ocean safety

[eugene]

Originally Posted by Rissask

I too know exactly what it's like to get tossed around by the surf on Playa Palmar in Ixtapa!

And like others have said, the surf in the Mayan Riviera is nothing like that, so not to worry. Not much for undertows or riptides in the area either.

Hey eugene, your barrel wave pics- was that Ixtapa or some other beach near Zihua, like Playa Linda or something? That is some wave.

That was near the Posada Real hotel Ixtapa! We are going back the 29th.

[Daddy B]

Originally Posted by james

are those total attacks reported since 1880? Seems to be. So fewer unprovoked shark attack deaths than: lightning strike, bee sting, man-of-war, sting ray or 'my hotel balcony collapsed' deaths.

How many reported deaths of pedestrians hit by cyclists?

[trishab83]

The waters in Playa are very calm. Last year we even floated on rafts much like in a pool. I wouldn't advise anyone go into the sea at night as you never know what may be lurking in there. Also, I think most of us are much worse swimmers than we think we are when we're three sheets to the wind, so I would definitely keep swimming in the sea as a pre-bar hopping activity. After all, it will still be there and just as beautiful and welcoming when you wake up in the morning!

[rob mackay]

and you really got to watch out for them dive bombing pelicanos

[james]

Originally Posted by Daddy B

How many reported deaths of pedestrians hit by cyclists?

that guy fully recovered and I covered his medical bills

[Rissask]

are those total attacks reported since 1880? Seems to be. So fewer unprovoked shark attack deaths than: lightning strike, bee sting, man-of-war, sting ray or 'my hotel balcony collapsed' deaths.

Or 'guys gets super drunk and falls to his death from hotel balcony' deaths.

That was near the Posada Real hotel Ixtapa! We are going back the 29th.

Have a great time eugene!

We were at the Dorado Pacifico last February, that was the husbands all boogie boarding in that picture.
We women were all too chicken to do that (or is 'smart' a better term?).

[Daddy B]

Originally Posted by james

that guy fully recovered and I covered his medical bills

I've had many near misses! When I finally hit a pedestrian I'll suggest some hydrotherapy.

In the Caribbean.

At night.

That should cover any medical expenses.

[nobbish]

i would definitely agree that swimming at night is a serious nicht-nicht at this time of year.. bull sharks are intense and do move into very shallow waters to feed at night. i remember watching a documentary on them once and a man in the UAE was bitten by one at night in 30 centimeters of water.

does anyone know why there is such a healthy population of bull sharks around playa but i've never heard of a single tiger shark sighting?

also.. i've looked into those shark attack records from the international shark attack file and the thing i find interesting is how it is completely brushed under the rug. i ended up looking for hours online to find any trace of the fatal attack in 1997 and there is pretty much nothing. i ended up having to pay a few dollars to look through the archives of a carolina newspaper (where the victims were from) and it turns out that 2 men were attacked and killed by the same shark on the same dive in cozumel by a 5.2 metre tiger shark.

i've got lonely planet's guide to diving in cozumel, published in 1998, and it covers the reef where the two men were attacked and there is not a single mention of it.

i know the odds are next to none, and it certainly doesn't stop me from going in the water, but.... i think it's wrong to an extent to avoid talking about it and not mentioning it where it should be mentioned. the more i learn about sharks and when they do attack humans, the more likely i am to jump in the water with them, not less likely. learning about what went wrong can help you understand how to avoid it again.

[james]

no, what's wrong is to say stuff like "swimming at night is a serious nicht-nicht" followed by "i know the odds are next to none..."

the odds of a shark attack are MUCH less than your odds of a lightning strike, car accident or poisonous snake bite death. MUCH MUCH less.

there is no conspiracy to hide anything because there is almost nothing to hide because it is so rare. during the last 5 years, gay cannibals have eaten more people in Playa del Carmen than all the sharks combined.

[JEZ]

Originally Posted by james

, gay cannibals have eaten more people in Playa del Carmen than all the sharks combined.

ha ha ha ha ha!

[nobbish]

Originally Posted by james

no, what's wrong is to say stuff like "swimming at night is a serious nicht-nicht" followed by "i know the odds are next to none..."

ok.. i'll meet u down at mamita's tonight at around 10 and you can do some laps for me.

Originally Posted by james

there is no conspiracy to hide anything

your telling me that a book about diving a particular reef published less than 1 year after 2 people were both EATEN by a 5.2 meter tiger shark shouldn't be MENTIONED? the shark came, ate one person, then doubled back and ate and second, yes, ATE. kind of a gruesome way to die.

if two people were savagely murdered in their hotel room, don't you think lonely planet would mention that in the write up of the hotel in their next update?

[Bluespicker]

So do I have to watch out for the gay cannibals during the day or at night?

[Daddy B]

Originally Posted by nobbish

does anyone know why there is such a healthy population of bull sharks around playa but i've never heard of a single tiger shark sighting?

I've only recently posted such a sighting on this august forum. At the Mama Viña wreck.[/quote]

Originally Posted by nobbish

also.. i've looked into those shark attack records from the international shark attack file and the thing i find interesting is how it is completely brushed under the rug. i ended up looking for hours online to find any trace of the fatal attack in 1997 and there is pretty much nothing. i ended up having to pay a few dollars to look through the archives of a carolina newspaper (where the victims were from) and it turns out that 2 men were attacked and killed by the same shark on the same dive in cozumel by a 5.2 metre tiger shark.

Any chance of posting your findings, please? I had the same information problem as yourself, and I will gladly share the cost of your archival consultation in the shape of Playa drinks.

Originally Posted by nobbish

i've got lonely planet's guide to diving in cozumel, published in 1998, and it covers the reef where the two men were attacked and there is not a single mention of it.

Going back to the lack of information, the last bit I could unearth (and I think it was on the Internet, too) was that the majority of Quintana Roo incidents involved commercial fisherman diving for conch or getting too near net-caught sharks.

[james]

sorry, I'm in Sweden, no can do.

you would face a thousand times greater risk of being killed by a car crash on your trip down to the beach. sorry, math/statistics doesn't lie.

about the book, I don't understand what your point is. We here at Playa.Info reach quite a large audience and we've never gotten any hush-money from anybody to keep shark attacks secret. You can tell everyone about the book. Maybe the Lonely Planet's research team sucks.

I found this funny

Chances of Shark Attack

“You are more likely to be killed by falling airplane parts or be hurt by using a room deoderizer than be attacked by a shark.”

– Researchers from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s Birch Aquarium in La Jolla, Ca.

Taken from the Nov. 2004 edition of Scuba Diving Magazine.

[nobbish]

Originally Posted by Daddy B

Any chance of posting your findings, please? I had the same information problem as yourself, and I will gladly share the cost of your archival consultation in the shape of Playa drinks.

i'll take a look for the archived article again.. it's been a while. in the meantime, i found a spreadsheet online that has limited information about every shark attack ever recorded.. be forewarned, it is quite big..

www.sharkattackfile.net/GSAF5.xls