Remember when Ambergris Today reported back in July of that one man was to attempt to break the world record for the longest salt water dive? Well 31- year-old, Robert Silva of Chicago, Illinois arrived in San Pedro on Sunday, September 13 and on Monday, September 14, went underwater at the Hol Chan Marine Reserve in attempt to spend two days and two nights to break the world record of the longest salt water dive. Mr. Silva met his goal of diving for 48 hours straight, beating the world record of 36.5 hours and setting a new Guinness World Record of the longest salt water dive.

Ambergris Today was there as Mr. Silva made his plunge into the waters of the Hol Chan Marine Reserve and with the great assistance of his diving crew of Ramon's Village Dive Shop crew, Mr. Silva was able to accomplish fete.

Silva was on a liquid diet drinking mostly Gatorade which he consumed using a Camelback-type system, like hikers use and had not eaten any food since Friday, September 11. Silva kept himself entertained by doing some exercise, puzzles, watching the wildlife around him and interacting with his crew. Throughout his challenge Silva managed to sleep a little over five hours.

The exact time for his dive was two days three minutes and eighteen seconds; he used a total of 25 oxygen tanks which were changed approximately every two hours. The Ramon’s Village Diving crew was more than attentive in keeping track of Silva’s well being.

Silva initially dived to a depth of 20 feet for about 20 minutes for it to be considered a full dive and then settle near a buoy in a depth of about 13 feet. Upon surfacing Silva was very happy in having accomplished his goal and related to those present that at one point he had actually wanted to give up.

“Last night I was about to give up but I kept on going,” commented Silva. “I reached to a point where I was starting to hallucinate, thought I was being strangled and saw an octopus up close to my face. After I realized it wasn’t so, I pulled myself together and focused in order for me to finish this.”

Silva had special diving gear that made the tank changes easier and was wearing a dry suit which helped him stay dry and warm. The weather condition was rather favorable as well and helped so that Silva didn’t get hypothermia. Silva was feeble and exhausted, had his blood pressure a bit high and was administered oxygen on his way to the resort.

Silva made this world record attempt as a personal choice and also as a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. Silva is a team captain for an ACS Relay for Life event and he combined his love for SCUBA diving, and raising money for charity.

Scuba Emporium, a local Dive Shop from Chicago, was one of his sponsors as well as Ramon’s Village Resort who not only provided accommodations but a great team of Dive masters to accompany Silva. Congratulations to Mr. Robert Silva for setting a new world record of the longest saltwater dive. Special thanks to Ramon’s Village Resort especially the diving team and Mr. Sutherland for all their help rendered to us for this “Guinness” Experience. Kudos guys! And for Mr. Silva, this Guinness’ for you!

Article Archive: June 16th, 2009, Story #1

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Our newest Miss San Pedro 2009, Raquel Badillo was crowned at the official crowning ceremonies during the September 10th Celebrations. After the coronation, the uniform parade went through San Pedro Town in which all the school children paraded in their school uniforms.

Ramon’s Village wins fishing Tournament

It was a family affair at this year’s Annual St. George's Caye Day Family Fishing Tournament as nine boats headed out to try to haul in the most pounds of fish. Event organizers told Ambergris Today that most of the teams consisted of family members. At the end of the weigh-in the crew from Ramon's Village was victorious with a total weigh in of 183 pounds ($1,500 prize). Second place went out to Team Sulema - Armando Gonzalez who came in with 168½ pounds of fish ($750 prize). Baby Roberto and Roberto Bradley came in third with 134 pounds of fish ($500).

On Saturday, September 12, Police visited the scene of a traffic accident in front of the Belize Electricity Ltd. office on Pescador Drive that almost went unreported if it were not by a couple of “U Reports” for Ambergris Today.

Only a few residents were awakened by the loud bang made as the taxi slammed into the fence at the Belize Electricity Ltd. Office. Calls were made to the Police who arrived at the scene shortly after 4:30a.m. According to Police reports, a white and maroon minivan taxi with license plates SP-D-0054 was seen with extensive damage to the left front portion as it had collided against the cement fence next to Atlantic Bank.

The driver of the vehicle who was suspected to be under the influence of alcohol was nowhere to be seen but was later identified as Rodrigo Novelo, 28-year-old, Taxi driver of Pescador Drive. He sustained a cut wound to the left knee and lower lip and was released while the incident was being further investigated. As of press time he had not been charged, but he will eventually be charged for various offences including ‘Failure to report an accident’.

Einer Gomez reporting for Ambergris Today

“At around 4:35 this morning I heard a loud bang. Thinking that it could have been a burglar I checked around and realized that a taxi had crashed into the corner of the fence. The headlights were still on but the driver had fled the scene. Another taxi driver in another van and a young lady saw the incident and commented that the driver was drunk and came out of the passenger’s side and fled.

I called the Police at 4:38a.m. After the police came to the scene, they contacted the owner of the vehicle who quickly came to remove the wreckage. I hope that the driver is prosecuted!

Other taxi drivers that came to the scene were commenting that the driver had been drinking since midnight! The pictures tell a thousand words. What would have happened if there were any passersby at the time?”

The Ministry of Education has announced that Caye Caulker Roman Catholic School will not be having classes for the remainder of this week. According to Arlette Gomez the decision was made because about 50% of teachers are out sick and 139 students are unable to attend classes because of a virus that has been going around.

“I got a call from the health authorities in central region whereby they were suspecting some children to be circling around H1N1 in Caye Caulker,” commented Jorge Polanco - Deputy Director of Health Services. “At this stage it is a clinical suspicion, we have not confirmed the tests as yet.”

The samples were taken and they should be taken to CARIC and in the mean time to be on the safe side it was best to close the school down for a few days. Doctor Polanco said that the ministry hopes to get the results by the middle of next week.

H1N1 May Be Resurfacing Now

Autumn is a time in which new viruses and dangerous fevers spread and doctors predict that although the number of H1N1 flu cases may not reach epidemic levels it will still increase. “The flu season will start in Autumn. Usually it starts in November but this time we expect it earlier,” explained Dr. Paata Imnadze, Director of the National Centre of Disease Control of Georgia.

Dr. Imnadze said that from the second half of October an increase in flu infections is expacted. He said that there is no visible difference between common influenza and H1N1 or ‘Swine Flu’ as they have the same symptoms and same complications. It is not a fatal disease. “ H1N1 influenza is a newly identified virus that can spread through coughs and sneezes. When people cough or sneeze they spread germs through the air or onto surfaces that other people may touch. H1N1 influenza is not transmitted from pigs to humans or from eating pork products. 

“H1N1 flu is a new virus in human populations, so people's bodies have little ability to fight it as they haven’t developed an immunity to it,” explained Imnadze. He advises people to avoid spreading the illness to others; people with flu symptoms should stay at home until the fever has been gone for at least 24 hours. He added that those who overcome it very easily are more dangerous because they are the most likely spreaders of the disease. If a person thinks he has caught Swine Flu he or she can apply to the policlinics near to their homes but in the very serious cases they should apply to infectious disease centres. 

The H1N1 influenza flu virus first made headlines late in the winter of 2009 with cases being diagnosed in the United States and Mexico. Health care professionals expect that H1N1 will resurface as children and adults return to the close environment of the classroom, workplace as it is making headlines in the media once more. Seasonal flu, typically kills an average of about 36,000 Americans each year. With both types of flu, people with chronic medical conditions and pregnant women also are at higher risk. H1N1 could infect between 30 percent to 50 percent of the American population during fall and winter and lead to as many as 1.8 million hospital admissions, the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology reported.

Livingston County Public Health Director Joan Ellison said H1N1 flu is different from season flu in that it targets young people and children, where mitigation is difficult because of the close contact and sharing of objects that could potentially spread the virus. According to the CDC, H1N1 can survive on environmental surfaces and can infect a person for two to eight hours after being deposited on the surface. Ellison says a vaccine is expected to become available this fall at the flu season period but will not be plentiful at first.

The fall H1N1 resurgence may begin with the start of the school year and may peak in mid-October, the report said. A vaccine against H1N1 is being tested but is not expected to be available until at least mid-October, health officials have noted. The vaccine will likely require two shots at least one week apart, and because it typically takes a couple of weeks for a person's immunity to build up after vaccination, most Americans would not be protected until sometime in November.

Those who are still concerned can wear face masks, need to know how to use them correctly. If they use them incorrectly this can exacerbate the flu. “The mask may have some viruses on it from previous use and if you put it on the wrong way you may catch these viruses and thus get Swine Flu too,” Dr. Imnadze noted.

San Pedro was represented at the Battle of the Bands in Belize City by one of our band who came back home proudly displaying a trophy. Super Latinos was present at the MCC Grounds in Belize City on Thursday, September 10, for the 3rd Annual Battle of the Bands competition that is part of the September Celebrations.

Noel Wiltshire Jr., proprietor of the band, proudly told Ambergris Today that the band is very happy with its win as it was their first time participating. Super Latinos managed to capture the “Best Vocalist” trophy with Ana Gonzalez at the helm of the lead microphone.

The song which brought them the trophy was “El sol no regresa” by La Quinta Estacion; they also sang “La Chica del Este” and an original song from the band “It’s Time to Party.” Noel told Ambergris Today that they would like to thank Castillo’s Hardware, The Villas at Banyan Bay, Tropic Air and their grand sponsor D’s Quality Pharmacy for all their assistance.

Super Latinos band is comprised of ten members who include: Noel Wiltshire Jr., Ana Gonzalez, Mikael, Julio, Elio Dominguez, Samuel Quinterro, Roberto Palacio, Neljer Castañeda, Noel Wiltshire Sr. and Ariel Galvez. Congratulations to the entire band for making San Pedro proud.