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Cayman Pride ~ PartV
Whitehall, Self-Reliance
and Youth
By H.E. Ross
The programmes of the Cayman Maritime HeritageFoundation (CMHF) are focused on the preservation of maritimetraditions for the present and future generations of those interestedin the Cayman Islands.
With a considerable emphasis upon vocationaltraining and an active promotion of youth involvement in the marinefields the Cayman Catboat Club project, under CMHF sponsorshiphas several educational proposals on its back burner.
The two groups have been waiting for theWhitehall Bay site to become organised as their administrativeoffices, a meeting place and a workshop.
For example, the Cayman Catboat Club (CCC)plans to initiate a program called the Youth Sail, Repair &Restoration Project. In a nutshell, young people will be invitedto learn how to design, construct, rig and sail the Cayman Catboat.
The newest twist to this Project is in theconcept of designing and constructing a Cayman Catboat using exoticmaterials in an effort to improve efficiency and reduce weight.
The argument has been tabled that if theCatboats were to give the exhilarating speeds of the more modernrigs, there would have to be more interest among the younger people.
The proponents of the modernisation of theCatboat design, in particular Carson Ebanks and Donald McLean,generally feel that the original designs and their evolution wasgeared toward the commercial uses of the vessel. The design stoppedevolving when the commercial aspect was not viable.
Now is a chance to revive the evolutionof the design - it's like catching up after a 35 year nap. Thosewho are against the modernisation of the Cayman Catboat, feelthat the CCC was formed to preserve the old techniques of constructionand utilisation, and that until that area of the Catboat foundationwas settled and in place the modernisation would split the forcesneeded to be successful.
The traditionalists will not say no to evolution.In fact, they are pushing the establishment of the traditionsthat created the Cayman Catboat, and then to go into the rig andmaterial change.
Both arguments point toward an end productthat will affect the young people of the Cayman Islands. The evolutionistsfeel there will be no successful overall programme for young persons'involvement in the Catboat movement unless there is more pronouncedspeed and lighter launching weight.
The traditionalists, like Jerris Miller,Captain Chuckie Ebanks and Elford Dilbert, simply want the youngto understand the basic philosophical reality that went into thedesign before it was changed.
These two factions will have their runningdebate in the conducive atmosphere of the Whitehall Bay clubhouseand workshop once the lease is granted and the renovation hasbeen accomplished. The question of how to create that conduciveatmosphere has come under fire from within the organisation. Theidea of having a bar adjoining a youth oriented educational facilityhas been raised and is being dealt with as the formulation ofwhole picture of the place emerges.
The basic development plan for the Whitehallsite has gone through several progressive metamorphic phases.A Catboat Clubhouse was the first idea. A hands-on Catboat boatyardwas added. An administrative office was always included. A settingfor art and artifact display was a natural concept to pull in.
The use of the restaurant space for meetings.The restaurant to become a cafe with a limited menu and a smallbar seemed a good way not to have to constantly raise funds fromsponsors for programs and the administration. A marine administrationand information centre developed.
The problem of fitting all of this intoa not so large building was the challenge. Where could older peopleand younger people mix without the location being though of asa bar. Jonathan Jackson, one of the three architects in the developmentcommittee, came up with two possible solutions. Jonathan, a fatherhimself, decided that the best course was to isolate the youthfrom the bar.
The actual workshop would be on the rampside of the building after breaking out the add-on wall and replacingit with garage-like security doors. That would provide an areaalmost 30-feet long with its own washroom facilities and a shower.
The area would be all-weather proofed, airyand comfortable. Inside the building the bar section would bemoved inside and isolated from the restaurant by the use of theFrench doors that are already in place.
Since the add-on walls on three sides ofthe restaurant area will be removed, that whole area will changeinto a comfortable cafe atmosphere with the healthy vista of sea,palms, Catboats under sheds and sailing, as well as the Catboatworkers.
The conclusion of both the CCC and the CMHFmembers is that a bar is a winner at that site and would underwriteproject funding. The amicable atmosphere of cafe-bar combinationat a working boatyard will focus the attention of customers uponthings maritime and in so doing would induce participation, insome form, to get projects accomplished.
In ruling for one side or the other sideone must understand that the people participating in both theCayman Catboat Club and the Cayman Maritime Heritage Foundationare going to ensure that young people are not unduly influencedby the nearness of a bar. The majority of those in the two groupsare responsible parents dedicated, through their memberships,to promoting a healthy environment for future generations.
At this time of tourism decline and budgetarycutbacks, cultural organisations are feeling big drops in fundingfor their programs. Maybe something like a Whitehall can be usedas a model for not-for-profit self-reliance.
That is not to say that the Cayman MaritimeHeritage Foundation will not be out there promoting the need forfunding its other projects, such as the Youth Sail, Repair &Restoration Project or the Goldfield Replication Project, butit will be able to guarantee the sponsors results for their contributions.