Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Austin Ebanks (left) and Kem Jackson, two members of the Catboat Club with a catboat, the Captain D, that was originally built in the 1940s.

The Cayman Catboat Club is a non-profit organization, both with the overall goal of perpetuating the art of Catboat building.

The present aim of the club, besides trying to raise awareness of the club's activities, is to gain a long-term lease on a building they have been using, formerly the Whitehall Bay restaurant, next to the Lobster Pot restaurant in George Town, so that they will be able to invest in its renovation.

The existing building dates back to the early 1900s, and is of 'Wattle & Daub' construction with ironwood posts.

Traditionally, it was the place in Georgetown harbour where large schooners and smaller wooden boats were cleaned of barnacles, a process known as 'careening.'

Although badly damaged by Hurricane Ivan, the building can be restored and brought up to modern standards, according to club member Paul Dedrick (known to everyone as 'Spike').

 "We need security of tenure so that any funds that we solicit will be for our long term benefit, and will not be turned over to anyone else.

The existing architectural plans to rehabilitate the building require funds of CI $150,000 to CI $200, 000, which would be hard to raise without a long term lease," he explained.

The club is also aiming to re-establish catboat races that they believe tourists will find attractive, giving them an authentic flavour of Cayman culture and history, as well as being an exciting, spectacular event.

"In the past we did races all around the year on the holiday weekends," said Mr Dedrick.
There is also talk among club members of establishing a special once-yearly race, as a memorial to David Foster, who was a catboat owner and supporter of the Catboat Club.

The club therefore represents a kind of focal-point for those who are interested in preserving Cayman's cultural heritage; not with the purpose of procuring another museum display to be put inside a 'glass case,' but for the purpose of keeping the heart of Cayman culture alive in exciting and innovative ways, with the possible added advantage of helping maintain Cayman's unique identity in the increasingly competitive tourist industry.

The club is therefore currently seeking sponsorship from companies who are willing to support their activities, which they see as not only helping them, but also being of long-term benefit to the Cayman Islands.

Club member Kem Jackson grew up both sailing and making catboats, repairs the boats for the club, free-of-charge, (and often at considerable personal expense).

Mr Jackson was just finishing the repairs to a catboat he had been on working on for a while.

"Every catboat is different; no two are alike," Mr Jackson explained.

According to Mr Jackson, in the old days, people used to have their own theories of what made the best catboat, so that catboat designs were as individual as the people who made them.

Mr Jackson is one of the few in Cayman who are skilled in the art of catboat making. He has extensive knowledge about this art, and is full of memories of the materials master catboat makers used in the past: "In the old days, they used to burn termite nests and mix the residue with paint to seal the boat up," he said.

Mr Jackson explained the importance of the catboat in the life and culture of the Cayman Islands.

"People did everything with the catboat, from transporting goods - it was their pickup truck, to transporting people - it was their taxi," he said.

The design changed to suit the purpose of the boat, according to Mr Jackson, so that a catboat used for catching turtles was better if it was 'tippy,' meaning it could roll easily, to accommodate lifting a heavy turtle on board, whereas a boat that was used for passengers would be more stable, and have a flatter bottom.

christopher@caymannetnews.com

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