An Old Profession in these Isles, Seamanship (cont'd)
Will Jackson
(In our weekend edition last week, Issue 168, Mr. Will Jackson
began narrating Cayman's maritime history reaching back to the
16th century which he said was greatly influenced by turtling.
In this edition we present the second and final part of that column.)
During those days of canvas and halliards they talked about wooden
ships and iron men; one really had to be tough to make a life's
career of sailing; yet many Caymanian men did nothing other than
sail until they were too feeble to sail any more, or found his
grave in the depths.
By the third decade of the 20th century a little change began to come into the plans of sailing; more and more motor vessels began to enter the scene, even though some of the old canvas powered frames were still out there; and radios, which was not yet for everyone, could be found here and there on a vessel, by which if the vessel was close enough to the United States, something would be heard while the battery lasted.
The thirties and forties of the 20th century were indeed bad years for Cayman Island shipping, when hurricanes had no mercy at all on who or what was destroyed or the many lives that were taken. First and not to be forgotten by anyone who witnessed the episode is the November 32 hurricane which left the islands in a state of devastation, with the Brac suffering losses both on the land and on the sea with more than one hundred precious souls killed or drowned. Only one life was lost in Grand Cayman but whole districts were destroyed. A Webster steam ship was lost in George Town, but the crew had made it ashore and saved their lives.
During that decade there was the mysterious disappearance of the motor ship Nu Noca with no one to tell her tragic story. The schooner, Alsons on her way home from Panama went down in a hurricane carrying passengers and crew alike. The schooner, Hussler, on the same route from Panama to Cayman had no one to tell her tale; she also carried passengers with her. The schooner, Majestic, sunk down anchored at a cay with 21 souls on board. These were all tragedies of the forties and the thirties, in the same vein there was a brand new schooner owned in East End, by the name of 'Merica' that also disappeared on the coast of Columbia, South American untold of.
These tales all left no eyewitnesses to tell their story. Except for the schooner Majestic, where there was a bright side for 19 men who deserted her in the storm that raged, they go ashore in their boat and were saved from drowning.
The decade of the fifties brought a sigh of relief when the iron men of Cayman Seafarers no longer had to battle those unpredictable hulls on the ocean to reach their destinations, and earn a pittance. Large steam ships took over the ocean with Caymanians playing a great big part in keeping them moving.
Of course, we say thanks to Almighty God for the sails that made men out of boys and helped to feed and clothe many families. Our tough experiences of the lean old days, stood us in good standing to master the big jobs when the time came.
Three cheers to the seamen of the Cayman
Islands! You have been wonderfully great in preserving a better
homeland than the forefathers knew.
God Bless These Cayman Islands!
Will Jackson
Seafarer and noted
Caymanian Historian