Stingray City - a brief history

[drew sailbum]

As the largest tourist attraction in the Cayman Islands, Stingray City has developed a bit of a lore all its own. This is a brief history.

 

The rays were there, no doubt about it. They had been gathering in the same spot for years. Throughout the early years of Cayman tourism (starting in the 1950's) the rays were swarming. Only nobody paid them much mind.

 

Throughout Cayman's long seafaring history, local fishermen had set out to the deep Caribbean waters to bring in a catch. And as the day neared an end, the boats would return inside the protection of a barrier reef to anchor in calmer waters to clean their catch.

 

And so it went, day after day. The fishing boats would anchor just inside the reef, quite close to the boat channel, and dicard the bits from their catch that they did not want. And this continued day after day for many years.

 

Eventually, a new breed took to the Cayman waters. Joining the fishermen out there, a few dive boat captains began making a daily foray out onto the North Wall. Seeking calmer seas, a few began to anchor up just inside the reef as they waited between dives.

 

He might never say exactly what gave him them the idea, but friends Pat Kenney and Jay Ireland took it one step further. In their daily stops Pat and Jay made consistent efforts, over many months, to entice the stingrays just a bit closer.

 

And then success. Eventually, after trying for months "Hoo-ray" became the first stingray to take food from a diver's hand. Other rays were named, and distinct personalities were observed.

 

Pat and Jay got to know these rays, and eventually introduced the world to the stingrays. It was a few years later when another local diver coined the name Stingray City.

 

You can still find Pat around the island... somewhere. He's become as much of a fixture in Cayman as the rays.

 

And the rays... well they are a long lived species, and some of those stingrays from the early days may still be enjoying handouts. Hooray!

[twinkletoes4445]

That's really interesting! Can you imagine being the first ones to actually feed the rays?

 

Drew...do you know why so many of the cemeteries are located right next to the ocean? During our stay, and as we drove around the island, we were noticed this many times.

[drew sailbum]

Travel around the smaller islands of the Caribbean and look for the same patterns, cemeteries were often built on the beach in times gone by.

 

The Cayman Islands were first sighted in 1503 by Christopher Colombus. Settlement would have to wait until 1661. The early settlers were seamen with a healthy respect for the power of the sea.

 

Early island settlers, in Cayman and elsewhere, would often move inland seeking arable land for farming and to avoid damage from storm surge in violent and unpredictable hurricanes. That left a lot of "useless" land - just miles of powdery sand beach that was no good for crops and was susceptable to being flooded in a storm.

 

And so the cemetaries were put on the seafront. Usually not right on the sand of the beach, but just barely far enough in that a proper grave could be dug without the soil collapsing on the gravedigger.

[twinkletoes4445]

Well, that's very interesting. We've not traveled to a lot of islands, and never have we exlpored one like we did on GC, so we were not sure why they would do this. I wondered if it had something to do with being close to the water, or something like that.

 

<<<<<That left a lot of "useless" land - just miles of powdery sand beach that was no good for crops and was susceptable to being flooded in a storm.>>>>

 

Well, that "useless" land costs a pretty penny these days as we are finding out. We're thinking about buying a condo on 7MB. That's how much we love it there! We want to use it as an investment property, and visit a few times a year. So far, we don't have the firm numbers on just how often the place would be rented. Then maybe one of these days, we could spend part of the year there...that would be so nice! I will say, the Cayman Islands is a great place to own property. The tax laws are definately in your favor...it's just coming up with the $$$$$$ to get one in the first place! :)

[kruisecat]

Drew - thanks for the great history lesson! I loved the rays when I went in 01 and am headed back in 4 weeks and can't wait to see them again. This time we're bringing some small friends (10 & 7 years old) so the history is great for them to know before we arrive!