Mr Allington O. Creque (right) with Sir Richard Branson on his glass bottom boat. The acquiring of the glass bottom boat was a special achievement for Mr Creque as he went through many struggles, even dreaming about getting it several times, until his long time-friend Mr Branson came to his assistance with a loan. Photo: Provided

The newly acquired glass bottom boat, which Mr Creque went through many struggles to acquire but which he intends to establish a major business out of. Photo: Provided

A sting ray as seen from the glass bottom boat. Photo: Provided

Not that Mr Creque has shelved his many other plans and projects but the acquiring of the glass bottom boat was a special achievement for him as he went through many struggles, even dreaming about getting it several times, until his long time-friend Sir Richard Branson came to his assistance with a loan.

“The glass-bottom boat came up and it was an opportunity because the owner was selling it. There were several persons interested in it and didn’t have to go through a bank but if the previous owner was really interested in selling it for the money he could have done it a long time ago but he wanted to keep it around Virgin Gorda, mostly North Sound.”

Mr Creque, in an exclusive interview with Virgin Islands News Online, revealed that it took him a year of “running around, not being qualified by the banks, no matter what they ask me to get” as he tried all avenues to get the money to purchase the boat. He also said the late Mr Darwin George tried and wanted him badly to get the boat.

His luck would take a fairy tale ending, however, when he decided to turn to his friend for some 19 years; Richard Branson, who actually is a platinum sponsor for Mr Creque’s charity ‘Windsurfing for Cancer’.

Mr Creque related how he began to live his dream from the point where himself and Mr Branson discussed his ideas surrounding the glass bottom boat. “What made that unique was that I had three dreams about it...Two out of the three dreams, Richard Branson was on the boat so to have him on the boat doing my first interview as we toured the reef and talking about it to actually sitting at his house with the sun setting on the 19^th of October to leaving there with a cheque was incredible.”

So far Mr Creque is ensuring that the word gets out about his exciting business of the glass bottom boat and has been taking advantage of the social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, “where people can see photos of things they are actually going to see and creating a hype” and noted that Mr Branson’s blog and other interviews have helped to boost his business significantly.

He noted that his business is taking off and he has big plans for it in the not too distant future. “To know that I can take you to a place where you can see an airplane 50ft deep, to seeing not one but three cannons from the 1700s that were actually used on pirate ships is quite an experience.”

Noting also that the “ocean changes and the fish do rotate” Mr Creque said he has a couple of selected spots that never lets him down. “For example, if I was to do a tour from Spanish Town in the Valley, Virgin Gorda we would do like The Baths into Little Dix Bay where I am guaranteed to find turtles and then we would shoot out to Great Dog where the main attraction for that would be the airplane. A tour up the North Sound area would touch places such as Moskito Island, Eustacia, Saba Rock, Oil Nut Bay and Necker Island. The three cannons are the highlight for that area along with seeing stingrays, possible sharks, turtles and other sea life.”

The main focus of the glass-bottom boat, he said, is to educate people about the underwater world and the reef and for them to develop an appreciation for that aspect of the environment. He also said he is trying to get schools involved where field trips would be afforded to students.

Soon this ambitious Virgin Islander will be launching a new group called ‘I support Positive Youths (ISPY)’, which he said would be like a Virgin Gorda version of the Youth Empowerment Programme (YEP) on Tortola. The focus of ISPY, however, would be on the reef and would include tagging of turtles and following their migration as well as educating persons on saving turtles and the importance of not allowing plastics to get into the water as turtles may eat them and suffocate.

He also noted that during his tours with his glass bottom boat, he has been able to locate a number of abandoned fish traps and nets on the reef and while he hasn’t been able to detach all of them at least he knows that the boat can also be used in such an exercise.

And while his glass bottom boat is the “hit” right now, Mr Creque has not forgotten about his other plans, projects, and promises. The sailing school is still on the cards at Prickly Pear Island and he is adamant that it would produce athletes in time for the 2016 Olympics.

He also continues to work tirelessly on his charity for cancer and also finds the time to do some music mixing, which he said is a hobby of his that he really enjoys. “I try to promote a lot of our local artistes. I am still learning this skill and I try to take a thing or two from the more established DJs like DJ Bertrum and so on but I enjoy showcasing our local artistes.”

Back to the business of the glass bottom boat, Mr Creque opined that his experience and relationship with Mr Branson has helped him (Branson) to understand that he (Creque) is not the only person that has great ideas but have challenges meeting bank requirements. “The bank advertises one thing but when you go people like me would never be qualified. We would get trade license, business plan, everything...”

In fact, the challenges of persons meeting bank requirements was one of the reasons Mr Branson gave for his recently launched loan initiative.

Mr Creque added that once he pays back the loan, he will be looking to expand his business ‘See It Clear Glass Bottom Boat Tours’ where he has a glass bottom boat in Jost Van Dyke, Tortola (Cane Garden Bay) and Anegada.

“It’s going to happen, it’s just a couple months since I started. I am privileged to have not only Richard Branson as a financer but also as a business adviser...I use him as a mentor so that I can learn and help others and be an example for others. And for those that find it difficult to accomplish their dream, like I keep saying, one of my favourite quotes from Oprah [Winfrey] is that when you feel the odds are against you keep in mind that an aeroplane takes off against the wind.”

The young man also had another parting message which he stated emphatically. “The moment people stop this me and I and start using we and us we would go a lot further as a company, as a country and as a people.”