This is a dangerous trip. When diving in the ocean at Monterey it is possible you may see a shark. It is possible you may see a Great White shark too. However, seals are far more dangerous. Good well experienced divers understand this. Those less experienced at SCUBA diving in the Pacific Ocean don't understand.

Seals are protected. Seals somehow know this. Seals use to have fear of humans. Seals use to have fear of SCUBA divers off Monterey. Seals no longer have fear of either. If you are transporting a fish you shot underwater, the chances of a shark trying to steal the fish is nil compared to the chances of a seal taking the fish. Try to scare the seal away, and the seal will bang into you. Have you ever been hit in the chest or stomach by a seal? Give you a guarantee, you will not have your regulator in your mouth after the hit. You will be very lucky if you are conscious. This is a bring cameras only type shooting trip. First, for the most part, where we are diving in Monterey and Monastery are Marine Sanctuaries. Second, there are too many seals.

Another thing you can expect from seals if seals are present. They like fins. Yes they do. It is how seals hunt fish. What seals do is bite off the fins of fish till the fish can't get away. Then the seal eats the fish. You'd think from all the rubber the seals ate of mine, the seals would have figured it out. No! Seals still like rubber fins.

Seals and sharks aside, this trip has all sorts of dangers. Kelp is one. One can become tangled in kelp very easy. If one does not have any experience swimming through kelp, this trip can be trouble. Sea Urchins are another problem. Although sea urchins don't bite, they stick rather easily. The ground surge is quite strong and one can get stuck easy. Monastery Beach is a real thriller. Sometimes that beach can be flat as a pancake going in the water and hell getting out. Monastery beach has a fast steep break which waves focus into and there is no telling when a wave sequence hits land there. More than one of my students has lost their equipment rolling up and down in the surf.

The above are the obvious dangers on this SCUBA trip. Here are some others:

1. The attractions have a certain amount of health risk involved with them. People have been killed on the roller coasters and water slides. Hundreds of thousands of people see these attractions every year but that doesn't make them totally safe.

2. San Francisco is a big city. It is only a touch safer than New York. The odds of a mugging are high compared to almost all other cities in the United States. The streets are a disaster. Besides congestion, San Francisco has race command conditions crossing the streets. From time to time, when a MUNI bus goes by some intersections, the light is instantly automatically changed to facilitate the MUNI bus crossing the intersection. Unfortunately, people in the intersection must run for safety.

3. The boat trips are typical. Although hundreds of thousands of people take these boat tours yearly, it seems SCUBA diver's kids have a natural tendency to fall off. Look ma no hands, while sitting on the rail, (s)he said just before slipping overboard. The San Francisco bay waters are cold. Not too many people make it though the shock of a quick dunking when they are not accustom to the cold temperature without a wetsuit.

4. Talk about falling through the cracks! Not too long ago, some rug rat fell through the cracks of the Golden Gate Bridge. 300 feet is a long drop. Not many people live through that experience.

5. Water is on the boats, water is on the Piers, water is at the aquariums, water is around the attractions, water is everywhere on this trip. The odds are almost 100% you will slip on some water somewhere some time on this trip.

There is no guarantee or warrantee to life. On this trip however, it is almost guaranteed someone on the trip will get hurt. Should you want a guaranteed safe vacation, don't take this one. This trip is for those who can handle high adventure.

Every attraction which is involved in this vacation is theoretically safe for children. When a group of children get together, one of them invariably gets into trouble. It is an absolute impossibility to guarantee safety on this vacation due to the adventuresome nature.

AS SUCH: no one will be allowed to go on this adventure without proving they have health insurance for themselves and their family. Additionally, the tour agency does carry insurance but the insurance is liability and that generally pays for some very good lawyers to limit any losses. Liability insurance of the tour agency and the attractions really don't cover the injured party. Furthermore, the party host doesn't carry insurance as it tends to attract law suits and he does not take money nor is he paid so, by California law, he does not take on a fiduciary duty. In fact, the host pays to go on this trip just like you will so that liability of the host isn't any different than your liability for being on the trip.

If your kids crawl through the cracks of the Golden Gate Bridge and fall 300 feet to their death is too bad. Or, they slip off the boat visiting The Rock playing look ma no hands and get chopped up by the boat's propeller, it is too bad. Or, if the giant water slide breaks again and you or your children plunge 50 feet to the ground and go splat, it is too bad. Sad, but the host is not going to take responsibility for such an occurrences. Nor will the host take on responsibility for any other occurrence which may befall this party. There is risk involved and the past is no guarantee of anything. Risk is the nature of this trip and if you can't take a risk nor want any member to be at risk of sorts, don't go.