Please see our website www.protechbelize.com for comprehensive information and future events.
Protech opened in September 2002 with a dive centre and (separate) gear shop in San Pedro on the Belizean Caribbean island of Ambergris Caye. We have spent the year developing and consolidating our business, which now also includes a compressor room supplying air and nitrox to a number of other dive centres. We have tried to establish high standards, the sort we expect when we go travelling, and it is gratifying to receive testimonials such as this recent one:- "We've spent thousands of dollars to travel half way around the world to dive; and while the reefs were awesome in Tahiti, the staff of their dive shops were not! People are what make a great vacation - and you guys are definitely great!"
We cater for all forms of diving, recreational and technical, and support exploratory expeditions to the depths of the Blue Hole, to search for wrecks along the reef, and into local sea cave systems. We teach to instructor trainer level in recreational diving, open circuit deep air and trimix, and on a variety of semi- and closed circuit rebreathers., plus DAN and other non-diving disciplines. The dive centre is in process of becoming a PADI 5* IDC centre and we have already hosted a number of PADI IDCs, with 100% success rate.
Protech currently owns five boats, mostly the open style favoured by Belizeans. Our 39' SeaRay fast small liveaboard has been much delayed in a complete refit, but is now about to come into service. We have recently taken over a 42' diesel boat that we have on occasion in the past chartered and which has always been very popular with divers; it provides a very stable and spacious diving platform for local and not-so-local dives. The 35' and 28' outboard-powered boats we have had for some time continue as before, and after fitting a new 4 stroke engine to our 23' Mexican skiff that is proving to be a very useful boat for snorkelling and other trips inside the reef - so good, in fact, that we intend to add another similar boat. Not bad for a dive centre that originally intended not to acquire any boats of its own! All boats of course have normal safety equipment such as lifejackets, radios, etc, and the SeaRay is equipped for expeditions.
Protech employs highly experienced divemasters and instructors, and Roni Liberman, one of the directors, is one of the most highly qualified instructors around, being qualified to Instructor Trainer Trainer level with IANTD, the leading technical training body. Roni has recently been appointed to the Board of Advisors of IANTD, a sort of non-executive "think tank" on diving policy, safety, course design, etc with members drawn from all over the world. This is a great honour and means that Protech is now a significant power behind the scenes in the world of diving. IANTD itself is respected as a policy setter, and is highly regarded by other diving agencies.
Peter Jones, the other director, holds instructor level qualifications. Protech is unique in Belize in having a full-time PADI Course Director (Zak Jones) on its staff, permitting us to promote IDCs at much lower cost than has traditionally been the case, and to offer courses and upgrades that are easier and quicker when taken with a CD. Our most experienced divemaster, Junior, has recently achieved instructor status, and is proving as good at it as he has always been as a dive guide. As he is fluent in Spanish we are now able to add this as a normal teaching language. Zak Jones joned us a few months ago as a PADI Course Director with IT level qualifications with various technical diving agencies, and with his help we are now hosting PADI IDCs on a frequent basis.
Our diving is mostly on the barrier reef ½ mile offshore. This barrier reef is the longest in the world outside Australia, and apart from a score or so "hot spots" used by local dive centres it is virgin territory. Everywhere the diving is outstanding, as indeed are the hot spots once away from recreational depths. There are very varied hard and soft coral formations, with tremendous canyons and swim-throughs at all depths, and a wide range of pelagics and other fish. Because contact with humans is slight and (nowadays) largely non-invasive, there are rays, sharks, groupers, etc. that are quite content to be approached and even petted. We are tending increasingly to go well north of San Pedro, where the reef is almost undived and is magnificent, and we are seeking permission to cross the Mexican border where we believe there is the wreck of a submarine.
The famous Blue Hole and Lighthouse Reef are further afield, and although day trips are possible a liveaboard of 3 or more days is much preferable. We can now run recreational, technical open circuit and rebreather trips to this area, using different boats for different types of diver. Recreational divers on a single tank are very limited as to their bottom time in the Blue Hole, but others are catered for according to their equipment, qualifications and experience.
Most diving is reef diving. We are continuing to search for wrecks, and found an attractive barge dive in about 22 metres (70 feet), with several extremely friendly nurse sharks on it. One even sneaked up behind one of our divemasters and snatched his fin, swimming away and playing catch for several minutes before finally dropping it. We are aware of other wrecks in the deep air and trimix ranges and are in process of exploring them. We hope shortly to offer clients a good range of wreck diving as well as reef.
We pump our own air (triple filtered, up to 322 bar/ 5000 psi) into our own steel and aluminium tanks, bulk producing nitrox 32 and 36 on a large scale, producing our own oxygen and rich mixes from air to any desired pressure, and generally running a self sufficient dive operation. Our compressors are located away from shop and dive center, permitting continuous production of nitrox without too much disturbance. We supply air and nitrox to a number of local dive centres.
Our gear shop is the first and only in Belize. It is located in Fairdale Plaza just south of town. Here we sell Scubapro, DiveRite, OMS, VR3 (the "super computer" produced in England) and film and digital underwater cameras, together with selected products from other manufacturers. Our prices are very competitive with Europe and the USA, and all products we sell have worldwide guarantees. Visiting divers can rent first and buy later if they wish, the rental charges being credited to them.
Our dive centre is at the Belize Yacht Club, a prestigious hotel just south of town with a peaceful quiet ambience of two-storey apartments set in landscaped gardens, on the beach. Theses are elegant apartments which seem much more expensive than they actually are, particularly at low high season prices. We also have regular dealings with simpler hotels within walking distance, and offer packages of diving and accommodation at considerable savings, in various price ranges depending on the accommodation chosen. Packages including accommodation and diving can be arranged at good rates at these hotels (or others) according to demand. Prices are quite seasonal and some dates fill up very months in advance, so early enquiry and booking is advisable. We give discounts on diving for 5 or more days paid for in advance, and group discounts for groups of 10 or more.
Our divers are offered soft drinks, hot beverages and cookies after each dive, with Gatorade also available. We have well equipped classrooms and intend to open a cafe serving basic but good fare at modest prices.
Our rental gear is better than generally available. All new, recreational divers have Scubapro weight integrated Glide Plus BCDs with Air2 alternate air sources, with Mk16/S550 or Mk2/R380 regulators, OMS or Scubapro masks and Scubapro fins. A dive computer kept for the duration of the stay is free with a rental package, or is separately and cheaply available. Stills cameras good for any recreational depth are available for rental and we currently have one digital video camera, good to around 500 feet. We also have underwater scooters, which can be rented after training. Recreational divers can try or qualify on the Draeger Ray semi-closed rebreather, or perhaps "snorkelling" with the SASY device, which we have in adult and child sizes.
Technical open circuit divers have DiveRite Superwings with Transpac 2 harnesses or stainless steel backplates, Scubapro DIN Mk25+S550/S600/S50 main regulators and DIN Mk2/R190 deco regs, with more advanced computers including Nitek3 and VR3. Tanks are steel Fabers, twinned with manifolds, giving up to 240cu.ft., and sideslings are mostly aluminium. We have assorted other gear for rental only, such as Poseidon Jetstream regulators. Plus accessories such as lift bags, reels, etc.
For technical rebreather divers we always have two Inspiration CCRs on which we can train to any level, and also offer experience dives on these. We have a Megalodon CCR, regarded by many as the ultimate CCR. We keep tanks, sodalime, batteries and sensors plus a variety of spares, so visiting CCR divers can easily bring their machines by air.
We are seeing great interest in diving the caves of Belize, now that visiting cave divers can find the support they need. The caves are believed to be at least the equal of the famous systems just up the coast in Mexico, but have the magnetic attraction of being almost totally unexplored. Some are land-based while others are accessed from the sea, and some of these are within a very few miles from our dive centre. We will shortly be hosting expeditions to explore and start to chart these.
Exploration of the great Blue Hole below air depths now becomes possible, and we will also be hosting expeditions here. We hope during next year to dive to the bottom, and with this capability will be supplementing the SAR teams which otherwise are restricted to air depths. Last year we hosted the first IANTD Public Safety Diver training course to be held outside the USA, in which four Belizean police officers qualified to work in the field in various capacities, and will be running another such course this summer, culminating in supporting the formation and development of a Belizean recovery unit.
We host divers every day, and run small-scale courses on demand. We have a number of courses and events planned for the next few months (details on the web site). Many of these can be put on at any time for even a small number of divers, given notice, so if you dont see what you want please ask.
We work closely with the local community, both in terms of discounted prices for gear and in free or at-cost training in essential disciplines. We teach candidates for Tour Guide Licences in dive-related disciplines such as DAN O2 and Divemaster, and teach disadvantaged high school children for no charge. We also provide reduced cost instructor training countrywide to suitable candidates nominated by the Belize Tourist Board. All these initiatives are interposed in our normal commercial activities so that they remain financially viable.
In cooperation with the Belize Tourist Board we run heavily subsidised PADI instructor courses aimed at suitable Belizean candidates, and geared to their requirements. For suitable people not yet at IDC entry level we provide all necessary preparatory training.
Overall we are getting very good reviews, and are constantly being asked to take on provision of diving services to hotels and resorts both near and far. We hope that if you choose to dive or train with us you will enjoy a fully professional experience to the highest international standards, yet with the informality and relaxation associated with holidaying in Belize.
Dated 19 Oct 03
