Basil, captain of fun on the water

The last call to board the Treasure Queen has sounded. Security staff are about to raise the ramp and some 15 feet away a couple comes running towards the boat. Captain Basil Joseph stands behind the wheel, revving with excitement to go on this “fun” ride. His associates, husband and wife Randy and Rebecca Flemming are the hosts. Their job is to maintain a safe and enjoyable ride. On that windy night, 11 pm to be precise, 300 odd members aboard the Treasure Queen are all set for a three-hour cruise from the mainland in Chaguaramas, past Carrera and along the Gasparee coast. The event — Lacqueray Promotions “Mystery Cruise” party features newcomers to the soca arena Steel and Cortez.

A voice is heard over the public address system. It is the voice of Randy as he welcomes his guests, and advises of the safety precautions passengers must adhere to in order to have an incident-free sailing. “In the safety advisory I read, I also warn of what would happen if anyone engages in unacceptable behaviour, they would be turned over to the Coast Guard and be subjected to prosecution according to the laws of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago,” Randy told People. Basil awaits the all clear before he pulls away from shore. In his 40 years of sailing the seas in just about any sea vessel imaginable — freighters, tug boats, tankers, oilfield supply boats — this ride is “easy sailing.” Why? It has been a year since his retirement working aboard American liners, and operating out of the Middle and Far East, Europe, Africa, US and Central America. “This is more fun to a large dimension,” Basil said with a grin.

When he left Trinidad in 1962 in search of employment, he had clear plans of going to sea. “I always liked working on ships from a child. I used to come down to Port-of-Spain on the wharf and fish and watch the boats.” His neighbour, Claude James, of Clifton Hill, Laventille was a seaman and he was largely responsible for Basil’s career choice. “He always told fascinating stories,” Basil said, and he got his chance to live them. Starting out at the lowest rank, Basil moved from deck hand to captain in November of 1963. “It was the same day that President John F Kennedy was killed. It was the first time that I was given command,” he said. In time, he progressed to the highest level of master mariner: a ship’s captain with full authority to man any ship. “It feels good to have reached this level. It’s self gratification for someone coming from poor and humble beginnings in Laventille to reach one of the primere positions in the industry. To attain this position I thought, was phenomenal!” Basil, 63, exclaimed. But, his travels spanning four decades were not all fraught with “smooth” sailing. He recalled the year 1976. “I went to work in Nigeria and the African crew refused to work with me on board an oilfield supply ship. It turned out that they wanted to work with a white man. They were proud Africans and were not going to work with the son of a slave.”

Basil was not wholly shaken by this episode. To his suprise, the entire crew was fired. A new crew was brought in and he was allowed to captain the ship. “On the positive side, I have gained the respect from people in the industry; recognition that I was capable of doing the job assigned to me. In the US I was the only non-white captain and there were thousands of captains in the early to mid-70s,” he said. Before the inception of seven-month-old Treasure Queen Tours Ltd (TQTL), Basil operated a boating company, contracting boats to oilfield companies, locally. He owned 32 vessesls including boats, barges and tugs. Later, he was able to bring his idea of running boat tours, to fruition with his new company which comprises a staff of 15. “It’s something I wanted to do for several years in Trinidad. I looked at several boats and they never worked out in being able to acquire them.” The Treasure Queen began operations at the Cruise Ship Complex. However, four months later it moved to Pier 2, Chaguaramas. This was done to facilitate “better marketing operations, expand land base and accommodate outside cruise parties,” Randy explained.
In the near future, Treasure Queen Tours Ltd plans to expand its tour services beyond parties, family days, company and private functions and charity events. “Hopefully we will be starting eco-, school and tourist tours. We also want to begin down-the-islands cruises once per month,” he added.

TQTL also plans to increase its passenger size to 500 — 100 passengers short of its maximum capacity — as well as step up sailing from three to seven days per week. Commercial rates for booking the double-decked boat can exceed $15,000, inclusive an in-house bar service provided by Boss Caterers. “It’s one of the safest ways to party,” Randy said. “You don’t have to worry about people coming on for fights, you can control the crowd since there are no more people coming on after we set sail. There are security personnel at the entrance who conduct searches.” Basil also keeps his eyes out for passengers who sneak on board bottles of liquor not obtained by the bar. “My job is to make sure that the boat is operated in a safe manner, and to generally take charge of a situation that arises, for example when anyone gets hurt and so on.” He recalled one instance when the Coast Guard had to be called in to retrieve two unruly passengers, who were later found to be police officers, while out at sea. “But the rides have been fun. When I look around and see people having fun on the boat and Randy haggling with miscreants, that is fun for me,” Basil said. “It doesn’t take much for me to have fun. I’m grateful to my crew. I couldn’t have done it without them.”