Frankie Tours upgrades with new $3m boat

DAVID SCARLETT

ONE of Tobago’s most popular tourism service providers is upgrading for 2024.

Frankie Tours and Rentals has announced that it will launch a new glass-bottom boat on Wednesday, to enhance the experience for passengers while they enjoy the island’s marine magnificence.

Owner of the company, Michael Frank, dropped hints about the new vessel on social media last December and posted a picture of the boat on January 25 with a photo captioned, “She’s in the water, giving God thanks and praise for His continued guidance, love and favour.”

The project has been in the works for over two years, and Frank is delighted to see his vision come to past.

The new boat, Millennium One, is significantly larger than its predecessor, with an unofficial capacity of 180 passengers (in comparison to the last boat’s 75), and spans 60 feet in length and 20 feet in width, compared to the previous boat’s 52-by-14.

In an interview with Newsday, Frank was jubilant as he spoke about his new vessel.

“This is a very large upgrade to all of our boats,” he said. “Most of the other boats are wooden with fibreglass; this one is entirely fibreglass with plastic boarding and lots of aluminium and stainless steel.”

It also offers two bars (one for snacks and the other for drinks), free WiFi, greater storage space for passengers' luggage and other items, a washroom facility, a wider covered area, and improved lighting for night-time sailings.

Known primarily for tours to the Buccoo Reef and Nylon Pool, Frank hopes to expand his business model to hosts other events. He said Millennium One has great entertainment value, as it comes equipped with a prestige sound system and is designed to host parties, weddings and birthday functions.

“This is the ideal boat for all occasions!” Frank declared.

Both vessels will provide services to passengers until Carnival. After the festivities, Millennium One will take the spotlight, as the original Frankie Tours boat will be pulled from service to be refurbished and, possibly, expanded to match the quality of the new craft.

They will continue to provide tours to Buccoo Reef, the Nylon Pool, Coral Gardens and No Man’s Land.

In total, Frankie Tours and Rentals have five boats: Millennium One, the original Frankie Tours glass-bottom boat, and three others of similar size and capacity. The other three primarily facilitate tours around Tobago.

Notwithstanding his latest achievement, Frank said his business was severely affected by the covid19 pandemic and it was not easy to manoeuvre through the lockdown period.

“Covid dealt a serious blow to us,” he said. "As all the other boats were in the water before the pandemic, (due to the inactivity) we had to take the boats out of the water and (refurbish) them, similar to the first glass-bottom boat, and then bring them back.

"The process is now starting over to get everything brand new again and back in the water.”

Frank said Millennium One cost $2.3 million to construct, and with additional accessories such as the sound system, security camera set-up and lighting, the final cost may total $3 million.

“Many features are still being installed,” he said, “and these are things that will increase the costing.

“Because this is a marine vessel, everything has to be built in a way to deal with the (natural) elements. (In addition to the plastic and aluminium make-up of the boat), the engines are also brand new. They are four-stroke engines, as opposed to the old two-stroke ones. So it’s a big jump in all sectors of this boat.”

Now a veteran, Frank has been guiding locals and tourists for about 40 years. In unorthodox fashion, his career on the sea began as an unintentional cicerone to a stranger.

“I started off accidentally. I worked for the government as a reef patrol officer and I patrolled the reef on speedboats to ensure that glass-bottom boats don’t damage the reef and the ecosystem on the whole.

“One day, this elderly American guy came up to me and asked me to take him on a little tour. I told him that I’m not really a tour guide, but I would have taken him sightseeing – for free.

“He was so amazed about how much I knew about the environment and the history of Tobago. I grew up in Castara, a small village, where I was raised in the forest, more or less. So I knew about plants and animals long before I started studying to be a tour guide.”

He said the American suggested he should pursue his talent as a career. However, he was hesitant, as he was already a marine police officer.

“But, he insisted that he was going to send more people for a tour,” Frank continued. “Two weeks later, I received a call saying that there was a whole group of 14 people waiting for me at the airport to be given an island tour, sent by the guy who I previously gave a tour to. The following day, I rented a bus and took them on a day trip.

"Things just went on from there. I eventually had to retire from my government job to concentrate only on tours. I started as a one-man team and, over the years, my employees have grown to 25 people.”

Frank said his vision for the company is to make tourism bigger and better, from Trinidad and Tobago.

"We want to be able to have something where people can come relax and comfortably enjoy themselves in any space.”

Millennium One will make its maiden commercial sailing on Wednesday.