Thursday, February 14, 2008

Jamaican Shark Diving Adventures

Question: How can you tell the difference between an eco minded shark diving company and one that's perhaps...a bit lacking?

Answer: In today's website world anyone can make claims like "100% safety record", the fact is the consumer needs to digg a lot more than they do to discover the truth. Not all companies out there will admit serious and ongoing operational problems...even if it's the right thing to do.

In the case of these unrepentant yabbo's anyone with half a brain can see this is probably not the best of vacation ideas. Not only do you get a dorky looking pirate hat in Jamaica to go wrestle sharks, but chances are you'll be drunk in the process:

"See Pirates of the shark's cove and the rambunctious and hilarious Shark Show!" D'arrrr!

We'll say it again for anyone who cares to listen. "Sharks are magnificent animals, isn't it enough to just get to see them in their natural habitat?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Haha, yeah I swam with the Nurse Sharks at Treasure Reef. I was a little skeptical even though all my life growing up in Jamaica I've been told that Nurse Sharks are harmless unless 1) you frighten and corner them or, 2) you stick an appendage into their mouths.
The company makes you sign a bunch of waivers in case anything goes wrong. And seriously, if you bring a claim for injury the Jamaican Court will prob dismiss on the grounds that you assumed the risk - we don't have a high tolerance for stupidity like some other cultures. To most Jamaicans, a Nurse shark may as well be a Great White - and well, if you're that stupid to swim with a shark then you should suffer for being that stupid. I don't think that children are allowed to do the Shark Encounter.
I must say that the shark encounter was pretty fun, especially when they put the shark on your lap and feed it. You can feel how powerful the shark's whole body is when it snaps at the food. The sharks themselves are beautiful and quite tame, but I would never go near one without the trainer. The last part of the encounter is dumb, following the sharks around with snorkeling gear. I also felt pretty bad for the sharks since we just seemed to muddy up their water.
Obviously people who are drunk shouldn't do this. But they shouldn't swim in the ocean, swim with the dolphins, drive, operate heavy machinery, or provoke other people or animals either - all these things can end badly. So, the likelihood that people may be drunk isn't a great reason for saying that the Shark encounter is a bad idea overall. Besides, 90% of the customers that Treasure Reef gets are from cruise ships, where alcohol isn't included in the package price, and is really expensive. Additionally, alcohol on the Treasure Reef property is overpriced. In my estimation, the likelihood that someone will be stinking drunk there is very small. Nevertheless, TR should definitely prohibit people who are intoxicated from participating in most of their activities.

Horizon Charters Guadalupe Cage Diving said...

Perhaps we raged a bit much with that post....then again.