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LOCAL NEWS

NEW BOAT NAMED IN HONOUR OF ALAN BASKIN

Baskin in the Sun, a dive operation located at the Prospect Reef Resort, has added a new boat to its fleet and has named it in honour of the companyís founder, the late Alan Baskin. The new boat ìAlan Bî, was christened during a cocktail reception at base on Saturday December 9th.

The ceremony was attended by many friends of the Baskins, clients and staff of Baskin in the Sun and other well wishers. ìWe were honouring Alan Baskin who founded this company about 31 years ago. He is a legend in the dive industry business, heís highly respected and loved by all and our new dive boat, we thought we wanted to dedicate to his memory,î according to President and Chief Executive Officer of Baskin in the Sun, Norb Weller. ìBaskin in the Sun is now owned by stockholders and its goal is to provide adventure sports and diving experiences in a very positive, safe way that is environmentally friendly,î

Mr. Weller explained. The company has operations at Prospect Reef and Soperís Hole on Tortola and on Peter Island. It has a fleet of four boats. The newest is the Alan B, a 42-foot custom-built dive boat. The beauty of this boat, because itís a catamaran it's a very stable dive platform when you're out on the water with a big swim platform making it easy to get in and out of the water two divers at a time. The other boats are a 38-foot Newton, a 36-foot Newton and an island hopper brand boat, all of which are custom built with state of the art equipment.

Deputy Governor Mr. Elton Georges attended the function, not in an official capacity, but as a friend of Alan Baskin. He said Alan was a special person and if his spirit goes with this boat, everyone who works on it and who uses it will be imbued with the joy and happiness that he spread wherever he went.

Widow Eva Baskin expressed gratitude to Don and Lisa Mitchell, Norb Weller, the staff of Baskin in the Sun and friends of Alan Baskin for honouring her late husband in this way. She said Alan had such a pioneering spirit and this all started with a dream in Miami where he wanted to come to the islands to live and dive. Originally, he wanted to come to Tortola, but circumstances led them to Santo Domingo where they set up the first full time dive operation and resort. He also proclaimed the first marine sanctuary there and gained the co-operation of the fishermen by treating them in his medical clinic during epidemics of the flu.

Moving on to Haiti a few years later, the Baskins established the first full service dive operation and initiated the development of the first marine park. The business folded in 1986 and the focus shifted again to Tortola. They bought Aquatic Centres from George Marler and pulled together the dive operators, and led a move to develop the moorings systems in the territory.

Mr. Baskin would also be remembered for bringing in the "Narcosis Too", a controversial move, in that some persons thought it was too big a boat for the kind of operation they had. However, it was found to be quite useful for large dive groups. ìIt lived its life and it moved on and now we have this wonderful boat that is a little different from most of the others and Alan would like it very much.

The late Alan Baskin passed away October 5th, 1999.

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			LOCAL NEWS

			NEW BOAT NAMED IN HONOUR OF ALAN BASKIN Baskin in the Sun, a dive operation located at the Prospect Reef Resort, has added a new boat to its fleet and has named it in honour of the companyís founder, the late Alan Baskin. The new boat ìAlan Bî, was christened during a cocktail reception at base on Saturday December 9th. The ceremony was attended by many friends of the Baskins, clients and staff of Baskin in the Sun and other well wishers. ìWe were honouring Alan Baskin who founded this company about 31 years ago. He is a legend in the dive industry business, heís highly respected and loved by all and our new dive boat, we thought we wanted to dedicate to his memory,î according to President and Chief Executive Officer of Baskin in the Sun, Norb Weller. ìBaskin in the Sun is now owned by stockholders and its goal is to provide adventure sports and diving experiences in a very positive, safe way that is environmentally friendly,î Mr. Weller explained. The company has operations at Prospect Reef and Soperís Hole on Tortola and on Peter Island. It has a fleet of four boats. The newest is the Alan B, a 42-foot custom-built dive boat. The beauty of this boat, because itís a catamaran it's a very stable dive platform when you're out on the water with a big swim platform making it easy to get in and out of the water two divers at a time. The other boats are a 38-foot Newton, a 36-foot Newton and an island hopper brand boat, all of which are custom built with state of the art equipment. Deputy Governor Mr. Elton Georges attended the function, not in an official capacity, but as a friend of Alan Baskin. He said Alan was a special person and if his spirit goes with this boat, everyone who works on it and who uses it will be imbued with the joy and happiness that he spread wherever he went. Widow Eva Baskin expressed gratitude to Don and Lisa Mitchell, Norb Weller, the staff of Baskin in the Sun and friends of Alan Baskin for honouring her late husband in this way. She said Alan had such a pioneering spirit and this all started with a dream in Miami where he wanted to come to the islands to live and dive. Originally, he wanted to come to Tortola, but circumstances led them to Santo Domingo where they set up the first full time dive operation and resort. He also proclaimed the first marine sanctuary there and gained the co-operation of the fishermen by treating them in his medical clinic during epidemics of the flu. Moving on to Haiti a few years later, the Baskins established the first full service dive operation and initiated the development of the first marine park. The business folded in 1986 and the focus shifted again to Tortola. They bought Aquatic Centres from George Marler and pulled together the dive operators, and led a move to develop the moorings systems in the territory. Mr. Baskin would also be remembered for bringing in the "Narcosis Too", a controversial move, in that some persons thought it was too big a boat for the kind of operation they had. However, it was found to be quite useful for large dive groups. ìIt lived its life and it moved on and now we have this wonderful boat that is a little different from most of the others and Alan would like it very much. The late Alan Baskin passed away October 5th, 1999.
			[Local News][Caribbean News][Sports & Entertainment] [World News][What's New & Commentaries] [BVI History, Attractions & Features] [Your Spot in the Sun] [Legal][Contact Us][HOME]