I'm not blaming the people who died but I think people should be a little bit more cautious if they are in another country period. Everything is not Disneyland, it can be dangerous & yet people will do things they would never even do at home. Years ago I saw a woman drop from a parasailing rig about 100 feet over sharp rocks when her rope broke. This was way south of PV before Mismaloya built up. The boat sped off. She was almost unreachable & it took over 4 hours for an ambulance & help to get her off the rocks & to a hospital. He legs & pelvis were badly broken. BUT nobody signed any liability contract & everyone knew they had no insurance to do this, we were far from any help & the woman was greatly overweight for such a ride but being intoxicated & "on vacation" wanted to do it. So who is at fault? Accidents unfortunately happen & it is terrible, no one expects to go on vacation & die.... but more could be prevented if people took more responsibility for their own safety. Don't assume other people are going to do it for you. And accidents happen at home but we always have someone to sue!

I guess the moral of the story may be - never get in a boat without a life jacket.

Boy, this all sounds so much fun, boat rides, parasailing...really, let's all pack up and go to MEXICO... and be scared to death literally! NO THANKS!!! Never again!
Teresa

This is a very sad post and again shows that it is necessary for tourist to assume responsibilty for their own safety. The consumer regulations that are there to protect you back home and the abilty to sue for negligence may not be available in a country like Mexico. I believe the law down there is Caveat Emptor. The undertows in the Cabo area are very strong and drowning deaths do happen. People with small children may want to consider another destination. The positive side to this post is that is raises people's awareness.

100's of people drown every year down here? More like 2-5 persons per year, and usually from walking too close to the waterline on the Pacific side where the water can be treacherous. There is no excuse for what your "Captain" did on your ride in April, but the bottom line is to go out with a reputable company, not look for the best bargain on the dock. This accident will force the port authorities to inspect and regulate all the boats here who do not comply with the laws. Unfortunately it is too late for the victims.

Teresa, you are really a basket case.

Shut up.

Getting sick,
I for one...am sick too. I have not been posting all of this crap, I've been vacationing in Santa Fe, New Mexico for a week and a half. Someone has been writing this stuff with my name and e-mail address on it, while I was gone...maybe it is YOU??? BY the looks of all the postings I've read JUST today with my name on it, anyone could be doing this to me...This person has been pretty offensive! I CAN NOT BELIEVE THIS...HOW CRUEL CAN PEOPLE OUT THERE BE???
Teresa

I hope people could be a little more responsable for what they write. This kind of accidents can happen everywhere if people tries to get on crowded boats. In this case there were already 15 people on the boat. If you have ever been in Cabo, you can see that there are over 30 glass bottom boats on the marina and they are never full, but sometimes tourist may want to get all together, even when some one tells them that they don't have enough life jackets. Everyone in Cabo was so concern about the tourists, and about some people making other possible travellers misunderstand the situation. It is a complete lie that 100's of people dies evryyera in cabo because of those situations, in fact, just a few people has done it, because they HAVEN'T BEEN smart enough, and as they feel that Mexico is a real FREE country, they do things that in their country they will never do, because they are not allowed to. Many crazy young people do things like get on the ocean when they are drunk after a bar, at mid-night, and yes, Mexico needs to be maybe a little mean with tourists and show them how to behave??? I think we need to see both point of views, and it was not a 15 year old guy the one who was part of this accident, and overall, he or anyone in the boat had deserved death.

Just back from Cabo and had a wonderful and safe time. Using common sense helps. Dove with Underwater Diversions at Land's End and experienced much underwater beauty with professional PADI certified divemasters. When on waters, wearing life jackets is a must. Dozens of people (locals and visitors) die every summer in our rivers in Sacramento. They are not careful and do not wear life jackets in spite of warnings. So go enjoy Cabo, but use your head!

I have visited Cabo many times and have enjoyed so much of what it has to offer. We have always booked activities through our hotel. This year we were hooked by the timeshare people in the airport and received a fishing trip as part of an incentive for attending.
We had to go to the docks to book the trip and after many questions found someone who called someone who called who called the someone back and said he would meet us at a dock at a 2pm. This sounded a little strange to me but I knew we were in Mexico and things are done differently. The morning of the trip we got on the boat with a nice gentleman from South Dakota who had done sport fishing before in Cabo. I asked him why his wife didn't come and he said she got sick last time. I have been on boats before so I didn't this sea sickness would be an y

Continued ....writing with my left hand ... Issue. We left the dock I thought the man on the boat would give us life jackets... Wrong. When asked were the life jackets were he didn't answer. We were certainly on our own. I sat in the back for several hours and then when down to the cabin and had something to eat where the young man was texting and I asked him if he got reception and he nodded his head. I went out on the back deck again and the diesel fumes started to get to me. Decided to head up top to the bridge and at that moment we went into a swell, I asked the young man for help, maybe he didn't understand...... I went flying .... Hit my head and fell to the ground. After giving me ice, I was made to feel the show must go on and I held the ice for 5 more hours on my shoulder. As we were arriving back into port the skipper told us he was 72 years old and the young man was his grandson and had two children. I was somewhat helped off the boat and we drove to our hotel where we were directed to a hospital. Broken shoulder. Back in the US, my recovery will be 6 to 8 weeks. Will I go back to Cabo ? You bet. The lesson learned is to book excursions though reputable companies and ask questions and most of all if you are going out on the water ask for a life jacket and if they don't have one...Get off the boat!

LGG, This post is 12 years old.

LGGs post isn't.

From what I have experienced in the Baja, the Mexican government takes water safety very seriously.

mlgb, My point exactly. That they might want to start a thread of their own to tell their story, rather than tagging on to such an outdated post.

I don't understand how anyone would get into any kind of leizure boat and set forth onto the water in the boat without first getting their life jacket, no matter what country it is in. Getting into such a boat and letting someone take you out without first getting your life jacket seems very foolish to me.

Yes - we always put on our life jackets when riding on small boats.

I'll mention it once more. This post is 12 years old!