Cucumber Beach Marina Belize

We ran over night to from Chinchorro Bank to the main ship channel to Belize City. We had to slow down so as to arrive at the sea buoy at first light. The twisty channel is deep and well buoyed, but we weren’t taking any chances on a first time approach, because the reefs and shoals lie along the outside of the channel belonging to the second largest barrier reef in the world. Looking at the chart, the channel looks like a sunken river channel and probably was when sea levels were lower in the last ice age.
We were headed to Cucumber Beach marina 5 miles SW of downtown Belize City, which is really the only useable marina in the area. We called ahead to make a reservation and asked the Dockmaster if we could get in with our 6’3” draft. He said yes, but only at high tide. So we carefully consulted the tide table built into our Furuno Navnet software (C-Map) so that we’d go in at exactly high tide which would give us 1.6 feet above datum. One hour out, we called on VHF and said we’d be in, but the Dockmaster replied that high tide wasn’t for 2 and a half hours. Now we were confused, who to believe, C-Map or the Dockmaster, so we chose the latter and back and filled off the breakwater.
We found the approach waypoint by Rauscher( 17 27.87’N 88 14.65’W) to be quite accurate withy no hazards on final approach, a soft bottom with no rocks. Well to starboard you see the new petroleum pier extending well offshore and ashore conspicuous white tanks. To port you’ll see another small breakwater with aquaculture pens outside and commercial fishing boats inside. Cucumber beach marina is most distinguished by a tall tower with colorful flags on it. This is part of a water park associated with it. The breakwaters are not tall and the entrance is narrow. Wide enough for one boat, so if you see another vessel coming out, wait for it to exit before entering. Stay centered in the channel as it shoals quickly on the side.
We finally entered at slow bell and watched the sounder carefully and just inside the breakwater about 100 feet we were reading close to zero under our keel, but didn’t not touch. Inside, all we could see were catamaran’s, which is usually not a good indication for a deep draft cruising boat. We discovered later that the C-Map tide table was in error. So we ordered the official U.S. Dept. of Commerce tide book sent down to us.
Well inside is a turning basin. Depending on the tide there is a weak current flowing in or out of the marina. The transit docks are on a single long non floating pier on the southside. The pier facing is all wood and easy to lay alongside, the top of the dock is about 4 feet from the water. Power is 220 50 amp and was ample for air conditioning when we were there. Car access is only steps from the boat so it is easy to get supplies aboard. Only a few steps away is a good restaurant, reasonably priced. Inside of it is an ATM machine that dispenses Belize dollars. The exchange rate was 2 Belize. Fuel is brought pierside by truck. Security is very good. At night we saw two guards patrol, each carrying a sawed off 12 guage shot gun and a machete. Bugs are a problem so keep the boat buttoned up. They are very tiny, barely visible like gnats and bite and pass right through screens.
On the north side of the marina is a tiny convenience store. Behind it is a self service laundry with one washer and one dryer and showers. The dock master’s office is next door. He will assist you with port clearance by calling the officials (Port Captain, Immigration, Health, and Customs) who come out from Belize City. You pay for the taxi ride. You present your clearance and crew list from you last port. They have many forms to fill out. One unusual twist is they want a copy of the dinghy registration and list of ships stores. You don’t have to be very through with this, almost any reasonable list will do. They never check. Don’t arrive on the weekend and try to clear as there are large overtime charges.
Total Port Charges were in and out were about US$224 which seems high. James, the immigration officer collected US$30 in and 30 out and didn’t give a receipt for either when asked, so it’s bogus. We went to the immigration office the day before to make sure we got cleared out to make our high tide at 1300 the following day; he insisted he had to come to the boat the next day.
Security is very good. At night we saw two guards patrol, each carrying a sawed off 12 gauge shot gun and a machete. Bugs are a problem so keep the boat buttoned up. They are very tiny, barely visible like gnats and bite and pass right through screens. Overall this is a very convenient marina, especially by Central American standards.
On departure the dredge was working from the north breakwater. We found .8 foot under our keel at the same spot we found least depth in the dinghy. It was exactly high tide of .76 foot. this would mean 7’ of water at high water. So at low tide we would have nearly touched with our 6’3” draft. This is contrary to the 8’ we were told by the marina. But they were working the dredge so hopefully this will make the place more available to boats other than catamarans.

Banco Chinchorro, Mexico

Banco Chinchorro is a pristine, remote atoll, 17 miles offshore of the SE corner of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. We ran over from Bahia Espiritu Santo in about 4 hours, with the trades returning to normal easterly 15 to 20 knots.
Freya Rauscher’s approach waypoint is spot on. We saw the Cayos Nortes first on radar, then the wreck on the western edge of the opening, and then the reef breaks on the north side of the opening. We came in on 132-135 deg T, and sounded our way with an eye on the color of the water toward the lighthouse on Cayo Norte. The DMA charts and the C-Map electronic charts for Chinchorro are totally inadequate in scale, soundings, and position of the reef. In both cases our tracks on route coming in showed us passing right over the reef rather than the entrance.
As soon as we got anchored, the Mexican Marines hailed us on 16 to say it’s prohibited to anchor here, we must use the mooring buoy. We’d seen 3 buoys but assumed they were reserved for the Marines or Navy. The guy’s radio was cutting out badly, so we had to ask 3 times for clarification – Are we supposed to use the mooring or avoid anchoring too close to the mooring? Finally we got it straightened out, so we upped anchor and moved to the mooring closest to the lighthouse.
Then we lowered the dinghy and got it all set up so John and I could begin our first few hours of surveying Banco Chinchorro. Our plan was to start by sounding a straight line to the lighthouse, to go ashore and pay our respects to the Marines and Lighthouse guys. But as soon as we got the dinghy moving away from the boat, someone on VHF called rather excited and said it’s prohibited to launch our dinghy, prohibited to come ashore, prohibited to even go snorkeling or diving! We asked if we could swim around or boat, and he said only with great caution.
That cancelled our whole reason for even coming to Banco Chinchorro. ; by now it was too late and we were too tired to get No Plans underway to Belize. We gathered weather faxes, and weather-wise it didn’t make any difference if we went that night or the next day. So, we opted to stay here most of the next day, leaving before sunset and making the 14 hour run to Belize City.
Chinchorro’s lighthouse was tilted southward by Hurricane Dean, the most recent hurricane to damage the Yucatan, according to the Marines who came out by panga to check our papers and sign their forms.
Chinchorro Bank is a Biosphere Reserve, not a national park, so tourism isn’t courted here anymore. It’s run by Conap, the Pesca environmental agency, who have a HQ on Cayo Centro. Conap sets a quota on how many people can visit Chinchorro in any month, so if it’s already had too many yachts stopping for presumed emergencies, then they will close it to others for a while. To protect the habitat and corals, etc. The marines said all tourism has to come over from Majahual or Xcalak as certified tours lead by guides. Chinchorro has only 3 moorings, so if 4 boats show up, one must be turned away.
Following us were 3 sailboats. Two got to use the moorings, but the 4th had to stop and anchor way out by the entrance where it must be very rolly. It is pretty rolly here on the best mooring.
Moorings (the marines said) are 100 ton concrete blocks. I dove and inspected them, the hardware and rope was new. It has no chain, probably to protect the coral, the blocks were buried in the sand and I couldn’t see them. We were in 9 feet of water. The buoys are soft plastic so they won’t damage your hull if they rub up against it. The rope had a well made eye splice covered in plastic, so they were easy to pick up and won’t chafe. While we were there a week norther blew up and to 20 knot NW and the wind blew straight in the harbor, the only direction it is open to. We had about a 2 foot sea, the 70 ton boat rode well to it without strain, but this is no place to be in a strong norther. When we first arrived the wind was easterly about 12 knots which is protected by the island and reef, but it was still pretty rolly. We’d have put up the flopper but the water is too shallow for them and they would bottom out.
The same Mexican Navy patrol boat 1102 “Sirius” that had come alongside two days before to take off the ship wreck survivors came in and picked up a buoy. They needed fuel, but couldn’t go to the pier coming out from the lighthouse because the swell was coming straight in. Then they ferried out fuel in a navy panga in drums.
We departed for Belize for an overnight run with the wind on the stern.