Incident At Isla Guadalupe Blog Report V.2

[Scubalaslo]

Hi All,

Looking for confirmation or even a straight answer concerning this blog post from U/W Photographer Dean Karr regarding a-supposed-fatal shark cage breach incident at Isla Guadalupe some time in the past three weeks. The rumors are starting to build and people are talking about an event-if true-would be the first of it's kind in the cage diving industry.

If this event is true-SOMEONE-must have seen it. There have to be images and video as well coming from the divers who were on board with Lawrence Groth from Great White Adventures aka Shark Diving International.

His blog:
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=5802972&bl ogID=305791367

Blog Post:

RUMOR HAD IT THAT ONE GREAT WHITE GOT STUCK IN THE CAGE OF ONE OF THE CHARTERS LAST WEEK AND DIED, I HOPE THIS IS NOT TRUE, BUT WILL NOT KNOW UNTIL I SEE LAWRENCE. I'M SURE SOME PART OF THE STORY IS TRUE AND I'M SURE WHOEVER WAS IN THAT CAGE WENT FOR ONE WILD ****ING RIDE.... I JUST HOPE THE ANIMAL LIVED.

THIS IS MY FAVORITE WEEK OF THE YEAR. IT SNEAKS UP SO FAST ON ME EVERY TIME. JUST WHEN IT SEEMED MONTHS AWAY, IT'S NOW A DAY AWAY. THIS IS THE 3RD OR 4TH EXPEDITION THAT MY FRIEND LAWRENCE GROTH OF GREAT WHITE ADVENTURES HAS TAKEN OUT THIS YEAR. THEY HAVE BEEN SEEING SEVERAL NEW AGGRESSIVE MALES OUT ON THE FIRST THREE TRIPS, WHOM AREN'T ACCUSTOMED TO SEEING HUMAN BEINGS IN ALUMINUM CAGES, LOOKING LIKE CHRISTMAS TURKEYS. THE RESULT OF THEIR IGNORANCE HAD THEM ATTACKING THE CAGES WITH FIERCE VALOR!

If anyone knows about this please step forward. Or if anyone from SDI or GWA would like to make a statement please do so at this time.

 

[Scubalaslo]

"Shark Diving International<sdistaff@seesharks.com" <sdistaff@gmail.com>
hide details 2:05 pm (1½ hours ago)
reply-to

SDIstaff@seesharks.com
to


date
Sep 5, 2007 2:05 PM
subject
Guadalupe 2008
mailed-by
gmail.com
Hello,

My name is James Moskito I am the VP / Expedition Leader for Great White Adventures / Shark Diving International
First I am happy to say we have continued our 100% safety record for all of our guests and SHARKS.
The rumors that have been showing up on the internet are just that rumors and lies.

We are doing amazing thing this year at Guadalupe with the sharks and I hope you can join us sometime.


--
Thank you,
James Moskito

Golden Gate Expeditions Inc.
Shark Diving International
Great White Adventures
2516 Blanding Ave.
Alameda, CA 94501-1506
510-814-8256
www.SeeSharks.com

The Ultimate Shark Diving Experience Is Closer Than You Think!

 

[scubatension]

Does anyone know who Dean Karr is and what would motivate him to post such ridiculous stories on his blog? I've been on two Guadalupe trips and know that if something like this really did happen everybody would be talking about it. A whole boat full of people come back with stories, pictures and video. Other forums have already pegged this guy's story as a big lie. But why? Impress his friends maybe? Hurt the competition? I'd like to hear from Dean Karr to get some answers about where this story came from in the first place and why he's spreading it around.

 

[Scubalaslo]

This is the disconnect with this story. Dean Karr has been out with Great White Adventures aka Shark Diving International for over 6 seasons now. He's a valued client to them.

Two questions come to mind:

1. Why would he post that?
2. Where would he hear about that that rumor? From the office?

At the time when Mr.Karr posted that blog, no one outside the shark diving community had heard about this rumor.

SDI's written response was a private response sent to me, I posted it here. To date they have showed very little inclination to bury this rumor in a public forum.

 

[Scubalaslo]

Re: Incident At Isla Guadalupe Blog Report V.3

If it could not get any stranger. Not four months after Dean Karr reported his story about a shark getting stuck in a cage owned by Shark Diving International aka Great White Adventures, a video appears in the Internet.

This time a GWS rips the entire front of the shark cage off spilling at least one diver into the ocean:



The entire event is being billed as an "accident".

Here's what SDI;s website says about their cage design on their website:

"Top Equipment – When it comes to diving with white sharks, cage design is obviously not an area where you want to cut corners, so to speak. Ours spacious cages are state of the art, designed by us and manufactured to our exact specifications, sparing no expense. We oversee every aspect of their construction from start to finish. A cage will not go into the water until it passes with our seal of approval. With our wealth of experience behind us, we know what designs work and more importantly, what doesn’t work. We understand the needs of our divers so each cage is designed for maximum ease of entry and exit. For our photographers and videographers, extensive effort has produced an optimum design for acquiring those Pulitzer Prize winning images while maintaining safety, structural integrity, and protective capabilities. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, we are flattered more and more with each passing season as we notice cages remarkably similar to our unique designs on other boats.It’s not just our cages that must pass our stringent standards. All of our equipment, from our regulators which are disassembled, cleaned and tuned every season to our high pressure hoses, cables, and fasteners, etc. are thoroughly inspected throughout the year."