UDUPI: St Mary’s Island off Malpe beach has been charming visitors for decades. Lately, it is capturing the interest of many because of various water sport activities. If one wishes to let go of all the fear and anxiety and wants to experience the thrill of jumping off a cliff without any strings attached, then one should head to St Mary’s Island. Reason: Cliff-jumping training will begin on the island from January, 2019. On Thursday, four expert cliff divers - Partha Varanasi, Siddharth of Puttur, Antony of Australia and Anusha of Bengaluru successfully dived and sent out the message that St Mary’s Island was also a perfect destination for cliff jumping.
Sudesh Shetty, a leaseholder who is authorised to take up development projects at St Mary’s Island, said Udupi district administration, Tourism Department and Malpe Development Committee arranged Thursday’s cliff- jumping event and four expert cliff divers trained about 10 enthusiasts.
“We are planning to conduct training sessions for those who want to learn cliff jumping from January. Cliff jumping event will be organised in April’’ he said. Master Surfer and Cliff Diver Partha Varanasi said that cliff jumping in St Mary’s Island was safe as the sea there was more than 18 m deep.The divers have the option to jump from the height ranging from 15 feet to 35 feet. As per safety standards, the depth of water should be fifteen feet.