WHEN Boyd Vallis took over the snorkel rental concession at Church Bay, his aim was to continue what he saw as being a much-needed service - and make some money.

The operation soon turned into more than a business for Mr. Vallis. After spending some time with visitors to the South Shore, Southampton locale, he felt it was his responsibility to teach beachgoers how to appreciate the natural wonders of the area.

The tiny beach has always been popular with visitors, however its attraction has grown in the nearly five years since the concession stand first opened. Today, even those on the island for only a short stay make it a priority to fit a visit to the beach into their schedule.

"It's the best place to be in Bermuda," said Mr. Vallis, "and I think it's got the best snorkelling on the island. People always compare it to a natural aquarium. One of the greatest things about Church Bay is that even if you're just standing on the beach looking out, you can see parrot fish swimming only two feet off the shoreline.

"There are so many species of fish there, you never know what you're going to see. There's lots of fish varieties - a big grouper that lives out there and plenty of juvenile fish.

"We all know that Church Bay is a good snorkel beach and it's because of that that the concession was started by Alex Madeiros and Glen Johnson. They did a great job and ran it for three years and when they decided they wanted to stop, I felt I should jump in. I felt there was a need for it; it provided a necessary service and so I took it over last year. This will be my second summer."

Mr. Vallis says he employs a summer student to help him work the concession stand, which sells sodas and chips and rents fins and masks for snorkelling. For those willing to listen, he offers plenty of free advice. "It's a bonus to have us standing there or me sitting there when tourists come and they need information," he said. "They need to know where it's safe to snorkel, where to go swimming, what they can expect to see. We have a first-aid kit there with us and, if they get scratched - which sometimes happens when they don't talk to me first about where to snorkel - I clean and disinfect.

"I tell them what kind of fish they'll be looking at. If they have problems in the water; if they go in and (suddenly remember) they can't swim, I rescue them. I have a bronze medallion which is one of the higher levels on the way to becoming a lifeguard and so basically, if there's a problem I go in the water and save them.

"We're a tourist service on the beach. I provide snacks, drinks and snorkel rentals. I act as a lifeguard, I provide maps and bus tickets - pretty much whatever they might need. On Fridays and Saturdays it's generally quiet but when cruise ships are in, there are a lot of people.

"The only day I'm not there is on Sundays so that people who live in the area can have the beach to themselves as much as possible. We take care of everything. We rake the beach and clean the beach. We look after it, make sure it's okay. I know it's a great thing to do service industry, nice for tourists."

The role comes naturally to him, says Mr. Vallis, with much of his work background spent in the hospitality industry.

"I'm a service-oriented person.

"I've always been in the hospitality trade in some way or another. I've worked in hotels in Bermuda when I was younger as well as hotels and restaurants in Canada, I was working as a massage therapist and, the year before I did this, I was working on the Restless Native, a catamaran which runs out of Dockyard, and which has a snorkel adventure tour especially for beginners, especially.

"It's absolutely fantastic and I recommend it to people who visit the beach all the time."

The stretch of actual beach at Church Bay works in and against its favour, says Mr. Vallis. Many find it too small to spend more than a couple of hours, but those who swim there can be assured that their belongings will be protected.

"On a Wednesday at the beach, we probably see between 60 and 100 people who spend an hour there," he explained. "Generally, people don't stay for the day. They come, snorkel and then leave for Horseshoe Bay Beach because Church Bay is so tiny.

"But it's the safest beach in Bermuda. It's small, and because we're here watching all the time, people will never get robbed at Church Bay but on the off-chance that anything does go wrong, we call the police."

ALTHOUGH he has no formal education in the areas of marine biology or environmental studies, Mr. Vallis says he has always been interested in such matters having grown up in Bermuda fishing and learning as much as he could about our reefs and how to preserve them.

"I have a natural interest in Bermuda's waters and reefs but, unfortunately, we don't have the legislation in Bermuda to protect our coral reefs. Think of how many thousands of people come to Church Bay and, for example, on a day that we were here, there was a guy with a fishing net catching (fish) to put into his aquarium.

"And becuase it's not illegal, there's nothing we can do about it. It's such a shame. Litter is another issue that we have to deal with. We try to keep it under control but there's always cigarette butts on the beach. Bermuda should be more concerned about the environment.

"The protection of the reef should be important and the lack of protection that exists now for our reefs is a concern of mine. I'm willing to work with Bermuda Aquarium, Museum & Zoo, with Government, with whomever to do whtever it takes."

The snorkel rental concession at Church Bay is open between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays. Rentals are $15 for three hours. The concession is generally open during cruise ship season, from the beginning of May through October 31.