New World Record OW Swim

" Mr. Flowers had an idea about a swim. They contacted Penny and asked if we were interested ” www.compasscayman.com/.../ This is putting the whole venture into a certain perspective that I have been concerned/speculating about. Were the stakes greater than just ensuring Penny was successful?

if it happened and there were journalists there, where are the pics?

At this point it seems, as you said earlier, that Ebanks went rogue. There appears to be just too much information out there to support a claim that absolutely no sharks were injured/killed. Maybe Ebanks felt that the ends justified the means, and that he needed to do everything he could to make sure Penny was successful. He may have decided it was his responsibility to make sure no sharks ended the swim prematurely. This is an entirely different thing then addressing an impending threat of physical injury (or death) to the swimmer from a shark attack. I think he may have misunderstood his role in the effort. Maybe he saw Penny's swim as a vehicle to bring attention to the Cayman's in support of the tourism industry, but that is nothing more than speculation on my part. I'll admit after this story came out one of the first things I did was get a map out to see exactly where the Caymans were (who has maps anymore - I just went to Google Earth). It should be noted that if this swim was put together FOR the purpose of marketing Cayman Tourism, it would not be the first time that a spectacle was created for marketing purposes. Frankly, if it allows swimmers to make money while doing something they love, then I am all for it (even just covering the expenses for the swim). As for who put the team together, I can not speak to that. There was a mention that the timing of the swim was in conjunction with the timing of the Flowers Swim. I have not seen anything that suggests it was "produced" by the same people who run that swim. What I do know is that the folks associated with the Flowers Swim were at the conference in SF in March and I thought they were wonderful people doing something great for the sport. They run a large swim event that draws people from all over, and have set it up to allow everyone to participate and enjoy open water swimming at many levels. I love their "all comers" approach to the a sport that sometimes is stifled by the chains of it's history.

if it happened and there were journalists there, where are the pics? It is my understanding that all of the alleged acts (it's the lawyer in me) occurred away from the main observation boats. I may be wrong on that as well.

I am not certain I care for Ebanks protocol of cutting a fish in half to pacify sharks from the swimmer... wouldn't want them chumming the water some miles away either! the article smells... fishy.

Morality and ethics aside this "shark control" was a bad idea.First the shark is distracted by bloody chum,then it is caught on a hook and line so that it thrashes around in distress,which excites more predators,then it is killed with a machete,increasing the amount of blood in the water.This is a good strategy only if your goal is to catch sharks instead of protect a swimmer. Evidently this action wasn't sanctioned by the swimmer or the other support crew and it is too bad it distracts from the major accomplishment that this swim was.

www.adventure-journal.com/.../ If this turns out to be true then the significance of the shark events is a bit different. His most recent quote seems to indicate that there was an established practice to bait, hook and remove sharks in the vicinity of Penny. I don't think that is a good standard in a sport where the traditional costume requirement in even the coldest water does not allow a neoprene cap, which is nothing more than a VERY thick cap. (latex - ok, silicone - ok, bubble cap - ok, shower cap - don't know it might be in the same classification as a flower cap)

sorry still not following you. if the shark is removed from the situation, why would the swimmer get out of the water? Because as I understood it ( and I might very well be wrong) the crew was already aware of the presence of the other sharks

my guess is that the local fisherman went rogue and now there are legal implications, and this is why no one is speaking plainly, which is why the issue is festering. I think this is not an unreasonable conclusion, especially in light of Ebank's failure to respond to the allegations. And thanks for the clarification. I got it now.

:bow:snippets: www.compasscayman.com/.../ He dragged the shark away ... Less than an hour later, crew spotted a fin ... he told the crew that earlier in the morning he had also ... I stand corrected, and seriously disturbed in light of the amount of explicit detail in the article. Moreover, if I was his lawyer I would tell him to keep his mouth shut if there was even a remote possibility that he broken a law. In addition if I was in charge of marketing his business, I would tell him to keep his mouth no matter what he did or didn't do.