History
An Old Professionin these isles, Seamanship
Will Jackson
It was apparently in the 16th or the early17th century when the Cayman Islands became recognised as a placethat might support a small inhabitant; since the early 16th centurywhen Columbus first spotted Little Cayman and Cayman Brac theyhad been thought of by those who chanced to sail by them onlyas some other cays, such as those of the Jamaica Pedro Banks,only fit to use as fishing areas, a place to use for mending theirnets and pots and set them again.
Just when or how Grand Cayman gained itspublicity I don't seem to become knowledgeable. We are told thata settlement was first made on Little Cayman by Jamaica, who waslater made protectorate by England, but there being no resourcesto encourage a full scale permanent resident on the Island, theearly settlers were soon recalled to Jamaica and once again thelittle island reverted to its original, uninhabited, wild state,inhabited only by sea birds and Iguanas.
The turtle population which had given popularityto the place with passing ships had in just a few years been demolished,leaving nothing of any value for any one to desire from there,so that was Little Cayman, the first of the discovered Islands.Cayman Brac, which was a larger island, lay close enough to beseen from Little Cayman, but because of its rocky shores and thehigh bluff that ran throughout its length, no value was placedon its existence there.
Now then, when a third and much greaterisland was spotted, new thoughts came into the minds of thosewho happened by. Whether they were shipwrecked mariners or asthe popular opinion goes, of runaway soldiers from Cromwell'sarmy in Jamaica, they took interest in being permanent residentshere, whether it was by their own free will or by unavoidablecircumstance, however it was, life on the island was far frombeing a pleasurable living experience. It must indeed have beenmiserable and boring to those early settlers.
In the first instance, the hordes of mosquitoesthat invaded their surroundings in those days would cause themajority of dwellers today to move on to some more restful abode.Not only were the mosquitoes there as constant tormentors, butthe people had to battle with them in every aspect of living.
They had to plant in order to eat and live.They had to cut down huge trees and square them in parts to buildtheir shelters, which was an awesome task to perform.
Because the Island was isolated by deepocean from anywhere and had no resources for the welfare of thedwellers it was necessary for them to find ways and means of travelingfrom one land's point to another in order to find the things theyneeded for survival. During those early days of settlement therewere many shipwrecks of sailing ships and surely there must havebeen some ship carpenters among the survivors. Then, too, therewere frequent storms and hurricanes that break the wrecks to piecesand drove the parts on the land where the lumber could be salvagedat no cost to the people.
Hard wood in Cayman was unlimited to beused as frame works, thus very early on the settlers started buildingsailing vessels to be used as turtling and trading transports.
From those early times, the Caymanian menwere known as top class seamen. There were navigators among themwho didn't know the difference between a sextant and a binocular,but they found their way wherever they set to go. In early times,they went only to Jamaica and Cuba where they caught turtles onthe Cuban banks and traded them in Jamaica, where they boughttheir well-needed supplies. As time progressed there were a fewschooners that were fully traders between the islands, movingpassengers and cargo from one to the other.
The would-be farmers reared cows and horseswhich they sold in Jamaica. Also, there was some trade being donein mahogany wood and logwood. In later years, the straw ropesindustry came into being in Grand Cayman, Jamaica being its solepoint of trade. The cash ridden people of the island made theirropes, no easy or pleasurable task it was, but they could tradethem in the little stores for desperately needed items such asthe stores had to offer. The stores then in turn shipped themto Jamaica where the ropes were traded for goods again; thus keepingthe ball rolling giving the schooners freight both ways, withusually a full load on the home bound trip.
Later, the turtlers had an agreement betweenNicaragua and England, which permitted them to fish the Nicaraguanbanks for turtles. This soon became a big business for Caymanians;more and more schooners were built in Cayman, needing more mastersand crews. Bigger and stronger ships were built and entered thetrade. They went as far away as Mobile, Alabama on the Gulf Coastand all the way up to Atlanta, Georgia on the Atlantic Coast doingtheir trade, weathering out many Atlantic and Caribbean storms.Sometimes of course, a vessel and crew was lost; but undauntedlythey kept at the work they knew best to do.
During the 19th and 20th centuries, therewere more disasters at sea than any other recorded times, becausethere were that many more vessels and men involved in the tradeand sailing much further away from their home base.
By lack of communication many ships werecaught in weathers that they would otherwise have avoided hadthe captain only known what to expect, but he had to determinefor himself the difference between gales and approaching hurricanes.Many of the old salts though, could predict accurately what theweather would be like a day before and were able to deliver shipand crew from disasters.
In those old days, when a crew left port,there was no more communication with the world around them untilthey reached the next port, which sometimes could be unpredictablebecause of the prevailing calm that might last a whole week ormore without a fresh breath of wind; and even when the wind didfreshen, it could be head winds. Remember that sails were thepropellers of the times, and the breeze was the fuel, so veryoften a prolonged calm climaxed in a living storm.
Continued next week (Issue 172)
Will Jackson
Seafarer and noted
Caymanian Historian