Issue # 90 - The February Flier

. February 2015.

 Hello!

Here we go again! The second month of 2015 has passed us already.

Busy in patches this month. Lot's of it surrounding swimming! Some of it lying about recovering.

We also had a few visitors pop in briefly to check out the island, and Michelle goes bush...
So, without further ado! (or is that 'todo'?).... read on!



Just a random moon shot



Jamaica

Jake headed off to Jamaica for a swim meet earlier in the month.  He had the meet of the season, doing PBs in every race, and dropping 5 seconds in 400m Free and 6 seconds in 100m Free, to come within 1 second of qualifying times for Carifta (Caribbean Champs). Very proud parents! The only hiccup of the weekend was Jake forgetting his swim bag one morning...luckily some of the adults were still to get to the pool so he got his swim cap and goggles just in time for his race.
Michelle also went, but in the capacity of an Official. This was her first time officiating at an overseas meet and it was quite an experience. They put her to good use as Stroke and Turn judge, walking up and down the pool side and end for each of the three 5 hour sessions with no breaks - she was exhausted by the end of the weekend!

 Great experience for both Jake and Michelle though.  She might even get called upon to officiate in Barbados in April!

 National Swim Champs

So, this time of year is building to the business end of the swim season.  The Cayman Nationals were held the other weekend.  Starting on Wednesday, there were two sessions each day, pre-lims and finals (morning and late afternoon) right through to Saturday.  And then on Sunday, for those who hadn't had enough, or just had mean parents and Coaches, there was the 5km Sea swim.

All events were qualifiers for the Caribbean Champs coming up over Easter in Barbados.  



Sam kicks off the meet with a decent swim in the 800m Free dropping over 30 seconds!



 



And a Gold!



 

Jake is raring to go!

 

Wohoo!  Pretty chuffed with his medal.

 

 Both Sam and Jake did plenty of swimming over the four days at the pool. Both doing some pretty good times and PBs as well.  Sam qualified for a number of events at Carifta.  Jake was oh so close!  Keep working hard Jake, next year might be your year.

 

'twas a bit cool on the first two days. 
The temp plummeted to a freezing 22 degrees (Celsius)

 

 

Sam 'n Ella (yes, they are collectively known as a bacteria) are pretty tired after their last event at the pool - both did big PBs in the 200 back and took a good half an hour to recover.

 

Jake strikes again!

 So, as you may have worked out, the Kid's Coach made them do the 5km Sea swim on the Sunday. Or maybe it was their Mother...

Anyway, another early start, this time at Governor's Beach.



The Stingray boys are all marked up and ready to go.



 Apparently a lot of the kids were tired after the four days of swimming, so the numbers were a little low for the sea swim.  But that didn't matter, those that were there were ready to go!

The girls just want to pose for the camera.

 

Michelle is one of the officials.
Here she is pictured trying to locate the start.

The course was 4 laps of a 1250m course.  Looked a bit longer to all of the experts, and felt a bit longer for the swimmers!

 


Waiting for the starting hooter....
and maybe Michelle?



And they're off!

 

 

Jake's watch rounds the turn on another lap.

If you look close enough, you can see Dave chillin' out on his boat while the kids swim past. 
(Yep, the little red one on the far left...)

 

Jake heads off on the last lap

 

Finished....but managed to collect a few Jellyfish stings on the way...

 

Jake brings it home

 

 

Dave Wins!

Some of you may not have heard the news but recently Dave was lucky enough to win an Audi and an all expenses paid weekend away with the use of a private jet for the weekend.  How cool is that!!!Unfortunately Michelle was away in Jamaica so Dave had to take Miss Cayman and a couple of her friends instead...





Dave, with Miss Cayman and a couple of her friends...with one of her friend's Dad.



OK, there might be a slight exaggeration. Michelle was away - that part is true!

It was actually time for Cayman's biggest and flashest party of the year.  The Island Air Party at the airport.    It's always a very well-to-do affair (and invite only).  Dave went along with a couple of mates to check out the private jets, flash cars, boats and everything else that comes with it.

Just a lazy 12 mil for this little baby

 

OK, where to?

 

With Chris and Marty. 
Marty is a Cayman Kiwi who has moved back to NZ - but managed to time his visit perfectly!

Don Pops In



Don Calder, one of Dave's good mates from his Army days paid a visit to Cayman last week.  Don lives in Canada now and was on a Cruise ship that just happened to be stopping in. He was accompanied by Liz, her two daughters, and friend Lil!

Dave picked them and crammed everyone into the car for a quick tour starting at Camana Bay.

The girls did a little shopping, a little looking around and Don and Dave had a little beer.

 Then it was off to Spotts Beach. The girls wanted some sun and some beach. Don wanted some sea and some beer.  Everyone was happy!

Dave chose Spotts because it was usually fairly quiet and there were often Turtles hanging about. This day was no exception...phew!!!

 

Unfortunately Don had the camera at this point, so Dave got his pic taken with Mr. Turtle.

 

The girls chill out after a snorkel with the Turtles

 

Don returns from the deep

 

 

The Gang!

After some sun and sand and sea (and Turtles), and a beer or two, it was time to head back to the cruise ship.  We still had a bit of time so we stopped at the Rugby Club for a quick beer.  Then into town and another roady before it was time to catch the ship.

Ooops...sideways again!

So, a brief visit, but it was great to catch up with Don and the gang. 

Off the Beaten Track

It's the season for the team relays - this month was Off the  Beaten Track where all the routes are new each year and only made available a few days before the race - you get given basic instructions and a map and then have to figure out where you are supposed to be running. It's mostly off road or on back roads and tracks, cutting through bush and creeks to get to your destination. Its a lot of fun trying to figure it out and can be quite stressful if you don't have time to do it in the daylight before the race as there are very few markers and officials on the route to point you in the right direction - many people get lost and end up running way further than they need to. There are 6 legs of 5-6 miles each and this year there were 62 teams and 12 crazy runners that did the whole thing on their own (50km)! Michelle's team have done it every year since it started 6 years ago, although she's only done about 4 of them. Of those years, the team had been first female team in all but one, last year where they lost by a few seconds in the very last part of the race. So the pressure was on to regain their title...



 All of the girls had really good runs and luckily all knew their routes well and didn't ake any wrong turns - the girls came in at about 4 hours 36, 12th over all and once again taking the title of the first female team, and this time convincingly - the next female team was about 20 minutes behind - well done girls... whoop!!

They even made the paper. Click here to see the story.

 

Click here for more February Photos!

And in breaking news:

Sam was selected in the Cayman team to swim at Carifta (Caribbean Champs) being held in Barbados over Easter.  They are still deciding which events she will swim. More on that in a later issue.  Well done Sam!

Click to see the news article here.

Well, that's it for February!

• March brings us more swimming with the Stingray Club Sprint Meet and also the Open Water Relay.
• We have a feeling we'll have a few special pests pop in from Vancouver.
• Maybe we'll get to the beach at some stage (to relax!)
• Michelle heads north for a bit of coolness
• Touch Rugby and Gaelic Football continue

See y'all next time!