We enjoyed our 3 weeks in Grand Cayman - the largest of this 3 island nation in the North West Caribbean - we sailed here from Mexico. The Cayman Islands (pronounced Cay-MON and not CAY-man) are a British Overseas Territory.

We arrived around midday on Wednesday 15th March into the main harbour off George Town. All 3 of the Cayman Islands have permanent moorings laid for visiting yachts - you are not allowed to anchor due to possible coral reef damage - all very sensible and even better there is no charge for yachts on these moorings. We were advised by the Port Authority that our official check-in would be tomorrow morning, so we spent the rest of the day on the 15th sitting back in the cockpit resting after our 4 day passage and taking in our immediate surrounds and the comings and goings from our 3 cruise ship neighbours. All the yacht moorings off the town were full.

On Thursday 16th we woke to a Small craft weather advisory - wow we had just made it here in time! and this weather is forecast to last for the next 3 to 4 days. By 9am we had 4 cruise ships at anchor in the harbour as close-by neighbours - with about 6,500 passengers! The Port Authority advised us that after they had dealt with their cruise ships arrivals it would be our turn to check-in. The normal procedure is for yachts to come into the town dock to enable the officials to come aboard etc. - but today because of the wild weather we made a request for the boat to stay safely on the mooring ball and we could come ashore in our dingy. Our superb beach dingy landing was witnessed by 100's of cruise ships passengers and many of the Port Authority staff - we were very proud of ourselves. Check-in was very easy - polite and helpful staff - there are no charges for yachts entering Cayman Islands and we get a 30 day permit for us and the boat AND we can get duty free fuel and liquor on departure - all very good indeed.

After our check-in was completed we left our dingy high and dry on the George Town beach for the day whilst we went out and about. 1st on the list was to get some local cash - exchange rate £1 = 1CI$. The small main town was filling up with cruise ship passengers - with all the typical cruise ship duty free shops and tourist tat and jewellery stores. We preferred to wander around the small historical area of George Town. The beautiful early 1900's British colonial traditional buildings such as the Court House, Library, and Post Office had been kept with their original façade with modern annexes fit for the 21st century. The most impressive waterfront building now housing the Cayman Islands National Museum is a large 2 story wooden Cayman house with pitched roofs and ornate fretwork - looking like a grand old Queenslander, with lovely wide breezy verandas - full of character.

Now late in the afternoon we were looking for something for a late lunch. At the café at the hardware store 'Smokies' we enjoyed their speciality smoked brisket and smoked pulled pork rolls - excellent - one of the best smoked foods we have eaten anywhere in our travels. Whilst waiting for our sandwiches another customer noticed us and started chatting - he is English with a Kiwi wife and runs a dive business on the island. He gave us his business card and phone details - what nice people we have met today!

Since we were now back in 'civilisation' after Mexico, we made the most of the many excellent hardware stores within walking distance around the town for the excellent supermarket - although food items are expensive here as everything is imported.

From the hardware store we had just a short walk back into the main town - now at nearly 5pm empty of cruise ship passengers - we could see the last of today's ships just upping anchor and leaving the harbour. George Town reminds us so much of St Thomas in the USVI. We had a safe and dry launching of the dingy from the beach into the swell of the harbour, with our shorts and backpack safely stored in our huge dry bag- just in case! It was a long and wet ride across the harbour back to the boat. A very enjoyable and successful 1st day in the Cayman Islands.

Some info and our observations:- As a British Overseas Territory there was an old colonial feel - we were able to listed to the BBC World Service on the radio - the 'queens' English was spoken everywhere.
The REAL MONEY in the Caymans comes from offshore banking. The CI banking industry is the 5th largest in the world!! The CI dollar is a stronger currency than the US$ - and strangely all our credit card purchases were bought in CI, charged at the till in US and then exchanged into £ for our credit card bill. There are twice as many registered companies here as there are residents.

The POPULATION has some very distinct features. The Financial Services sector has many well-healed British and Northern European workers. The all live in exclusive communities, drive Porches and Ferraris to work and afterwards to the many 5 star restaurants and bars scattered around the island specifically catering to their needs and budgets. We explore one of these 'villages' - the purpose build Camana Bay - very interesting 1st class Caribbean indeed.
The extensive hotel/ restaurant and associated services sector is mainly Brits, American and Slavic Europeans. There are SO many branded resort complexes on Grand Cayman - we are told that the sister island of Brac and Little Cayman are much less developed. The bus service around the island between the main towns is mainly their transport to and from work.

The local CAYMANIANS - called 'trueborns', are the decedents of fisherman from Honduras and Jamaica. In true 'yah man' style they life is very basic housing communities and enjoy their ganga, fish fry, Jamaican jerk and loud music. Their chosen mode of transport around the town is bicycle.

And then there are the DAY VISITORS. Once a week in high season up to 5 cruise ships can be in the harbour off George Town - that's 13,000 people descending on the island for up to 8 hours!

SUNDAY is still a 'special' day in Cayman - such a wonderful thing to see and experience. All shops, including the supermarkets are closed and the cruise ships companies are officially encouraged not to arrive on that day. We could hear the Sunday morning church choirs, and saw many Caymanian families out in their 'Sunday best'. One Sunday afternoon we walked to a beautiful cove and found full to overflowing with large family groups out have BBQ's and picnics.

We arrived and departed from George Town harbour, and also explored North Sound, the eastern anchorages inside the reef and overnighted in calm weather on various dive buoys in the North West. The large and beautiful North Sound is protected by the reef, and Governors Harbour/Cayman Yacht Club is entered by a channel through the mangroves. We are enjoying a few peaceful nights here in flat calm conditions whilst it was howling outside. Just to the north of George Town is the famous Seven Mile Beach on West Bay. It is lined with hotels, condominium projects and some very expensive private homes. The beach was perfect for our afternoon and morning walks - a picture of perfection with its white sands and crystal green/blue waters.

We did not eat out at any of the various island restaurants - preferred to have our sundowner drinks to be on-board every night. We did have some excellent evening dinner meals from the Kirks Supermarket deli. This deli buffet is truly fantastic - serving breakfast, lunch and dinner with a choice of up to 6 main dishes and sides - all very tasty indeed. On the days and early evenings we went it was very popular with the locals - always a good sign.

We departed the Caymans for our 310 miles south to Honduras on 7th April, having done some great diving, odd jobs on the boat and exploring as much of the main island as possible. We left with a fully stocked 'duty free' boat - both fuel and spirits.