Issue # 53 - The Tides of January

. January 2012 .

Hello there, and welcome to our January 2012 Edition.

It's action packed and full of great stuff. We've been flat out since the year started. Is this what the rest of the year is going to be like? Just looking at what we are doing in February, so yes, the year might be gone in no time!

There is plenty of content and great pictures in this issue that should take your mind off work for 5 or ten minutes. Swimming, Running, Touring, Eating, Drinking, Gaelic-ing (don't say that word too slow), Roller Hockey and a bunch of other stuff.

Visitor's Report

Well, our last visitors in 2011 turned out to be our first visitors in 2012 (couldn't get rid of them!). Gordon (Michelle's Dad) and Val came all the way over from NZ to enjoy some more time in the Caribbean - and to see the kids...and us too! Here's their report:

This is Gordon and Val reporting on our second trip to the Cayman Islands. What a wonderful time we had had since arriving. It's winter here but absolutely perfect for us. Still quite hot. Just perfect. We have had the most wonderful Christmas and New Year celebrations. In fact it has been one long party. Days on the beach with Michelle and Dave's friends who have also showered us with their hospitality. So many thanks to them. We have seen a rugby game with the American Under 21's which was very exciting. It was a very close game and Cayman won by one point so there was great excitement.

Some of the crowd during the rugby game - note the chick sitting on the fence on the far side of the umbrella and also the professional CRTV film crew up in the broadcasting tower.

New Years Eve Party

We have been able to swim late at night in the pool, which was wonderful for us to be able to do. We also experienced Gaelic Football (more on that later - Ed.). We had a trip on a boat (more on that later too - Ed.).with many of Michelle and Dave's friends, going to Stingray City and swimming with the Stingrays and snorkeling the reef, ending with a trip to Starfish Point where we were very lucky to see three starfish. To top the trip off for Gordon was a ride in a 300Hp Rubber Fibreglass boat. It certainly was a highlight for him. Thanks to Neil (a friend of Michelle and Dave).

Christmas Morning!
Our next adventure was a trip on the Atlantis Submarine going over 100 feet under the sea looking at the reef and the many fish, including a Turtle! And then on our last day we had the most wonderful surprise - a Helicopter ride over the Cayman Islands. It was amazing to see the Sharks and Turtles in the beautiful blue sea and the boats at Stingray City. Also the Cruise ships from a different view point. It would have to be amongst the top experiences of our lives.
Sam's Birthday breakfast (Boxing Day)

So, all in all a very memorable time. Thanks so much Michelle, Dave, Sam and Jake. Our love to you all.

Random pic from boat trip: Jake leaps out and excutes a perfect somersault! (The second one wasn't so cool... splat!)

Gaelic Football

Tommy's All-Stars

The Gaelic season is back. We started the year with a Mixed Nines Social Tournament playing for the famous 'Tommy's All Stars'. The team was made up of some experienced campaigners as well as some first timers. We didn't have a great start as within about the first few minutes, one of our stars went down like a sack of errr... spuds and what we thought were torn ligaments, ended up being a broken bone in her knee. Leigh spent the rest of the day icing said knee and consoling herself with liberal amounts of Magners cider (well, it is an Irish sport after all!).

The invalid guards the beers...

The games continued and Tommy's All-stars managed to pull off a draw in the first game. In their second game they played pretty well but again came away with a draw. Suddenly they were in danger of making the playoffs. They only needed to win their next game to get there. Fortunately luck was on our side and we got our bums kicked. Those that hadn't already imbibed, imbibed and those that had, imbibed some more while the play-offs continued.

Then it was of home for a quick shower before heading out to the evenings festivities which involved several more ciders, beers, wines and rums... A good day!

Since then we have all been drafted into our various teams for the season proper. Michelle is in the Buffers Alley (Ladies Blues) and is also their Captain this year. Dave is in the Cabra Gaels (Mens Blues) and isn't Captain.

The first round didn't go well for Dave's team. They got whipped by about 17 - 6. Michelle's team also lost in another high scoring match 13-7.

The second round (last weekend) went much better. Dave's team managed to pull off a nailbiter and win by one point. Michelle's team did something similar but won 11-4. They play every second Sunday, so that allows us to hit the beach on the alternate Sundays for a bit of R & B (Relaxation & Beer).

Sam's School Trip to Little Cayman
Last week Sam's class flew over to Little Cayman (approx 90 miles away) for a three day camp where they studied Marine life and learned about some of the native flora and fauna in Cayman. She had a fantiastic time, took hundreds of photos and movies, and didn't miss us one bit!

Ready for departure!

The Rock Iguanas are enjoying the visit
A Fish's-eye-view of Sam

Beach and Sabrage!

On the 2nd Jan we returned to the venue of the New Years party for a relaxing couple of beers on the beach and to snorkel the wreck that was there. Unfortunately our camera flooded, so no pics this time. We'll have to go back. Gordon came out to the wreck and was rewarded with three Puffer Fish, a whole bunch of other reef fish as well as some Flamingo Tongues. The swim out was pretty tough going but well worth it.

Even cats like the beach!

We ended up staying for dinner with Russ and Tonya. They entertained us after dinner with a dispaly of Sabrage. Sabrage is when you lop the top of a Champagne bottle off (Glass and all). A very exciting way to open a bottle. Tonya showed us first and made it look so easy. Michelle tried but couldn't quite master the technique. Tonya stepped back in and finished the job off. Unfortunately Michelle may have caused a little bit of damage to the bottle (not to mention the carving knife!) and Tonya pretty much cut the bottle in half!
Checking out the damage to the knife. Note the angled cuts on the tops of the two bottles.

Gordon had a go as well but wasn't angry enough to pull it off. Russ stepped up and lopped the top off like an expert (see video at bottom of blog). We should point that we were using bottles of Moet, so the pressure was on to perform! Last but not least, it was Dave's turn. Unfortunately the Moet had been used up by now so it was a large bottle of Stella with the wired-on cork. He managed it after a few attempts.

All of this was recorded on video, and we are trying (and trying!) to get it uploaded. If we are successful, have a look at the bottom of the blog. A fun evening though. It just so happened that we were doing this off the balcony and when we went to go home, the car was covered in broken glass and champagne corks...

Boat Trip

We thought it woud be nice to take Gordon and Val out for a day on the water. We thought it would be even nicer to bring about 20 of our boozey friends as well!

Great day for the hair, ladies!
We all piled onto a decent sized boat that we had hired for the day. It had an upper deck which the kids were happy with. It meant that they could get a good view of everything and also have somewhere to jump off later on.

We had a Dolphin come and say hello on our way to Stingray City. That was pretty cool. Once we arrived at Stingray City, most people got in the water to swim around and play with the Stingrays. They are a friendly bunch and won't sting anyone unless really provoked. They hang about all day waiting for the tourist boats delivering their lunch - usually squid.

Our boat Captain had brought some squid along so we were able to attract plenty of Stingrays. They generally flock to each boat as it arrives anyway just in case there is food to be had.

After that we moved off a little closer to the reef where the water was deeper and the kids could leap off the boat. Michelle and Gordon went for a snorkel along the reef. All the kids, and some of the bigger 'kids' took to lauching themselves into the wild blue yonder and finishing off with a graceful (some more graceful than others) entry into the water.


Then it was off to Starfish Point where we parked up and went ashore for a while, enjoying the beach and the sunset...and the beers.

Two of the Starfish.

The crew!

Street Hockey
The kids had been organised into teams for the 2nd annual Street Hockey day, which happened to be the same day as a swim meet so it was a mad rush to get the kids there on time. Somehow Michelle managed to get pulled into a Mum's team that was short of a player - she didn't have any gear but luckily was able to borrow Sam's shirt and shoes - amazingly, they now fit her (in fact Sam's feet are now bigger than hers)! Michelle's team lost the first game to last year's winners. Michelle went in defense while she tried to remember how to play hockey - eventually it started to come back and she got lucky and scored a goal right from the back! They managed to win the next game putting them in the finals where they had to take on the team that beat them in the first game - they thought they had no show but put up a really good fight, surprising the other team as well as themselves, and coming away with a win, with Michelle finishing the game with an amazing corner shot like never seen before (she thinks she's an expert now)!
Sam and Jake's teams ended up in the same league but different pools. Sam's team was up first - they played hard but sadly lost against one of the best teams. Their second game was very close and went right down to the wire - unfortunately they went down again and didn't make it any further. Jake's team lost their first game, against another very good team but won their second convincingly - they got into the semi finals and managed to pull off a win in another close game to make the final - it was all very exciting, with the adults jumping and yelling on the sideline! The final was a nail biter - it was very close the entire game, ending with a draw, which put them into extra time. The first to score in the extra time would be the winners...and they did it! Second year running the rugby boys took out the hockey tournament - they were ecstatic and the crowd was hyped!! An amazing game to end a very exciting day.

The S'Mores

The Rugby Boys - Winners again!!

See all of the pics from the hockey:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150507408153602.370532.766998601&type=3&l=bc21f46e62

Sailing Regatta

The last long weekend was Jake's birthday but also the weekend of the annual East End Sailing Regatta which is over two days. This year we decided to make a nice weekend of it and stayed out there - it was like a holiday. We went out there the Friday night and returned late Sunday evening after dinner at one of the restaurants out that way to celebrate Jake's birthday.

The weather was perfect for sailing

Wasn't bad for having a few beers either!

Fantastic views from our balcony

A view of Cayman's mountainous terrain...

Jake and his mate Doug teamed up, and Sam and her friend Jade teamed up - they were up against each other again! There were six boats in the kids group. Jake and Doug had an outstanding first day, winning all four of their races, while Sam and Jade stayed close - they were first and 4th at the end of day one.

Pre race prep - clearly these guys are really pumped!

On the second day, the boys weren't as lucky but still managed two wins - or was it the girls had worked it out? The winners in each of the races varied with just about each race, it being shared between quite a few of them. But Jake and Doug's success on the first day, and being thereabouts on the second held them in good stead making it difficult for anyone else to win - they kept their lead and won 1st place. What a great way to spend your birthday! Sam and Jade sailed galliantly on the second day and managed to come back with a second place which was brilliant!

Rugby boys do it again - Very proud and happy kids!

The kids had a ball playing in and around the pool afterwards while the adults relaxed with a drink or two for a change!

The girls (below) in the middle of winter - it's so cold they need to wear hoodies! It must have been a very chilly 24 degrees (Celcius).

After all the sailing, Jake was keen to celebrate so we stopped at Tukka, an Australian restaurant (the closest we could get to a NZ one!) with a few friends. It was really lovely and Jake really enjoyed his dessert!

See all of the sailing pics:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150507483593602.370551.766998601&type=3&l=32c5a1970d

The Big Swim!

Sam has been training in the hope of being selected for the Cayman Swim Team to compete at Carifta in the Bahamas in April. The CARIFTA Games is an annual athletics competition founded by the Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA). The prospective swimmers held a fundraiser which involved a swim from the Wharf Restaurant in George Town all the way out to West Bay. The total distance is about 5 - 6 Miles (8+km) and the swimmers teamed up in threes/fours and swam for a distance, then changed over while the others walked. It was a very long way! Ask Michelle, who paddled the whole way in a Kayak as support crew and occasional straggler recovery. Or Dave who parked the car at the end, ran back to the four mile (to go) mark and then walked along the soft sand to the finish. Or Sam who swam a fair amount of it and walked the bits in between. Can't say that she enjoyed it much but they all did very well! Many thanks to all her sponsors as well!

Taxi!


We must go back and see what this actually is

Finally! Well done Sam!

Sam heads to Jamaica this weekend in the hope of posting some qualifying times for Carifta. More on that in the Feb edition!

Jake's Birthday Beach Party
Jake's birthday was over the long weekend, but since we were out at East End at the sailing regatta, he couldn't celebrate with his friends. So last weekend we organised a small party on Public Beach with the Floating Playground.
The kids had a ball splashing and bouncing about. They finished off with pizza and cake and all went home very happy.

More 2012 pics:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150478339883602.366046.766998601&type=3&l=075254c420

Rachel's Visit
Rachel McDonald of BVI/NZ fame visited Cayman the other week. Rach took a little time out to catch up with Michelle and Dave over lunch one day. It was great to catch up and swap news. Lunch was nice too! Unfortunately our camera crew didn't arrive on time and we were unable to get a photo. Next time!

Cancer Run

The annual Stride for Cancer run was held last weekend. Dave and Jake went along and took part in the 10k run/walk. Jake ran and walked with some friends while Dave ran. He was running with our friend Lisa - who doesn't believe in walking. He did a pretty respectable time too. Jake was seen resting at a bus stop at one point but he managed most of it - then went to soccer training straight after it. He was pretty tired by the end of the day!

Michelle and Sam didn't make it. Sam was at a sleepover after a birthday party and Michelle was suffering the ill effects of one too many mudslides at the Taste of Cayman the night before. It was the first time she had been to this event - there were thousands there, lots of people in queues, wating to get in, then waiting for tasty morsels at various food tents. She was a little more adventurous than usual and tried Lionfish, tuna, as well as a crocodile and conch fritter. There was also wine tasting (well glasses of it) as well as other alcoholic beverages and a tent just for mudslides - once she found it she didn't stray far again! A good time was had by all, although there was some talk of food poisoning the next day - or was it just the alcohol?

NEXT MONTH:

No letting up for February!


Looks like there might be another visitor's report.


Might be some travelling going on.... Jamaica....Vegas?....Fort Lauderdale...Miami...


Maybe some Touch Rugby happening...

A Cross Island Relay...

Don't forget the Sabrage Video!
(That's if it worked)

Issue # 52 - The Christmas Chronicle

. December 2011 .

It's roundabout Christmas....

Hello again!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to both of our readers. We hope you had a wonderful Christmas and that 2012 is a good one for you.

Pretty much a Christmas themed issue this month, with a lead up to Christmas and then the usual New Years antics. Oh, there's a couple of sporting events thrown in, just for balance.

Enjoy the read!

Diving

Not many months go by without a dive happening. December was no different. Michelle, Dave and Sam went for a nice dive at Eden Rock, with lots of swim throughs and fish! It was the first time they managed to find and dive the Devils Grotto at this site - it helped to have a pre-dive briefing from the local dive instructor as there was no way they would have found it themselves!

To see the rest of our latest dive pics, click on this link:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150454985278602.361899.766998601&type=1&l=5c11af23fb

Cayman Islands Marathon

The marathon was held here in early December. Sam and Jake took part in the kid's marathon, which involved a quick 800 metre trot around town, finishing at the Marathon Finish line.
Jake took off like a cut cat and Sam took the more controlled approach.

Pre race nerves...

Michelle and three friends entered in the relay event which was approximately 10km each around the marathon route. They came in in a fairly decent time and took out the title for the women's team event, despite yet another emergency bathroom stop for Michelle!

3/4 of the Team Award ceremony

School Concert
Jake had his end of year Christmas concert early in the month. They recited a poem with actions and some singing which was really well done.

Tag Rugby Tournament
Both Sam and Jake made it into their respective teams for the Inter Schools Tag Rugby tournament held at the Rugby club.
It was a hot day and they had a few games to play. They both enjoyed their games beating 'almost' all of the opposition and coming out in the top group. They didn't play finals but their school came away with the trophy...again, although one of the lesser-known rugby schools managed to upset the more favoured opposition which is good for the future of this event.
Sam on the burst!

Jake shows a clean pair of heals to score

Christmas Visitors

Grandad and Val flew in just before Christmas. The kids were so excited to see them and have been entertaining them ever since!

They have been spending their days re-acquainting themselves with the Island (and the kids!) and by night getting dragged to the various parties and gatherings that happen to be on at the time. They've also had a bit of beach time, sme relaxation time by the pool and fingers crossed, will get out on a boat this coming weekend.

Christmas Parties

Michelle's work Christmas party was a lot less formal this year. It was a relaxed Caribbean theme, held around the pool, where they had the Karaoke cranked up and the bar working overtime. Michelle must have had one or two drinks as after warming up her voice with a couple of the girls she sang a solo - "I will Survive" - and she did (barely)! It went down well enough (or at least seemed to) that she kept on singing (mostly with others) for the a large part of the rest of the night. They then went on to a bar and a nightclub for some dancing to end a great evening. Her voice paid for it though as she could hardly talk for the next few days (which is not always a bad thing!).

The boys had a night out on the Friday before Christmas where they roamed the town spreading their Christmas cheer.

The Mojitos were popular

Jingle Bell Fun Run

Two days after Michelle's Christmas do Dave & Michelle joined about 25 of Michelle's workmates for the 5/10km Jingle Bell walk/run. They had entered before the day and committed themselves for the 10km run, while the kids did the 5km run/walk. The kids had a great time, with Jake going out pretty hard and having to walk a bit at times, while Sam and her friend took it at a more leisurely pace and hada good chinwag along the way. Dave and Michelle did well in the first 5km but struggled in the 2nd - it was a 5km course so they had to do it twice which was as bit of a mental as well as physical challenge. Michelle was aiming to do under 50 minutes so was disappointed to be 39s over it with the same time as the last 10km run she had done - she was regretting the little walk she had at the water stop and the premature sprint at the end - cost her a PB! It wasn't all bad - at least she bet Dave again though! The other great thing was that because so many of Michelle's work participated, the charity qualifies for a $7000 donation from Michelle's work's Charity Foundation.

Christmas

On Christmas eve we headed around to our friends Lisa and Mick's house for a few quiet drinks around the pool. It was a nice low-key affair with lots of nibbles and a similar amount of liquid refreshment.

In the morning the kids were up on the dot of Seven (as previously instructed) and excitedly woke the other bodies slumbering in the house.

Santa had been!

The Christmas pressies were distributed, the bubbly was opened, the croissants were cooked and breakfast was served.

Merry Christmas!

The dining hall...

After Breakfast it was around to the Rowland's for drinks and nibbles, and there was plenty of both!

Then at about 2pm it was back to our place to set up for the big Christmas dinner where we were to seat 25 people in one sitting.

Jake says "Pass the salt!!!"

Christmas lights on Moon Base Alpha

Christmas lights at one of the houses down the street

And back to the Christmas Dinner. Everyone arrived. Some bearing cooked turkeys, others with sides of Beef, Veges and the like. Our job was to provide the venue, the potatoes (roasted as well as mashed) and some Pigs in a Blanket (which apparently is an English Christmas tradition) and desert.

It was all very nice and we managed to fit all 25 diners in the 'dining hall' on one very long table. Kids at one end and bigger folk at the other. It was perfect!

No complaints about the food!

Kids are happy too!

Gordon and Val brought over two Christmas puddings from NZ which proved popular. Yes, we even flambayed them with brandy.

Everyone ate until they burst and then sat around trying to wash some of the food down. It was a long, entertaining, fantastic day with our good friends and family (it was fantastic having family here to celebrate with - who's coming next year?!).

Boxing Day

Boxing day (aka Sam's birthday) was next.

The birthday girl was up early and pretty excited about having a second day of opening presents.

That done we collected a couple of her friends and took them out to breakfast at the Britannia Golf Club. It was very nice - outside, looking over a lake with a fountain and the golf course. After that it was off to the Rugby club for the annual President's v Captain's match. It was a very entertaining game and this was followed by another Christmas dinner and bubbles courtesy of the club.

The following day it was off to Governor's beach for a small gathering of people where we sat about and compared the sizes of everyones tummy after the Christmas feasts.

It was back to work for us for a couple of days, then off to Smith's Cove after sneaking off work early on New Year's Eve Eve. A lovely start to another busy, long weekend. The afternoon started with a couple of quiet drinks at the beach and, unexpectedly, ended up a pretty late night at our house and a number of bottles of wine later - a couple of tiddly girls!

The kids had fun leaping off the rocks and plummeting into the water six feet below.

New Years Eve

This picture was taken back in 1912

New Years Eve started around at a friends place where each year they entertain the kids with lots of sparklers and fireworks. We should point out that fireworks are freely available here and you can buy almost anything you like all year round. Some single rockets costing hundreds of dollars, depending on how much you want to spend and how big a bang you want. There are surprising few injuries though. Having said that, it brought back memories of last Xmas and New Year when there were quite a few rogue fireworks - one that turned 180degrees and got someone in the shorts; one massive multiple one that fell over after the first one went off and shot the rest horizontally in all directions around the backyard causing people to dive left right and centre; and another lot that shot in the wrong direction resulting in one adult doing a spectacular dive acress in front of the kids to ensure they didn't get hurt. Many of us stood far back and behind trees with trepidation but this year they seemed to behave. It gets dark here at about 6:30 in the winter so you don't have to stay up late when you are having fireworks so the little kids get to enjoy them without staying up too late either. The sparklers were a hit as usual.

After that is was around to Russ and Tonya's for a New Years Eve Beach party. Three were about 60 or so people at their party with another two parties just next door. There was a heap of food as well as drink, good music and good company.

They had a massive bonfire and more fireworks and everyone had a blast. This was the first time we had New Year's on the beach - it was absolutely brilliant. Many others do the same so you get to enjoy loads of fireworks and the atmosphere is great! We'll definitely do that again!

The boys doing what boys do!

The girls doing what girls do!

Our awesome hosts

New Year's Day

So, here we are. Unconscious. It's 10 am on New Years Day. Not a peep in the house. Dave wakes and feels a bit peckish. He stumbles to the kitchen, rummages around and comes up with Bacon, Eggs, Mushrooms and toast for six people. The hangovers were soon a thing of the past and off we went, chilly bin and blender in hand and arrived back at Governor's beach. The venue for the Annual New Year's Day gathering.

Dave managed to scrounge up a Speights for his first (daylight) beer of 2012.

We chose our spot and set up the umbrellas, chairs, tables, chilly bins, cookers and last but not least...blender and generator.

The food was cooking, the beers were soon flowing again and before long the blender was grinding away making another batch of Mudslides. We had a fantastic day with a great (huge in fact) group of friends. What a way to start the New Year!

The numbers grow...

Mick's School of Mud is back in operation

Love those mudslides....

Well, that's about it for the December issue.

Hopefully January will bring us a little more exercise and a little less partying (although that is doubtful).

Grandad and Val are here for another week. There's the start of the Gaelic season and a few other things going on so we should have some newsworthy stuff for you.

For the rest of the Xmas and New Year pics, click on this link:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150439911503602.359205.766998601&type=1&l=03d959012b