Bradenton, Tampa, Venice???

[ILDiver]

No hero, I didn't watch Jaws, I just know the facts. Actually I have never even seen the entire movie, I've just caught bits of each of them when they have been on TV. I always thought it was dumb, still do. 10ft vis near shore does not automatically = safe. The year I got certified ('93) there were 3 shark attacks in one day to divers. A dive shop in the area had divers that wanted to go out, it was less than a week after a storm. The divers were from up north and claimed "Ah we have this type of visability up north all the time". So the shop took them out. One guy was mid water and bit in the mid section and killed. Another guy had half his fin bit off ask he was getting on the boat. The third attack was near the jetties. The shark was by his wifes head, he went to push it away and it got his arm. Vis all over was 10ft max. So no it's not from a fricken movie. That story told, I have never heard of any attacks in the Sarasota area, south of there I have. This isn't Haigh Quarry we are talking about. There is more risk with less vis in saltwater.

Nice attack there too. I merely stated there are two sides to a story, you presented a bias portion of yours but you never asked any questions of them to get their side. You "let it slide". I can tell you about my trip to the Mackinac and depending on how I tell the story it could be a good trip or a bad one, but which on is right? Don't attack me when I make a point or ask a question, you invited it. Maybe if you were more clear in what you wanted on the dive, maybe you were at partly at fault in the situation? No, of course not, it's your story, so that can't be it.

I barely know them, have dove through them on a few charters, but they have never done anything to try and scam money from me. Ever think that you could have gone back when the other two were not there? Sounds like your laying the blame all on them and complaining, but you never gave them a chance to explain or make up for it.

I was just there in July, I wanted to dive, the weather was improving, but the vis was still going to be 10ft on my last day there. They could have sent a boat out with 6 people on an 8 person boat, but cancelled because they didn't want to send people out on a crappy dive. The guy I dove with all the time when I lived in Florida would not go out unless it was 30ft vis. That's the way some people are, maybe "high voice Pete" was not comfortable with the conditions and NON CERTIFIED divers. Of course you wouldn't know because you didn't take the time to ask a question. But you will sure as heck use it against them in a public forum they don't visit so they can defend themselves. So from my interactions with them and your description, things don't add up. Whatever, think what you want about them is your buisness, but your reasoning is not fair at all.

 

[ReefGuy]

ILDiver, first of all, I'm not taking sides in this debate, but you have said a couple of things that I'm curious about.

What year did you get certified and where were these attacks at? I've lived on the gulf coast of Florida my entire life (most of these in Punta Gorda, just down the street from Bradenton) and never heard of three divers being attacked in one day. Especially south of Sarasota, where I live.

Most of my diving is in the gulf, where vis is quite often 10' or less. I've done many dives in visibility measured in inches, particularlly at Venice Beach. People like Walter have many more dives than I do in this same environment. Frankly, if I have 10' of vis on a dive, I'm thrilled.

 

[frogman_5]

I personally know Pete and Loraine, and they are some of the nicest people one could hope to meet. I don't think they tried to "rip you off".

Some things to remember:
The west coast of FL has very few shore dives. The Regina (now a state historic preserve thanks to the efforts of Pete and Loraine) is one of them.

Shore diving is generally a low vis proposition. Waves stir up sediment in shallow water.

What ever you were charged includes rental of the gear, the time of the instructor, paying the rent and the insurance (neither of which is cheap in this state) just to name a few. How much would you charge someone to drive them around in your car for two hours?

 

[ILDiver]

I got my Cert when I was in the service in Panama City in '93. I've tried to find info about those attacks and I can't. Thinking back on it, it may have been before that, just before I moved down there. I remember sitting around talking diving with my buddy on his boat and he brought it up. He had a friend that was a divemaster when it happened. The guy that was killed may have been the one near shell island. I'll look again for the info. I haven't talked to my buddy in a long time, maybe I should call and catch up with him. I don't have a fear of sharks and I'm not trying to enter that debate. I like sharks, want to dive with white sharks someday. It was merely a point that some people don't like to dive in low vis. Maybe I took that point to the extreme. And I've never heard of shark attacks in the Sarasota area even since I was a kid going there. I've been visiting Bradenton Sarasota since 1978. I've heard of a few incidents just south of there. Granted I don't keep full tabs on shark incidents in Florida, but it's rare through that section of Florida. Well, I did hear reports there were sharks around the bridge when the skyway was hit, but that was still the dark ages of shark knowledge, so I'm not sure that was true. And the man and woman who cut a woman trying to draw sharks in before they pushed her off the pear a few years after the skyway incident. My Grandpa told me that one, he died in 83, so I would have been about 10 when he told me the story, so it may have just been a story. The 4 years I spent in Panama City I only heard about that one rash of bites, and that was after a major storm. I heard more incedents of Cuda following a fishermans catch and getting the fisherman than I heard about shark bites.

Also, last summer I was getting out of my gear on in Venice when I heard about the kid fishing that got bit. That was kinda spooky. I know he had bait in his pocket and such, but still unsettling no know exactly where and all the details.

Oh and I dove Venice with 0 vis once, won't do it again, not worth it. 2 days before that is was 15ft and ok. I've only done those two shore dives. All my other dives in the gulf have been out further and 25ft or more vis. Maybe I get lucky, maybe it's whi I dive with, or because I go to enjoy the dives.