Camana Bay, George Town (Tuesday 26 March 2013): Local maritime and holiday traditions will meet over the Easter Weekend, as the Cayman Catboat Club gears up for the 8th Annual Cayman Catboat Easter Regatta, taking place on Easter Saturday at Tiki Beach. Easter campers on Seven Mile Beach – and the wider community – are invited to watch this exciting, traditional event as local sailors head out for a day of competition on the water.

The races will take place on Saturday 30 March from 12pm – 4pm, just off-shore from Tiki Beach. This is the penultimate event in the Cayman Catboat Club Championship Series, as the teams race towards a place in the final, the Camana Bay National Catboat Championship, held on Remembrance Day in November. The series is based on the accumulation of points from races throughout the year, and the Easter Regatta is the first qualifying event in the series.

“The Catboat Easter Regatta is a long-time tradition here in Cayman,” says Davina Tresidder, Camana Bay Events Manager and Promotions Officer for the Cayman Catboat Club. “There will be seven boats, with teams of two or three people on each boat.”

Historically, catboat races were held in Whitehall Bay, George Town. In recent years, the Catboat Club has hosted regattas at public beaches around the island, often coinciding with community events like district heritage days, to help raise the profile of the Club and bring the tradition of catboat racing back into the local community. Along with an exciting day of races, spectators at this family-friendly event can visit the Catboat Club information booth to speak firsthand with the experts and learn about one of the Islands’ oldest traditions.

Introduced in Cayman in the early 1900s, catboats were vital to survival in the early days of Cayman – before modern transportation arrived. In their heyday, the handcrafted wooden boats were a common sight in George Town harbour and used for turtling, fishing and transportation, as well as to unload cargo from ships and distribute supplies and packages to the districts. As time progressed, however, their numbers dwindled.

Over the past 14 years, the Cayman Catboat Club has worked hard to raise awareness of the importance of the catboat to the history of the Cayman Islands and preserve its cultural legacy. Events like the Cayman Catboat Club Championship Series are a significant step towards bringing the history and heritage of the traditional vessel alive again, alongside the continued efforts of the Club and its sponsors, including Dart Cayman Islands.

In 2011, Dart Cayman Islands signed a three-year sponsorship agreement with the Club to offset restoration costs of the Whittaker Cat, a 24-foot catboat built in 1962. Now used for educational programmes, funds support the Club’s ongoing educational outreach; the Cayman Catboat Club Championship Series; and the Gwen Bush Memorial Scholarship, aimed at reviving boat-building skills once prominent amongst Caymanians.

Dart confirmed its commitment to the Cayman Catboat Club at Camana Bay’s Business After Hours event in September 2012, pledging to work with the Club to complete their harbour-front Clubhouse, which was badly damaged during Hurricane Ivan. The Clubhouse is scheduled for completion in April 2013.

“They’re fun boats with beautiful lines,” says Tresidder, “It’s an honour to be able to support the Club and help preserve a tradition that is uniquely and truly Caymanian.” And with the Club soon back in its original location in Whitehall Bay, and events like the Easter Regatta becoming more and more popular throughout the community, the Cayman Catboat Club is making remarkable progress in preserving Caymanian heritage.”

Photo Caption: Seven catboats, including the Whittaker Cat, will take to the water on Saturday 30 March 2013 for the 8th Annual Cayman Catboat Easter Regatta.