New opportunities for “adrenaline junkies and thrill seekers” are just around the corner in Bermuda, with a new water sports business to open on the island this summer, bringing a number of extreme activities to locals and visitors alike.
Kinezumi Water Sports will feature a range of attractions, with its ‘Seabracher’ craft – described as a “jet ski on steroids” – serving as the company’s flagship draw, with company spokesperson Antwan Albuoy saying that it “moves like an exotic sports car and feels like maneuvering a fighter jet aircraft.”
When asked how the idea of starting Kinezumi Water Sports came about, Mr. Albuoy replied, “That’s an interesting story. Initially [business partner] Shena and I planned on launching a land based tourist attraction business in 2016. We were 3/4s of the way completing our business plan and financials when one afternoon in August I saw a picture of the Seabreacher online.
“I went to the company website and thought it would be interesting to bring to Bermuda. I mentioned it to Shena that evening and we decided to proceed with our land based business idea and look into bringing the Seabreacher to Bermuda in 2017.”
When asked where will Kinezumi Water Sports operate from, Mr. Albuoy replied, “Marine and Ports designated an area between Devonshire Dock and Gibblet Island for us to operate.
“More than likely we will use Flatts as our home base. I stopped by Flatts dock a few times over the past few weeks to gauge the area and traffic. It will be a challenge for us to use Flatts as our home base for a few reasons; mainly because there aren’t any bathrooms for our clients and staff to utilise and there is no electricity. Also, we don’t want to intrude on the operations of the Aquarium.
“The parking lot across from there is limited and busy with their patrons coming and going. I may have another suggestion [location] for the Marine and Ports Board. I need to look into further before I present it to the Board. Therefore I will wait until the new year before approaching the Board again. Right now we are just appreciative and ecstatic that we have approval from Marine and Ports.”
Mr. Albuoy continued, “The Marine and Ports Code of Practice stipulates all staff must be CPR/First Aid certified and during our meeting, the M&P Board informed me all Seabreacher pilots must have their pilots license. The Bermuda Red Cross offers many CPR/First Aid certification classes and their first class starts on January 12th.
“The Community Education and Development Programme offers courses for individuals to obtain their pilots license starting January 18th. Even though we won’t be launching the business until May or June, we wanted to launch the website now and announce what the business was to give potential Team Members enough time to do what they need to do to be qualified as potential employees.
“To put things in perspective, there are approximately 2 million jet skis in use world wide. However, there are less than 100 Seabreachers worldwide. It’s fair to say that 99.9% of our adrenaline junkie thrill seeking visitors haven’t had the thrill of riding in a Seabreacher. Shena and I are certain many of the thousands of visitors which grace our shores and the local community will have immense fun being piloted in them.
“In addition to the Seabreachers, we will also be operating the Jetovator. The Jetovator is a water sports accessory that extends the ability of an existing PWC and redirects the water thrust from the jet unit of the PWC along a 40-60 foot hose to the Jetovator body. It’s similar to riding a bike but riding a bike on water instead. For starters we will have 3 Seabreachers and 2 Jetovators.
“I would encourage all budding and seasoned entrepreneurs to attend the BTA’s Lunch and Learn sessions. The BTA does all of the research for you and it’s free data. All an entrepreneur has to do is see if their business idea syncs with the data the BTA provides. Nothing in life is guaranteed but it’s not a risk if you don’t try!
“Shena and I would like to thank the Director and the Board of Marine and Ports for granting us permission to operate both vehicles. It would be very remiss of me not to give a heartfelt thank you to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism Development and Transport, Mr. Francis Richardson, and also to his Executive Assistant Ms. Deborah Trott. If it wasn’t for Mr. Richardson and Ms. Trott, we wouldn’t be making this announcement today.
“This is an exciting time for us and we look forward to launching Kinezumi Water Sports in 2016.”
For more information, click here to visit the Kinezumi Water Sports website. To learn about other water sports opportunities around the island, click here.
