Dive boat captains defend actions
Tonight many families in both Belize and the United States continue to mourn those lost in the boating accident at Big Creek. There are twenty believed to be dead, including two Belizeans. As investigations continue to probe the cause of the accident, several questions remain unanswered, such as why the passengers and crew of the Wave Dancer remained onboard during the hurricane. Sources close to the Belize crew are suggesting that while the tourists opted to stay on board, several Belizeans wanted to leave but were told that if they left, they would lose their jobs. Today, News 5 spoke to the captain of the Belize Aggressor II who was moored alongside the Wave Dancer during the storm. Captain Jerry Schnabel says that despite what happened to the Wave Dancer, if he had to do it again he still would have stayed on his boat with his passengers.
Capt. Jerry Schnabel, Belize Aggressor II
“A lot of the problems that the storm was predicted hit further north from us, so we shouldn’t have experienced that maximum force of winds. As you know, it did start to creep south, creep south, and come right over Placencia pretty much, so normally we would stay there with our guests on the boat because the boat’s built very strong as you can see. However, why what happened, happened, I have no clue. I only know that also in the past, shelters have disappeared, so there’s a possibility that had we gone to the shelter, what happened then if the shelter was totally destroyed. It’s hard to say in hindsight. For us we’re okay, we made the right decision, our people survived. I have seen force four hurricanes and force five hurricanes even the shelters get blown away, so had we gone to the shelter and everybody was gone, then people would say why didn’t you stay in the boat. So it’s a difficult decision.”
Captain Wayne Hasson, the principal owner of the Belize Aggressor Company, says that they felt the boat was the most comfortable place for the passengers to find safety and says what happened to the Wave Dancer was a freak accident.
Captain Wayne Hasson, Owner, Belize Aggressor Co.
“We told the passengers that we felt it was safe, we’ve rode out many hurricanes. The boat in fact would continue to have electricity, water, toilets, where shelters would not necessarily. And the boat was very safe, it’s a hundred and ten-foot boat and inside of a protective harbour anyway. It’s not like you’re gonna get a lot of surge or waves. The only thing that you really had to contend with is the wind.
I think what happened to the Wave Dancer was a freak accident. I don’t consider it had anything to do with what they did. They did the best they could under the circumstances. There was definitely another factor that came in here that caused the Wave Dancer to go upside down. I don’t know what that factor is at this point in time, I couldn’t even comment on it. But all I can say, is that I’ve been on boats all my life. I’m a master mariner and ocean operator world-wide and I’d rather be on a boat than anywhere during a hurricane. So the choice is mine to stay on the boat.”
It should be noted that when the Wave Dancer broke away from its mooring, it hit the Aggressor, causing some damage. The passengers aboard the Aggressor were moved to a shelter in Independence right after the captain saw what happened to the Wave Dancer. News 5 tried to interview both the owner of the Wave Dancer and the boat’s captain, but our messages were not answered. It is likely that the incident will be the subject of a number of lawsuits by the families of the victims.
