Just got this in the mail.
Did you hear that Cantamar got nailed by the mexican authorities for taking over 200 guests scuba diving with white sharks this past season. The federal authorities have been showing video of what was going on and announcing that they would be taking legal sanctions against Cantamar.
All I can say is, it's about bloody time!
Club Cantamar that operates the Sea Escape and the Southern Sport has been brazenly flaunting the Biosphere's regulations for years, first by accommodating Amos' idiotic pinnacle expeditions but later on, by "secretly" letting everybody and his dog leave the cage, to the point that now several tour operators and dive guides are regularly offering those illegal trips to their "special" customers.
This is a small world and I personally know of more than 10 people that have done it - and I wasn't even investigating, meaning that the number of 200 is certainly absolutely plausible! And anyway, we've all seen those images because those idiots cannot even keep a secret but continue to flaunt their heroic feats on the social and even the mainstream media - meaning that the authorities got heaps of evidence to back up their case!
This is a small world and I personally know of more than 10 people that have done it - and I wasn't even investigating, meaning that the number of 200 is certainly absolutely plausible! And anyway, we've all seen those images because those idiots cannot even keep a secret but continue to flaunt their heroic feats on the social and even the mainstream media - meaning that the authorities got heaps of evidence to back up their case!
Now we wait.
Mexico being Mexico, a phone call by somebody connected could still derail everything - or not.
So here's to the end of the stupid shenanigans!
9 comments:
Yup, in the case of Cantemar it may take several phone calls, a few cash advances, and an intervention or two.
Almost every boat out there has been under some sort or sanction or lawsuit and it has all come to naught.
Does this mean Cantemar isn't the lowest form of animal abusing pond scum who cow tows to an aging self promoter, a man who starts his day with Viagra laced coffee before lying through his teeth about the current mindset of sharks he's about to roll the dice with paying customers?
No it does not.
Cantemar has a second and third act ahead. Mexico is broken, not saying they cannot change their act, but they can still run with the Solmar V play and counter sue the government. In that scenario they get to continue doing ANYTHING they like until the case is resolved.
Or, they could just fold. Wondering if Amos will go to bat for his unholy Mexican cash cow, or will he pass up on this lucrative opportunity to offer Train Surfing Tours in India?
Do they even have Viagra in India?
:)
Methinks the easiest way to tackle this is not a lawsuit but not to renew the permit. Then let Cantamar try & laboriously fight that in the courts.
Again, all they have to do is counter sue, they can legally operate as long as the case grinds through the courts.
It's been done before.
I know a few folks that have been out of the cage in Mexico myself. Thing is, it's against the permit rules and yet it's done. Regularly. Someone will get paid off and it'll keep happening. It's Mexico. At the Farallones however, you need a permit to be able to use a cage for dive operations. Go figure.
At the Farallones you need:
1. Luck of the Irish
2. Rabbits Foot
3. Imagination
4. Stupidity (loads of it)
Rules are regs keep operators a football field away from wild predations, no chumming, static decoys, and a visibility that "on a good day" ranges from pea soup, to Super Bowl sewer water.
Those that have braved the vomit commit to one of the worst shark sites on the plant and payed good money for the adventure have been displeased:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g29073-d285316-Reviews-Great_White_Adventures-Alameda_California.html
"“Sharks out of the water”
1 of 5 stars Reviewed November 1, 2014
Do not touch this company. My husband turned up to find the dive had been cancelled. They did not telephone him to warn him beforehand. They have not returned calls or e-mails and we need the information to be able to claim from our insurance. This is a very shady company. DO NOT GO ANYWHERE NEAR THIS COMPANY unless you like wasting your money."
"“More sharks out of the water than in! Don't spend a cent with these guys!”
1 of 5 stars Reviewed October 20, 2014
As with most reviews of this organisation I have nothing positive to say. I was contacted 5 hours before my trip to tell me it was cancelled due to poor weather. At this point off went my $300+ dollars to the bottom the sea. The offer to re-book was made but living too far away this was not possible. The further kind offer to help me complete an insurance claim was also made....and that was the last I heard of them. No returned calls or emails nothing.
I have made a formal complaint to:http://www.dca.ca.gov/consumer/complaints.shtml and so should you if you have been stung by these sharks. The Bay area has many great attractions and great people to spend your hard earned money on and sadly it is companies like these who ruin it for others. Stay away and spend your money with the good guys."
"“Why wasn't I smart enough to read these reviews before I got ripped off like so amny others??!”
1 of 5 stars Reviewed October 19, 2014
My son and I did the trip to the Farallon Islands with Great White Adventures in October..supposedly the best time for seeing great whites. This was to be a long awaited trip at the top of our bucket lists. We foolishly expected that the charter would go outside the park boundaries and chum to bring sharks to us. No such luck. NO sharks, no guarantees, and no refunds of course. Basically we went into the turpid water inside the cages for two 30 minute dives with the hope that some shark might accidently swim past. The crew put out two Styrofoam "seals" at "attact" sharks but since sharks are attracted by scent and vibrations in the water, I immediately felt that this was a stupid show for the paying clients.
I know you can't convince sharks to show up on request but the whole expedition just seemed doomed for failure. We were told to hope to see a sea lion being attacked on the surface and then we could hopefully catch a glimpse of the shark. Of course if the shark did attack it would likely prefer to eat below the murky surface but, hey, what do I know?
After a useless day we headed for home. The owner then pulled out T-shirts for our purchasing pleasure. I suggest to him that, since we paid big bucks and saw absolutely nothing, he should at least give us each a free t-shirt but, of course, he would have none to that stupid idea. Then the owner pulled out a "tip jar" supposedly for the crew. In the bottom of the jar were several $100.00 bills as a suggestion as to what would be a proper tip. Most people gave absolutely nothing.
Thirteen divers X $800.00 each equals $10,000 dollars for a one day charter. The guy made a killing! Way overpriced even a bunch of sharks had shown up!
If you worked hard for your money, go to Cozumel for a week instead!"
Ugh.
Why aren't the other people doing this being mentioned? At least two besides Amos offered out of the cage this year
More than that, actually!
But Amos has made it a point to publicly flaunt his feats and portray himself as some sort of "visionary innovator", so he's the only one being mentioned - for now!
But worry not, the authorities know exactly who is doing what - I know for a fact that there's a whole group of people monitoring what's going on & providing them with all the juicy details!
Agreed, one of the reasons Cantemar might just skate the charges, *if* they can find any video of other operators doing stupid things with white sharks.
Not saying it's not happening, but as Da Shark pointed out when it comes to finding evil deeds with sharks on the Internet, Cantemar leads the pack.
To be continued...
Indeed!
But what fills me with hope is that after the Ramsey & Warner stunts, they did evict Wade's Shark Boat - so once they finally take a decision (and this was proclaimed more or less publicly!), things sometimes DO happen!
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