By Dana Niland
CJ Contributor

Subsea technology company Aquatic Submarines will embark an an expedition to the bottom of Belize’s Great Blue Hole this fall.

Partnering with Ocean Unite co-founder and Virgin Group founder Richard Branson; documentary filmmaker and ocean conservationist Fabien Cousteau (grandson of famed ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau) and submarine partner the Roatan Institute of Deep Sea Exploration, Aquatica will send multiple submersibles to collect scientific data, including a complete sonar scan of the interior.

The company has also enlisted a team of scientists, explorers and filmmakers to share the mysteries that lie at the bottom of the Great Blue Hole, according to The Confluence, which represents the company.

Situated in the center of Lighthouse Reef off the coast of Belize, the Blue Hole is a giant marine sinkhole that is 1,043 feet in diameter and 407 feet deep.

The site part of the larger Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In 1971, Jacques Cousteau named it as one of the top five scuba diving sites in the world.

The Aquatica mission, which will be captured by a videographer who is also a marine biologist is inspired to further ocean education, conservation and scientific research.

Led by entrepreneur and adventurer Harvey Flemming, Aquatica is an emerging company in the manned submersible technology space.

The company will send its Stingray 500 submarine as one of the two vessels that will ventures to the bottom of the Great Blue Hole for the expedition this fall.

— CJ

The post New Expedition to Explore the Bottom of Belize’s Great Blue Hole appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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We’ve long said the Caribbean is home to its unique brand of luxury.

But within that concept is a remarkably broad spectrum of hotels, where Caribbean luxury manifests itself in different ways, from Great House-style plantation hotels to cliffside stays to private-island destinations.

And then there’s something else: the luxury beach hotel, where marrying toes-in-the-sand tranquility with high-level luxury is not always an easy feat to achieve.

The best luxury beach hotels are at once playful and elegant, laid-back and chic, unpretentious and sophisticated. And they’re unmistakably Caribbean.

Here are five such stays to try right now.

Zemi Beach, Anguilla When Zemi Beach debuted in Anguilla, it set a new standard for Caribbean cool, from its Thai House spa to its wonderful Rhum Room. And as Anguilla is working to make its own comeback from last year’s storms, Zemi remains the island’s coolest boutique getaway.

The post From Punta Cana to Anguilla, 5 Luxury Beach Hotels to Try appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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… by George Washington University  estimated Puerto Rico‘s post-hurricane death toll … , “The administration killed the Puerto Ricans with neglect. The Trump administration … hurricane, tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans fled the island after the …

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By Julia Rawlins-Bentham BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (BGIS) — A number of issues will be on the agenda next week when Caribbean Community (CARICOM) heads meet in Barbados for the ninth meeting of the prime ministerial sub-committee on the CARICOM Single Market and the Economy (CSME) on Wednesday, September 5. These were discussed during a national preparatory […]

The post CSME meeting in Barbados next week to address a range of issues appeared first on Caribbean News Now.

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By Caribbean News Now contributor MIAMI, USA — A tropical wave located over the north-central Caribbean Sea is producing a large area of cloudiness and thunderstorms extending from Hispaniola northeastward across the northeastern Caribbean Sea and adjacent Atlantic waters. According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami, this activity is forecast to spread westward […]

The post Tropical wave brings heavy rain to northern Caribbean appeared first on Caribbean News Now.

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