August 1997

Vol. 12, No. 8     What's this?

Down with Jet Skis

from the August, 1997 issue of Undercurrent  

Jamaican hotel owners are raking in the bucks by renting jet skis, the aquatic version of a motorcycle. Not long ago a swimmer was struck by a jet ski and killed, and in April a jet ski struck a snorkerler, seriously injuring him. The snorkeler has since filed suit against Sandals Resort in Ocho Rios. If the jet ski trend travels to other resort islands, we divers may become an endagered species.

While some officials seek zones for watersports, hoteliers don't want many restrictions for fear that they will hurt business, especially after a bad winter tourism season.

The glut of big hotels on Cayman and the growth on Bonaire, Cozumel, and elsewhere are fueling increased efforts to expand tourism beyond divers. How long, we wonder, will it take jet skis to replace embolisms as the main cause of snorkeler and diver deaths?

B. D.