Wednesday, April 5th 2000
Caymanian Compass

C&W In The Catboat

Cable & Wireless has sponsored one of the catboats that took part in the Bank of Butterfield Perpetual Cup held last Saturday at the Public Beach on the opening of Cayfest.

Tim Adam, General Manager, and a Sea Scout himself said he first sailed a little Caymanian boat, the Spick & Span, and that he thought sailing was a great sport.Ê "Cable & Wireless is very proud to be sponsoring this revival of catboat racing in the Cayman Islands."

"We at Cable & Wireless are partners in the development of Cayman.Ê For those of us who have been in Cayman for quite some time will recall the beauty of the catboat racing which was really a beautiful sight to see, particularly in the Easter Regatta.Ê We have the opportunity to bring back this excellent tradition and to involve the youth which is most heartening for us," he explained.

"We are also proud of the sponsors that are coming forward and seeing this for what it is, a tremendous opportunity to revive a part of the Caymanian culture that is really charming, involving youths in something that is so positive," he added.

The scheduled dates for the regatta are Saturday, April 8th and 15th with the final on Easter Monday.Ê There will be cash prizes for the winners.

The four series regatta course will run along the shallow waters of the Seven-Mile to the Warf Restaurant to encourage people to watch and enjoy the races stated H.E. Ross a member of the Seafarer's Association.

"This programme will take the young Caymanians, the Cayman Islands Sailing Club and the Sea Scouts from the art of building simple catboats to building state of the art watercrafts.Ê At the moment we have 10 catboats in various stages of development but only five of these catboats will compete in the Bank of Butterfield Perpetual Cup", said Ross.

"One of the objectives is to preserve maritime history by introducing them to boat restoration and skills that is currently dying one these islands," said Judy Donegan, fundraiser for the project.

Winston Hall, of the Sea Scouts said, "This is a welcome addition to the Scouts programme.Ê I believe it will help to preserves a part of Cayman's culture."

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