Moby dick's stingray adventure????

[BOUDREAUX]

My father who is mid 70's is so nervous about swimming with the sting rays since Steve Irwin was killed. He thinks this might happen to him, plus he's not a good swimmer and just does'nt believe me about being in waist deep water. He thinks that wild means wild!!!

 

All comment are welcome and lookforward to having my father read them.

 

B

[jbh7]

there is NO reason to be nervous. in fact on the trip they address the Steve Irwin accident. the stingers are NOT poisenous. where Irwin made the mistake was pulling the stinger out and that is why he bled to death, not from the stinger itself. if fact one of the crew actually held up the tail and showed us the stinger.

 

Plus Irwin was in the wild - these rays are so calm as they are use to people and being fed they actually let you hold them and pet them. we loved the Moby Dick tour - me, DH and 2 teenagers. he can go and if not comfortable just stay on the boat when you go to the sandbar. plus the snorkeling by the reef was awesome - I actually saw a sting ray swimming past us under water and it just ignored us.

[franma]

I agree with jbh7. We're in our 60's, have done the tour before and plan to do it again with our friends, some of whom are older. It is open water, but as was said the stingrays seem very used to the human invaders sinced they are being fed. The water is really only waist deep, so no swimming involved. Just need to do the stingray shuffle so you don't accidentally step on one. If you go to Moby Dick's website, there's a picture that shows the people STANDING in the water. Of course if he's that nervous, no need to force the issue, and like the previous poster said he could just stay on the boat.

[JohninDC]

Several 6-10 year olds were part of our group on Moby Dick and they loved feeding the rays. If they can do it so can your dad!;) Waist deep water, nice flat sandy bottom, and friendly rays - a unique experience I am glad we did. Can't say enough about how friendly and helpful the Moby dick crew was - great tour, no pressure to buy photos and DVDs, and a good lunch spot suggestion for after the tour. Good luck!:)

[JOJO351969]

I have been to stingray city two times now and in January I am going again. We went on Moby Dick tours the last time and they have a wonderful crew that makes it a wonderful time.

Now I was told all about Steve Irwin and what happen... explain to dad that Steve was hanging onto the ray from the rear and we all know the tails are in the rear of the ray and the bar is on the tail and the tail will flex and bend the bar is a piece of bone and doesn't bend and flex. now when you have camera men on three sides of a wild animal filming it and Steve on the rear of it when the ray wants to get away from the cameras whats it going to do? It is going to back up to try and leave and when it backed up the tail bent around Steve and the bar that couldn't bend well didn't and we know what happen. You have to respect the ray and remember it is a wild animal even though the ones at stingray city are like tame dogs just wanting love and food. Don't let him miss a great time and experience of a lifetime. The water is just about waist deep. I had my 78 year old dad there in December and he loved it!!!!:D

[capncarp]

Check out the other stingray threads in the Cayman Island list here. You'll get pretty much the same good advice and lots of enthusiastic "go for its" from those who have experienced the 'rays upclose and personal-like. Wonderful experience if you treat them with respect, but not fear. Just remember, the thing going through a Stingray City 'ray's mind is not "gonna get me a human today", it's probably more like "got squid?". :D

[jbh7]

Check out the other stingray threads in the Cayman Island list here. You'll get pretty much the same good advice and lots of enthusiastic "go for its" from those who have experienced the 'rays upclose and personal-like. Wonderful experience if you treat them with respect, but not fear. Just remember, the thing going through a Stingray City 'ray's mind is not "gonna get me a human today", it's probably more like "got squid?". :D

 

 

Great line! LOL!! :D

[vegasdan141]

The stingray that killed Irwin (bullray- Pteromylaeus bovinus) is different from the rays found in SRC (southern stingrays- Dasyatis americana).

[PeggyMc]

your Dad doesn't need to worry. The rays are tame. the boat has a stairway type ladder so you can easily descend into the waist deep water or watch from the boat.

 

The snorkel part will be over your head though and might be more challenging. You can skip that part or wear the supplied vests.

[Stevesan]

Just another day at Stingray City:

 

http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2059274950088053251vaKbhe