " I would advise..." It leaves the officer open to having to provide explanantions, and perhaps subsequently "why didnt you just tell me, us, them, "no?" Believe me, as a guy who has been in such situations, I like it simple and direct. I'd bet good money the rangers at Hol Chan would approciate that as well.