WildCat owners respond

December 15, 2002

Dear Sir,

Over the past few months we at WildCat Adventure Tours have attempted to maintain a dignified silence over the allegations made by Mrs. Jeanne Legere and printed in your newspaper. In the face of the continuing onslaught of inflammatory, libellous and patently untrue headlines and articles that have been published, we need to make a few things clear.

Your newspaper has stated outright in its headlines on December 14, 2002, that Mrs. Legere "broke her back" on the WildCat. We have yet to see any evidence whatsoever that Mrs. Legere sustained this injury on our boat, and in fact we are reliably informed that she suffers from a pre-existing condition.

After your initial front-page article on Friday, October 4, we were informed by extremely reliable sources that Mrs. Legere has suffered from back problems for several years - problems purportedly so bad that she has been forced to cancel ballet classes at her school. When the "incident" occurred on the boat, she stated very firmly three times after being questioned by our captain and in nurse who happened to be on board that she had "never" had a back problem before. She has repeated this assertion to officials looking into her complaint.

She has been asked repeatedly by the Marine and Ports Department, as well as by our insurance company, to provide medical information making it clear whether or not she has any pre-existing conditions. Thus far, absolutely no information has been forthcoming. Our research has turned up a substantial amount of evidence that the type of spinal fracture Mrs. Legere has is a very common repetitive stress injury among ballet dancers and among people with osteoporosis.

We would also appreciate the opportunity to review any evidence that her vertebrae "exploded and crushed" or "snapped" as your newspaper has quoted her in describing her injury in your various articles. She claims to have heard her back "break" over the sound of two 800 horsepower engines and in rushing wind as the boat cruised along at 30 knots.

We spent more than four years looking for the perfect boat to do around the island tours in Bermuda - something we felt would be a valuable addition to the water tour activities in the island, both for locals and tourists. After extensive research we settled on a catamaran configuration because of the inherent stability of the design, and added a $40,000 stainless steel hydrofoil set between the hulls to make the ride even more stable. The boat complies with all local safety regulations as well as those in Australia, where she was built to Australian Coast Guard offshore passenger boat specifications and certified as seaworthy.

Over the past three years more than 17,000 people have ridden on the WildCat, more than 10,000 of those in 2002. The overwhelming reaction from passengers has been extremely positive, including a resounding expression of astonishment at the boat's ability to handle the waves. Never before has a single other person described the discomfort Ms. Legere allegedly experienced - specifically the "jerking forward and backwards". It should be noted that there is a stainless steel hand rail in front of every seat which passengers can use to steady themselves if necessary.

On the day Mrs. Legere rode the boat conditions were not unusual - 15 to 20 knot easterly winds with wave heights at no more than five feet - nothing remarkable, based on our three years of experience running the WildCat in local waters. The tours run in similar weather 60 percent of the time, and on this day, they were on South Shore in these sea conditions for no more than five minutes. One party on that aborted ride rebooked and came out with us on one of the two tours we ran later that day, and another immediately rebooked for the following weekend.

Apparently the only discomfort suffered that day was by people in the party accompanying Ms. Legere, and in fact we are aware of at least one person who was with them who refuses to write to officials confirming her contention that the conditions were unpleasant that day. This person has also told us he has no hesitation about taking his five-year-old son out on the WildCat again.

Other passengers we have contacted all say they were enjoying a comfortable ride that morning and are mystified as to how she could have sustained the injury she claims to have. As we understand it, your reporters have made no effort to contact any of these other passengers, one of whom is a C-class pilot himself with any years of seagoing experience, despite the fact that they were supplied with names.

Although we have had people from all walks of life, and all ages, ranging from small children to one 80-plus year-old senior who is a repeat customer, the WildCat ride is assuredly not for everyone. The words "wild" and "adventure", not to mention "thrill" in our regular advertising, should make it clear that this is not average slow cruise about the harbour. Every flyer and ticket we have handed out over the last three years bears the warning": "This ride may not be suitable for pregnant women, children under four or people with conditions that may be affected by a high-speed ride", an advisory extremely similar to warning signs on rides at Disney World. It should be noted that Mrs. Legere willingly came on the boat 30 minutes early, chose the most forward seat and had the benefit of the safety talk that is given before each and every tour.

We are very disappointed that you chose not to call us for comment before printing your story on December 14, 2002, headlined "Police complete investigation into complaint by passenger who broke her back on fun ferry", that includes a picture caption that states that Mrs. Legere's back "snapped while riding on board the WildCat."

We consider those statements to be defamatory, inaccurate and misleading. Be that as it may, we would have been happy to give you a comment to the effect that we are delighted that the DPP has received that report, as we are absolutely sure that it will confirm that there was no negligence or criminal responsibility on our part. We are confident that our operation goes to great lengths to ensure the safety, comfort and enjoyment of every passenger. Our captains and crew are fully qualified and have many years of commercial boat operation experience, our safety equipment is of the highest grade, and when conditions are rough we make sure that everyone abroad is aware that the ride will be "wild" that day.

We are consulting with our lawyers in order to decide on our future course of action.

One a more positive note, we greatly appreciate the incredibly widespread public support that has been offered to us in telephone calls, conversations and even passing comments on the street since your first article was published. It is quite obvious to us that the majority of Bermudians appreciate having the WildCat here, and those who have spent time aboard her have thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We want to thank them for all of their kind words.

THE LAWRENCE FAMILY

WildCat Adventure Tours