Richard Peirce Shark Conservation: Shark Cornwall

Departures are all from Padstow between 0800 hrs and 0900 hrs.
Please call one week before your trip to confirm the time.
The names of the boats appear underneath the dates.

- Once you have chosen your day and decided the number of places you require (number in your party) please download the booking/waiver form which appears next on this website and send one completed form per person to us together with a deposit of £35 per head. Cheques should be made out to Shark Cornwall and sent to our address which appears on the top of most of the pages on this website, and the balance of £60 will be payable at breakfast on the day of your trip. No bookings are considered firm until cheques and forms have been received and acknowledged.

- If you wish to get an indication of availability before booking please call the Shark Cornwall dedicated number (07799 490552), and provided your cheque and forms are sent quickly there is every chance you will get the date you want. If between your phone call and receipt of your cheques/booking forms the day has been filled we will telephone you to agree an alternative date and then e-mail or post you confirmation of this date.

- Demand last year was overwhelming and with four times as many days this year is likely to be more so, this is why we have set up the new dedicated number for Shark Cornwall. This number will not take messages and will only work during office hours, so please be patient and keep trying it. In the spirit of preserving their sanity we ask that if at all possible you don’t call Richard and Jacqui on their mobiles because last year calls started at 7.00 a.m. and were often still coming at 10.00/11.00 p.m. Everyone is entitled to a little piece and privacy.

- Last year there was great interest in the Shark Cornwall t-shirts. These are one colour, Cornish colours white on black, and subject to stock will be available in S, M, L, and XL. T-shirts will be able to be bought at breakfast on the day of your trip and will cost £14.50p so please make sure you have this cash or a cheque available if you think you might want one. N.B. We don’t take credit cards. This will be the only opportunity to buy t-shirts, as we will not take phone orders or mail them other than in truly exceptional circumstances, as we have to try and keep the admin. to a minimum to keep general costs down.

Click on the button below to view the Shark Cornwall conditions.
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Click on the button below for a printable booking form.
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"Our aim is to provide a new economically viable shark eco-tourism opportunity that will promote effective shark conservation, and will increase public awareness of the truth about sharks and the threats they face from man. Shark Cornwall's objective is to provide safe interactions for both humans and sharks. We do not support or condone swimming, snorkelling, or diving in baited waters with predatory shark species, unless the activity is conducted by knowledgeable individuals drawing on their experience to ensure that all appropriate safety measures are taken."

“Baiting for sharks in order for them to be viewed by people is a controversial issue. Some speak of behavioural changes in the animals in question, others of the association between boats and food that may potentially place both sharks and people at risk. What is undeniable is that sharks are at the wrong end of a concerted global PR campaign lasting several hundred years that has portrayed them as ruthless killers. It is the recent actions of certain dive operations around the world, actively encouraging sharks into the vicinity of divers by using baits, that has finally created significant positive publicity for the shark, and has at last provided proof that it is quite safe for people to share the seas with this beautiful animal.

Such baiting activities, if carried out in a responsible and controlled manner, also provide invaluable opportunities to view sharks at close range. This has numerous valid conservation, scientific and educational off-shoots.

It is the activities of irresponsible operators that create potential problems for people and for sharks. The potential for an incident to occur is heightened, and of course the negative publicity for the shark should someone be bitten would be intense. It is vital that baiting operations are carried out by operators who have comprehensive knowledge of the shark, and are also pursuing valid scientific or conservation aims in the course of their trips.

The positive image of the shark in regions such as the Bahamas , South Africa and Australia , as well as in the entire world of recreational diving, is due in large part to the activities of responsible baiting operations. With the correct approach by a limited number of highly qualified operators, such success stories may also be replicated in the UK ”

There may well be days when sea conditions will prevent us from putting a cage in the water with safety. Sometimes we will be able to judge this before departure but on other occasions this will not be possible. If this judgement can be made before departure participants will be given the option of not going and getting a refund, less an administrative charge of £5. If we go to sea and when we get out find that caging is not possible we may try to put people in the water outside the cage or if not we may offer angling for and tagging any sharks encountered. This is not an excuse but we cannot control the sea state and want to ensure that participants are made as aware as possible of everything that can happen.

We appreciate that many will travel long distances to participate, and so when the weather forces complete cancellation of a day we will try to inform people as early as possible. Cornwall is not the home of calm seas and cancelled days are inevitable. When days have to be cancelled there will be two choices – either a refund of the deposit less £5 administration charge, or we will find a place/s on another day.

Cancellations of pre-booked and deposit paid bookings can be handled in one of two ways.

- The person/s cancelling finds his/her own replacement/s and contacts us to arrange for a new booking/waiver form. This is filled in and sent to us by the substitute/s and there is nothing further to do.

- The person/s cancelling require us to fill their space/s. This we will do with no problem but an administration charge of £5 will apply which will be deducted from the initial deposit. Deposits will only be refundable if 14 days notice of cancellation is given.

1. As previously mentioned Shark Cornwall can provide masks, wetsuits, snorkels, and cameras if required. A towel, sunblock, and fins should also be brought together with your packed lunch and drinks.

2. Please try to keep the kit you bring to a minimum i.e. Camera, mask, snorkel, fins, wetsuit, towel and lunch. If any of your equipment is really bulky you must advise us. We had two days last year when several participants brought professional camera rigs in bulky hard boxes and drysuits in the same. The result was a severe lack of space that marred people’s enjoyment and made working difficult. If you are a professional with bulky and/or professional level equipment it may be we will have to put you on a special day.

3. You will be out all day and neither Blue Fox nor Mantis are cruise liners so toilet facilities are basic to non-existent. Boys pee over the side or in the water, girls in the water or "on board basic!"

4. Bude and Padstow are only 45 minutes apart so you can stay at either or anywhere in the middle.

5. 2008 departures will all be from Padstow and the meeting place is Walkers Restaurant on the inner harbour which is next to Morris Pasties and is distinguished by grey awnings and flower baskets. Departure times will be between 0800 hrs.and 0900 hrs. and you are advised to call Shark Cornwall to confirm timings two weeks prior to your trip.

Special trips can be arranged for the above and these will normally be on week days unless the specific requirement is to film Shark Cornwall with the public. Please contact Richard personally to discuss any media requirements.