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Chaa Creek Welcomes Richard Branson, Fabien Cousteau And The Belize Blue Hole Expedition Team

A two-week long expedition to the bottom of Belize's Great Blue Hole, scheduled for December 2018, may reveal new information about Belize's natural and cultural history, according to The Lodge at Chaa Creek, whose owners have invited expedition team members to "dry off and relax" at their western Belize eco-resort.


News provided by

The Lodge at Chaa Creek

Nov 29, 2018, 10:45 ET

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Belize's Blue Hole is one of the world's greatest maritime treasures
Belize's Blue Hole is one of the world's greatest maritime treasures

SAN IGNACIO, Belize, Nov. 29, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Lodge at Chaa Creek has hailed a new underwater expedition to the bottom of Belize's Great Blue Hole as having potential to shed new light on some old mysteries – including the sudden, dramatic demise of the ancient Maya empire.

The popular Belizean eco-resort's owners have also invited the expedition team members to relax with an inland stopover courtesy of Chaa Creek.

Who knows what discoveries await?

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The Belize Blue Hole Expedition will involve two three-person submersibles, two support vessels and a team that includes Richard Branson and Fabien Cousteau, grandson of Jacques Cousteau.

The elder Mr Cousteau coined the name "Blue Hole" and popularised the site when he led a dive expedition there aboard his research vessel Calypso in 1971.

Lucy Fleming said she and her husband Mick have been fascinated with the Blue Hole ever since they founded Chaa Creek as a small farm in the late 1970s.

"Back then, prior to independence, tourism had yet to take off in Belize, and most visitors were either divers attracted to the Caribbean coast or archaeologists studying Belize's many ancient Maya temples and cities.

"The Blue Hole is unique in that it's not only one of the world's great dive spots, but holds the key to important environmental and historical mysteries," Ms Fleming said.

The current "Belize Blue Hole Expedition," slated to begin early December 2018, will employ leading edge technology to unlock some of those ancient mysteries, she added.

Previously, researchers from Rice and Louisiana State Universities analysed sediment samples and other data from the Blue Hole to accurately track weather activity, including rainfall levels, through the ages. They concluded that the area experienced a hundred-year drought between 800 and 900 AD.

That time period coincides with the great decline of the Maya empire, which occurred around 900 AD.

Those findings supported other research and theories that a long, severe drought led to the demise of the ancient Maya empire.

Mr and Ms Fleming also founded Chaa Creek's Belize Natural History Centre, and Ms Fleming said she's excited at the prospect of the new expedition's high tech equipment shedding further light on Belize's natural and cultural history.

"Apparently, the expedition will take two submersibles to study and film the bottom of the Blue Hole with powerful lighting and state of the art sonar robust enough to tell if a coin on the floor is facing heads or tails.

"With 3D mapping and other technologies, we're about to learn more in two weeks than we have since Jacques Cousteau's first famous dives, and that's very exciting. Who knows what discoveries await?" she said.

Belize's Great Blue Hole is a giant marine sinkhole situated some 70km off Belize's Caribbean coast near Lighthouse Atoll at the easternmost part of the Belize Great Barrier Reef. Some 1,043 feet in diameter and 407 feet deep, it can be seen from space.

Expedition leader Harvey Flemming, whose Canadian company, Aquatica Submarines, is supplying a Stingray submersible, said he's also excited at the prospect of discovery.

"It's a wildcard...I'm excited to get there and jump in and see what it is all about.

"We're really excited to see what we'll see. We don't really know for sure. Maybe a body, who knows? It is totally open for discovery," Mr Flemming told Belize's Channel 9 News.

Mr Branson, businessman, philanthropist and founder of Ocean Unite, said one purpose of the trip is to raise awareness of the need to protect the seas. Calling the Blue Hole "One of the ocean's most magical wonders," he went on to say, "We all share the common goal of conserving, protecting our beautiful global ocean."

The Roatan Institute of Deepsea Exploration (RIDE) is another expedition partner providing a submersible.

Ms Fleming said that she and Mick hope that the expedition members will consider their invitation to "dry off and relax inland" at Chaa Creek.

"We'd love to show them another amazing part of Belize, and in some small way show our appreciation for what they are doing.

"And, to be honest, we'd love to hear their first hand accounts of what will be an incredible journey to the bottom of one of the world's greatest natural treasures," Ms Fleming said.

The Blue Hole Expedition is scheduled to be broadcast live during a two-hour special, Discovery Live: Into The Blue Hole December 2, 2018, and will also air around the world, according to a Discovery Channel media release.

The Lodge at Chaa Creek is a multi-award winning eco resort set within a 400-acre private nature reserve along the banks of the Macal River in Belize. It was recognised by National Geographic with first place honours at the 2017 World Legacy Awards held in Berlin.

ENDS

SOURCE The Lodge at Chaa Creek

Related Links

www.chaacreek.com

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