FORMER Whitstable schoolboy Sam Miyano Pitt has been short-listed for what is billed as the "best job in the world."

Sam, 30, is hoping to be chosen as an island caretaker on Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

He is one of only 50 finalists from almost 35,000 applicants representing 22 countries. The winner gets $150,000 for a six-month contract from the state of Queensland.

It was in Whitstable that Sam first fell in love with the sea and water sports.

He said: "If it wasn't for moving to Whitstable when I was 10 I probably would not have started sailing and windsurfing."

He now lives in Hamamatsu, Japan, where he earns a living as a water sports photographer but still regards Whitstable as his home.

He said: "Having spent all my teens there I still have many friends and a very strong attachment to what I call Whitstabubble.

"I first started windsurfing on the beaches by the Old Neptune pub when I was 13. My father had some old windsurf kit which was too big and heavy for me.

"I was a small kid and it was terrible, I couldn't lift the thing out of the water and nearly gave up until my dad noticed my frustration and found me a sail more my size.

"Eventually I joined the Whitstable Sailing Club and met more people my age who sailed and windsurfed. That was my turning point.

"At one point there was a bunch of us teens all windsurfing at the weekend and after school. It was a lot of fun, gave me an identity at a difficult teenage time and gave me a great bunch of friends."

His British dad Rayner Pitt, a marine biologist, moved to Whitstable to work at the Seasalter Shellfish oyster fishery. When Sam was 18 his dad and Japanese mum Yuko moved to the Solomon Islands, Philippines Malaysia and Vietnam before settling in Japan.

Sam went to study oceanography and marine biology at Southampton University.

He said: "I always went back to Whitstable for my holidays and stayed with Wendy Fitzpatrick, the mum of my two best friends. I consider her my 'second mother.'

"I am so grateful to her for letting me stay whenever I wanted. She always made me feel so welcome. It was great to be able to go back to Whitstable and hang out with the boys, even though I didn't have a real home there anymore."

Sam went to Whitstable County Junior School and then Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Faversham.

After graduating, Sam took a job at a chain of English schools in Japan so he could travel and start paying off his student debts.

He said: "They said I could request where I was sent so I chose places which had wind and waves. But they sent me to a place on an inland sea with neither! After six months of saving I moved to Hamamatsu which is an hour away from an ex-world cup windsurf venue. It has decent year-round conditions."

Applicants were asked to submit a 60-second video (directed by his girlfriend Christine Fernandez) of why they should be chosen.

Sam said: "Apart from the chance to live on a beautiful island, I'd like the opportunity to promote the importance of keeping a balance with our marine environment, regardless of whether this is a coral reef, or the Thames Riviera.

"For this reason, I hope the people of Whitstable will support me with their online votes."

VOTE for Sam at www.islandreefjob.com/Sam until midnight on Tuesday, March 24. So far he has 1,452 votes. The Top 50 will be narrowed down to a final 11. Ten will be chosen by Tourism Queensland and an 11th "wild card" applicant by the web vote.

The 11 will be flown to Hamilton Island to take part in the final selection process. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, May 6.

Sam is one of only four from the UK in the top 50. His website is www.samiyano.com.

Australia's Great Barrier Reed is the largest coral reef in the world. It stretches for 2,600 kilometres and includes 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands. Wildlife includes whales, dolphins, sea turtles and more than 1,500 species of fish.