"Travel is a way of life” ....Water Sports Expert from Sri Lanka

Travel is viewed as a most favorite hobby or an leisure activity for most people out there , but to travel to earn or let me say, how about when travelling becomes a career? And yachting” is even more of a rare type

it is indeed a dream" to say the least, Ramesh is certainly one of the lucky ones who managed to make that dream come true, He was born in Sri Lanka, a proud son from isipathana college who is travelling on a yacht around the globe even as you read this article. He stopped by to have a Simple Talk with me.

Ramesh Tell us about yourself:

I was living in Narahenpita, and I schooled at isipathana college in col 05,I was never the studious kind as I was always doing other things like sports ,music and interact club work and so on, we formed a band right after schooling with my friend roshan, but after few years we stopped it, we all went on our own paths

So why did you stop music?

I was really into music then (well I still am frankly). We had a band like I said before so we were playing for gigs and bookings at hotels, for that we used to hire equipment's from our friends and other people, one day for a function we asked for few instruments from a band and they didn’t give us, they let us down, so that was the day I decided this is not going to work out and then we all went separate ways, see to do music in sri Lanka you must have money, but right now I'm proud to say that we can afford it, but I never took that incident negatively, coz if that didn't happen that day we all would be still in music, so I took it positively and we all in fact moved on and we all are doing well now.so that was a turning point.

So from music to travelling and working in a yacht which is owned by one of the billionaires in the world. how did this happen?

First i studied at CINEC but i couldn’t find a job on a ship straight away so I did few other jobs before, I am the kind of person who is ready for anything, I have swept the floors, washed dishes and many more, then I got opportunity to work on a ship owned by a local citizen here, I worked hard and learnt a lot and finally in 2007 I got this job on th yacht where I am working right now.

So what do you do on the yacht? What exactly is your job

Well lot of rich people in the world have yachts, what they do is they send the yachts before they travel to a country, so before we go we have to check the countries situation, weather, political situation , safety and things like that, I do water sports and safety training for our clients, I’m proud that I am the only Sri Lankan Working as a Senior Deck hand

Tell us about the water sports industry?

it is a fast-growing sport. Although it has so much of demand,there aren’t many people who want to become professional water sports instructors, or to make it their career. I believe that this is one of the best segments in the tourism industry for us to invest in, being an island surrounded by water and not forgetting many in-land water streams so I feel that we have all the natural resources to do so and cement our country as a destination for water sports.

How do you think about our water sports industry :

we need to create the awareness of the potential revenue that it can bring to the country, But we need to go step by step and there has to be regulations for water sports. I think the relevant authorities should pay attention to this. Not all diving centers are up to the required standards. For example I have seen some of the fins broken, if you are diving with a broken fin then that is very dangerous. People go diving when they are drunk, tipsy/high. I have also seen rusty diving bottles and torn diving suits which can be seriously dangerous for divers. I suggest that every water sports center have an annual inspection to provide a quality service to their clients and it will help improve the standard of our as a whole

Any Idea on the potential of our water sports industry in the future:

While admitting that we have a long way to go, we should also remember that making this a profitable industry to bring foreign currency is actually possible provided the standards are followed and then the rest will fall into place. We are surrounded by water. What Other people create artificially and make money, We have it naturally but we are not making use of it. That's very sad. see How many of us know how to swim being born on an Island? We must allure the locals to try this and that will create awareness . Also we need to protect the sea and the marine life if we are to turn this in to an industry. Whale watching needs to be properly regulated. The way the boats operate will harm the sea animals or the animals may go somewhere else. Those Commercial routes need to be away from the habitats of the sea animals.

what are the difficulties you think we have in creating a yachting industry?

The Yachting Industry plays a major role in the European economy. If Sri Lanka is willing to attract luxury yachts we need to make flexible rules and regulations One of the main things is the cleanliness of the environment. It does not matter how beautiful our coastal areas are, if they are polluted. Another common problem foreigners face when they come to Sri Lanka is that there are no fixed prices for water sports. Sometimes they are charged unreasonable amounts which gives them a wrong impression about our country.

How would you compare the current water sport standards we have in the country with others in the world?

In Sri Lanka anyone can dive, jet ski or take part in any other water sport without a license. But in Europe you have to have a license. Most of our diving centers do not have the equipment needed for water sports. This is actually dangerous. In many foreign countries the authorities require a valid license if anyone wants to dive. All these rules are made with the purpose of keeping the divers safe. The ones with no license are not allowed in the deep sea.

Such license is compulsory to drive jet skis and tenders (small boats) too. Once I went to one of these diving places in Sri Lanka and they said that there was no need to have anything like that to drive a jet ski. I have been doing this job for so many years and I have experienced how important it is to have the balance when driving a jet ski. You are taking someone else on water and his life is in your hands so it is up to you to make sure he does not face any danger.

What do you enjoy the most in your job?

Well, one of the greatest things about my job is that I get to travel to a wide variety of stunning locations around the world. Most positions are in the Mediterranean, but there are a growing number of centers opening around the Red Sea, Caribbean, United Arab Emirates and Indian Ocean. They are just breathtaking. Also we get to meet new people all the time. Jennifer Lopez, Mark Anthony, and P Diddy are some of the famous people who have come to the yacht. We are currently in Indonesia region and have been stuck in this region due to the  pandemic for months,

Any down- sides at all?

Well not really, But I am always away from my family. That is the nature of this job. But then again in life you have to make sacrifices to achieve your goals. Sometimes we have to work at a stretch with no break at all. It is our job to impress people and to give them the best training for the money they pay. Even the yacht owner would want to show off how good his employees are and that is exactly why they want to employ the best. This job is definitely not one of those 8–5 jobs. It is all about hard work. The time your work finishes depends on the workload and you have to be very responsible for each and everything you do.

Would you like to start a water sports center here? Or help anyone who would like to start a center?

Yes, I am willing to help whenever I can. I can help with my expertise absolutely free. Especially diving. Because a lot of people do not have the basic knowledge when it comes to diving. I can probably train people on how to do better diving and be safe while at it. My mission is to introduce a great range of water sports too and It is an honor to share my experiences with fellow citizens in my country.

Ramesh thank you so much for dropping by for a chat with us, I wish you all the best in your future. Fly High or should i say Yacht far" and make us all proud

check out his travel blog “Walk with Rama” fan page on Fb:

https://www.facebook.com/walkwithrama

“Walk with Rama” on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/@WalkWithRAMA