Hello again!
Well, that's May done and dusted. As usual, the days and weeks seem to fly by. We managed to squeeze a little trip in this month. Also some swimming, some Touch Rugby, some more swimming, and a few other items of note that should keep you riveted to your chair until well into morning tea time...
Travel Report – Cayman Brac
It was a long weekend here a couple of weeks back – Discovery Day (The Day the Cayman Islands were discovered – well, one of them anyway).
We decided to head over to Cayman Brac for the weekend. We did Little Cayman last Easter, so now it was the Brac’s turn. The Brac has only recently re-opened after being bashed about by Hurricane Paloma (yep, the one that narrowly missed the BVI) about 18 months back. Brac is right next to Little Cayman but both are about 90 miles from Grand Cayman. Brac means ‘Bluff’ apparently in Gaelic.
We packed up some essential supplies, some clothes and some dive kit and flew on over.
Upon arrival our Chillybin was searched by customs as they don’t want any locally grown fruit or veges brought over from Grand Cayman as they may carry some bugs or disease not yet established on the Brac. But they need not have worried about the contents of ours – it was mostly bottled stuff!
We stayed in the recently rebuilt Alexander Brac Hotel, which was quite nice with big rooms etc. Our rental car was a bit of a heap but the AC worked and it went forward and back so that was fine.
Exploring was the first thing we did. OK, it was actually the second, as we had to check out the local Bottle shop.
We took off and attempted to do one side of the island, checking out the beaches, the wildlife and some of the caves that are to be found. Some interesting caves too!
It was a long weekend here a couple of weeks back – Discovery Day (The Day the Cayman Islands were discovered – well, one of them anyway).
We decided to head over to Cayman Brac for the weekend. We did Little Cayman last Easter, so now it was the Brac’s turn. The Brac has only recently re-opened after being bashed about by Hurricane Paloma (yep, the one that narrowly missed the BVI) about 18 months back. Brac is right next to Little Cayman but both are about 90 miles from Grand Cayman. Brac means ‘Bluff’ apparently in Gaelic.
We packed up some essential supplies, some clothes and some dive kit and flew on over.
Upon arrival our Chillybin was searched by customs as they don’t want any locally grown fruit or veges brought over from Grand Cayman as they may carry some bugs or disease not yet established on the Brac. But they need not have worried about the contents of ours – it was mostly bottled stuff!
We stayed in the recently rebuilt Alexander Brac Hotel, which was quite nice with big rooms etc. Our rental car was a bit of a heap but the AC worked and it went forward and back so that was fine.
Exploring was the first thing we did. OK, it was actually the second, as we had to check out the local Bottle shop.
We took off and attempted to do one side of the island, checking out the beaches, the wildlife and some of the caves that are to be found. Some interesting caves too!
There are quite a few caves and many have been used in the past during hurricanes and bad storms. One even had a Dunnie in it! Most had crabs and the odd frog hopping about. We did search for bats, but only saw one very briefly as it flew past.
We also went for a walk along the South Coast and found out something very interesting. If you have ever lost a Jandal/flipflop/thong/croc in the sea, we now know where they end up. This beach was absolutely covered in them. Literally thousands of jandals etc were strewn along the beach (most of them the left foot!).
We also found a blow hole and a little cave up a small cliff.
The day ended with a refreshing beer (or cider) and a cool off in the pool.
The next day Dave was dropped off at the Dive boat and went out for two dives while Michelle nursed a hangover (how did that happen?!) and the kids ran about playing on the beach or in the pool.
See the Dive Report, below.
After lunch we headed up onto the bluff to check out the cliffs and see if we could spot any Boobies. Before some of you get your hopes up, a Booby is a bird that lives there. We drove up to the bluff and found a little lighthouse, which we had to climb of course to get a better view of the surroundings. It didn’t make that much difference, but certainly got Michelle’s heart rate up!
After that we walked along the cliff with an impressive 140 foot drop, straight down to the sea – more heart attacks as Jake and Sam start throwing rocks over the side and watching them splash in the sea. There were a few Boobies soaring about and we also spotted a young one on the edge of the cliff waiting for its wings to develop.
The day ended with a refreshing beer (or cider) and a cool off in the pool.
The next day Dave was dropped off at the Dive boat and went out for two dives while Michelle nursed a hangover (how did that happen?!) and the kids ran about playing on the beach or in the pool.
See the Dive Report, below.
After lunch we headed up onto the bluff to check out the cliffs and see if we could spot any Boobies. Before some of you get your hopes up, a Booby is a bird that lives there. We drove up to the bluff and found a little lighthouse, which we had to climb of course to get a better view of the surroundings. It didn’t make that much difference, but certainly got Michelle’s heart rate up!
After that we walked along the cliff with an impressive 140 foot drop, straight down to the sea – more heart attacks as Jake and Sam start throwing rocks over the side and watching them splash in the sea. There were a few Boobies soaring about and we also spotted a young one on the edge of the cliff waiting for its wings to develop.
A little Booby
Michelle’s turn for diving and, since there was room on the boat for Dave and the kids, they went along as well.
Diving (see Dive report)
Diving (see Dive report)
The rest of the weekend involved more exploring, caving, snorkeling and the like. We found a place where someone was in the process of building an underwater city. A bit like Atlantis maybe... Anyway, there were a bunch of statues sitting on the shore, ready to be placed in the sea. We hoped that the site would be reachable from the shore so Michelle was sent out to reconnoitre the immediate area and the boat moorings that were dotted along the coast about 100metres out. On the second mooring ball (a red one!) we got the thumbs up and Dave and the kids set out to swim out to the bouy (with Snorkeling gear of course). There were quite a few statues and things on the sea bed but it was too deep to snorkel down so we took a few pics as best we could and moved on.
Our plane back took us via Little Cayman and we flew over a few of the spots we had visited a year ago. After a 40 min flight we were back in Grand Cayman, our little holiday over. But a nice time was had by all over there and we would recommend it to anyone.
More pics for you!:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=167613&id=766998601&l=60c821cce6
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=167613&id=766998601&l=60c821cce6
Swimming
The 800m sea swim
Michelle and Sam were doing the 800m (Half Mile) sea swim in May and Jake and Dave decided to as well. Michelle and Sam were veterans while Jake and Dave were nervous first timers.
The sea was calm and the 184 swimmers entered the water and got underway. Michelle and Sam had already decided they were swimming their own races and off they went leaving Jake and Dave in their wake as well as the wake of about 175 others. They decided to stick together and take it easy, which worked fine for the first 200m.
The 800m sea swim
Michelle and Sam were doing the 800m (Half Mile) sea swim in May and Jake and Dave decided to as well. Michelle and Sam were veterans while Jake and Dave were nervous first timers.
The sea was calm and the 184 swimmers entered the water and got underway. Michelle and Sam had already decided they were swimming their own races and off they went leaving Jake and Dave in their wake as well as the wake of about 175 others. They decided to stick together and take it easy, which worked fine for the first 200m.
Some swam faster than others...
Jake started to do some backstroke and ended up beaching himself at one point. Then a little later he started heading towards Honduras. Dave managed to get him to straighten up and then he was off like a rocket to the finish. Dave struggled to keep up and Jake finished about 50m ahead in 149th place. Dave came in at 154th. Sam finished in a relatively slow time for her in 121st with Michelle coming in at 35th to gain a 2nd placing in her age group. Sam was a little disappointed in her time but will be better prepared next time. Jake didn’t care. He’d finished and there was free pizza at the end. Dave was happy just to complete it… and even happier to beat about 30 other swimmers… even if they were blind and missing limbs.
Gotta love those hats...
Sprint Meet
The kids competed in the Annual Lion's Meet last weekend. Again, they both swam well and their training with the club seems to be paying off. Both placed highly in their races but due to the electronic timer being a bit sad, all the results had to be recorded manually so we are still waiting to see if any medals are forthcoming. Both did PB's in almost all races, so that's pretty good.
NCFA
Sam is in there somewhere!
Sam sang in the School Choir in the National Children's Festival of the Arts. They were awarded Gold medals for their two songs.
The school before them sang an interesting piece. We think it was called "Island Girls" but couldn't find the lyrics on the internet. Anyway, picture a bunch of 8 - 10 year olds singing this.
It was about what to look for in a girlfriend and talked about staying away from the 'pretty cuties' and what you really want is:
"Black like Ching-Ching, Round like a breadfruit, with Plenty of Jamaican fat and curlers in she hair."
A ching ching is a bit like a Blackbird in NZ. Breadfruit is very round...
Apologies for not being able to find the lyrics but we did think the song was of note, especially since it was performed in a Church.
Apologies for not being able to find the lyrics but we did think the song was of note, especially since it was performed in a Church.
Corporate Touch
The annual Corporate Touch Rugby day was held at the club last Saturday. 15 teams participated. At the start of the day, each team was issued with their shirts, lunch tickets, a box of water and a carton of Heineken to get the day going. Several teams had finished their Heineken by the end of the first match and were busily running back and forth from the bar with more refreshments under the hot blazing sun.
Each player was given a rating depending on their experience; 0 for being a regular player, 1 for having played a bit, and 2 for being new to the game.
Michelle wasn’t quite up to playing again yet, so elected to act as Manager/Coach and also reffed a game or two as well.
The annual Corporate Touch Rugby day was held at the club last Saturday. 15 teams participated. At the start of the day, each team was issued with their shirts, lunch tickets, a box of water and a carton of Heineken to get the day going. Several teams had finished their Heineken by the end of the first match and were busily running back and forth from the bar with more refreshments under the hot blazing sun.
Each player was given a rating depending on their experience; 0 for being a regular player, 1 for having played a bit, and 2 for being new to the game.
Michelle wasn’t quite up to playing again yet, so elected to act as Manager/Coach and also reffed a game or two as well.
Directing traffic
Dave played for Michelle’s work team and they had a handicap rating of 7 (max 10), meaning that they didn’t have a lot of experience in the side. This was proven after the first game, and the second, and even the third. However in the third game they actually managed to score a try, much to the delight of the new players and much to the relief of Dave and ‘the’ other regular player. The team was leaping about and cheering and hugging and screaming. It was like they’d won the world cup! The opposition didn’t know what to think, and Dave had to go over to explain it all.
Michelle performed admirably... off the field...
But what they were good at was the Boat races. Those teams that had a low handicap score needed maximum points to get through to the next round. If you challenged the next team you played to a boat race and won the boat race and the game, then you got double points.
Dave’s team won both of their boat races without too much trouble, which might also account for their performance on the field - shame they didn't win their games (so no extra, or any for that matter, points). But they all had fun and are now keen to enter a team in the Summer League, so we’ll see how that goes.
The tournament started at about 10:30 am and finished at about 6pm. We can report that there were a few wayward passes and dropped balls by the end of the day… But everyone had fun!
More Touch footy pics:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=168480&id=766998601&l=259cdce048
Dave’s team won both of their boat races without too much trouble, which might also account for their performance on the field - shame they didn't win their games (so no extra, or any for that matter, points). But they all had fun and are now keen to enter a team in the Summer League, so we’ll see how that goes.
The tournament started at about 10:30 am and finished at about 6pm. We can report that there were a few wayward passes and dropped balls by the end of the day… But everyone had fun!
More Touch footy pics:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=168480&id=766998601&l=259cdce048
Gaelic
Dave’s team won the 2010 league – without much help from Dave since he’s been on the injured list for the majority of games. They have also won every game since Dave stopped playing which just shows how valuable a team member he actually is. There is a finals day coming up this weekend and Dave might make an appearance at that… that’s if they want him! Unfortunately the Gaelic finals are the day after the rugby dinner. The Rugby players in Dave's Gaelic team are under strict instructions to cease drinking by 7am on the day of the game...
Rugby
A busy first half of the month rugby-wise.
Looking good mate
Jake in action against Bermuda
On 1 - 2 May there was the Annual tournament between Cayman and Bermuda. This year Bermuda chartered a jet and came down with their five teams, plus supporters. The teams were Under 10, Under 12, Under 14, Under 16 and the men's National sides in a full IRB International. On the Saturday there were 10 a side warm up matches in the kids grades.
Post match debrief
Jake got to make his debut for Cayman against Bermuda, although this was the full international. He didn't make the 'test' team that played on the Sunday but enjoyed the games on the Saturday and proudly wore his shirt on the Sunday as well in support of his team.
Dave was coaching the Cayman Under 14's. They cleaned up in the 10 a side on the Saturday but had run out of gas for the Sunday match, going down 14 - 5 in a very tough encounter.
On the burst!
The only Cayman team to win on the sunday was the Under 16's who are by far the best team in the Caribbean and possibly East Coast US as well having been unbeaten in several tournaments over that way.
Dave also undertook the IRB Level Two Coaching Course in May. That was a bit of an eye opener for him and maybe he can use some of this new found knowledge on next year's unsuspecting Under 14 side in their quest to beat Bermuda.
The following weekend Jake's team had an end of season friendly where the two 10 a side teams from the week before played off. It ended up being a draw, four tries each. Jake played in that (on the wing mainly) and enjoyed it. He even made a tackle or two and had a few runs with the ball.
Dive Report.
Dave’s exciting find on the Brac dive was the “Flying Gurnard” which was signaled under the water with one hand gripping the crutch, and then flapping both arms slowly like a large bird.
Upon further investigation back on the boat it was discovered that one of the Dive Boat staff was not that great an English speaker, and thought the name of the fish was “Flying Gonad” – hence the hand signals.
The Flying Gurnard
There were an abundance of Lion Fish in the area. Lionfish are an invasive species that have no known natural predators, and feed heavily on native reef species, which isn’t good for the reefs or the fish that live there, not to mention the dive industry. Spear guns are illegal here and the suggested way to get rid of them is catch them in a net!
There were an abundance of Lion Fish in the area. Lionfish are an invasive species that have no known natural predators, and feed heavily on native reef species, which isn’t good for the reefs or the fish that live there, not to mention the dive industry. Spear guns are illegal here and the suggested way to get rid of them is catch them in a net!
Lionfish
But this will never do the trick, and it may already be too late. On one dive, they tagged the location of 18 of the little critters!
The next day Michelle dived while Dave, Sam and Jake snorkeled about above her.
The first dive was the Wreck of the Captain Keith Tibbetts, a 330 foot long Russian Brigadier Type II Class frigate that was scuttled on the north shore of Cayman Brac in September 1996. It wasn’t too deep and Dave and the kids could see most of it from the surface. Michelle got a much better view and was able to go inside a couple of sections of it.
The next day Michelle dived while Dave, Sam and Jake snorkeled about above her.
The first dive was the Wreck of the Captain Keith Tibbetts, a 330 foot long Russian Brigadier Type II Class frigate that was scuttled on the north shore of Cayman Brac in September 1996. It wasn’t too deep and Dave and the kids could see most of it from the surface. Michelle got a much better view and was able to go inside a couple of sections of it.
Her next dive was a Reef dive where she found some Spotted Drums (Big and Small) as well as a baby Octopus and its mum, although, unfortunately, the photos of this didn’t come out too well. Check out the link though as there are some nice pics there too.
Funny looking rock
Dive and Brac Pics
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=168035&id=766998601&l=7051f241b0
Ready to go into the water.
The undersea city
R.I.P. - Plum
Our little cat, Plum, disappeared during the month. After a lot of searching one of the neighbours tactfully spoke with Dave and told him they’d found Plum on the side of the main road the day before, having been hit by a car. The kids, especially Sam, were upset, but kids being kids, bounced back and are now keen to have another one. Watch this space.
The undersea city
R.I.P. - Plum
Our little cat, Plum, disappeared during the month. After a lot of searching one of the neighbours tactfully spoke with Dave and told him they’d found Plum on the side of the main road the day before, having been hit by a car. The kids, especially Sam, were upset, but kids being kids, bounced back and are now keen to have another one. Watch this space.
New Additions
Well, in fact the space you want to watch is this one. The kids picked up not one, but two kittens on the weekend. Harry (the black one) and Dasher (the other one) are currently getting used to their new home with us, and they seem pretty happy with it so far!
Dasher
Harry
Some more pics:
Car Rego
Dave’s car was due for it’s annual Registration inspection (a bit like a W.O.F.). He duly took the car in to the inspection place and inched his way along in the queue until it was his turn. The inspection involves a check of the indicators, lights, horn, wipers, wheels, steering and a few other bits from the inspection pit. This inspection is fairly rigorous when compared the BVI version where they check the indicators and the horn and that’s about it.
Anyway, the inspection dude reappeared at the driver’s window and informed Dave that his front indicator bulbs weren’t amber enough and the car had failed the inspection. Dave thought he was having him on and laughed. “Yeah, good one, Mate.”
But apparently not. Dave got out to have a look. The indicator lenses themselves were clear and not tinted, but they had always been like that. The dude was adamant. They needed to have amber bulbs. Dave wasn’t even sure if amber bulbs existed and still wondered if this was part of some elaborate joke. Anyway, off he went to the garage and asked them to check out the bulbs. They installed ‘amber’ bulbs which looked suspiciously like clear ones to Dave, but they also signed off the Inspection so the car lives for another year. Before next year’s inspection Dave might get an orange marker pen to colour the bulb, just in case.
Sam’s Dolphin Cove Visit
Dave’s car was due for it’s annual Registration inspection (a bit like a W.O.F.). He duly took the car in to the inspection place and inched his way along in the queue until it was his turn. The inspection involves a check of the indicators, lights, horn, wipers, wheels, steering and a few other bits from the inspection pit. This inspection is fairly rigorous when compared the BVI version where they check the indicators and the horn and that’s about it.
Anyway, the inspection dude reappeared at the driver’s window and informed Dave that his front indicator bulbs weren’t amber enough and the car had failed the inspection. Dave thought he was having him on and laughed. “Yeah, good one, Mate.”
But apparently not. Dave got out to have a look. The indicator lenses themselves were clear and not tinted, but they had always been like that. The dude was adamant. They needed to have amber bulbs. Dave wasn’t even sure if amber bulbs existed and still wondered if this was part of some elaborate joke. Anyway, off he went to the garage and asked them to check out the bulbs. They installed ‘amber’ bulbs which looked suspiciously like clear ones to Dave, but they also signed off the Inspection so the car lives for another year. Before next year’s inspection Dave might get an orange marker pen to colour the bulb, just in case.
Sam’s Dolphin Cove Visit
Sam's class are doing a project about whether they think Dolphins should be kept in captivity or not. Part of this involved a trip to Dolphin Discovery. Part involved an animal rights crusader, coming into speak to the class, which she did. The kids thought she was a little strange as she told them no animals should be kept away from their natural habitat. Things went a little pear shaped for her when one of the kids pointed out that she had a parrot in a cage in her shop...
Dolphin trip pics:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=169108&id=766998601&l=60056bd3f8
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=169108&id=766998601&l=60056bd3f8
The kids had their visit with the dolphins but unfortunately no-one had informed the Dolphin place about the Porpoise (Tee hee! Chortle, chortle!) of their visit and therefore, they did nothing to convince the kids that the dolphins in captivity are just fine, or otherwise. So, we are unsure as to whether the kids will be able to make an informed decision on this.
Weather Report
A few big downpours of late. The wet season is upon us. But with the rain comes the humidity. Some very hot days coming up it seems.
A few big downpours of late. The wet season is upon us. But with the rain comes the humidity. Some very hot days coming up it seems.
Next Month:
Rugby Dinner!
Gaelic Finals Day
Rugby Dinner!
Gaelic Finals Day
Gaelic Dinner!
End of School year activities
End of School year activities
1 Mile Sea swim - who does it....
