Maximum Tours: We Fight Hard for You to See the Turtles
By Rekke Editorial
It is a Saturday morning at Folkestone Marine Park. Beyond the bright yellow lifeguard tower and white, powdery sand, a cobalt blue boat gently bobs in the turquoise water. Its name is Cejul, and sea turtles and clownfish are painted across the hull. Upstairs, a slide curls down from the upper deck.
This is where Maximum Tours starts its mornings: from the beach, with a small boat and crew who know this stretch of coast intimately. Guests come aboard to get into the water, snorkel over reef and wrecks, and look for turtles. There is no elaborate lunch, onboard bar or padded seating. It is not a party boat or luxury vessel, and that is the point. It is a boat where children commandeer the water slide and, on a good day, get a turn at the wheel.
Maximum Tours, formerly Team Baywatch, is run by Max, who owns the operation. On the water, it is Ricardo who captains the boat and Jkoni, Max's 22-year-old son, who works as first mate. Jkoni, who has been around the boat since he was a child, is easy to spot: almost always smiling, quick to help and completely at home in the ocean.
The standard trip lasts two hours, with two snorkeling stops, generally over shipwrecks and coral reefs along the west coast. Snorkel equipment, life vests and float rings are provided, along with water, soft drinks and rum punch. At each stop, the engine cuts and those who want to get in, do.
Jkoni is in the water too, float ring in hand. The sea does not have a back door, as the Bajan saying goes. Not everyone who grows up surrounded by it is comfortable in the water, and Maximum Tours is used to accommodating that. If someone is nervous or struggling, he stays close and can pull them along without making a fuss. Guests with mobility challenges, in wheelchairs, and those who have never snorkeled in their lives can all be accommodated. Those who want to get into the water can be supported in the float ring, with Jkoni alongside them; those who cannot or do not want to get in can see below through the glass panel in the lower deck.
“We fight hard for you to see the turtles,” Jkoni says. They are not guaranteed, but the crew use their knowledge of the coast, the conditions and their experience with the turtles to decide where to go each morning. Guests are asked not to touch the turtles or coral. The crew also keep an eye on what is happening around them, intervening when jet skis move too quickly through the snorkeling area or when they see fishing in protected waters. It is a practical kind of stewardship, less about talking about the reef than looking after it while they are out there.
The small size of the operation becomes most apparent when the day doesn’t go quite according to plan. On one trip, a couple spotted a beach they wanted to visit as Cejul passed Speightstown. They asked if they could be dropped off. The crew pulled up to shore and off the couple went. The route can change for practical reasons, too. If visibility is poor around the wrecks or reefs, the crew may head further north where the water is clearer. If someone wants to see stingrays, they will try to find them. There is no rigid itinerary; the day takes shape around the conditions and the people on board. On quieter stretches, younger guests are sometimes invited up to take the helm.
And then there is the water slide.
None of the adults gets on Cejul expecting to use it. The children have no such hesitation. By the end of the trip, most of the adults have followed. After a morning spent looking over shipwrecks and searching for turtles, it is a wonderfully silly way to finish.
There are plenty of bigger boats along the west coast, but Maximum Tours has stayed small. Guests come back again and again, with some returning ten years later. What they return to is simple: a crew who know the water, make you feel looked after, and have a good idea of where the turtles are.
Helpful Hint
If seeing turtles is your priority, book the earliest departure you can. Jkoni says turtles are more likely to be active in the morning, before they have been fed by other operators. Max also offers private island tours, watersports, taxi services and airport transfers; call or WhatsApp to book.