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Cayman Pride : Part X- TheReturn of The Goldfield
It takes a lot of money to fit out and takea 100-tonne sailing vessel, feeding an average of six crew 6000miles from Seattle, Washington to Grand Cayman Island when youinclude the search and rescue, tug service, towing charges, berthing,canal charges, general fees and equipment replacement. It wasa major voyage and it was completed. The Goldfield Foundationaccomplished its task, showing a classic example of the end notjustifying the means.
The question and the statement that mostCaymanians that I have listened to about The Goldfield fiascois, what was the vessel going to be utilised for? A floating maritimemuseum? A youthful offender seamanship program? A touristic, JollyRoger-type sail around the Western shore? This question is whatplagued the motivational aims of the return trip. Many stoppedconsidering any contact with The Goldfield when it was found thatthere was to be no definitive end product to this quest.
The Cayman Maritime Heritage Foundationhas taken the mandate of recreating the beauty of that wonderfulCaymanian workboat and of putting her to work. One of the principalgoals of the Foundation is the replication of traditional Caymanvessel designs and the first choice is to clean away the bad tasteof the type of ending that The Goldfield had, by replicating herand letting the world see who and what is a Caymanian model. Apractical purpose for The Goldfield has to be incorporated intoher design and construction parameters.
At this point in time, members of the CaymanMaritime Heritage Foundation have two general plans for the newGoldfield. One plan is to utilise her as a day trip school, museumand tourist attraction. Another is to use her as a leased seaturtle research vessel with live-aboard student/cadets and habitatcounselling turtlers.
The options for the purpose of The Goldfield'sreplication has to be presented to the Cayman community and debated.Because of the transparency of involvement by the community, itmeans that only they and no one individual can be blamed or credited.When the new "Goldfield" splashes into Cayman's waters,everyone watching can be proud of their own participation in bringingheritage forward and presenting it to the Caymanian future.
The next step is a hard one for most tocomprehend. The step is one of involvement. Those who felt thatthey were not asked directly to contribute; the ones who couldfind an excuse not to participate before will now have to reassesstheir priorities and push themselves into preserving their history.Cayman cannot maintain its worth without moving its real historyalong with its progress. Why has the term "cultural tourism"come up so prominently all of a sudden? Because, as in the restof the world, the economic quick fix of visitor oriented tourismis not working any longer.
The long-term businesses, associated withthe infrastructure of culturally rooted tourism, are what supportan economy. The Island of Mykonos has maintained itself as a tourismdestination for over 3,000 years, relying upon its Island Greekcultural being and roots to sustain its attraction. And it isstill slow paced, but sophisticated.
The idea of boatyards, shipyards, vesseldesign agencies, sail lofts, marinas, ship chandleries, marineproduct production businesses, navigation schools, marine scienceinstitutions, yacht sales offices, international regattas canbe the direct result of supporting catboat races. These areasof endeavour can provide a positive variety in job options toa maritime culture and, if promoted properly, can provide a significantportion of a long-term economic base for a maritime community.
The Steering Committee of the Cayman MaritimeHeritage Foundation created the organisation to preserve the knowledgeof who and what the Caymanian was and is and they understand thathistory is made by the doers. The present confusion about whatthe future holds is not that complicated when one realises that50 percent of a community's history is missing, which was themost self-sufficient and creative part and that history has notbeen softball.
The incentive of enjoyment of the job canmake a doer out of misdirected or non-directed young persons aswell as middle aged ones. The main emphasis of Cayman Maritimeprojects is on the young who will shape the future of the Islands,but our goals are to maintain a strong Caymanian culture, whichwe feel is based on the maritime conditioning that formed theneed for integrity. Some slipped through the cracks but, by andlarge, look at the old ones and see if something is missing todaywith the young ones.
NEXT: The New Goldfield