. April 2017 .
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| Jake is Fly-ing! |
Hello!
As you might have gathered, there could be a bit to do with swimming this month. Sam and Jake both made the Cayman Swim team to compete in Nassau Bahamas at the CARIFTA games (Caribbean swim champs). There's a few pics included below...
That was pretty much the focus for April...apart from ANZAC Day of course!
CARIFTA 2017 - Nassau, Bahamas
31 Swimmers made the Cayman national team for Bahamas in 2017. Probably one of the biggest in a while, which shows that something is working in the swimming world here.
The meet was held over Easter weekend (Saturday - Tuesday, with the Open Water 5k on the Wednesday).
The direct BA flight to London from Cayman stops in Bahamas (so it isn't really direct) and we took that which made the travel pretty straight forward!
The team were staying at an All-Inclusive resort hotel. Michelle and Dave (and a few other supporters) slummed it at other Hotels around the town. There was about 8 of us Cayman folk at our hotel, so we had a couple of dinners etc together, which was nice.
Sam's first Carifta meet was here about 5 years ago. Michelle came on that so had a little bit of prior knowledge of the place. Dave and Jake had only been to Freeport (on Grand Bahama) six times (for Rugby) but hadn't spent any time in Nassau.
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Captain's Team talk just before the first event
(it must have worked!)
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| And the first event would be the girls 15 - 17 800m Free, featuring S. Bailey. |
Sam would be swimming in the heat with her Jamaican swim buddy, Annabella Lyn (Yellow Cap).
This was the first of two timed final heats, the second being swum at the evening session that night. If Sam could do a fast enough swim in the morning session, she could still medal.
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| The two of them led from the start and were neck and neck for most of the race. |
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| The Cayman Team were very vocal and supportive! |
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Both still smiling straight after the race!
Sam had a strong swim and pulled away at the end to take first place with a decent time of 9:38.88 (a 6 second drop).
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Michelle was selected to be one of the officials for the meet (Stroke and Turn Judge).
Some hot days out there in the sun!
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Later that evening....... And lo and behold Sam's time was good enough to take the bronze in the 800 Free. Great start to the meet!
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| A visit to the dais for the medal presentation. |
The Cayman team won 13 Medals on the first day. That was pretty impressive as their total from the entire meet last year was 12! Things are looking good for the rest of the meet!
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| Doing his pre-race Stevie Wonder impression, Jake's first event was the 100 Fly (1:05:18 - a 2.45 second drop) |
Jake put in some really good swims again this year. He had aged up, so was up against some pretty strong competition. But he did really well and dropped times in most events as well as making a number of finals.
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| Looking good! |
So, there were 8 swim sessions in all at the pool. Morning, from about 8:30 - 11 ish, and every night from 6 until around 9:30. Lots of swimming. Lots of noise!
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| Coach, Sam and Ria look on |
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| Both Sam and Jake were entered in the IM races |
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| Sam 'n Ella |
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| Sam and Lauren in the 200 Free |
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| Michelle keeps an eye on things |
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| View from the starting end |
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| Jake getting pumped for his next race! |
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| Sam in the 200 Back |
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| These girls had a great meet in the relays, with two Silver (800 Free & 400 Free relays) and a Bronze medal (200 Free relay) |
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| First batch of medalists on day 1 |
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| Pretty happy relay team! |
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Dave and Jacko catch up with "the voice" (he MC's all of the swim meets in the region and
across the US as well apparently).
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| Jake chillin... |
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| Miss Cayman was in town as well so popped in to cheer the Cayman swimmers on! |
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And of course there was a pretty vocal support crew on the opposite side of the pool for every session.
We always have the best shirts!
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Between sessions we got to have a little bit of a look around Nassau. With Michelle working, we had a little less time, but still managed to get a few places.
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| The Caves |
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| Cruising about |
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| Busy day in Nassau |
We visited a few historical places including two Forts and a staircase...
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| A bit more elevation, and a favourable breeze...we can take this Gin Palace out! |
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| Yup... light the fuse! |
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| The Queen's Steps - not sure which Queen we are talking about here. |
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| Michelle could only make it half way up... That Swim judging is tough work! |
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| Some interesting sculptures of Slaves made from trees |
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| Our Hotel was pretty flash |
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| Just up from a dive (see further below) |
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| We did manage to take the odd break and relax a little at the hotel |
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| There was a bar (or two) within walking distance... |
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| Nothing like enjoying a decent Mango Daiquiri at the pool to soothe the vocal chords! |
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Sky Juice - the local drink.
(Gin, Coconut water and condensed milk. It is surprisingly drinkable!)
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| Nice spot for a ... spot of lunch! |
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| We couldn't not visit this place but it took some finding! |
Michelle needed a spoon for that drink!
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| A 'must do' if in Nassau |
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The Daiquiri Shack was directly opposite the kid's hotel...
(Well, we did wave across the street to the kids.)
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At the Daquiri Shack you choose your fruit and they make your drink for you on the spot - loaded or unloaded!
Fresh, tasty and cheaper than any bar you might find!
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| A guy taking his pig for a walk...as you do! |
Nassau Diving
On the day before the meet started we booked in for a couple of dives with a local dive company.
We were picked up from the hotel and taken to the dive shop, kitted out and directed to a boat and we were soon out on the water.
The first dive was a wall dive - 6000feet drop - (with a wreck at the shallow end - which we found first... not sure that the dive master was that happy about that! Oh well...). I think we've been a bit spoiled in Cayman with the diving, as this dive was a little ho-hum, not to mention blimmin cold!
The second dive was a shallow dive where there were a couple of statues and also a small wreck.
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This is the small wreck. It's the plane from the Jaws Movie which was partly filmed here.
This is the plane that Jaws leaps out of the water and takes down...
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We tried to avoid this lot.
One of the other tour boats had these little Snorkel Scooter things. It's like putting your head in an upside down fish bowl and sitting on a sccoter, then going for a dive to 15 feet. Dave had used one of these in the US Virgin Islands with Dino when he was down visiting on a cruise ship a few years back - good times! They are a bit of a laugh.
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| A 'normal' sized statue |
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Then there was this behemouth! It's huge! Apparently it's the (or one of) the biggest underwater statues in the world.
{We haven't verified this at all. Take our word...}
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Open Water 5k
Just when you'd thought we were done with the swimming...
Sam and Jake had also qualified for the Open Water 5k Sea Swim. The weather had been very windy all week, so there were a few worried faces when the wind hadn't dropped for this race. Sam did this race in Aruba three years ago and it was rough as well - put her off for years. Not fun!
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| Coach provides advice and the race plan to deal with the conditions and the other swimmers |
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| Jake heads in for the Boys race. |
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| Sam is in remarkably good spirits on her way into the water. |
Our photos don't show how rough it really was out there. Jake swam a strong race, keeping with a small pack for most of it until it broke up and he went out on his own.
There were some issues with the officials and placings at the finish, but he finished inside the top 20 boys and beat a whole bunch of older swimmers that didn't handle the conditions as well.
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| Luckily we had a zoom lens and managed to spot Jake bobbing about on the high seas. |
The girls started their race about 5 minutes after the boys. Sam and Ria secured the pole position for the start and got the jump on most of the field. They formed a pack with about 3 or four others and Sam swam smartly (according to the coach) behind some Guadoloupe swimmers for most of the race.
Unfortunately she somehow got separated from the group on the third and final lap, but then that group took the long way to the next bouy and Sam somehow had caught them again for the long final leg to the finish.
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| Sam at the finish - note the guy pointing at the swimmer in front. There was a great debate about her as she didn't tag the finish and according to some, should have been disqualified or at least recorded as not finishing as that is a requirement. |
It looked like Sam crossed in 6th place overall, but no-one knew how many of that group were her age group or another. She was in pieces. Totally exhausted and beaten up by the rough conditions.
After about an hour of discussions, arguments among officials and general uselessness, Sam found out she had placed third in the 15 - 17 Girls . Wohoo!
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| The Cayman Open Water team. |
In the end Cayman got a Silver in the Boys 15 - 17, and two Bronze finishes in the Girls 15 - 17 (Sam) and the girls 13 - 14 (Ria). A great result which brought Cayman's total medal count up to 50! The previous best was 46 in 2004.
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| This shows some of the rough conditions |
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| Happy Swimmers - Happy Coach! |
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| The Medal Winners! |
We were very pround of Sam and Jake, as well as the rest of the swim team. It was great to witness their successes after all of hard work they had put in to get there, and it was so exciting to watch them each night of finals as the medal talley grew and grew!
Click here for more Bahamas pics!
Random Carifta Pics (stolen)
Click here for more Bahamas pics!
Random Carifta Pics (stolen)
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| Motivational words from the Coach |
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| Happy girls after another relay medal! |
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| The most successful Cayman Swim Team ever - 3rd place in the entire Caribbean! |
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| Pre-Sea Swim Smiles |
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| Swim Buddies from around the Caribbean |
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| More pre-race smiles! |
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A nice result for Sam - 5 Medals!
She has worked hard over the last few years, so it's great to see some reward for that.
Onward and upward!
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ANZAC Day
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Dave delivers the Ode:
"At the going down of the sun, and in the morning..."
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ANZAC Day in Cayman is always a fairly casual affair, but follows the standard ANZAC Dawn Service Protocols and is well attended. There were around thirty something Kiwis and Aussies in attendance.
The South Sound Dock is the usual spot for this.
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| It's a great spot for the sunrise |
Rum and Coffee and ANZAC Biscuits were served after the service. Then it was home to get ready for work. No day off in Cayman for ANZAC Day!
Click here for more ANZAC Day pics
Gaelic Football
Meanwhile, Michelle has continued playing Gaelic Football (GAA) every second Sunday for the last few months. They've doing pretty well winning more than they are losing! Michelle has featured on the scoreboard a few times and is probably one of the stronger and fitter members of her team, the Oliver Plunketts.
Gaelic Football
Meanwhile, Michelle has continued playing Gaelic Football (GAA) every second Sunday for the last few months. They've doing pretty well winning more than they are losing! Michelle has featured on the scoreboard a few times and is probably one of the stronger and fitter members of her team, the Oliver Plunketts.
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| The Oliver Plunketts on a non-playing Sunday at the beach! |
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| Photo provided by one of our readers (Dino) who found this on his recent travels in Florida. |
There you go. Lesson for the day!
Next Month:
A social outing, or two maybe?
Batabano!
Rugby Trip - Freeport
and Michelle heads back to NZ for a short visit to celebrate her Grandfather's 100th birthday!!
She'll be based in Christchurch/Rangiora so let her know if you're about between 3-12 June
and Michelle heads back to NZ for a short visit to celebrate her Grandfather's 100th birthday!!
She'll be based in Christchurch/Rangiora so let her know if you're about between 3-12 June
Catch ya next time!
