Kaptan Bayram assisting a diver
Captain Bayram knows all of the Kaş Dive locations by heart. If a storm catches the boat on the sea, you can rely on Bayram to get you home safely.
Emre Çevikel told us that Bayram is probably the single most important person on the boat. He knows how to help discover and inexperienced divers prepare their equipment, he assists the instructors by getting the divers in the water safely and when all divers are in the water, he has the eye of a hawk noticing which dive group is returning and assisting them in coming back aboard. He is the first to notice if swimmers or divers have problems and always the first on the scene to help repair or replace a piece of equipment. He said that Bayram learned the English that he knows by listening and that he uses the language in an interesting way. For example, he never asks what is your shoe size, but rather what is your fin size!
Bayram Okralı was born in 1963 and has always lived in Kaş. He was married in 1995 and has one son who helps him on the dive boat during the summer months. Bayram started on the sea as a fisherman at the young age of 13. Starting in 1987, Bayram ran daily boat trips from Kaş to Limanağzı, Kekova and Kastellorizo. He was later the captain of a Blue Cruise charter boat sailing out of Marmaris to Antalya, Bodrum and Fethiye. He returned to Kaş in 1991 and until the year 2000, when he started with Bougainville Diving, he was a self-employed fisherman and occasional charter boat captain.
Bayram is licensed as a Master Seaman/Captain or “Usta Gemici,” a title which allows him to pilot any craft up to 18 tonnes. His experience has paid off on more than one occasion. He remembered a dive afternoon when an especially fierce storm suddenly arrived and there were still divers in the water. He could not have kept the boat at anchor without jeopardising the safety of the boat. He pulled up anchor and circled waiting for the divers to surface. This can be risky in the hands of a less qualified pilot because the waves are constantly attacking the sides and not the front of the boat. When they returned to the harbour, the sea was so rough they were nearly prevented from berthing the boat. In the end, all was well with a sea sick passenger or two but no further damage.
On another occasion, a diver slipped and fell on the upper steps of the ladder. The diver had several broken ribs. Bayram skilfully and quickly brought all swimmers and divers back into the boat and returned to the harbour where an ambulance was waiting. The diver was taken to the hospital where the doctor said the diver should go to Antalya for a specialist evaluation. An emergency flight was called and a sea plane landed in Limanağzı cove. The ambulance returned the diver to the boat, it was getting dark and they had to hurry because air ambulances are not authorised to take off after dark. Bayram quickly took the diver out to the sea plane as smoothly as possible even though the sea was very rough between the Kaş harbour and the cove. When they came close to the sea plane they noticed that because it had an overhead wing, the boat could not get close enough to transfer the diver. Fortunately, Bayram spotted a fisherman returning to Kaş and brought him alongside the BT boat. They transferred the diver to the fishing boat which then took the diver to the sea plane. The plane was able to take off just at twilight and the boat safely returned to Kaş.
Bayram brews some of the best Turkish and Apple tea in Turkey and divers often say they come back to the BT boat simply because of the helping hands of the “Kaptan,” and most especially, his tea. Well done “Kaptan” Bayram!
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