Happy New Year everybody!
We trust you all had a good time celebrating the New Year and should be well and truly over any lasting ill-effects.
Well, a month of the year has gone already. Isn't time fun when you're having flies!
The kids are back at school. The sporting front continues to be hectic. The weather has been cool(ish!) but all is good here with us. Read on to see what's been happening in our little part of the world during January.
A Pelican with two Chicks at Rum Point
School
The kids started back bright and early in the New Year with their first day being 4 Jan. School life seems to be as busy as ever and the kids are enjoying it too which is quite important really.
Their year so far has been quite social as well. They've already been to about five birthday parties!
The kids started back bright and early in the New Year with their first day being 4 Jan. School life seems to be as busy as ever and the kids are enjoying it too which is quite important really.
Their year so far has been quite social as well. They've already been to about five birthday parties!
A surf party... as you do.
Gaelic Football Tournament
As Michelle was still out of action, Dave decided to have a go at this odd-looking game of Gaelic origins. For those who don’t know too much about the game, it’s a bit like Aussie rules, but with a round ball. They use Rugby-like goal posts with a net in the bottom part of the “H”. Three points for a goal in the net. One point for a goal between the uprights.
A social tournament was held in January, mainly to attract new players to the league. Dave was recruited into a team (with bright orange shirts) that had a few ‘real’ players and some newcomers. The first game was a bit messy as those new to the game were a little lost on the pitch as the opposition ran circles around them. That game was lost, but not by much. The next game was much better with the team doing most things well. They actually won that game much to the delight of the support crew! The third game was a close affair with the good guys narrowly missing out on a place in the finals. But the games were a lot of fun and Dave has now joined the winter league which plays every second Sunday at the Rugby club.
Gaelic Football League
The first day of the League. A disastrous start. They were 7 – 0 after about three minutes but clawed their way back to miss the result by two points. The second game of the day was much better with the team starting to gel a bit better. They came away with a good win, 7 – 3.
Two weeks later they only had the one game and didn’t manage to get enough points for the win, finally going down about 12 – 7. Dave took a bit of a battering during the game and spent some time lying in a crumpled heap on the ground after an aerial collision and being winded by one of his own players. He didn’t think he was playing that bad!
Jake’s Birthday
Take turned Seven this month and to celebrate we took him to the “Brick House” for dinner where there is a skateboard park, surf park and plenty room for the kids to hoon around on skateboards, scooters, rip sticks whatever else gets them around while the adults enjoyed a few drinks while the band played.
The next day was his ‘Party’ day. 10 kids at the bowling alley. Cayman has a brand new 10 Pin Bowling place so we thought we’d check that out. The kids had a ball, although Jake did manage to bash himself on the leg with the bowling ball as he prepared for the big one. Lucky he didn’t drop it on his foot!
After that the tribe was transported back to our house where they ran riot around the place. At one stage they were all on the trampoline having an all-in wrestling fight. No injuries sustained though. They were finally rounded up and sat down for the food and the cake. All of them managed to make pigs of themselves, as boys do and all went away with very full tummies. Jake had a great day and slept well that night.
Michelle and Dave let out a collective sigh of relief as the last kid walked out the door.
Shaking News! Earthquake – 19 Jan
Yes, about a week after the Haiti Earthquake, Cayman got one of its own… We wanted to include this article from one of the local newspapers for your reading pleasure. Those in Wellington or places where earthquakes are relatively common should get a wee chuckle from this!
A magnitude-5.8 earthquake was felt all around Grand Cayman – as well as other areas in the Caribbean - at 9.23am Tuesday. According to officials with Hazard Management Cayman Islands, the quake struck about 32 miles east-southeast of Bodden Town at a depth of 6.2 miles.
According to all reports, the quake lasted no more than 10 to 15 seconds.
Hazard Management Cayman Islands Deputy Director Omar Afflick said there were no tsunamis expected in the wake of the earthquake.
“We experienced, at the very least, a tremor,” said local meteorologist John Tibbetts, just minutes after the quake.
Mr. Afflick said several government buildings were evacuated immediately following the earthquake, including some schools. There were no reports of major damage to buildings, although phone lines were not functioning across Grand Cayman for a brief time.
David Archbold, managing director of the Information and Communication Technology Authority said he had spoken to both Digicel and LIME. Both companies reported no technical problems.
“There (is) local congestion in some areas on mobile circuits, but there were no problems with the land lines,” he said. “Because LIME has more infrastructure, they are still checking their lines and equipment but they have had no alarms no reports of any problems.”
At 10am Tuesday, Director of Hazard Management Cayman Islands, McCleary Frederick, said that residents could return to offices and homes.
“Obviously in light of what has happened in Haiti, our residents are very sensitive to this type of occurrence,” Mr. Frederick said. “We are fortunate that the Cayman Islands appear to have come through unscathed, but it is reminder for everyone that they need to know how to respond during an earthquake. In particular it is important to duck under a strong piece of furniture, or at least protect the head with (your) arms. “
The Cayman Islands 911 Emergency Centre received a number of calls in the immediate aftermath of the quake, but most were questions about whether or not an earthquake had hit or queries about why phone lines were down. There were no reports of injuries.
Damage report
What appeared to be the most severe damage from the quake occurred in South Sound, as a large sinkhole opened up at the waterfront apartments of Pirates Lair on South Sound Road.
The sinkhole, about 20 feet in diameter, opened outside the apartments shortly after the earthquake struck.
The family against whose property the sinkhole lies were evacuating the premises on Tuesday morning.
No cracks were evident in the adjacent building, but the family said they were moving out as a precaution because they had young children. Residents of the condo complex rushed home from their workplaces as they were informed of the sinkhole and the area was being cordoned off.
In the Cricket Square office complex, located in central George Town, office workers were shaken up.
“It was so scary I could not believe what was happening, considering what has happened in Haiti,” said Abigail Thompson, who works at UBS. Other office buildings in George Town, closed down following the quake’s impact.
In Bodden Town, there were no obvious signs of damage. However, people there most certainly felt the tremor. Meddie Connor was behind the counter at the Texaco in Bodden Town when the tremor hit.
“Usually when a big truck goes past, it shakes the building, so I looked around and there was no truck. So I turned to my co-worker and said ‘let’s go’,” she said. They ran out of the shop into the open, but by that time it was all over. The only damage was two cans that fell from the shelf.
Shaun Donn was at home when the shaking started. “It was heavy, man! I ran out of the house in my underpants – I didn’t have time to put on my clothes,” he said. According to Mr. Donn, the only thing that happened to his home was that his roll-on deodorant fell off the shelf.
In West Bay, home owner Carroll Yates was in Foster’s Food Fair by the Strand at around 9:30am.
Mrs. Yates said it was a traumatic experience. “A woman shouted to get out because it was an earthquake,” Mrs. Yates said. “The store manager told people to get out of the building. “I even saw a woman come out of the store clutching her heart and another woman grab her family and say “’let’s pray’.”
“It all happened so fast I didn’t have time to be scared. It was a good thing it was fairly empty in the store, else people could have been trampled on.” Upon returning to her North West Point Road home, Mrs. Yates stated there was no damage to her premises or surrounding property.
Meanwhile, on West Bay Road part-time labourer Kenrick Whittaker witnessed some of the after-effects of the tremor. “My uncle shook when he was talking to my co-worker,” Whittaker said. “People on West Bay Road, round by Cayman Reef, ran out of buildings wondering what happened. “
North Side residents seemed to feel the effects of the quake less, and in Cayman Brac, hardly any effects were reported. “All I felt was a shake. The toothbrushes rattled, but that was about it,” said Sheena Ebanks, who works at Chisholm’s market in North Side.
“We felt it. It was just for a few seconds and that was it. The glasses weren’t even rattling,” said Willmers Bush, bartender at Over the Edge in North Side.
Dive Report
Michelle and Dave both had their first dives of 2010 last weekend. We’re not sure if we should tell you about them or not! A few minor incidents to report mayhaps.
Michelle went out on Saturday while Dave was at the rugby club with the kids. It was her first dive after about a four month break trying to get her knee back. The pre-dive preparations went well, apart from Michelle donning her wetsuit and finding that the zip at the front should actually have been at the back. Woops! Try again. All set! “Don’t let me forget the camera” she was heard to say. The group entered the water and swam out about 50 metres to where they planned to drop down for the dive.
“Bother!” (or words to that effect) came from Michelle. Forgot the camera. Back she swims while the others float about waiting. While getting the camera, she remembers that she hadn’t taken the Dive Computer with her, so she grabbed that as well and then rejoined the patiently waiting group to resume the dive.
Off they went. Hmmmm… forgot to start the computer. At about 50 feet, it didn’t want to be started so Michelle carried on without it. As it was a relatively shallow shore dive, it wasn't vital that she used it anyway. But after all of that, the dive went well with no more issues of note.
Dave’s Turn
At a farewell BBQ/drinks party on Sunday, the departing lad decided he’d like to do one last dive in Cayman on the Monday (which was a public Holiday – Heroes Day). Dave decided to go along. Once they finally decided when and where they were going, they met at Sunset House when there were going to be picked up by one of the guys with a boat. Dave and the other two where sitting there waiting when they got a call saying that the boat’s two fuel tanks were empty so there would be a small delay. The three exchanged glances and headed for the restaurant for a coffee. Boat arrives and they head off to get some tanks from the Dive shop.
The Dive shop dude spies the boat floating out the front and sends someone down to move him on, as boats aren’t allowed in the area.
“It’s OK, he’s just picking us up” one of the group says.
“What! Well, you can’t take our tanks away on a boat and he’s not allowed to dock here.”
Hmmmmm…. Quick phone call to said boat owner (who is Caymanian by the way).
“Don’t worry boys, I’ll sort it out.” He says.
About five minutes later, the Dive Shop dude comes out and apologises and says we can take the tanks… although it’s against company policy etc etc. Our ‘man’ had called the owner of the Dive shop and, as he was a major client of theirs, had the rules bent.
The next mission was to actually get on the boat, as there was quite a big swell going on, and the boat kept stalling when idling, which wasn’t flash given the rocks and the like there. The tanks etc were eventually loaded and Dave was last to get on. He threw his jandals down into the boat, but one bounced and disappeared over the side. Dave got in the boat and they backed back out before the boat stalled again. Dave had to dive in and swim back to retrieve the jandal, all under the watchful eye of the Dive shop dude who was also shaking his head at these clowns trying to get on the rocking boat.
Finally they head out to the dive sight. The mooring buoy was missing so they had to tie up off a big oil tanker mooring, which was about the size of the boat they were in. That done, they prepared for the dive while being rocked about in the big swell in a small boat. Dave then realizes that he doesn’t have any dive weights (??!!), but luckily there were a couple of spares he could use on board the boat.
This time! Off they go and complete the dive. It was a wreck dive but the depth of the wreck goes to 270 feet. Given the way things had gone so far, they decided not to go that far. The deepest anyone got was about 160 feet. They also got passed by a submarine full of tourists while they were down there.
Back on board the boat, there were moor (or should that be 'more') problems trying to get the rope off the mooring in the rough sea. Finally done. It was then too rough to get back into Sunset House but they managed to get close enough for one of the guys to scramble ashore. The plan was for him to drive down to the “Lobster Pot” where it was more protected and easier to dock. They would then drive back to Sunset House to return the tanks. This was all done without further incident but they wonder what type of reception they’ll get next time they dive from Sunset House…
Next Month:
AA Cup Competition Starts
Ruggerfest – Ft Lauderdale
New Year
Our New Years Eve was spent at a pool party at a friend's place. There were around 30 or so people with the kids running riot everywhere while the adults lazed about by the pool and kept the fluids up. The spit roast pig (which was looked after throughout the afternoon by three Filipinos and a case of beer) was demolished for dinner and the party carried on into the night... and part of the following year.
We elected to stay the night there and woke with bleary eyes, bad hair and fuzzy heads to a cooked breakfast which was pretty good.
The tradition here is for everyone to meet at the beach in the early afternoon of New Year's Day. So off home we went to change and re-stock the supplies for the next episode. Our group gathered with Chilly Bins, Eskis, Cooler Boxes and the like at a spot near the water on Governor's beach, and there we sat for the next few hours trying to get rid of hangovers and working on the next one.
As the 'Big' people sat in their beach chairs and hid behind their sunglasses, all the kids spent the day running about or swimming and eventually,at the end of the day we finally packed everything up in the dark and headed home for an early night.
SPORT
Rugby
Under 25 v Over 25’s
2 Jan saw the first game of the Cayman Rugby calendar for 2010. A lot of students were back home for the Xmas holidays and they challenged the rest of the club to a game. As expected there were several people feeling the effects of Xmas and several New Year parties, but the game kicked off on time (well, almost).
2 Jan saw the first game of the Cayman Rugby calendar for 2010. A lot of students were back home for the Xmas holidays and they challenged the rest of the club to a game. As expected there were several people feeling the effects of Xmas and several New Year parties, but the game kicked off on time (well, almost).
The younger team seemed a little more spritely early on in the game scoring two tries in the first half. The Over 25's got moving in the second half and returned the favour closing the gap to a couple of points. Then, late in the game, the oldies broke through and scored out wide. The kick was missed but they were in the lead with only minutes to go. But in rugby, a minute can be a long time and as the oldies tried to close out the game, the ball was spilled and one of the whippets scooped it up and put his supporting winger away for the winning try. Still, it was a good game and the crowd were kept entertained throughout.
Layola and the Heineken Trophy
The following weekend, a team from Layola University (California maybe?) visited to play against the Cayman Under 25 side. Before that game the winners of last year's local competition played the runner-up for the Heineken Trophy (and 20 dozen Heineken).
As Dave was 'just' outside the age cut-off he left his boots in the car and was roped into videoing the two matches while another guy did the running commentary.
So, up they got on the scaffolding with tri-pod, microphone and ice buckets filled with Heinekens. The filming was apparently successful, as was the commentary although by the end of the second game, some of the camera work was lagging a little, the commentary maybe a little slurred and several buckets lay empty. But it will be aired on Cayman TV's soon to released Rugby Channel in the near future.
Gaelic Football Tournament
As Michelle was still out of action, Dave decided to have a go at this odd-looking game of Gaelic origins. For those who don’t know too much about the game, it’s a bit like Aussie rules, but with a round ball. They use Rugby-like goal posts with a net in the bottom part of the “H”. Three points for a goal in the net. One point for a goal between the uprights.
A social tournament was held in January, mainly to attract new players to the league. Dave was recruited into a team (with bright orange shirts) that had a few ‘real’ players and some newcomers. The first game was a bit messy as those new to the game were a little lost on the pitch as the opposition ran circles around them. That game was lost, but not by much. The next game was much better with the team doing most things well. They actually won that game much to the delight of the support crew! The third game was a close affair with the good guys narrowly missing out on a place in the finals. But the games were a lot of fun and Dave has now joined the winter league which plays every second Sunday at the Rugby club.
Gaelic Football League
The first day of the League. A disastrous start. They were 7 – 0 after about three minutes but clawed their way back to miss the result by two points. The second game of the day was much better with the team starting to gel a bit better. They came away with a good win, 7 – 3.
Two weeks later they only had the one game and didn’t manage to get enough points for the win, finally going down about 12 – 7. Dave took a bit of a battering during the game and spent some time lying in a crumpled heap on the ground after an aerial collision and being winded by one of his own players. He didn’t think he was playing that bad!
Year 1 & 2 Sports Day
Jake and co. had their School Sports Day last Saturday. They had sprint races, bean bag & sack races and some relays as well. Jake did pretty well coming home with three Second placings so he was pretty happy about that.
Swim Sprint Meet
Saturday was a busy day for Jake as that afternoon was the Swim Sprint Meet. The first of the year. Both Sam and Jake entered four races each (Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Freestyle).
The ages for this meet were grouped in pairs i.e. 7 & 8 year olds swam together, as did 9 & 10 year olds. This wasn't good news for Sam and Jake who had both just recently had birthdays and had already gone up a level. Anyway, they would have to swim pretty good to take home any medals at this meet.
In the end they didn't do too bad and both came in with a couple of thirds each in their heats. We await the official results to see whether their times were good enough for a medal though.
Jake’s Birthday
Take turned Seven this month and to celebrate we took him to the “Brick House” for dinner where there is a skateboard park, surf park and plenty room for the kids to hoon around on skateboards, scooters, rip sticks whatever else gets them around while the adults enjoyed a few drinks while the band played.
The next day was his ‘Party’ day. 10 kids at the bowling alley. Cayman has a brand new 10 Pin Bowling place so we thought we’d check that out. The kids had a ball, although Jake did manage to bash himself on the leg with the bowling ball as he prepared for the big one. Lucky he didn’t drop it on his foot!
After that the tribe was transported back to our house where they ran riot around the place. At one stage they were all on the trampoline having an all-in wrestling fight. No injuries sustained though. They were finally rounded up and sat down for the food and the cake. All of them managed to make pigs of themselves, as boys do and all went away with very full tummies. Jake had a great day and slept well that night.
Michelle and Dave let out a collective sigh of relief as the last kid walked out the door.
"Go!"
More pics of early 2010:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=135944&id=766998601&l=da5db89bbe
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=135944&id=766998601&l=da5db89bbe
Weather Report
The (almost) coldest day in Cayman history happened on or around 10/11 Jan. For those that had lived here for more than a week, the weather was noticeably colder than normal. Where a balmy 25 – 28 (Celsius) is the norm over winter, we recorded 19 degrees, which was chilled a little further from the wind.
People weren’t exactly being frozen in their stranded cars or loosing limbs through frostbite, but there were people scuttling about in jackets and scarves and long coats and the like… and even the odd woolly hat! The tourists off the cruise ships were even wrapped up, which is saying something.
However, it wasn’t the coldest day in Cayman history. That honour goes to the cold snap of 1958 which I’m sure you will all recall. They had 16 that day apparently.
The (almost) coldest day in Cayman history happened on or around 10/11 Jan. For those that had lived here for more than a week, the weather was noticeably colder than normal. Where a balmy 25 – 28 (Celsius) is the norm over winter, we recorded 19 degrees, which was chilled a little further from the wind.
People weren’t exactly being frozen in their stranded cars or loosing limbs through frostbite, but there were people scuttling about in jackets and scarves and long coats and the like… and even the odd woolly hat! The tourists off the cruise ships were even wrapped up, which is saying something.
However, it wasn’t the coldest day in Cayman history. That honour goes to the cold snap of 1958 which I’m sure you will all recall. They had 16 that day apparently.
Shaking News! Earthquake – 19 Jan
Yes, about a week after the Haiti Earthquake, Cayman got one of its own… We wanted to include this article from one of the local newspapers for your reading pleasure. Those in Wellington or places where earthquakes are relatively common should get a wee chuckle from this!
A magnitude-5.8 earthquake was felt all around Grand Cayman – as well as other areas in the Caribbean - at 9.23am Tuesday. According to officials with Hazard Management Cayman Islands, the quake struck about 32 miles east-southeast of Bodden Town at a depth of 6.2 miles.
According to all reports, the quake lasted no more than 10 to 15 seconds.
Hazard Management Cayman Islands Deputy Director Omar Afflick said there were no tsunamis expected in the wake of the earthquake.
“We experienced, at the very least, a tremor,” said local meteorologist John Tibbetts, just minutes after the quake.
Mr. Afflick said several government buildings were evacuated immediately following the earthquake, including some schools. There were no reports of major damage to buildings, although phone lines were not functioning across Grand Cayman for a brief time.
David Archbold, managing director of the Information and Communication Technology Authority said he had spoken to both Digicel and LIME. Both companies reported no technical problems.
“There (is) local congestion in some areas on mobile circuits, but there were no problems with the land lines,” he said. “Because LIME has more infrastructure, they are still checking their lines and equipment but they have had no alarms no reports of any problems.”
At 10am Tuesday, Director of Hazard Management Cayman Islands, McCleary Frederick, said that residents could return to offices and homes.
“Obviously in light of what has happened in Haiti, our residents are very sensitive to this type of occurrence,” Mr. Frederick said. “We are fortunate that the Cayman Islands appear to have come through unscathed, but it is reminder for everyone that they need to know how to respond during an earthquake. In particular it is important to duck under a strong piece of furniture, or at least protect the head with (your) arms. “
The Cayman Islands 911 Emergency Centre received a number of calls in the immediate aftermath of the quake, but most were questions about whether or not an earthquake had hit or queries about why phone lines were down. There were no reports of injuries.
Damage report
What appeared to be the most severe damage from the quake occurred in South Sound, as a large sinkhole opened up at the waterfront apartments of Pirates Lair on South Sound Road.
The sinkhole, about 20 feet in diameter, opened outside the apartments shortly after the earthquake struck.
The family against whose property the sinkhole lies were evacuating the premises on Tuesday morning.
No cracks were evident in the adjacent building, but the family said they were moving out as a precaution because they had young children. Residents of the condo complex rushed home from their workplaces as they were informed of the sinkhole and the area was being cordoned off.
In the Cricket Square office complex, located in central George Town, office workers were shaken up.
“It was so scary I could not believe what was happening, considering what has happened in Haiti,” said Abigail Thompson, who works at UBS. Other office buildings in George Town, closed down following the quake’s impact.
In Bodden Town, there were no obvious signs of damage. However, people there most certainly felt the tremor. Meddie Connor was behind the counter at the Texaco in Bodden Town when the tremor hit.
“Usually when a big truck goes past, it shakes the building, so I looked around and there was no truck. So I turned to my co-worker and said ‘let’s go’,” she said. They ran out of the shop into the open, but by that time it was all over. The only damage was two cans that fell from the shelf.
Shaun Donn was at home when the shaking started. “It was heavy, man! I ran out of the house in my underpants – I didn’t have time to put on my clothes,” he said. According to Mr. Donn, the only thing that happened to his home was that his roll-on deodorant fell off the shelf.
In West Bay, home owner Carroll Yates was in Foster’s Food Fair by the Strand at around 9:30am.
Mrs. Yates said it was a traumatic experience. “A woman shouted to get out because it was an earthquake,” Mrs. Yates said. “The store manager told people to get out of the building. “I even saw a woman come out of the store clutching her heart and another woman grab her family and say “’let’s pray’.”
“It all happened so fast I didn’t have time to be scared. It was a good thing it was fairly empty in the store, else people could have been trampled on.” Upon returning to her North West Point Road home, Mrs. Yates stated there was no damage to her premises or surrounding property.
Meanwhile, on West Bay Road part-time labourer Kenrick Whittaker witnessed some of the after-effects of the tremor. “My uncle shook when he was talking to my co-worker,” Whittaker said. “People on West Bay Road, round by Cayman Reef, ran out of buildings wondering what happened. “
North Side residents seemed to feel the effects of the quake less, and in Cayman Brac, hardly any effects were reported. “All I felt was a shake. The toothbrushes rattled, but that was about it,” said Sheena Ebanks, who works at Chisholm’s market in North Side.
“We felt it. It was just for a few seconds and that was it. The glasses weren’t even rattling,” said Willmers Bush, bartender at Over the Edge in North Side.
This was typical of Michelle's experience at her work - while she continued her conversation with a colleague, there were lots of people running for the glass front doors, only to be stuck there in a panic when they wouldn't open in the "emergency". They were all requested to leave the building (via more glass doors, but admittedly after the shaking had passed) and gather in the assigned assembly area over the road. However, once out of the building everyone proceeded to stand in the carpark right next to the building, until they were told to reenter. There were lots of very shaky people returning to the office and not a lot of work done for the rest of the day!
Dive Report
Michelle and Dave both had their first dives of 2010 last weekend. We’re not sure if we should tell you about them or not! A few minor incidents to report mayhaps.
Michelle went out on Saturday while Dave was at the rugby club with the kids. It was her first dive after about a four month break trying to get her knee back. The pre-dive preparations went well, apart from Michelle donning her wetsuit and finding that the zip at the front should actually have been at the back. Woops! Try again. All set! “Don’t let me forget the camera” she was heard to say. The group entered the water and swam out about 50 metres to where they planned to drop down for the dive.
“Bother!” (or words to that effect) came from Michelle. Forgot the camera. Back she swims while the others float about waiting. While getting the camera, she remembers that she hadn’t taken the Dive Computer with her, so she grabbed that as well and then rejoined the patiently waiting group to resume the dive.
Off they went. Hmmmm… forgot to start the computer. At about 50 feet, it didn’t want to be started so Michelle carried on without it. As it was a relatively shallow shore dive, it wasn't vital that she used it anyway. But after all of that, the dive went well with no more issues of note.
Dave’s Turn
At a farewell BBQ/drinks party on Sunday, the departing lad decided he’d like to do one last dive in Cayman on the Monday (which was a public Holiday – Heroes Day). Dave decided to go along. Once they finally decided when and where they were going, they met at Sunset House when there were going to be picked up by one of the guys with a boat. Dave and the other two where sitting there waiting when they got a call saying that the boat’s two fuel tanks were empty so there would be a small delay. The three exchanged glances and headed for the restaurant for a coffee. Boat arrives and they head off to get some tanks from the Dive shop.
The Dive shop dude spies the boat floating out the front and sends someone down to move him on, as boats aren’t allowed in the area.
“It’s OK, he’s just picking us up” one of the group says.
“What! Well, you can’t take our tanks away on a boat and he’s not allowed to dock here.”
Hmmmmm…. Quick phone call to said boat owner (who is Caymanian by the way).
“Don’t worry boys, I’ll sort it out.” He says.
About five minutes later, the Dive Shop dude comes out and apologises and says we can take the tanks… although it’s against company policy etc etc. Our ‘man’ had called the owner of the Dive shop and, as he was a major client of theirs, had the rules bent.
The next mission was to actually get on the boat, as there was quite a big swell going on, and the boat kept stalling when idling, which wasn’t flash given the rocks and the like there. The tanks etc were eventually loaded and Dave was last to get on. He threw his jandals down into the boat, but one bounced and disappeared over the side. Dave got in the boat and they backed back out before the boat stalled again. Dave had to dive in and swim back to retrieve the jandal, all under the watchful eye of the Dive shop dude who was also shaking his head at these clowns trying to get on the rocking boat.
Finally they head out to the dive sight. The mooring buoy was missing so they had to tie up off a big oil tanker mooring, which was about the size of the boat they were in. That done, they prepared for the dive while being rocked about in the big swell in a small boat. Dave then realizes that he doesn’t have any dive weights (??!!), but luckily there were a couple of spares he could use on board the boat.
This time! Off they go and complete the dive. It was a wreck dive but the depth of the wreck goes to 270 feet. Given the way things had gone so far, they decided not to go that far. The deepest anyone got was about 160 feet. They also got passed by a submarine full of tourists while they were down there.
Back on board the boat, there were moor (or should that be 'more') problems trying to get the rope off the mooring in the rough sea. Finally done. It was then too rough to get back into Sunset House but they managed to get close enough for one of the guys to scramble ashore. The plan was for him to drive down to the “Lobster Pot” where it was more protected and easier to dock. They would then drive back to Sunset House to return the tanks. This was all done without further incident but they wonder what type of reception they’ll get next time they dive from Sunset House…
More Diving pics from 2010:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=141009&id=766998601&l=cc10c479bf
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=141009&id=766998601&l=cc10c479bf
Next Month:
AA Cup Competition Starts
Sam's Sports Day
Ruggerfest – Ft Lauderdale
Swim Meet
And......and.... other stuff!
