- Following the accident Peter Hughes refuses to refund monies deposited with his company for all future trips on the Wave Dancer.
- On December 21st, Peter Hughes files an action with the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida exonerating themselves from responsibility for the accident, and madating that any claims against them be filed by January 30th, 2002.
- January 2002 - Peter Hughes announces his return to Belize:
Peter
Hughes is pleased to announce that Sun Dancer II, presently located in
Palau, will leave for Belize at the end of Palau’s high season in May,
2002. Charters in Belize will begin August 17. Sun Dancer II, the
largest, most luxurious vessel and the flagship of the Dancer Fleet,
will bring a whole new dimension to live-aboard diving in Belize. When
asked why this particular boat was being moved, Peter Hughes said “For
a couple of reasons… one, we knew that we had to put our ‘biggest and
best’ in Belize to fill the shoes vacated by M/V Wave Dancer; and two,
we’ve been considering operating solely during high season in Palau for
a while now and this gives us that opportunity. Fortunately, Palau’s
high season which is January through April is Papua New Guinea’s low
season. Beginning in 2003, we will relocate Star Dancer to Palau during
this time period and so offer our guests the ultimate dive experience,
the best of both worlds in these two world class dive destinations.”
Hughes added, “There was never any doubt we would return to Belize, we
are extremely excited to be going back… we love the destination and it
has always been one of our most popular.”
- January 2002- Skin Diver Magazine contains a two-column article on the Wave Dancer tragedy, quoting a Peter Huges representative. Additionally, it mentions that Peter Hughes, in conjunction with the Divers Alert Network, has established a Memorial Fund to benefit the families of the deceased. In the same issue, Peter Hughes Diving runs a full-page four-color ad, far forward (pg. 5).
- February 2002 - Amandala Online (a Belizean news web site) removes its 2001 News Archives from its web site. The news organization did not answer queries as to why the archives were unavailable.
- February 2002 - Skin Diver Magazine contains a liveaboard feature section highlighting six Peter Hughes boats and two Peter Huges ads; one full-page, four-color ad for his boats and one 1/4-page ad for his land based dive operation in Curacao.
- February 2002 - Sport Diver, the official pubication of PADI, contains a bried article entitled "Active Hurrican Season Ends." The Wave Dancer accident is not mentioned. One full-page four-color Peter Hughes ad appears in that same issue. Peter Hughes Diving, Inc. is a Platinum Pro member of PADI.
- Alert Diver, the offical magazine of the Divers Alert Network, has yet to publish anything about the accident.
- October 2002 - John McNeil dies of a heart attack almost one year to the day after the tragic death of his daughter, Christy.
- May 2004 - The Belize Tourism Board continues to market its country aggressively in the United States, participating with Peter Hughes Diving at SCUBA SHOW 2004 in Long Beach, California.
- June 2004 - The Belize Tourism Board continues to market its country aggressively in the United States, participating with Peter Hughes Diving at SEASPACE 2004 in Houston, Texas.
- September 2004 - Bill Huggett, the attorney who represented the families of the victims of the Wave Dancer tragedy dies unexpectedly from a heart attack.
- January 2005 - IMMARBE releases its report on the Wave Dancer Casualty.
- The official web site of the U.S. Embassy in Belize contains no reference to the Wave Dancer accident in its 2001 Press Release archives.
My
last email from Christy
From: McNiel, R. Christy
Sent: Monday, September 10, 2001 3:16 PM
To: 'Milly'
Subject: RE:
Mil - I haven't forgotten about this, really. I'll find the pic after I get back from Belize. - C
-----Original Message-----
From: Milly
Sent: Monday, September 10, 2001 2:52 PM
To: 'McNiel, R. Christy'
Subject: RE:
awesome diving - can't wait to tell the club about it and do slide show... got some great shots!
PS: Can I get a copy of the photo you took of me in san Salvador? it was on the last dive.... I have been saving a place in my scrapbook for it (on the cover!)
hope you're doing good - how was NC?
m
----------
From: McNiel, R. Christy
Sent: Monday, September 10, 2001 2:46 PM
To: 'Milly'
Subject: RE:
Hey, welcome back. Hope ya'll had a great trip! - C
-----Original Message-----
From: Milly
Sent: Monday, September 10, 2001 2:07 PM
To: 'McNiel, R. Christy'
Subject: RE:
hilarious - I always used to read that column when I lived in DC - it's a good one!
----------
From: McNiel, R. Christy
Sent: Tuesday, September 4, 2001 5:07 PM
To: Steve Glenn (E-mail); Milly (E-mail)
The Washington Post's Style Invitational asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. Here are some recent winners:
Intaxication:
Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.
Reintarnation:
Coming back to life as a hillbilly.
Foreploy:
Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.
Giraffiti:
Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.
Sarchasm:
The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
Inoculatte:
To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
Hipatitis:
Terminal coolness.
Osteopornosis:
A degenerate disease. (this one got extra credit)
Karmageddon:
It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.
Glibido:
All talk and no action.
Dopeler effect:
The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
And, the pick of the literature:
Ignoranus:
A person who's both stupid and an asshole.
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otherwise noted.