Zambezi Shark attacks life guard

I haven't had the chance this week until now to blog, but I wanted to chat the latest SA shark attack.

We were very saddened to hear about the death of a 27-year-old life guard, Sikhanyiso Bangilizwe,at the Port St Johns' second beach in the Eastern Cape on Sunday 25th Jan.
He was attacked and killed by a Zambezi shark,according to Natal Sharks Board head researcher Geremy Cliff, although I have been reading other reports that say it was a Tiger shark.
The life guard was not on duty, but he went for a swim at the beach. This attack may have been indirectly caused by untreated sewage in the water, which attracted sharks to the area. His right arm was severed and he was badly bitten on his back and buttocks and right leg.

Our deep condolences to his family.

We have seen the pictures of the shark bite, which now bringing me to the point of my blog.

What cheeses me off is the fact that these pictures are now "doing the rounds". Should pictures of this nature be allowed to be seen by all. Some may say they have a "right" to see what a shark bite looks like. But this is not just a bite. Its an accident where someone's life was taken, and I think it was wrong for these pics to be "leaked".

Its a very sensitive issue.What do you think? Please send me your comments.

A day out on the boat

 

Yesterday was such a lovely day. We had no bookings so in the morning we headed down to Boulders beach. The kids made sandcastles and delighted in the penguins waddling around.

We decided to invite my dad and some friends for sundowners on the boat in the afternoon. Rob recently got himself a new Canon camera, and so I played photographer, taking pics of everyone on the boat and pics of the penguins, pics of the seagulls, etc etc. The kids love going on the boat, and both love the sea.
Adam is incredibly sturdy on the boat and I think he will make a good deckhand. He found the deck broom and was having a great time cleaning the deck. Jordan on the other hand found all the wetsuits. They were all nicely packed, S,M,L etc, but she decided they looked better on the floor as a mat for her to jump on from the bench in the "changing room". She also loved posing in the shark cage.

WE headed back to Boulders, but in the boat this time, as its a nice spot to swim, and just chill out with a few "coolies". The water was so cold, about 15', so I decided against taking the plunge. We watched the penguins start heading home after their days fishing, (see pic) and the kids delighted in feeding the seagulls crisps (see pic).

We really had a great time.

We wanted to go to sea today, but did not have enough guests, only 2, to take the boat out, but have another trip planned for tomorrow. The weather looks good and we expect a good day at sea!

Plowing through applications

I don't think anyone enjoys going through job applications. Firstly you have go through each one of them, and that takes time, then you have to make a short list, then you have to email 90% back sending a " We regret to inform you letter". I know most companies skip that part, but I think its just common courtesy to reply to everyone.
You get those who clearly should not have applied, and I wonder did you NOT read the advert? I had one from someone who had never even been on a boat,another was for someone wanting to work for a month. Then I was emailed bizarre questions, which I can handle, but what drove me mad is when people started to phone.
Even though our name was not on the advert, its not hard to find us. I didn't fare so well when a wife phones twice,nogal, to ask why hubby was unsuccessful.

The sad part of it all is that so many out there do not have jobs. I had so many over-qualified applicants, and we can only chose 1 person. Rob has narrowed it down to 4, whom he will be taking out to sea soon, to "try" out.

Watch this space and we will let you know how it goes. Ta K

Wanted: New Crew member

Wanted: New Crew member

Rob and I are looking for a new crew member.

The ideal candidate must have boating experience and ideally a skippers licence. We want someone who is confident, outgoing, friendly, and will enjoy interacting with tourists on a daily basis.
We would prefer someone from a Historically Disadvantaged Community, especially from the fishing community, but this is not essential.
If you had first aid training, scuba diving training, and any other qualifications it would be great!
Shark season is very seasonal, and so this is seasonal work. We will be starting our White Shark Trips again from February.

Please send your CV to airjaws@mweb.co.za. Please don’t phone me, as I will just ask you to send me your cv.

Cheers
Karen

Volunteer post available

Dear Ultimate Animal lovers,

Each year Rob and I host one to join us as a crew member for our shark season.
Normally this is a marine biology student who needs practical training experience, or someone who is passionate about sharks and the ocean, and wants to volunteer their time.
Boating experience is essential, and they must be a confident and comfortable interacting with tourists on a daily basis.
They must also be available for about 5 months and financially self sufficient.
Should you wish to apply, please feel free to send us your CV.
We look forward to hearing from you!

Rob and Karen Lawrence
www.ultimate-animals.com

Pelagic trip yesterday

We set off from Simonstown at 06H30, with 6 guests and a slight SE wind. It was our first trip in over a week due to strong winds and bad seas so these trip are always interesting after a bit of a lay off.

The water at Cape Point was cold and green, no good for fishing or diving. After booking out with Penguin (Penguin is radio call sign for the light house keeper who keeps you on record. All boats going into the deep, need to radio Penguin telling him, what time they depart,how many on the vessel and what your ETA will be. If you don't check in with him, he alerts the NSRI etc).
We set off on a course off 245’. There was very little life and no dolphins nor whales. We did get some good pelagic birds a bit later. I got a nice shot of an Indian Yellow-Nose Albatross.

At around 20 miles, we tried our hand at fishing with no luck. We then put the cage out. By now we had 3 of the 6 guest feeling quite sea sick, and the one youngster was very nervous and had gotten cold feet, so we were only going to dive his parents today.
The water was still a little green but viz was not bad. In less than 5 minutes,our first Blue shark arrived . After getting the divers in the water we ended up with 8 Blue sharks and 1 very nice Mako shark ( about 1.5m) which seemed to chase some off the smaller Blues away.

Conditions were very nice with a light Southerly wind of 8-10 knots, most of the day which made run back to cape Point very pleasant. On the way home we detoured past the Boulders Penguin Colony. ROB

Poor Prince Harry

Every morning when Rob is not at sea he watches Sky News. I normally dont follow to much of the current affairs as I find it so depressing.
This Morning on Sky News,Britian was in an uproar over a few measly remarks Prince Harry had made THREE years ago whilst on active duty. He called his friend and fellow soldier, a Paki and then joked with another soldier saying you look like a rag head!!

Britian, get OVER yourself!! The guy is young, he was just being a normal soldier, joking around. Its not as if he was walking in central London going around insulting people.
For goodness sake,Just leave the chap alone. If that is the worst the guy can do in the army then he is not doing badly at all.

Its not as if he slept with an HIV woman without a condom, was accused of rape and went to trial, or is being prosecuted for fraud and corruption, like our ANC president Jacob Zuma. Now reporters out there,HELLO, that is worth writing about!!!!

Viva Prince Harry Viva!! You are still in my good books!!

Gone Fishing....well not quiet.

December has been tough weather wise for us. We might have well posted a sign saying "gone fishing".

Instead of being frustrated by Cape Town's wind,this week end we decided to head off with friends up the west coast to the Langebaan lagoon at the West Coast National Park. They have an inflatable boat or "rubber duck" as we call it in SA,and we were going to spend the day on the water.

I had never been there before. Isn't it strange how you can live in a place all your life and not know all the beautiful sights it holds?


Well, the Langebaan lagoon is truly magnificent. We got there at low tide and so you could wade waist deep for about 500 metres or more. It is also a super safe place for the kids.


We spend the day having fun in the sun.Rob did a bit of tube riding, and I just chilled with a cold beer and played with the kids in the water.

Today I got an email from friends in Holland saying how bitterly cold it is there, snowing and everyone is freezing. I honestly cant imagine it right now!!!

In the mean time I will enjoy my last week of silly season, before Rob cracks the whip. Slave driver!!

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