The Quick March

. March 2011 .

Hello again!

Well, March really was a quick one. Busy at work and just as busy on the weekends! Apologies for the delay in getting this out. We've just moved house and the internet was off for a couple of days. More on the house move in April's blockbuster edition.

What have we got for you this month? Well, we have a some Rugby, some Multi-sports, some Swimming, and some time at the beach.

Without holding you up any longer, get into it!

(psssst! Don't forget that you can click on the pictures to view them in full size)


Multi Sport

We'll call it multi-sport because it sounds much cooler than a Duathlon. The other weekend a Duathlon was held here on island. Michelle had been doing a bit of training building up for it, Dave had been doing a little bit of running, but just for general fitness.
Michelle was entered in the event and Dave was looking forward to a wee Sunday sleep in. But that didn't happen and he got roped into a team with a Mate (Mick) who was going to do the 12 mile bike leg and was looking for a runner. Dave joined up to do the two 2-mile running legs.

Mick & Dave - Team "Speight's Mates"

Up early on the Sunday morning with a car full of kids and bikes to get numbered up for the race. Mick's wife was also in the race. She was going to be running with another friend of hers doing the bike. In the teams race it was Boys vs Girls. And in the overall scheme of things it was Michelle against everyone. Start time arrived and off they went, Dave coming in a minute or so ahead on Michelle on the first run leg. Dave then rested while Mick did the bike leg on his trusty mountain bike. Meanwhile Michelle jumped on her flash bike and headed out on the bike leg. She came in about three minutes ahead of Mick and then went off for her final run leg. The Mountain bike probably wasn't the best option in this race, but never mind. He put in a pretty good effort all the same. Dave took off a few minutes behind Michelle in hot pursuit, but she was too good,beating the boys by a good minute or so. And yes, the girls team beat them as well...

Not sure if she's happy to be finished or laughing
because she beat Mick & Dave...

Rugby

You may recall that Dave's team, the Iguanas were looking good to win the domestic rugby competition, as long as they continued to win.
It all came down to the final weekend with three teams having a possible chance of taking out the Alex Alexander Memorial Trophy. The Iguanas won it in 2010 and were looking to be the first team to retain the trophy for a second year running in many years.
Their last game was against their nemesis, the Cayman Storm - yes, the ones in that horrible yellow and red strip. It was a fairly torrid affair on yet another blistering hot day, however the Iguanas stuck to their game plan and remained in control for the majority of the match. However in the last 10 minutes they began to tire a little and gave away a couple of yellow cards. The Storm pounced on the opportunity and managed to even the scores right on the full time whistle. This sent people scurrying to check out the previous results and also the 'for and against' records.


It so happened that with the draw the Storm dropped to Third place and the Buccaneers, who had thrashed the Pigs earlier in the day by 40 odd points were promoted to First Equal with the Iguanas. But the good old Iguanas came through with their superior points differential (of exactly 50 points) and took away the silverware (again!).
Miss Cayman appeared (again) and presented the trophy to the very happy Iguanas who celebrated in the customary fashion...

The guy on his knees near the Heineken Box is holding the trophy.

Impressive isn't it.

Miss Cayman jumps in for a photo opportunity with the Iguanas.

So, now the Iguanas go straight into the final for the last trophy of the 2011 domestic season - The Waterford Vase. The Vase is a straight knockout with the league's 2nd and 3rd place getters playing off to see who faces the league champions (Iguanas!) in the final.

Last weekend the Buccaneers and the Storm faced off with the Buccaneers coming through in the end.

Can the Iguanas do the double in 2011 or will the Buccs come through and claim a trophy for their efforts in the season? They have both beaten each other this year so who will come out on top? We'll let you know in April's edition.

See free coverage of all games on www.caymanrugbytv.com

Also, see highlight packages on http://www.facebook.com/caymanrugbytv

Dave's Birthday Beach Day

Yep, Dave had a birthday in March and since it was a Sunday,decided to spend the day at the beach with friends.

Usual story, a few beers, kids running and splashing about. Nice and relaxing...

One of our friends took a few pictures and made this:

Jake and Tommy trying show how cold it is here.... Convinced? Didn't think so.

One mile relay
Michelle's work decided to enter a team in the Annual One-Mile relay. They needed one more runner so Dave joined them.

It had been a very rainy afternoon, but the sky cleared just before the race. There were still lots of puddles lying about and on the route there were plenty of large pools to avoid.
They didn't win but had fun in the race and all did pretty good times.

Dave and one of the other guys each won a spot prize. Dave's was a Voucher to a Thai place and Dave was looking forward to a nice dinner there. That was until he found out that the Thai place was a beauty spa...

St Paddies Day Irish Jog

The Annual St Paddies Day Irish Jog is held here every year. Apparently it's been going for 19 years in Cayman and is the single biggest event on the running event calender participant-wise.

Sam and Dave did it this year. Michelle had planned to but got held up at work. Jake managed to get in with the organisers and got to ride around the course on a Golf cart.

It was another warm one, starting off at 5:30 pm. Dave clocked 25 minutes for his run and Sam bimbled in a bit later after a very social-looking jog/stroll with one of her friends.

Hundreds queue for Dave's autograph at the finish

Others want to have their picture taken with the man himself

Sam and Sammi - looking like they did it easy

Aaaaarrrggghhhh!!!! More Gold & Silver...

There was a fairly major swim meet here in March. It was a three day event with both Sam and Jake racing on all three days. They both did really well, with personal bests in almost all of their races and a fair swag of medals to boot!

Jake placed or won in all of his events and also took away the 'High Points Award' for his age group for the meet. Sam also placed or won most of her races and was a close second for the 'High points Award'.

!

Winners are grinners!

Plenty of loot from this meet...

Ash Wednesday at the Beach

Ash Wednesday is a public holiday in Cayman. So, after a wee sleep in, of we go to brunch with the kids and then head on out to Spotts Beach. We hadn't been to Spotts before so it was nice to check out a different beach for a change. The usual suspects turned up and we enjoyed a day of sun, snorkelling and time with friends as well as a couple of beers and a bit of a BBQ which is always good!

Getting some Air Time off Spotts Dock

Some of the crew at Spotts

What's he flying?

Oh, just another pink elephant...

For more photos from our recent happenings, click on this link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=265678&id=766998601&l=6623c6d621

Next Month

House Move

Rugby (for a change!)

Swimming (for something different)

Travel Report (where are they going now!!!???)

Issue # 42 - The February Philes

. February 2011 .

Hi everyone, Welcome to our February 2011 issue.

Firstly we just wanted to pass on our thoughts and best wishes to those friends and family in Christchurch as well as those who have friends and family there. We watched in disbelief as the news coverage of the earthquake made it's way over here to us. There are a number of Kiwis here and they have been watching events unfold from a distance.
We were touched by the amount of support and concern offered by people here just because we are from NZ. But it's always nice to know that people still care.
Moving right along, this is possibly the last thing people in Christchurch want to look at just now, unless you are planning on taking a break and heading over here (and you are always welcome!). But the Blog must go on.
Be strong.

Enjoy the read!

Island Air Party
Early in the month it was our turn to head out and rub shoulders with the rich and famous. Okay, we didn't see anyone famous, and didn't know anyone rich, but we rubbed shoulders with a bunch of people at the annual Island Air Party at the Airport here in Cayman. One of the guys in Dave's rugby team runs a business that caters for the Jet-set crowd and this was a party to display some of fineries of life.

Miss Cayman begs us for a photo opportunity...

They had a number of their private jets (see photo at the top) as well as some luxury cars, boats and motorbikes. Some fine fashion and jewelry were also on display. They also had enough Verve to sink a ship and enough rum to sink a couple...of ships. If you wanted you could buy a 1/32nd share in a Private Jet. Dave didn't have his wallet, so maybe next time...

Fortunately the keys weren't in it....

Slow down!

Come in, take a load off...

Right, found the keys. And we're off!!

Had to be really...

So yes, one of the biggest parties of the year. And it's only February! We had a great night. There were a number of sore heads the next day - being a Saturday. Rugby and all that...

More pics from the Island Air Party:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=265153&id=766998601&l=676692df0c




Kittiwake Dive
As promised, here we have some pics from the Kittiwake Dive. The Kittiwake is an ex US Navy Submarine Rescue Boat that was recently sunk off Seven Mile Beach here in Grand Cayman. As the deepest point it sits (still upright) on a sandy bottom at around 60 feet. The Crows Nest sits at about 10 feet below the surface and is accessible by snorkelers.

Ironing. As you do...

We went out on a mate's boat one Sunday to check it out. It is almost like exploring a normal ship on the surface, as it has only been in the water a month. A lot of the fittings are still there and not many fish have moved in as yet, although Michelle nearly had kittens when she shone the torch into a dark recess and saw a massive Jew Fish. It's body was as wide as an average person and about as long as Sam, and in the darkness, looked pretty menacing! She sure turned around fast!

It was a very nice dive with so many places to explore. It will only get even better as more sea life move in and claim it as home.

Inside the Decompression Chamber inside the ship
"So, Liz, when are you coming over?"

Lookout! Iceberg!!!!!

More Kittiwake Dive pics:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=265679&id=766998601&l=7913b6e0fb


School Sports Day
Sports day again and the kids head off for their annual athletics day. Dave was Coaching Rugby and couldn't make it but Michelle fronted and watched the events as they unfolded. Both Sam and Jake did pretty well, getting several firsts, seconds and thirds between them.

Focused....

Even Michelle got roped into a parents team

Touch Rugby
No, the summer touch league hasn't started just yet. But there is always some social touch going on somewhere. Michelle is back into it having recovered from her knee injury.



Running
For someone who hates running. Michelle seems to be doing quite a lot of it lately. The Cross Island Relay was held the other weekend. Michelle was part of a girls team that did pretty well. They came in third womens team in a fairly respectable time. Each leg was 4 miles (approximately 6.5km), and there were six in each team.
Michelle had the last leg (no pressure!) and gave it everything, although she was disappointed to lose a couple of places to some faster runners and didn't pace herself very well, going out too fast from the start, resulting in a very tough second half. It took her about five minutes before she could even speak after the race - and that's saying something! Well done though.

Across the Island Team

And this last weekend Michelle took part in the Off The Beaten Track relay which was off the beaten track really. So much so that several participants got lost (more than once!) while running on all sorts including sand, dirt tracks, service roads, grass etc. This was another relay event with six legs, with Michelle doing the 5th leg this time. She was pretty happy with her run - pacing herself better and not losing any places! Michelle's all girls team finished 7th overall (out of 21 teams) in blistering conditions, which was really awesome!

Birthday Cake and Sand - new form of sunscreen

Sam and a school mate on a recent field trip to the Botanic Gardens, where they learnt all about the blue iguana

Casino Royale
The Rugby Club's 2nd annual Casino Royale evening was held the other Friday night. It's a fundraiser for kids rugby and this year was again a popular event with around 400 tickets sold. Dave was working on the door and running the Chips around while Michelle was enjoying the bubbly and gambling the chips away (the bubbly lasted longer than the chips - no prizes won this year). It was a great night with well over $10,000 being raised for the kids.

This fine looking trio is well on their way...

Gaelic
The Gaelic season continues. Both Michelle and Dave are playing. Michelle's team has won one and lost three in very close games, to date. Dave's has won two and lost two. The competition is fairly even in both the Women's and the Men's league.
Full coverage of games is available on www.caymanrugbytv.com (Just click on the Gaelic Channel)


Rugby

Schools Rugby
The annual inter primary Tag Rugby Tournament was held last week. After the Dave-Coached Cayman Prep Teams all cleaned up at last year's tournament, the School split their teams into House teams this year to even up the competition. Sam played in the year 5 Redpath Team.
They won all their games right up until the final where they were pipped by "Young" in the final, who they had beaten earlier in the day.
Cayman Prep teams won the other two grades (Year 4 and Year 6) as well, so the school was pretty happy about that, and the kids all had a great day off school playing rugby.

On the burst!

Sam's games are the Redpath 5 games. There are two of them featured on the www.caymanrugbyTV.com site. Check them out! She even scores a try or two!

Club Rugby
Club rugby continues. Dave's Iguana's lost their first Game in the Round against the Buccaneers. But since then they have won the following three games to put themselves back at the top of the table. With a bye weekend just gone, they need to win the next two to take out the AA Cup for the second year running. However, the other teams have been steadily improving and the Iguanas will need to be on top of their game if they want to come out winners in 2011.
Again, the games are all filmed so you can watch full coverage of games on www.caymanrugbytv.com (AA Cup Channel) or view highlands on "Backchat" or on the CaymanRugbyTV page on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/caymanrugbytv .


Iguana's Hit the Water
As we said above, it was a bye weekend in the AA Cup, so the Iguana's didn't hesitate, they grabbed a couple of boats that were lying about, filled them with beers and headed out on the water for the day.
They spent most of the day near Rum Point and then Starfish Point, where a party boat with about 150 people on it turned up to entertain them.
It was a big afternoon, as Dave will testify struggling around the Gaelic field the following day.

Well, the Iguanas do like to travel in style...

Couple of Deck Hands... on a break

The Iguanas

Yep.... every team has one....

For more pics from the Iguana's Boat trip, Click the link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=271607&id=766998601&l=578a34014b


Next Month:

Kids Swim Meet
Rugby
Gaelic
Mid Term Break
Someone's birthday
and more.........

Issue # 41 - January's Just Gone

. January 2011 .

Hello! We hope you've had a great start to 2011. Things certainly haven't slowed down at this end we can tell you. We've got all sorts this month. But we won't hold you up. Grab a coffee, tea, beer, wine or whatever and read away!

New Year's Day

We've already said "Happy New Year!"
But Happy New Year again anyway!

We left off the last issue at a party on New Year's Eve.

So we'd better start this one on New Years day, as New Years Eve was just a little bit hazy.
So, what did we do? We did what is traditional in Cayman, we packed up all of the necessary stores and equipment and headed for Governor's beach, probably arriving around 1pm (so a little sleep in could be had).
A bunch of us turned up and we were pretty well set up, it must be said. We cleared a space amongst the unsuspecting beach-going tourists and starting depositing our kit. There were chairs, tables, umbrellas, small children, cooler boxes, chilly bins (all filled to the brim). There were barbecues and blankets, a generator (yep, a generator), a blender (yep, one of them too) and a keg of Heineken even found it's way into our settlement. Things were really looking up!

Somehow the space around us seemed to grow. Anyway, the kids were running about, the beers came out, Bruno (the dog) took a whiz on the Governor's fence, the hangovers forgotten and everything was great. It soon got a lot greater with the tranquil sound of a blender churning through ice making mudslides for everybody.
Some got a little impatient with the speed of delivery from the mudslide department and decided to take it upon themselves to join the production line. We aren't too sure how many actually made it away from there, but the two ladies pictured above certainly certainly partook in some quality control.
There were around 30 plus of us at one stage. pictured above are those that were still standing later in the day. We would have had another picture even later than that, but there was nobody standing at all.
Ok, maybe one was still standing. But moving from that spot was an issue. You'll be pleased to know that there are taxis available in Cayman...but Michelle's run back to collect the car the next day was a challenge!

Birthday Party
The following weekend Sam and Jake and a friend of Jake's (Derek) who now resides in Dublin had a combined birthday party at the Wave Park. A bunch of their friends came along and had a ball getting tossed and turned and wiped out in the fast-moving water.

That is Sam in amongst that water.

Jake looks a little bored with the whole affair...

Michelle checked out the surfing scene and showed that she still has it!

And the cake was a hit as well as the pizza and other stuff
that kids tend to eat at parties these days.

Street Hockey
The following weekend was the annual street hockey tournament at Camana Bay. Sam and Jake got invited into teams as Rookies. Each team had to field one non-hockey player.


Being the Rookie, Jake got put in goal. But he didn't spend too much time standing about. The boys worked really well together and made it to the final.

The final was a tight one with both teams tied at full time. Into extra time they went with a few close calls at both ends of the court. It was a sudden death extra time final and the pressure was on. They managed to snaffle the puck/ball and put it into the back of the opposition's net. Much to the delight of the shrieking fans (Mums) who invaded the court and embarrassed the boys by smothering them with hugs and kisses. They'll never live that down...

Sam's team (all swimmers from their swim club) took a much more lady-like approach to their games. But it was effective and they also came away as Champions, winning the girls league.



Travel
Straight after the hockey tournament Michelle was off to the airport to fly out to Dublin for work. She was a bit worried about the trip given the unseasonal snow that was common over there before Christmas, and knew that she'd freeze if the weather was that cold. She managed to borrow some boots and a wool coat so that she would be adequately dressed and she was very thankful for them - she lived in them the entire time! Luckily, the weather was actually quite mild and got into double figures twice - it definitely could have been worse! She had a 3 day work conference with her global colleagues that she had never met before and thoroughly enjoyed meeting, working and socialising with them all. In fact, in typical Dublin style, she went out just about every night she was there, managed to consume a cider or two, and caught up with a couple of friends there as well. She had an extra day before returning, and managed to squeeze in a bit of shopping (what a surprise, she can't go anywhere without shopping!). Coming back to 28 degrees was a bit of a challenge though!

Visitors
We had some visitors sneak into the country early one morning. Jon (Spargo) and Jen just happened to be cruising the Caribbean, in a cruise ship (as you do) and they stopped in at George Town. Jon was in the Army in NZ with Dave and now resides in Papua New Guinea working for the Australian Defence Force.
As we live very close to town, Dave walked down to the cruise ship terminal and escorted them back to our house where Michelle was busy loading up the dive gear. In we hopped and went to a shore dive off Lighthouse point which is always pretty good.
Then it was a quick beer, followed by a trip to Hell... and back.
The next thing to do was find somewhere for lunch. Unfortunately there were about five cruise ships in town that day, and as you may or may not know, the majority of these people enjoy their food. So, our first few choices of dining were aborted but we headed to the faithful Sunset House where they looked after our dining and liquid refreshment needs.

Jon and Dave enjoy a quiet beer while
Jen takes a close up of Jon's earwax

After that we headed to Smith's Cove for a few more quiets and to meet up with our friend Lisa, who had been looking after the kids all day. The kids had fun getting airborne before plunging into the sea. Everyone else, enjoyed a quiet beer and a yarn while watching them.

Soon it was time to get Jon and Jen back to their ship. They had a reasonable glow on by that stage and looked happy enough as they weaved their way to their ship and then off to the next port in Jamaica. It was great seeing them. It had been quite a while! But by all accounts they had a good time and maybe we'll see them back one day.

Our evening continued and a few other friends turned up and helped empty the Chilly Bin. Then it was back to our house to help finish off Jake's birthday cake but ended up having a few more beers, cheese and crackers, a couple of mudslides and whatever else was going. Well, we did have work (and kids had school) the next day...

Regatta
Sam and her friend Skyler took part in a Youth Sailing Regatta at East end the other week. It was a two day affair and on the first day the girls struggled a little in the different conditions. They improved as they went on and led the last race throughout only to become becalmed on the homeward leg. But they worked hard and managed to overtake those that had passed them, apart from one, finishing the day with a very good second place.
The next day, the seas were very rough so the regatta was canceled. The girls ended up placing 5th and since we had gone all the way out there, we hung out at the resort for a few beers while the kids played in the pool, before heading to a friends place for a BBQ later in the afternoon.

Rum Point
It was a long weekend here last week - Heroes Day. We got invited out on a boat with a few friends, and spent the day at Stingray City and then Rum Point, which lived up to it's name.
There were a few wobbly people getting back on the boat later on in the day.
But it was a nice day out and the kids had fun in the hammocks and Sam enjoyed playing with some recent arrivals to the island...

Something to tell us Sam?

Lucky Capt Jake was there to drive us home

Triathlon
The kids had a triathlon last weekend. It was a relatively short one (100m pool swim, 3km bike and a 500m run), but both Sam and Jake went hard and managed to tire themselves out, having to rest a bit in the run - will have to do some training next time! There were a lot of kids taking part and plenty of parents there too.
Jake won a spot prize (A Free Swim lesson) which we will offer to someone who has more of a need, as Jake already swims three or four times a week at the Swim Club.

Jake, looking focused in the transition...

They felt pretty chuffed with their efforts and both enjoyed the pizza afterward!


Rugby
Yes, the Rugby season is back into full swing. Dave has shaken off his injuries and headed out for another season with the mighty Iguanas.
The first game of the year was the Heineken Charity Shield. It's a one-off game between the League Champions from 2010 (The Iguanas) and the Runners-up (Storm). The Iguanas were struck by a few pre-season injuries and fronted with a squad of 16. The Storm rocked up with about 48.

Anyway, to make a long story short the Iguanas played a good solid forward oriented game but had no answer to the speed of the Storm backline. Final score Storm 38, Iguanas 19.

The actual club season kicked off this last weekend. There are four Teams - Iguanas, Storm, Buccaneers and the Pigs Trotters (which where originally a Police rugby team).

The Storm took care of the under strength Pigs by 75 - 10. In the other game both sides fronted big forward packs and they battled it out for most of the game. The Buucs had an experienced backline and again that was the undoing of Dave's Iguanas. Final score Buccs 35 - Iguanas 10.
You can view coverage of all games and also see the twice weekly chat show - Backchat, on the Rugby Club's TV channel www.caymanrugbytv.com
Check it out, it's not bad... and it's free!

Taking on the Buccs in the new Grey and Black Iguana strip.
Note the official referee kit.

Gaelic Football
The Gaelic season has kicked off again here in Cayman. Both Michelle and Dave are back on the 'pitch' this year. Michelle playing for the Whites (Olivers Plunkets - don't ask) and Dave playing for the Reds (Gabriels).

Dave, about to smack and Irishman

Daves team have had one win and one loss so far. Michelle's team have suffered two losses. But it's early in the season so plenty of time to improve.
If you want to watch any of the coverage, it is being filmed and broadcast on www.caymanrugbytv.com
Check it out, even just for the commentary, which is pretty entertaining, even if the play isn't!

Still smiling after their loss...
hmmm I'm sure that shirt isn't the official GAA shirt

To see more pics, just click on the links below!
Dive pics
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=255889&id=766998601&l=2f331e472e


Pics of January - the first half.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=255862&id=766998601&l=ce324cadac


More pics during January 2011

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=262224&id=766998601&l=c4f1769aa0


Next Month:
Rugby
Gaelic
Cross Island Relay
Knobby Party
Diving the Kittiwake
and other stuff that we'll make up if need be.