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The Island Packet - Living Life In
Living life in
By JUSTIN PAPROCKI
The Island Packet
Published Thursday, December 21, 2006
The typical day for Byron Sewell usually includes some bone or spear fishing, snorkeling in crystal-clear Caribbean waters or boating out to the third largest reef in the world.
That's life on the remote Ambergris Cay, where the Hilton Head Island native is working long hours to make it into one of the premier private luxury communities around.
"We've got a lot of exploring to do," Sewell said.
Sewell grew up on North Forest Beach fishing, surfing and exploring the Hilton Head coast. About 14 years since he graduated Hilton Head High School, he has stuck to his roots. But the scenery has changed.
Sewell now is the Outdoor Pursuit Specialist for the Turks and Caicos Sporting Club in Ambergris Cay.
The private island in the Turks and Caicos is a secluded paradise -- 8 miles of undisturbed beach, a 300-plus-acre nature preserve, and pristine waters teaming with lobster, fish of many varieties and conch.
DPS Sporting Club Development Company, which runs other private communities and clubs across the United States and in the Bahamas, is selling lots on Ambergris Cay.
Developers say most people buying the land will be building what will probably serve as second or third homes. The island features no hotels but has a lodge, spa, bar and other amenities for its members.
About 500 lots are expected to be sold, and it's become Sewell's job to find the best adventures possible for their owners and guests.
That could be uncovering the best spot to bone fish, the top snorkeling routes among the coral reefs, or the best time of day to kite surf using the continuous breeze that cools the island.
Sewell became equipped for such a gig in part by living a beach life on Hilton Head. After high school graduation, he spent summers on Hilton Head and winters in Costa Rica, surfing and fishing.
Eventually he got a job at DPS' Deep Water Key in the Bahamas, where he helped develop outdoor activities. Longtime islander and fisherman Fuzzy Davis, who has known Sewell since he was a child, also was working for UPS and tapped him to lead activity development at Ambergris Cay.
"He's perfect for the club," said Davis, who is the outdoor pursuits director for DPS. "It's part of his personality; he's always looking for what's coming around the corner."
The last time Davis was with Sewell in Ambergris Cay, the two went fishing offshore. Peering through a snorkeling mask, Sewell was able to identify what fish Davis had hooked before he brought it up.
"He'd be handing off the back with a snorkel and mask, and he'd say, 'You've got a nice mutton (snapper) on there,' or something like that," Davis recalled with a laugh.
Other times, when out with visitors, Sewell can pull up a conch and within a few minutes can whip up a makeshift conch seviche on the deck of the boat, Davis said.
It's that kind of enthusiasm, along with widespread experience that makes him right for the job, he said.
Sewell lives with about 150 other employees in dormitories on the island. Life on a small, undeveloped island doesn't have the usual amenities of living back in the states -- but that's all part of the adventure, he said.
"If I wasn't in love with the ocean," he said, "I'd probably go crazy."
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