Nekton Rorqual Review

[robint]

Captain Ephey did not do this on his own, it was done before he got there (September, 1995) and it was company policy to do the feed from 1994 until when I left the company in 2005. I did the feed when I captained the boat, Chris did the feed when he was captain, Steve did it when he was captain, and all of the relief captains did it as well. What has happened since 2005, I do not know.

While I was opposed to shark feeds on a personal level, it was company policy and the company adverised the feed so most guests expected it (although a few sat out the one dive). I felt it was my responsibility that IF we were going to do a feed, it should be done as safely as possible, so I participated on every feed from 1995-2003. I have over 120 feeds in my logbook from the Pilot.

Sorry, I am just going by what Ephey told us when we did the Pilot to Cay Sal trip in 2006. He said that he was the only one doing it and I think it was Pam (who used to work in the office) who told me that, too. When we did the Medio Reef trip in 2008 there was no feed, which was fine with us.... the sharks showed up anyhow.

 

[cappyjon431]

Sorry, I am just going by what Ephey told us when we did the Pilot to Cay Sal trip in 2006. He said that he was the only one doing it and I think it was Pam (who used to work in the office) who told me that, too. When we did the Medio Reef trip in 2008 there was no feed, which was fine with us.... the sharks showed up anyhow.

No need to apologize. By 2006 I was no longer with Nekton and it was very possible that he was the only one doing the feed at that time. I really did not have much contact with Nekton after 2005 as I moved out of state, although I am looking forward to doing their new Mayaguana itinerary in March, 2010. From what I have heard from the crew that explored it, it is an awesome area for diving. Since they are going to leave from Provo, it will be possible to do some diving in Turks & Caicos as well.

 

[DiveMaven]

We were on the Pilot in 2007 to Cay Sal Bank and they did the shark feed. It's done quite differently than shark feeds in the Bahamas and Roatan. The crew on the Pilot simply sent a frozen bait chunk down on a chain in front of and above the divers on the bottom (about 20' above) and the sharks went at the bait. At no time were sharks hand fed and the sharks were never taught to associate food with people.

They DID associate food with the sound of boats though, and one of our best shark experiences happened the day before the feed when we were able to dive with the sharks at Big Hole. It was an amazing experience to be in the water with 10-15 Caribbean Reef sharks just cruising around the hole. At no time did we ever see that they showed any interest in divers, and within about 30 minutes most had drifted away since there was no food to be had.

Although I can't say I'm supportive of shark feeding, there are times where I feel that they are better than the alternative. For instance, they do shark feeding in Beqa Lagoon in Fiji. Money from the charter goes to the villagers on the islands and keeps them from fishing the sharks. It is felt that if there wasn't paid shark feeding that there simply wouldn't be any sharks as they would all be dead.

Given the choice of no sharks or some shark feeding, I'm okay with the continued feeding. Yes, they're both bad choices, but sometimes the lesser of two evils is the best you can do.

 

[DocIndyDiver]

CappyJon431, I know your not with the co. anymore but, do you know of any disadvantages or advantages of doing the Pilot trip the week before they go in for the Coastie inspection?

 

[cappyjon431]

I can't think of any real advantages or disadvantages, but i will say that usually at that point (right before inspection) the boat is usually due for lots of maintenance (welding, chipping, painting, new carpet, etc.).

Because the boat is usually on charter about 45 weeks a year, the 4-5 weeks in shipyard and during USCG inspection is when a lot of the heavy duty maintenance gets done.

I was never a fan of the first charter AFTER inspection, as usually when the boat has been in the yard for a few weeks some systems don't work quite right and it takes a week or two for them to come back up to speed.