How long has it been since there has been such a proliferation in adventure travel of a nature that death or debilitating personal injury is better than a 50-50 proposition?
And please tell me exactly what is the tremendous attraction to these activities.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’ll take an adrenaline fix with as much a rush as the next guy – or gal, but under most circumstances I would like at least a fair shake at being able to repeat the innervation again some other day.
What brought this thought to mind was a tiny news item buried back in my local newspaper yesterday that basically gave the following facts:
1. Guy, who happens to be named Markus, pays for a Scuba diving trip to see sharks.
2. Guy’s choice of commercial diving company – Scuba Adventures – chums the water with bloody fish parts to attract said sharks.
3. Guy is in the water waiting for said sharks: no shark cage.
4. Guy gets close up view as said sharks show up.
5. Guy is dead.
No really…this actually happened. Read the story for yourself.
Now, I’m not saying this guy is a shoe-in for a Darwin Award but…WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?!?
Sharks have teeth – lots of teeth – and their function in the grand scheme of things is to kill some form of meat – mammal, fish, and yes, ocasionally a surfer or diver.
You certainly cannot blame the shark for doing what they do best…survive.
I could provide a litany of many other instances of so-called adventure, or extreme, travel where I personally would question the cost-benefit ratio of the thrill of the activity vs. the likely – and sometimes very bad – outcome.
I am a firm believer that if you want to go out in a blaze of glory, have at it. Just don’t create any collateral damage, whether they be friends or first responders trying to put out your fire.
In the case of Markus, I strongly suspect that he did not plan to make this his last dive.
Ironically Markus was a lawyer; I would guess he has – or had – lawyer friends.
If I was Scuba Adventures I would probably get a lawyer myself. A really good lawyer.
Sand Dollar Adventures 
[…] When I first wrote about this true story, I suggested that it was a Darwin Award candidate. […]