And while those numbers continue to rise, we switch now to something that refused to sink. That's the Wit Concrete, the ship that's poised to become the next Blue Hole, a diving adventure for every diver's bucket list.
But while it was set to be scuttled on Monday, it didn't quite make it into the depths.
Cherisse Halsall was out on the water for that first failed attempt and brings us this story.
It should have been a story of how the Wit was sunk. But despite all the careful preparations explained here, by TASA's executive director Valdemar Andrade, it wasn't to be, at least not that day.
Valdemar Andrade, Executive Director, TASA
"So the idea is once you get everything into position, then everyone comes off the ship, all equipment comes off the ship, and then it's not really a push the button, they're set on timers and so we're supposed to get a 30-minute alert and a 15-minute alert and after that then the explosives would go off."
"The idea is to get the stern anchor on, get as many of the anchors on, hold it in position with the tugs, pre-fill to a certain position, and then we will do the sinking. NOw we will advise in a bit whether we will do that today or whether that can happen on another day."
At that point, we were all uncertain of what would happen but we did know that the sinking of the ship whatever it takes place will be expensive, carrying a cost of 3 million dollars to be exact.
That's steep during a pandemic but, rest assured it's not your tax dollars at work, Director of Ecology at Blue Finance Angelique Braithwaite explained:
Angelique Brathwaite, Director of Ecology and Management, Blue Finance
"So we actually structured a deal, we structured a deal for them blended finance, it's made up of impact investments and also grants and this is what gave them the capital to do the start-up projects that they wanted to do and of course, what we're trying to do is we are trying to encourage people to come to Turneffe."
"And we also want them to pay for the experience just like on land if you're going to a park or even a movie theatre. We want the same thing to happen here except that the money that you're paying then goes right back into conservation."
And no matter how good the deal, the making of Belize's newest diving destination will have to wait.
That's because by three o'clock that afternoon Valdemar was singing a far less optimistic tune.
Valdemar Andrade, Executive Director, TASA
"We looked at all the options that we could and actually we went through Plan A,B,and C on what we had planned, they didn't hold up today and so we prefer to err on the side of caution and the precautionary principle so we'll tow it back to Belize lodge it where it was come back and secure everything, all the anchors and everything as best as possible and then come back at it again. It will get done, it's just delayed."
Hon. Andre Perez, Minister, Blue Economy
"It's a ship without an engine so it's a 375 ft ship so we can't just have it there sitting in the water with some anchors, that's dangerous so the logical thing is to take it back to the mainland."
And just like that, with all careful considerations, including environmental ones, accounted for, the Wit wasn't sunk.
Gary Simonian, Owner/Operator, Blackbird Caye Resort
"Weather-wise it was great, unfortunately, we had one of the anchors of the Wit Concrete snap due to the age of the chain on that one, so one anchor less we still had the five large anchors which would have still been possible. During the tug maneuvers we were doing two of the anchor lines snapped underneath and one of the other anchors shifted and so with the devices that were going to secure the ship in position so that with the detonation it goes straight down and nowhere else, not being available like they should be that's when the decision was called that the amount of time it would take to get it done, we'd lose the sunlight and it wouldn't be done by today, and we can't leave the ship out there it's not safe so we're gonna tow it back, we'll getting everything prepped and we'll do it again another day."
Hon. Andre Perez, Minister, Blue Economy
"They had backup plans and if these backup plans aren't working they'll you know go back to the drawing board, we are being very cautious about it because sinking this ship it must be done right and right on the money, it has to be on the right spot, everything has been calculated mathematically so there is no room for mistake, having a delay for a week and a half I think they understand that. So out of an abundance of caution. We do things the right way. Remember that the most important thing in sinking this ship is that it's going to come for decades to be the best dive spot so setting that ship down there the right way how we want is important so delaying it for one week or two weeks is nothing."
And while you could say that the still seaworthy Wit Concrete rebelled against her sinking, she's still destined for the depths.
We'll bring you the actual sinking at a later date.
Conditions will once again have to be just right for the second attempt to Sink the Wit. Organizers are waiting for another sunny day when the sea isn't too rough.
