Profile
Walking Back
Seamanship always
played a role here
Will Jackson
The Cayman Islands, the place for thousands of years unknown totime and fortune, over 300 years ago began to spring forth frombareness, like plants in a desert, just springing into tiny shrubs,but not a very picturesque garden to admire.
In those early days of the Islands' discovery,the Spaniards to whom it rightfully belonged, didn't want it;the French who were the antagonists of the Caribbean, couldn'tuse it; and so, the English, who attempted to be Lord of the seasjust claimed it to strengthen their record of ownership.
However, the British did have a prized possessionin close proximity to the Cayman Islands, into whose hands ofcare and keeping the Islands were entrusted; not that there wasanything to offer anybody as a trophy to take home; nevertheless,Jamaica was placed in authority over the Cayman Islands.
The would-be settlers who found their wayhere, whether by chance or by providence, exercised their strongestego toward improving their mean lot in which they were forcedto live even as did John in exile on the island of Patmos. Theyfound themselves living in a land where there was no income tolook forward to. There were no industries, nor any form of existenceother than that offered by one's bare hands. Such conditions maynot be termed as a Sunday-school picnic, or as an Easter holiday.
It was not strange that Spain shrugged hershoulders at claiming ownership of those barren rocks which Columbus,the discoverer had charted as Spanish possession: Here the liabilitywould many times exceed the asset. However, in process of timethere were those who migrated from Jamaica as farmers to the Islands,but more so, to Grand Cayman, some of them received land grants,giving them rights and authority to remain as farmers.
Then, there were also those unfortunatesseamen whose ships were destroyed on the reefs and shoals thatsurrounded the Islands. Circumstances determined the residenceof such people; their future lay in their own hands, while shapingtheir destiny depended on their own courage and ambition.
However, the greatest need of those settlerswas to communicate with a more advanced point of the world thanthat which they knew. So, because they were hemmed in by a deepblue sea, their only means of communication had to be by boat,whether a canoe or a sailing vessel. It has always been said fromthe early days of the Islands' recorded history, the men werenoted seamen.
Where, or how did they come by ships tosail is not known, except that they must have started their ownship building trade; his own ship from Jamaica. Nevertheless,for sure by the early 20th century a building boom was on in thethree islands.
Turtle fishing was the only industry theyknew and so for that purpose, the turtles having been depletedaround the island, it was necessary to go to foreign waters andfish, which was the life-blood of the Islands. They had to havetrade with Jamaica to obtain the things needed for their survival.Beyond the hardwood and limestone and thatch leaves that theyused in building their houses, there was nothing to support theirbuilding programme.
All manner of groceries and dry goods hadto be imported, and as the population grew from an hundred toa thousand, always the demand grew greater to suffice the needs.There was need for more and more schooners and men to operatethem. By the late 19th century and early 20th (century) many werethe vessels owned and operated in the Islands. As settlers movedto Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, the building of ships took seatthere also.
The Kirkconnels, the Scotts, the Ritchesand the Fosters all owned vessels in the Brac. These were allbusiness-minded men, and of course, there was in no way sufficienttrade in the Island to support all of them ashore. Not everyonecould maintain a prosperous business among so few people as theBrac population offered; but their vessels could all find workaway from the Island trading in the Caribbean area. Not everyonedid turtle fishing, either in the Brac or Grand Cayman.
Thus, seamanship began in the Islands froma small beginning and grew into a national business. Being a seamanhas never been a pleasurable task; one's family had to be leftbehind for sometimes many months at a time. A wife and motherhad to be totally dependent on the husband or father's incometo meet their financial needs. In those early days of sailingone's income was by share of what the ship earned. Half the grossincome was paid to the ship while the other half gave the captaina share and a half, and paid the food bills shared between thecrew.
During the old days, there were only sailingships for every occasion; they were wooden hulls and subjectedto being destroyed in one form or another. Many were the Caymanianmen who went to sea, and never returned from a voyage. Truly therewere many widows and fatherless children in the Cayman Islands.
Nevertheless, despite the dangers that layhidden so often, Caymanians never became discouraged, or afraidof sailing. Right into the nearly 20th century, those men whosailed foreign bottoms were employed on square-rigged ships andthree of four masted hulls from whence, no doubt, they achievedfame as excellent seamen.
The men proved their worth, so many timesin severe storms and hurricanes, in securing the safety of theirvessel, and thus, saving the lives of all onboard.
Sure enough, any sportsman can sit up thereon deck and watch the ship glide along in a nice moderate wind,and over a smooth sea, and call himself a seaman. But ask a manwho for more than 48 hours battled with 140 miles per hour windin just a 50-ton yawl and survived to tell his own story. I knowof two such men yet alive. While there are many, many more whohave had such encounters on the ocean; many have passed on whilesome have grown too old to remember their episodes.
With the era of steamships by the middleof the 20th century, our men, drawing on past performance, werecounted as good seamen as they were placed in high positions inlarge steamships. But here is where the hardships of seamanshipturned to pleasure. Even with the strength and stability of thelarge iron ships on the oceans of the world, there are hardshipsgalore.
What did the seamen accomplish in the welfareof their homeland? The answer may be, much in every way. Theirtask was of uttermost importance because of the cash shortagethat always existed in the Islands, from the very earliest ofsettlement right into the middle of the 20th century; that sawseamanship flourishing and families spending five and 10 poundnotes where before a 10 shilling note seemed like money.
Families often moved from inherited shacksinto lovely little modern homes, built of cement blocks and galvanizeroofing, peeping through glass windows and half glass doors attheir neighbour's movements on the other side of the fence.
The store man could take home cash at nightbecause there was money to spend. The landlubber who was not ableto go to sea often earned a day's pay for work he had been hiredto do.
These and many more reasons add up to theimportance of the role seamen played in the development of thesebeautiful Islands that have been turned into the envy of the WestIndies.
Seamanship, though starting with much insignificance,when men earned only a small portion called a, share of the ship'sincome turned into a big deal for these Islands.
Hats off to he seamen of the Cayman Islandsfor all that have been achieved by their fearless perseverancein battling the oceans of the world; they battled storms and hurricanes.They fought fires many times; they endured separation from lovedones at home for long periods. But the Cayman Islands were senton their way to prosperity and modern living. Three cheers tothe seamen of the Cayman Islands.