Through his keen interest in exploring Goa’s backwaters on his kayak, Chaitan Kamat has got people talking about his frequent trips down the River Sal. He talks about his voyage
If you glance over your social media feed, you will see a few posts where people wish they could take a break and head to a paradise, millions of miles away. With pictures that would make great postcards, the idea of planning such an adventure trip, resonates with many young Goans.
But, Majorda resident Chaitan Kamat had a different idea. Known for his love for adventure sports, all these tourist destinations didn’t seem to excite him as much as the possibility of exploring what his own state had to offer. “Why dream about these tourist attractions? I’ll take you places which you wouldn’t have even imagined, existed,” said an exuberant Chaitan. And that’s exactly what he has done.
For instance, a lot of South Goans were surprised when they learnt about Chaitan’s kayaking trips in river Sal backwaters in Dongrim, located between Verna and Majorda. People have heard of kayaking trips at other popular spots in Goa but not in the heart of what is otherwise a residential area near a bustling industrial estate.
Given that the Sal backwaters in Dongrim are seasonal, Chaitan started exploring other areas and started going on weekend trips on his kayak along the river that passes through Varca, Orlim and Carmona.
Recently, his friends Shrey Sawant, Brandon Viegas and Keith Peres D’Costa completed a 10-kilometre cruise on their kayaks, from Orlim to the Assolna jetty point, near the Cavelossim bridge. “There were a lot of birds, like snake head cormorants, herons, cranes, eagles and kingfishers and trees on the banks like mangrooves. The amount of shevtes (mullet) that jumped out of the water into our kayaks would have easily made up for the lunch of five families,” Chaitan recalled.
“One thing about kayaking against the current is you can’t stop for rest. You stop and you get carried away and you will have to start over again. We had to kayak for about three kilometres continuously, until we found some mangrooves whose branches we could hold on to to rest a while,” added Chaitan
Trips like these started gaining popularity and Chaitan has been flooded with requests from locals and tourists alike. In less than a year. Chaitan has taken around 120 people kayaking all around Goa - Nerul, Zuari, Siridao, St. Jacinto Island, Bogmalo, Velsao deep sea, Palolem deep sea, and the Sal River tributaries and backwaters in South Goa.
“One of the main advantages of a kayak is it can travel in minimum water depth and in the narrowest waters. You wouldn’t believe the places one can can explore with a kayak. Places untouched, inhabited. Its just you and the wild,” said Chaitan.
I didn’t have the slightest idea of the beauty in my own neighbourhood,” quipped Chaitan, whose light brown eyes light up whenever he talks about his journeys padding through these waters.
When asked to speak about any one such trip that stood out, Chaitan talks about the time he accidentally bumped into a dolphin!
“My friend Gajanan L, a kayaking instructor like me, had started out at Bogmalo and went through the Siridao creek under the Zuari bridge that culminated at St Jacinto Island. It was a 24-km journey that took us 8 hours. It was easily one of the most challenging things I’ve had to do my entire life,” Chaitan said while sharing his most cherished kayaking memory. On this particular trip, the weather took a turn for the worse and they had to deal with high waves, gushing winds and an unpredictable tide that kept shifting, all this under the hot sun. Amidst this, Gajanan had to answer nature’s call so while they were on their way from Siridao to Bambolim, Gajanan got off at a secluded beach somewhere near this area while Chaitan sat in his kayak that was floating steadily in the deep sea.
“ Suddenly I felt a thud under my kayak. I freaked out and yelled out to my friend. But he didn’t respond. I waited hoping he would come or whatever it was that hit my kayak was just a log. But the next sight I saw, left me mesmerized and lost for words. The thing that nudged my kayak was a dolphin. And not just one dolphin! Imagine 20 of them right next to you actually coming closer for you to touch them, toying around giving out loud screeches. I touched them, patted them and that moment was simply ecstatic and like nothing I’ve ever experienced before,” added Chaitan. He credits Gajanan, who passed way recently, for inspiring him to take up kayaking, teaching him the technique and getting him started on this journey.
Chaitan embarked on this journey as a hobby after having just graduated as an engineer from Gogte Institute of Technology, Belgaum. His friends were not surprised that his little adventure has become such a blockbuster hit among the local community – as the the last time the 23 year old set his mind on something – Chaitan along with three of his final year mechanical engineer classmates, created an optimized design for a stair climbing wheel chair, that went on to receive accolades.
“After I got done with my B.E, I didn’t want to start working or go for further studies. I read an advertisement where they were looking for a person who knew swimming, who could be a kayaking guide/instructor,” said Chaitan.
Being a national level swimmer and having worked with the Goa Kayaking Association run by Prakash Alfonso in the past, Chaitan began work on siteseeing kayaking trips. Later on, he decided to buy kayaks for himself and his family and that’s when his weekends were devoted to these leisure excursions.
Buoyed by the response he has received, Chaitan - who currently works with his father, engineer Ramesh Kamat who has a fabrication and structural works business and a cashew processing factory - plans on setting up his own agency where he can carry out professional trips and rent out kayaks.
“I feel like the water is where I belong and it truly feels like home. The ocean, the beach, the river, makes me feel alive, gets my heart pumping and gives me that rush,” Chaitan concluded.
