By the Cayman Islands Seafarers Association

A career of nearly 40 years is an outstanding accomplishment in any life. A Seaman’s career is more difficult and treacherous than most.

Denton Rivers, aged 85 years, has completed an outstanding career at sea. Born in West Bay in 1923 his first trip to sea, at the age of eleven, was on board the E.L. Banks, a schooner, heading to the Miskito Keys to catch turtle.

Living on board a ‘working’ schooner, and netting turtles was no ‘vacation’. It was necessary for the crew to carry sufficient stores, including water; if this ran out the seamen often had to gather water from shallow spring wells on the Keys. Some of these wells were said to have been dug by an Oriental man who had once lived in a shack on the reef.

During Mr Denton’s time in the Keys some wells were dug by a Caymanian man named Leopold Bryan who left Cayman never to return, and was living on the leeward side of one of these Keys. The men who lived on the Keys, and dug the wells were known as ‘Krawl Miners’ because they also fed and protected the turtles from poachers while the crew went out each day to clear more nets. Krawls were pens made from wooden stakes planted into the seabed in shallow protected water.

Mr Denton sailed from Grand Cayman July 13th and returned September 28th. This is the turtle ‘season’ – the time (February to September) when turtles from all over the Caribbean make their way to Costa Rica to nest. They would be swimming high in the water during this period and were easy to ‘net’. Mr Rivers spent nine years at this job also travelling on schooners ‘Wilson’ and ‘Adams’.

Not having extensive wardrobes these men at the end of many days had to wring the salt water from their clothes, hang them on the railings of the vessel and depending on the weather even if they were not dry had to don them for the next day’s work. This was quite a harsh introduction for a young man to a future on the sea.

After nine years of this grueling life he secured employment with the Banana Supply Co. out of Miami, Florida working on vessels Kismith, Cristiana and Idle for the next three years.

From 1951 to 1974 Mr Rivers was employed by companies, National Bulk Carriers Inc and Bernuth Lemski, on ships including Petro Sea, Ore Saturn and Adellin. During this time he also spent seven months in the Gulf of Bahrain on the ‘Polaris’ a fuel supply ship owned by Astro Marine out of Huston Texas.

Throughout his long career at sea this stalwart Caymanian, who at age eighty five still makes a weekly trip by bus from his home in West Bay to George Town, was fortunate enough to only experience one potentially life threatening situation. While working on a US ship some 150 miles S.E. of Miami Florida there was a fire on the third deck.

Mr Denton who was on the deck below had to run through the fire to the upper deck to safety. The men were successful in putting out the fire without any injury to crew members. On arrival in Florida the men were praised by the US Coastguard for their swift action and control of the fire.

A tragedy which he witnessed was when at about 1:00 pm on Sunday 20, November 1960 his friend and shipmate Reginald Wood with whom he had left Cayman on the 28th , December 1959 was washed from the deck of the Petro Sea during a storm in the Bay of Fundy, never to be rescued. At age twenty two Mr Wood had been married only five days when he left Cayman on this trip in 1959. (See story / ‘Southwell Years’ book)

Mr Denton in his 43 years as a seaman was fortunate to travel to many different countries – Nicaragua, Panama, America, England, Italy, France, Holland, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, Japan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran, North Africa, Canada, Aruba, Barbados, Trinidad, Curacao, Arabia, Cuba, Bahamas (several Islands), El Salvador, Honduras, Belize, Mexico.

He rose from Deckhand to Acting Third Mate (no licence) and during his career his wages rose from US125.00 to US$700.00 – this did not include the turtling years when crew was paid according to the catch.

Now retired he lives at home and enjoys the company of his children and grandchildren.

This article is part of a series of monthly features produced by the Cayman Islands Seafarers Association and printed in Cayman Net News.