North Harbour franchisee’s weekend adventures aboard the Island Blue
Buying a boat was always a goal for Bura Takinoa. Originally from Kiribati, Bura spent a lot of time fishing on the island and eventually wanted to do the same here. In July 2023, Bura fulfilled his dream by purchasing his boat, Island Blue. Now, he spends almost every weekend cruising the waters of the Hauraki Gulf and Little Barrier Island.
For Bura, fishing lets him spend time with close friends, including one special customer – Principal of Matakana School, Darrel Goosen. Bura and Darrel have formed a close friendship since Bura began cleaning for the school just over two years ago. They’re now regular fishing buddies. Darrel’s enthusiasm for fishing gave Bura the push he needed to finally buy the boat he’d always wanted.
“When I first came to the school, he introduced himself and from there he started showing me all the pictures of his fishing trips,” says Bura.
“It made me decide to buy a boat and now we go fishing together.”
Bura appreciates the opportunities that have opened up for him since becoming a CrestClean franchisee. He’s often approached about his career and encourages others to purchase a franchise. Raj, a long-time friend and fishing buddy has recently become a CrestClean franchisee himself.
“We live in a small community here and they see me buy the boat and the house and they ask how I manage to finance everything,” he says.
“I tell them CrestClean helps with the finances because living in Auckland is quite expensive. You’re well looked-after, not like other franchises for sale.”
Since becoming CrestClean franchisees in 2012, Bura and his wife, Kamoroa, have increased the size of their business tenfold. Through hard work and exceptional customer service, the couple achieved their goals faster than they’d anticipated.
“When I first bought the franchise, I planned to buy a house after a year. It wasn’t even half a year before I was able to get a mortgage,” says Bura.
Bura and Kamoroa have three boys aged 23, 19 and 9. Their eldest has now left home to join the Air Force, but Bura is still able to share his love of fishing with is two younger sons.
North Harbour Regional Master Franchisee, Rachel Kumar, congratulates Bura and Kamoroa for achieving their dreams.
“They are very hard-working people, and friendly and supportive to other franchisees,” says Rachel.
“Neil and I are so happy to see Bura fulfilling his dreams and so amazed to see him take one of his customers for fishing trips in his boat almost every weekend.”
