Employees of the Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbour wore captain hats and white shirts as they danced aboard an old fishing vessel that was converted into a float for the VG Easter Monday Parade.
It is one of four derelict boats that he hopes to sink and convert into artificial reefs with the help of the Conservation and Fisheries Department.
“As we get them, we strip them of anything that is harmful to the environment,” he said. “If we have to patch them up, we patch them up and then we send them to float, and then [the CFD] tells us where we can put them to build an artificial reef.”
The vessel in the parade, which was painted white and decorated with colourful palms, is about 50 years old, he said.
“People in the family were going their different ways and doing different things, and so the boat became a derelict boat: an eyesore and a problem to the environment if you just leave it sitting with everything else,” he said.
Acquiring derelict boats often isn’t easy, according to Mr. Huber.
“You can’t just take somebody’s boat even though it is on your property,” he said. “We have to work with the US Coast Guard, the BVI government. We have to find out who the owner is and get permission to tag the boat.”
The process is also expensive, he added.
“You have to pay for the labour; you have to pay for the disposal of the stuff,” he said, adding that the effort is well worth it. “If you’re going to be part of a community, you need to make sure that you give back to the community.”
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