. June 2017 .
Hi there,
A fair bit happening in June!
International Rugby, International Swimming, International Travel, and a bunch of local things going on as well.
Plenty of water time - this time salt water (on and under). A visitor comes to stay. Also a celebration or two and a significant milestone!
Happy 100th (Great) Granddad!
Michelle made the trip back to NZ in June to help celebrate her Granddad's 100th birthday. He'd recently had a fall which landed him in hospital unable to walk, so there was some concern as to whether he could make the celebration lunch and afternoon tea. But he was determined to make it and after a bumpy ride in the ambulance, he enjoyed being the centre of attention and catching up with all the family and friends that came to help him celebrate this milestone.
Michelle had a great time catching up with family and friends, most of whom she hadn't seen in a very long time.
A selfie on Grandad's actual birthday!
Posing for a few pics before the crowds arrived
Some special messages - including from the Prime Minister and the Queen
Managed to go to the Lions vs Canterbury Rugby game - it was pretty cool, despite the result!
Went to the beach - no swimming though - far too cold for that!!
And went for some lovely, picturesque, albeit very cold, runs
One of the many new developments in Rangiora - very nice to run/walk around
Cayman v Mexico
This year there was only one international rugby game in Cayman, and that was against Mexico as part of the North America/Caribbean Championship.
As usual the Cayman Rugby TV Crew was there and streamed the game live to the world - complete with professional commentary and random insights.
(fast forward past the anthems etc)
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| CRTV Crew in their Corporate attire |
The weather was terrible, with torrential rain throughout the day (the TV crew were in the Media Tower so they were nice and dry... although the sponsor (Heineken) made sure that the coverage was appropriate for the occasion). It did clear a little for the game though. Las Serpientes (Mexico) had beaten USA South and just needed to beat Cayman to win the Northern region title (winner plays the southern winner - Guyana - for the overall title). They started well but might have struggled in the conditions but went into the break 17 - 15 up. Cayman had just come off a win against Bermuda (away) and were keen to build on that. And build they did! Cayman stuck to their plan and worked hard to keep Mexico scoreless in the second half to come away with a 39 - 17 Victory. The locals were happy!
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| Catching up with a fellow Kiwi who plays for Mexico - Simon Pierre (ex Dunedin Pirates). |
UANA Open Water Swim Champs
While Michelle was jetting around the globe, Dave and the kids were having some early morning starts at the beach. It was the UANA Open Water Swim Champs and both Sam and Jake were swimming.
First up was the 2.5k relay on Friday morning (approx 600m each). Because they don't hold Cayman Passports they had to form an 'exhibition' team with two other swimmers. They did pretty good against some strong International teams (Canada & Peru) and finished in third spot. But as they were an exhibition team, they couldn't collect the medal.
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| Sam and Ali get ready for their leg (Ali swam for the official Cayman Team) |
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| Sam and Jake tag for the final leg |
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| Done! |
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| Jake brought them home in 3rd (46 min 19 Sec) |
Next up was the One Mile Sea swim on Saturday afternoon. The whole family usually does this, but with Michelle away, it was down to three.
This is the Richest Sea Swim in the world now, and one of the biggest, with over 1100 swimmers and over $100,000 in prizes.
There were a bunch of international and Olympic swimmers taking part.
Grant Hackett was there, a whole bunch of US Olympians featured as well. And Dave swam too...
It was a closely run race amongst the Bailey family:
Jake came in in 56th place in 21 min 06 sec
Sam came in in 79th place in 22 min 19 sec
Dave was just behind them in 671st place in 43 min 21 sec (a personal best!)
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| While Dave was still swimming, the kids were posing for photographs. |
After the race, there is a big prize draw for random prizes. Two years ago Michelle won flights to Washington! She won a Tablet the previous year. Both kids had also won prizes. Dave had never won a thing after 8 years of trying. But this year would be different. Dave finally broke the drought and won $80 petrol vouchers! Better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick!
Sunday there was another race - this time it was the 2.5k individual race. There were more swimmers for this one with USA & Columbia and few others joining Canada, Peru and Cayman.
Jake came in in 8th place in 35.59 in the Junior mens race. Sam came 9th in her race in 36.18.
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| The Cayman Team |
Then finally, on the Monday, was the 5k and 10k race. Sam and Jake were both in the 5k.
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| Girls lining up in the 'Elite' class |
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| Boys 'Elite' 5k |
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| Jake doesn't draft much in the sea swims... |
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| Sam ups the pace in the final lap to pull away |
Jake finished the 5k in 1:11.53 (8th) and Sam came in in 1:14.46 (8th).
A big four days of open water swimming, and competing against top level swimmers was an awesome experience for them as well.
Click here to see a few more cool pics from the Sea Swims
Gaelic Finals Day
After coming second in the League (they drew but the winner was determined based on total points scored), it was time for finals day, and a chance for a trophy. First game up was a knock out match against the third placed team. It was a tough affair but Michelle's team came away with the win.
The final was later in the day. Again, this was a closely fought and low-scoring match. Both teams had opportunities but not many were converted into points. There were 3 points in it at half time (not to the good guys).
The second half was very tight and the pressure was on in the last few minutes to finish on a high, but in the end it wasn't to be.
A good final match though.
Skyler visits
Skyler came down from Vancouver to spend a week with us (OK, Sam).
It had been a while. Upon arrival, Sky had to endure the Swim club prizegiving, which was luckily at the George Town Yacht Club (about 600m from the airport). But once that was over they headed out with some friends on a boat for the rest of the afternoon.
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| Out at Starfish point |
They pretty much spent most of the week together either sleeping, hanging out by the pool, at the beach, on a boat or at some random party. But they seemed to be having fun anyway, which was the main thing!
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| It's a tough life... |
The week went fast! And it was sad to say goodbye...
Sam's Graduation
Sam's High School Graduation was last week. Dave still struggles with this concept (especially when she still has two more years of school left), but anyway, it was a pretty cool occasion.
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| Graduated with Honours. Well done! |
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| Some of her class mates |
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| Sky (left) and Taylor (right) travelled all the way from Canada for this! |
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| Taylor, Sam and Sky |
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| And Katherine! |
Nights Out
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Michelle and Dave went to the Kimpton for Michelle's work party.
It was a pretty big affair and a lot of fun! It was more formal than initially expected so Michelle had to run out and buy a new dress at the last minute - she was pretty happy with what she managed to find on island in her lunch hour!
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| These guys even came down for the occasion |
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Sami and Sam getting ready for the Prom.
Sam's year organised their Prom night
(also at the Kimpton - but on the following night!)
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| It's L & P... |
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| Party Time! |
Diving
We managed to squeeze a couple of Dives in June. The first was at Eden Rock, in search of the elusive Silversides that were rumoured to be in town. They hadn't been seen for a year or two, so the excitement levels were high...
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| None in the first swim though... |
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| Found them! |
After some searching about we eventually spotted them in another swim through. There wasn't as many as in previous years, but it was still pretty cool to see them and swim through them. Watch the video to see that.
(If the video doesn't play, try the links just below)
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| Nassau Grouper |
Our second dive was at Lighthouse point in West Bay.
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| Neptune was there! |
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| So was Mr. Turtle |
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Jake's U14 Touch Team for the Summer League.
They play in the Adult Social Division, and are doing pretty well!
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Dave's Pineapple finally grew!
It took a while, and was fairly low-maintenance...but sweet 'n juicy!!!
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Next month:
Hmmmm...July looks to be fairly quiet in the grand scheme of things. The kids are now off school, but still training twice a day at the pool, so that keeps them busy!
Jake is off to Florida for a swim meet late July, and Sam the first weekend in August. Apart from that... we'll just have to cuff it!
