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Placencia 's Part In Earth Day 2007

Huge tangled ball of cable Found during Earth Day 2007

Placencia celebrated Earth Day 2007 in a big way with almost 50 children, 12 adult supervisor and 14 divers taking part in the day's activities. The group met at Placencia's main dock and soon headed out towards Laughing Bird Caye National Park. Armed with 40 large garbage bags the children with their supervisors swarmed across the cayes picking up all manner of debris most of which had washed up on shore. At the end of the scouring the caye was clean and picture perfect.

In the meantime the team of divers headed out to Moho Caye to clean up a dive site there. The Team didn't have the success of the Children back at Laughing Bird due to the sheer size of their problem - huge tangled balls of cable. This cable seems to have been cut loose from shrimp trawlers and was the main source of the problem but there was other underwater debris. The small team that went to the site did make head way but were unable to remove the cabling from the water. Another trip is being planned to go back after that.

Back at Laughing Bird lunch was served and an educational quiz and snorkeling rounded off the afternoon. All in all the Earth Day participants came back to the main land feeling exhausted but satisfied with the role they played in Earth Day 2007.

This Earth Day activity was made possible by Splash Dive Shop, Friends of Nature, and The Coral Reef Alliance. As well as the generous support of sponsor like Turtle Inn, The Inn at Roberts Grove,. Chabil Mar Villa, Sea View Properties, The Moorings Belize, Ltd, Let's go Sailing, Placencia Fishermen's Co-operative, Bj's Restaurant, Nitewind Tours, Yoli's Bar & Grill, MnM Service Station Placencia, Joy Tours, Splash Dive Shop Crew, South Belize Reef & Jungle, Wallen's Market, Tommy's Store, Aquatic Adventures, Placencia Adventure Tours, Ron Spilman, Elton Eiley, Hank Rhamdas, Aquaterra Land and Sea adventures, Placencia Tourism Center, New Wave, Bernard Griffith, South Water Resort, Caribbean Tours, Wendy's Restaurant & Bar, Tuttifruitti Ice Cream Parlor, Maya Breach Hotel, Lionel Tucker & Sons, Veronica Vegetables, Decked Out House, Placencia Village Council and of course all the volunteers that worked so hard and ENJOYED I.T!!!!(Photo by Muzamanzie Photograph)

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Placencia Mooring Masters, (PMM) is proud to announce that mooring buoy installations have finally begun and our first splicing class was an enjoyable success for all!

Thursday, April 26th was a momentous occasion for PMM as after months of planning and months of waiting on equipment, installation team leader Erwin Westby finally got to show us how the Manta Rays get jack hammered into the bottom.
Along with experienced installation diver Linda Garcia, together they showed “wanna be” assistant divers Paul Steel, Alex Small and Kirk Mayen how these Manta Rays actually find their way 7 ft. into the seabed.
Claudio Trejo from TMM ran the hydraulic pump and assisted divers from the boat just east of Whipray Caye. The FON – Friends of Nature installation equipment worked flawlessly and it took no more than 30 minutes to hammer each Manta Ray down.  Another 30 minutes saw the buoy installed and shackled to the eye of the Manta Ray and this concluded day 1 of installation.
Thanks go out to Steve Lobban (Artful Dodger Sail and Canvas) for donating his boat and motor and to Beverly and Julian Cabral for providing entire crew with a delicious meal and beverages for lunch! TMM provided fuel and South Belize Reef and Jungle donated scuba tanks.
GPS co-ordinates were taken and as soon as all buoys are in, a chart of locations will be circulated. We will also educate all charter operators via BCA – (Belize Charter Association) on proper procedures in use and reporting of any known damage to PMM mooring buoys.
For now, people can call BTIA at 523-4045 to report anything “fishy” or broken.
We urge the public to help us control theft after all the work and hard efforts that has gone into this project. Anyone caught stealing these buoys will prosecuted to the full extent of the law and then keel hauled by PMM members who prefer to remain anonymous for the time being!
(Diagram of buoy components from coral mooring handbook p29 and photos from class)
Hang on, keep your glasses on,,, this isn’t the only newsworthy item to make public for PMM this month! Please read on!
 
On Friday April 27th, PMM held its first splicing class on TMM’s dock from 3:30 till dark. This was offered to teach anyone interested how to splice a very basic and simple eye splice, the most basic of splices a rope could ever receive.  Mooring buoys require a total of 6 per buoy and 5 can be prepared at the dock before going out into the hot sun.
This is a skill that every sea-faring person should learn, so even if you have no intention of helping PMM on a regular basis, coming out to learn this handy skill helps us get ahead of our program so we can focus on the offshore trips.
We will make this a regular session, but maybe not with the fanfare of night one.  Night one offered free beer and food as a reward for those who made the effort to come and help.
A total of 10 buoy’s were assembled this night complete with chafe protection and 13 – 40 ft. “pick-up” lines, so we’re ready to go installing again.

A big thanks to the teachers at the class, Erwin Wesby, Steve Lobban and Shannon AKA Taliban! Thank you all for your time and expertise.  We also wish to thank Kirk Mayen, Bernard Leslie, Kenroy Humes, Paul Hagopian, Ed Carr, Marion Carr and Claudio Trejo for participating.  Special thanks to Kris Small for preparing the excellent salads and to Malu for her famous rotisserie chicken!  A very big thank you to TMM for sponsoring the class and providing food and beverages for all that participated.  And last but not least thanks must be given to CORAL and WWF for making this project possible by providing both organizational and financial assistance to the project

It is community efforts like this that will change Placencia forever! Thanks everyone from all the PMM volunteer committee! Till next time,,,, safe diving everyone!
PMM. (Photos by Muzamanzie Photograph)

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It is with great appreciation that Dr. Alexis and family wishes to thank the following business and persons for donating to a worthy cause.
Virginia Glessner, Paul Hagopian, Wini Mertens, Reuben Hinijosa, Juan Caducio, Sandi Johnson, The Turtle Inn, Tina Hess, Alain and Kristin Lesclide, Linne and Steve Page & Steve Christensen.

A serous medical emergency in March had brought to realization that Dr. Alexis did not have a few much needed items to make his work effective from home in the event of an emergency.

Dr Alexis works out of his home in the evening and on weekends and his work space was limited. So with the help of Winnie Mertens who went collecting donation and the artful skills of carpentry by Alain Lesclid, Dr. Alexis now has a work bed than can be move and turned in to a stretcher, in the case of an emergency and someone needed to be moved along with this was cabinets and storage space for his supplies. In all Ms. Mertens along with the Lescilde raised $794.00 which paid for the wood and supplies needed to build work space and stretcher.

When I spoke to Dr. Alexis, he was over whelmed by the effort of those who where concerned and how the managed to pull it together within such a short time. He also mentioned it was very much needed and will be put to good use. He is now better equipped and can deal with any problem more effectively from home.

Dr. Alexis works at the Placencia Health Center Monday through Friday 8am – 5pm. He is available in the evening and on weekend, but please do be reminded you must go to the clinic first. The nurse on duty will evaluate your problem and if she cannot assist you, Dr. Alexis will then be called in to assist you.

Again a huge thank to all that donated and helped in getting the much need supplies for Dr. Alexis.

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Over the Easter weekend Erwin Westby, along with Placencia Tour Guide Association, sponsored 30 marker buoys to be installed 50 yards off the beach for the NO WAKE ZONE. These buoys mark a zone from beach to markers, which is designated for swimming & water activities. All vessels inside the markers must motor at idle speed and respect the No Wake Zone. Belize Port Authority can and will charge captains of vessels caught motoring at high speed inside the No Wake Zone.
With the increase of visitors to Placencia during the Easter Weekend, many of whom have very little or no swimming skills the need for another safety measure quickly became clear. This year the Easter beachgoers saw lifeguards patrolling the beach to help ensure swimmer safety. These lifeguards were sponsored by Erwin Westby and Brian Yearwood;
Erwin Westby, as the organizer of these two projects, would like to take this opportunity to thank the following businesses and individuals who made this possible: Special Thanks to Placencia Tour Guide Association for sponsoring some of the buoys. Particularly, PTGA committee members, Brian Young & Percy Neal for recognizing the need for these buoys and matching the $2000 initial donation by Erwin Westby, the Placencia Tourism Center and Professional Building Supplies, Eworth Garbutt for the use of his boat, Seahorse Dive Shop for proving dive tanks, Daryl Ramos, Thurman Turner, Ian Small, Kirk Mayen, Steven Faux, Alex Small, Charles Westby, Lisa Carne, Randy Tucker, Kurt Godfrey & all those others who helped.
If you notice any of these buoys are missing or damaged please contact Placencia Tour Guide Association or Erwin Westby on 601 6964.
Lets Keep Placencia Beach a safe zone – remember to respect the No Wake Zone. (Photo by Muzamanzie Photographs: One of the Easter Weekend Lifeguards patrolling the beach - note the buoy off shore marking the beginning of the NO WAKE ZONE.)

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The photos above show two very large barracuda caught within days of each other. The fish on the left hand side being held by Benji Eiley weighed in at 42.5 pounds and the one on the right hand side being held by Juan Caducio weighed in at 36 pounds. These two barracudas went on to become “The Main Course” at several area homes……
Fun Facts about the Great Barracuda
A barracuda's eyes are always open. Like most fish, it has no eyelids.
Barracudas don't sleep the way we do. They never close their eyes (since they don't have eyelids). They do, however, rest at night, swimming more slowly and going into a trance-like state. But, it's still not a good idea to wake them up!
The barracuda can move with quick bursts of speed, swimming up to 25 miles an hour. But it's a real slowpoke compared to the sailfish. This speedy fish has clocked speeds of up to 60 miles an hour.
You can measure a barracuda's age the same way you can count the rings on a tree stump. Except instead of counting rings of wood, scientists count the rings on its scales or in a tiny structure called an otolith in its ear. For each year of its life, a fish has one new ring.(Photo provided byJuan Caducio)

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Dear visitors to Placencia,

If you see an English girl with a clipboard, approach you, never fear! I am currently building a case as to how valuable and worthy of protection and investment, the Gladden Spit and Silk (Queen) Cayes Marine Reserve and its whale shark visitor’s are. Two important aspects of this are the experience visitors have there and the economic benefits those visitors generate here in the village.

As part of this research, I am conducting a 10-15 minute survey, for tourists who have been to the reserve or seen the whale sharks. I need as many responses as possible and all your answers are very important to me. I would appreciate it if you could take the time to be part of this much needed research.

Many thanks,

Venetia

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The PPAA is off to another exciting year, ending on a very high note, our Fourth Annual Sidewalk Arts Festival. We’d like to thank all the artist that made this years event a monumental success, surpassing all previous years. We’d also like to thank our entertainers, Bianca Felsher, Lila Vernon and The Caribbean Jazz Band.
Looking ahead, our newly elected board members have taken their posts and are hard at work grooming and shaping our art organization. Our newly elected members are, Co-Presidents, incumbent Sandy Johnson and newly elected, Lita Krohn. Our incumbent Secretary, Candy Powers and our new Treasurer, Paul Farage. We look forward to seeing what these four dynamic personalities can do together.
If you’d like to become a member of the PPAA, please call, Candy Powers, 523-3284 or look on our website for an application. The fee is $20 for an annual membership and it gives you the opportunity to vote on all matters concerning our organization. Our monthly meetings are held on the first Friday of every month at the Pickled Parrot.
Another new PPAA feature is our website, www.placenciaarts.com, which will serve as an access point into the heart and soul of the PPAA. We’re still in the process of making it more user friendly, but when completed it will contain a complete list of all our events, a downloadable application, an e-commerce page for making purchases or donation, a complete history of the PPAA, lots of slide shows, streaming video and other media. Surf to our site today.
Up coming for the summer, the PPAA has several scheduled events. In June, we have MAP (Mangrove Action Program), to be held at the schools in both Placencia and Seine Bight. This environmental awareness program, offers kids, ages 7 - 13, an opportunity to better understand the importance of Mangroves and their role in the health of our country. There is also a national poster contest that the kids can participate in.
Lola’s Art Gallery, in Seine Bight, offers FREE Art Workshops every Saturday morning, 10AM - 12NOON, for kids and adults. The PPAA has donated a brand new fan, just for the workshop. Lola wishes to thank the PPAA for their contribution.
The PPAA Talent show, will be held the weekend before Lobster Fest, June 16 & 17th. We’ll be holding auditions, during the next two weeks. If you’re interested in auditioning for the show, which will feature a cash prize to the first, second and third most talented, call Bianca Felsher at 523-3172 to set up an audition. Only those whom audition can be in the show.
The following weekend, June 23, 24 & 25th is Lobster Fest. The PPAA will have their booth setup, which you can visit to see what we have in the hopper for this year. You can also sign up as a member, purchase one of our t-shirts or join in on the many arts & craft activities….hope to see you there.
July 1, 2007 we have “Art In The Class Room”, which is a 5 day workshop designed to train teachers, how to teach art in the classroom. The event is sponsored by the PPAA and NICH. You can contact Candy Powers for more details. Her number is 523-3284.
That all we have for you today, thank you for joining in. We’ll see you next month.

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