South Padre Island, TX – The new Sea Trek® Adventure opens this weekend at Schlitterbahn Beach Waterpark on South Padre Island.    Guests walk underwater in special air helmets that allow them to come face-to-face with majestic rays and native gulf fish. 

“This is an opportunity for families to get up close and personal with some of the aquatic life that surrounds the island,” said Jeff Henry, one of the owners of the two Schlitterbahn Waterparks.  “Working with marine experts, we are developing unique interactive marine exhibits that are the first of their kind in south Texas.”

Schlitterbahn Beach Waterpark’s new Sea Trek Adventure brings a popular ocean resort activity to the United States for the first time.  Guests age eight and up wear a specially designed helmet that allows them to breathe naturally under water, under the watchful eye of experienced guides.  After orientation and training, families walk through an 80,000-gallon, themed tank filled with rays and other native sea animals. 

The attraction was created by Sub Sea Systems, based in Diamond Springs, California, which developed the dive helmet concept in 1998.  Since then, more than three million people have gone through other Sea Trek experiences in both natural and man-made settings.  Schlitterbahn Beach Waterpark’s Sea Trek is the first to open in the continental United States.

The Sea Trek tank is filled with seawater from the Laguna Madre that separates South Padre Island from the mainland.  A 175-foot-long pipeline circulates seawater in and out of the attractions at the rate of 200 gallons per minute.   “Having fresh seawater continuously circulating into the tank creates the most natural environment possible in a man-made setting,” explained Henry.