Sydelle Gifford urges youth to ‘just go for it’

Sydelle Gifford was born with sea water in her veins, a point she proclaims frequently when asked why she decided to pursue such a line of work.

A native of Negril, Westmoreland, and born to parents who owned a water sports business along the coast, Gifford’s childhood was spent mostly at the beach or at a river.

Speaking with The Gleaner yesterday in Montego Bay, St James, where she works with the touring company Island Routes, Gifford recalled her early years when she was referred to as ‘the beach girl”.

She was given the name simply because since she was five years old, nearly every day after school she could be found in wet clothes stuck to her small frame, indicating that she had just returned from a swim.

Gifford went on to say that having the opportunity to go on boat rides and to participate in fishing, snorkelling, and other water sport activities was what she enjoyed doing the most as a child.

Despite her recreational activities, her parents’ strict parenting and strong emphasis on education kept her grounded in school.

WORK LIFE

A former Rusea’s High School student, Gifford began her working life by taking up a career in business before deciding to pursue nursing. She briefly worked in both areas and later as a receptionist before heading down the path of her dreams: water sports.

“I left thatI wasn’t comfortable in that ... let me tell you something. When something is your passion and you love it and you’re good at it, just stick to it,” she said.

“It [doesn’t] make sense you try to do something else because it’s not going to work,” she added, noting that she had to learn this lesson from her initial failure to follow her passion.

As the eldest of her parents’ four children, Gifford was also the first to venture on this career path, having followed in her father’s footsteps.

More recently, her brother, who is the last child, has also shown interest in water sports such as parasailing and is planning to take up fishing as well.

In the early 2000s, Gifford was employed to Island Routes, where she has given 15 years of service.

She is Jamaica’s first female boat captain of catamaran and speed boat vessels, earning her title by obtaining a coastal masters licence.

When she earned her captain’s title in 2011, she steered and commanded the 65-foot catamaran Kool Katt Kelly, which was licensed to carry 130 people and managed a crew of eight members. She did this for 12 years.

JOY ON A CATAMARAN

Her journey has now taken her to steering a speedboat named Juicy with her first mate, an officer who is second in command. This is her third year steering the recreational vessel, which holds up to 30 people.

She said she enjoys this as it allows her much more time to interact with guests than she was able to while overseeing the catamaran.

For Gifford, it is never a dull day at work.

In fact, she refers to her duties as “a vacation job” since it allows her to socialise with visitors to the island who are having a good time while indulging in food, drink, and other on board a-d off-board activities.

Her signature move, which she loves the most, is to “spin” the boat in a circle. To the delight of her passengers, this is done at an accelerated pace, causing the waves to crash against the vessel, creating huge splashes.

“It’s very easy, very enjoyable,” she remarked.

“You want to give the guest that memory so when they go home, they’re, like, ‘Oh, I need to go back to Jamaica’. So at the same time, it’s selling Jamaica itself,” she said.

Gifford conducts a half-day tour for a four-hour period, which starts at 9:00 a.m. and ends at 1 p.m., including snorkelling, a stop by Margaritaville for lunch, sightseeing, among other onboard activities, and a full-day tour that heads to Negril from Montego Bay and is scheduled from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with similar activities.

As a captain, Gifford characterises herself as being as cool as a cucumber but notes that she firmly believes that as a leader, one must maintain a set of principles. Among these are honesty, patience, integrity, commitment, effective communication, and excellent time management.

Gifford is living a life with no regrets about following her passion. She pointed out that her work speaks for itself and that as the first female boat captain for her classes of vessels, she has become somewhat of a role model for kids who have gone on some of the tours that she has steered.

“If you have a passion in something and you have your love and once your heart tell you, ‘You know what? Just go for it,’just go for it’. Don’t listen to what people say because persons are always going to be negative. It’s just for you to say, ‘You know what? I’m not listening to you,” she advised.

She also encouraged individuals to always believe in themselves as, if she did not do the same, she would not be where she is today.

As such, one of her proudest moments was being able to make herparents proud and to have brought them happiness as they have been able to witness her achievements since “running to the beach every day in wet clothes”.

asha.wilks@gleanerjm.com