Splash is a PADI Five Star Instructor Development Center committed to teaching the world about the beauty of Belize and the need to protect and preserve this pristine environment while providing the highest level of service.
Who could not fall in love with Belize!
Patty Ramirez and Ralph Capeling as owners of Splash Dive Center want want to ensure that our customers have a memorable experience in Belize and that our customers become ambassadors for Placencia, Belize and Splash Dive Center. Ralph and Patty are are committed to protecting this very special environment on land and underwater. They practice environmentally friendly ideas that focus on generating employment with a strong emphasis in valuing local labor and skill. Splash is well known for its strong commitment to community development, its kids programs and education.
Patricia Ramirez PADI Course Director
Patty holds a Finance degree with 10 years of banking experience before starting Splash Dive Center. She has grown Splash from a small one room office on the beach to the largest dive center in southern Belize which has been twice recognized as Tour Operator of the Year by the Belize Tourism Board. She is also a sports enthusiast competing in swimming, marathons and triathlons. She has established Splash Running Club that supports runners from elementary school level up to and including international competition. Over 150 certifications have been issued in her Splash Kids Dive Club where local kids learn to dive for free and several of the “kids” are now dive professionals!
In 2007 Patty earned the title of PADI Course Director becoming the only woman in Belize to achieve this highest level in PADI. Patty won the recognition of ‘Hero of the Sea Award’, which is an honor Scuba Diving magazine bestows upon dedicated dive shop owners who give back to their communities and the local marine environment.
Ralph Capeling PADI IDC Staff Instructor
Belize is not just a country with one of the lowest population densities in the world but it is also a country with an excellent environmental strategy. Twenty five percent of Belize’s land area is protected by law. We have the 2nd largest Barrier Reef in the world and the most diverse ethnic population in Central America. This is what brought Ralph Capeling to adopt Belize as his home in 2005. He retired to Belize from Canada after a very successful 40 year career in the oil business that has taken him to all the continents in the world except Antarctica. He learned to dive in Indonesia, did the Rescue Diver course in Canada, Dive Master Certification in Belize, and became a PADI Instructor and Staff Instructor in Honduras.
Ralph is an avid diver who became acquainted with Splash through Patty’s Splash Junior Club that teaches and certifies local children whose parents cannot afford diving lessons. Ralph was so impressed with the community, environmental commitment and ethics of Splash that he became an investor in Splash. One thing led to another, and Ralph and Patty are now man and wife. Ralph now works from home helping Patty continue to becoming the top diving operation in Belize and the Caribbean.