Italian flyboard rider steals show, makes local friends at yacht fest in Andhra Pradesh

VISAKHAPATNAM: Jumping up and down like a dolphin, splashing in the blue waters, this Italian flyboard rider stole the show at the Vizag Yacht Festival, which concluded in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.
Simone Careddu, visiting India for the first time, was truly happy with the response he got from the people at the yacht festival.

“It was a good experience being in Vizag, not just because I came to India for the first time, but people of the city were very good at heart. Being a flyboard rider, I could actually feel the pulse of the people here who were shouting loud when I was up in the air,” he said. A team of  three including, Simone, team manager John Albinsson and team member Juliean Marionnet were in the city for the festival.   

Simone has done several jobs and is with the crew of the boat for several years now. His dream to fly in the water came true in 2013 after he started performing with flyboard, a device attached to the feet that propels a person through the air by means of jets of water pumped through a hose connected to a jet ski. A year later he joined the Zapata show team as a rider.

He is one of the best riders in the world and can also take care of technical things at international events. “I used to work in the sea with water toys. It was amazing to perform with this and it always thrilled me. It was amazing to do flyboard and then I met the Zapata team. Since then I have done shows in different countries,” he said.

According to him expertise is very important in this field. “Honestly you need to have an expertise in flyboard. I always wanted to be the best in everything and somehow I found flyboard as the best to perform with. We did many shows in various countries but this is the first time we are performing in India. Truly, I was getting crazy attention from the audience in Vizag. I could feel that the audience had the same kind of energy levels while I was performing,” he added.  

Performing flyboard for about 5-10 minutes, Simone could steal the show by interacting with people and local fishermen. The team was much impressed by the yacht festival and they were happy with the coordination.

Simone says that he feels like a baby whenever in water and this is why he chose this sport. Soon after college days he started practicing flyboard.

“Soon I started learning, but was not having the power to fly. I started with basic tricks, baby dolphins and back tricks. Later I reached a stage in which I could fly and meet the good people of Vizag and be a part of their culture,” he said.