Captain’s Prerogative – An opinion on boosting BVI Tourism
Photography provided by Captain Rajko Zupan
Abundantly labelled as the sailing Mecca of the world, the BVI is the home and celebrated destination to a vast range of boats and ships. Whether it is racing or cruising, the prestigious reputation of the islands attracts vessels from all over as they make their circumnavigation of the beautiful Caribbean. For many, they make their return visit like the MV Tere Moana, which will be touching down again this month.
The newest ship in the Paul Gauguin Cruises fleet, the Tere Moana is a luxurious vessel with an exclusive capacity of 90 passengers and 60 crew members. The current Captain, Rajko Zupan relishes the BVI and through his wealth of experience, sees fantastic potential for the islands to increase its already powerful allure for tourism.
Zupan, born in Split, Croatia, followed the hereditary career choice of his family by gaining a Captain’s license in his country of birth. With an Unlimited Master’s license—which means he can manage any boat of any size in any part of the world— his vast experience as a seaman is evident. He is a pioneer of the seas, blessed with the privilege of sailing the world’s oceans on some remarkable boats.
His first command of scale was a Sea-Land container vessel, which is now one of the largest container companies worldwide; this established his career as captain of large ships. He then initiated his cruising vocation with Costa Cruises and spent 15 years as Captain and Staff Captain with the Orient Lines. He has voyaged worldwide and a notable journey was his 10 seasons in the Antarctic region and circumnavigation of the continent.
Managing both the MV Tere Moana and the MV Paul Gauguin, which comprise the fleet of Paul Gauguin Cruises, Zupan admits his favourite ship, which he ran for nine years was the Paul Gauguin. Ferrying his guests through the most coveted regions in the world, he has acquired an intricate and international knowledge of tourists’ appetites and essential wisdom on the fundamental elements of strengthening tourism in the locations he has visited.
“I’ve been at sea for 40 years…I started sailing cruise ships in 1980 with Costa…[and]…first came through the BVI waters in 1989,” he said of his experiences. Tere Moana is in actuality one of the smallest ships Zupan has been charged with, compared to his largest ship, the MV Norwegian Crown—now Balmoral—with a passenger capacity of 1230 and crew of 470.
The current route of the Tere Moana— Tortola, Jost Van Dyke, Virgin Gorda, St. Kitts & Nevis, Les Isles Des Saintes, St. Barts, St. Maarten—has allowed the Captain to see the limitless possibilities of each country’s implementation of the activities that attract visitors.
To get a sense of visiting the BVI, the captain feels it would be a great initiative to employ local residents to share their culture, cuisine and lifestyle on board ships similar to his, that enter the Territory. “We want to be able to give more of the local culture to the ship and work together…it would make for a good product,” he said. “Music, artists, farmers, dancing, history…every month a different artist for example.” Acknowledging generic guest’s requests for diversity in their excursions, he said: “We need to deliver better programs for the guests so that the islands don’t all look the same. This is a long process though.”
Unknown to many residents and visitors that come to the BVI, there are several incredible programs for tourists, that bestow fortunate guests with a taste of the BVI’s history and culture. A fitting example is the Biodynamic Farm and Food Tasting trip which takes guests by mini safari bus up to the secluded Goodmoon Farm. Here they are escorted through the terraced hillside to learn of the seasonal fruit and vegetables available. They enjoy the smell of freshly plucked leaves harvested in to locally woven baskets before following the circuitous ridge road east to Trellis Bay where they can sample a local stew already gathering flavour in the ‘Yabba Pot’. Immersed in the relaxed world of yachties, windsurfers and artists, they eat from a handmade Calabash bowl and sample a glass of local ginger, sour-sop, tamarind, passion fruit or sorrel juice.
Zupan loves cruising in the BVI and remarked that the Territory is: “…a beautiful area, [an] enclosed lagoon, [it] reminds me very much of Tahiti. We could technically execute more courses here – many want to go to Spanish Harbour [additionally],” he said referring to the potential of more all-encompassing cruises in the BVI. “If we have a better airport here, we can actually do the turn around,” he added, citing the Government’s airport project.
The abundant charisma and great sense of adventure of Zupan are very apparent when you meet him. With his motivation of building a unique relationship with the BVI and the MV Tere Moana, similar to the MV Paul Gauguin’s strong link with Tahiti, Zupan recognises that: “It would require a detailed plan, because this is not easy…but you will make a very unique product.”
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