Enterprising Lankans take on the island’s seas with world’s leading watercraft

The Marina Bolgoda arranged an all-island tour for a group of enterprising Sri Lankans who boldly decided to take on the seas of the wonder of Asia.

The journey started from The Marina Bolgoda where the boats (Chapparal, Seadoo Jet Boat and personal watercraft) were docked. The Marina Bolgoda is an exclusive lifestyle club and a first in Sri Lanka designed to cater to an elite clientele spread across a stretch of picturesque land overlooking the aesthetically-beautiful Bolgoda Lake.

Situated in Bolgoda and centrally located on the South West of Sri Lanka, within an hour from Colombo, the Boat Club’s location offers incredible water sports and boating options, within easy reach.

The Marina offers club memberships for people who are looking to step aboard and enjoy exciting new memories on the water or a place to sit back enjoy some hard earned relaxation and luxuriate in tranquillity. 

The Marina offers a range of other services and amenities for guests to enjoy along with a business/conference centre equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and a contemporary restaurant that serves exquisite cuisine prepared by expert chefs, fully decorated in style surrounded by friendly staff in a private environment.

The sea journey was carried out using a Chapparal boat fitted with bombardier jet engines that are maintained by Debug Auto Exclusive Ltd., the sole agent in Sri Lanka for Sea-Doo personal watercraft, all-terrain vehicles (Can-Ams), Scarab, Glastron and Chaparral – boats built with legacy and style and some of the leading luxury brands in the world. It is committed to service excellence while supplying some of the world’s leading brands and BRP products to the Sri Lankan market.

The journey from Bolgoda (Panadura) to Hambantota, Oluvil harbour, Trinco, KKS, Kalpitiya, Panadura and back to base at Bolgoda was a great feat to watch. The journey with an experienced and adventurous team on board lasted for seven to eight hours daily, navigated by a founder member of The Marina who was at the wheel.

Travelling 1.5 km out to sea, the scenery witnessed around the island was spectacular, passing some of the famous beaches from colourful rays of navy blue in Kirinda to hues of green and sparkling clear crystal in other areas.

Sri Lanka’s beaches being some of the most picturesque on the Asian continent did not disappoint us; the beaches on the east coast were beautiful and the vast waters were exciting to ride on. With over 1,000 kms of coastline, Sri Lanka truly boasts of some of the finest beaches in the world.

While many coastal areas have their own historical and heritage sites as well, we were able to witness certain areas that are not on the Sri Lankan map and obtained expertise from a guide who knew these places very well.

Hambantota’s pristine beaches, wide stretches of sand and miles of clear and shallow water, pretty bays and coves and underwater coral gardens took our breath away. Watching the most beautiful sunrise in Hambantota, surrounded by strong sea breeze, we were enchanted by the ambience of the place.

The coral reef in Kalpitiya, one of the greatest attractions that has the greatest biodiversity of any coral reef in all waters around India, is a treat for scuba divers and snorkelers.

We found perfect solitude on the shores of Mannar known for its charm and rustic quality; Pottuvil, a breath-taking fishing village, dotted with boulders at the water’s edge, is one of the most beautiful in Sri Lanka, and the perfect backdrop for some of the best waves in the country. 

Deep and rough seas, adverse conditions of heavy weather just passing Jaffna and high waves hitting against the boat were some unforgettable challenging experiences to remember.

While thanking all the fishing ports including the coast guard and MOD and specially the Navy for facilitating and accommodating us, we would like to extend a huge sense of gratitude to the Coast Guard for tracking us and looking after our safety and the Debug and BRP team for extending their fullest support in numerous ways, helping sort out critical issues by fixing the watercraft overnight.

The support staff followed us by land and re-fuelled the boats when necessary while the backup vehicle on road were driven by two sets of drivers.

Talking to the naval officers on the way back who were doing a fantastic job, we felt elated that our coastline was protected in this way.

The journey ended at The Marina Bolgoda, w hich plans to have many more similar events in the future organised with the support of the BRP club.

If you need a prestigious meeting venue or training centre or a place to hold team building events, corporate training sessions, conferences or sales meetings or whenever you need to get together with clients or business associates, The Marina has fully-equipped meeting rooms for all your needs and functions, surrounded by a multitude of endless activities and benefits to offer and has been designed with maximum attention to details keeping the guests’ well-being in mind to create memories that last forever.