I finally had a chance to sort through some photos and create a video from my GoPro footage taken back in February when we had a couple of really good Nor’westers blowing in Grand Cayman. It’s not often that a NW wind blows, but when it does, the usually flat and calm Seven Mile Beach turns into a windy and wavey playground, and windsurfers, surfers and kiters head out to have some fun.

Here’s the video I put together using the GoPro footage:

Thanks to Christel Ibsen (www.christelibsen.com), an artist who was on the beach taking photos and was kind enough to give me copies of them.

I thought this would never happen in Cayman, but it finally has. A new initiative under the name of Cayman Become (www.caymanbecome.ky) has launched, which aims to make Cayman an eco-friendly island. The first campaign they have launched is one to reduce plastic bags. They will start charging 5c per plastic bag in the major supermarkets (Fosters, Kirks, Hurleys) from June, in an effort to encourage people to bring their own reusable bags.

These bags have been available for some time now, but it seems they have had little effect, as visiting any of these supermarkets you still see people using as many plastic bags as they possible can to pack as few items as they can as possible! It is crazy how I can go and buy one sandwich, then proceed to the checkout where they will try and pack it into a plastic bag for me – as if I can’t carry that one item without a bag!

Lets all do our part to reduce pollution on this wonderful island and start using reusable bags as a first effort.

Watch this video documentary filmed in Hawaii which shows humans harmful impact on the environment – http://www.messageinthewaves.com.

http://www.caymannewsservice.com/science-and-nature/2010/04/22/demise-plastic-bag-draws-near-campaign-takes

Sunday 24th January was the day and Gun Bay up at East End was the location for the 2010 Captain Leroy Watson Sailing Regatta (aka East End Regatta). This year for the the first time a windsurfing class was added and managed by Red Sail Sports in conjunction with the Cayman Islands Sailing Club.

It seemed the wind gods were on our side, because we were greeted with a decent 18 knots coming from the South-East on arrival. The course was a figure-of-eight slalom setup with 2 jibe markers.

Course Details

We had a LeMans style start with competitors standing on the beach and the starter (James) running past us with a flag to signify we could go. There were six competitors in total with a total of six races.

Race about to start

LeMans Style Start

Competitors Racing

After some tight races with close finishes, the final results were as follows:

1st Andrew Cousins
2nd Nick Grieff
3rd Stuart Jennings
4th Frankie Grainger
5th Santiago Campo
6th Ronan Jennings

The competitors

Overall it was a very successful day and one we hope to repeat soon. Thanks very much to the Sailing Club and Red Sail Sports for organizing!

More photos in the gallery here.

A bit of a nerve-wracking morning here in Cayman after we experienced a moderate earthquake measuring 5.8 in magnitude. Details of the quake are here http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2010rrbc.php. No injuries have been reported and the all clear has been given, so we are back to normal for now.

Cayman Quake