Meet Evan – The Man Who Has Devoted His Life to SY Sunshine

Many people have mistaken Evan for a native English speaker from the UK because of his typical British accent. However, Evan actually grew up in a small village in Irrawaddy Delta near Yangon when this city was still the capital city of Burma. There were about 200 families in his village and his father and mother were just ordinary rice farmers, like many other people in the area. During his schooling time, Evan was such a clever student that he was admitted to a high school in Yangon.

Mr. Evan on a Sailing Trip

Evan was introduced to Peter by his roommate when he was at the age of 18 and seeking for a job. As his village followed Christianity, Evan had seen foreigners once when a Jehovah’s Witnesses group dropped by, but he had never ever spoken to a foreigner. It was the first time Evan comes into close contact with a foreigner when Peter visited him. Peter was the owner of a yacht building project in Yangon which had been started just a few months before he met Evan. Peter built his yacht, named Sunshine, when Myanmar was undergoing a period of continuous power cuts and almost isolated from the outside world. Peter recalls the first time he met Even like this: “When I arrived at his home, it’s was his roommate, Joshua, who opened the door. My first impression of Evan was a small and boy who hid behind Joshua and kept silent the whole meeting. However, in the end, I was convinced by Joshua to hire him”.

The Elegant Appearance of SY Sunshine

Evan came to work at the shipyard a few days later. Back to those days, foreigners are not permitted to use walkie-talkies. It took 10 minutes to walk from the project’s office to the yacht workshop, so on the very first working days, Evan was assigned with the task of running from the office to the workshop and back to report the situation. He was attached to the project until Sunshine was completed and made its launch in 2003.

“I did not know what to expect, so I looked forward to nothing”, says Evan. “Beach, sea and sailing boat were totally new things to me and the moment I stepped onto the SY Sunshine was also the first time I ever step on a boat”. That day marked the beginning of his sailing career.

SY Sunshine has a Luxurious Interior

Shortly afterward, SY Sunshine went on a long voyage for the first time to France. After nearly a quarter of the year sailing across the sea, the yacht and her crew finally made their arrival to the port of Cannes city, France. At that time, the Cannes annual film festival was being held in the city, so there were many big luxurious yacht gathering in the port and surrounding waters. “Never had we encountered any yachts like that and we even ask what type of bizarre fishing boats they were”.

Ever since those days, Evan has been working on the SY Sunshine, one of the best Myanmar Private Boats, as the first mate who is in charge of steering and navigation. “Sailing has become an important part of my life, I couldn’t imagine my life without it” says Evan.