Dolphin Swimming

Before Office Hours in Dolphin Discovery Cayman

// April 3rd, 2009 // View Comments // Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Locations, News, Riviera Maya

March 20, 2009, Grand Cayman – Over 380 people enjoyed what one guest dubbed, “one of the best BOH events I’ve ever been to at a really remarkable facility,” while mingling with other Chamber of Commerce members at the Thursday evening event held at Dolphin Discovery Cayman. The record number of attendees were welcomed by Chamber President, Stuart Bostock who commented how, “pleased the Council and I are that the owners have decided to join the Chamber of Commerce and to host this popular networking and business development event to showcase their multi-million dollar investment to the membership.”

The journey to open the facility started over 12 years ago until formally opened on December 15, 2008. Since that time the business has shown growth and potential and the facility has welcomed local residents, hotel/condo guests, cruise ship passengers, physically and mentally handicapped persons and many school children have already enjoyed the wonderful educational experience provided by swimming with the dolphins through special programmes created by DDC.

The park itself features a lagoon that is 210’ feet long by 115’ and 12’‘ deep at its deepest point, and holds 2.5 million gallons of water. Over 12 million gallons of water are pumped per day equating to some 4 and a half transfers of the lagoon each day. It houses one of the most advanced life support systems in the world that has total redundancy. DDC is the most advanced facility of the Dolphin Discovery Family featuring everything from full hurricane design and awareness to a full IP digital based photo lab.

Guests were delighted with the full tour provided to Chamber members enabling them to tour the building which is over 14,000 square feet and features a state of the art fish house, marine lab for the dolphins, trainer’s suite, photo and video lab, gift shop, offices and various other services need to run the operation. The crowd was additionally wowed by the trainers who provided a short dolphin show with a wonderful narrative provided for the guests. The entertainment concluded to resounding applause that was perfectly timed was as the sun set to the west.

Gene Thompson, co-owner of the DDC noted that, ”at a cost of some US $9 million we have invested for the long term future of the Cayman Islands with a view to work, contribute, and grow with our beautiful islands. We have partnered with CTF to provide a joint marketing programme and are working with various other organizations in the tourism industry to do our part to improve the quality of our tourism product. We are faced with many challenges from other locations in the Caribbean and our remit is to be the best facility of its kind in the Caribbean and we strive to do this every day with Customer Service first, value and physical appearance of the facility.”

In closing Mr. Thompson thanked, “a few people that have been very supportive through this project. Firstly I would like to thank Almightly God for strength to continue to fulfill this dream, The Government of the Cayman Islands, the department of Agriculture, the Cayman Turtle Farm and Joey Ebanks, Clan Construction, Mr. Ken Hydes of Midas Consulting and last but by no means least, the Chamber of Commerce for allowing us to host the event.”

Grand Cayman, a british territory touched by the Caribbean Sea

// January 26th, 2009 // View Comments // Grand Cayman, Locations

The Cayman Islands were first sighted by Christopher Columbus on 10 May, 1503, and named them Las Tortugas after the numerous sea turtles there. But it was only about three hundred years ago that people began to settle permanently on these islands.

photo credit: Fevi in Cayman

A 1523 map of the islands referred to them as Lagartos, meaning alligators or large lizards, but by 1530 the name Caymanas was being used. It is derived from the Carib Indian word for the marine crocodile, which is now known to have lived in the Islands. This name, or a variant, has been retained ever since. It is believed that the first people to actually land here were sailors from Sir Francis Drake’s 1585 expedition to the West Indies.

The first recorded permanent inhabitant of the Cayman Islands, Isaac Bodden, was born on Grand Cayman around 1700. He was the grandson of the original settler named Bodden who was likely one of Oliver Cromwell’s soldiers at the taking of Jamaica in 1655.

Spain recognized British possession of the Islands in the 1670 Treaty of Madrid. A variety of people settled on the islands: pirates, refugees from the Spanish Inquisition, shipwrecked sailors, and slaves. The majority of Caymanians are of African and British descent, with considerable interracial mixing. Following several unsuccessful attempts, permanent settlement of the islands began in the 1730s. The first settlers brought with them the scourge of slavery that was to last until emancipation in 1835. However, life was not easy for these pioneers, even for freemen, who made a living from subsistence farming and fishing, turtling and woodcutting. At that time, mahogany, in particular, was in great demand for the furniture industry in Europe.

Though Cayman was always regarded as a dependency of Jamaica, the reins of government by that colony were loosely held in the early years, and a tradition grew up of self-government, with matters of public concern decided at meetings of all free males. In 1831 a legislative assembly was established comprising two houses: the eight magistrates appointed by the Governor of Jamaica and ten elected representatives or vestrymen.

In 1953 the first airfield in the Cayman Islands was opened as well as the George Town Public Hospital. Barclays ushered in the age of formalised commerce by opening the first commercial bank. In 1959 Cayman received its first written constitution which, for the first time, allowed women to vote. Cayman ceased to be a dependency of Jamaica. The Islands opted to retain its links with Britain, a decision that continues to lend it political stability and has aided the growth of the financial sector. Following the lead of Bermuda and the Bahamas, the Cayman Legislative Assembly passed the Banks and Trust Companies Law of 1966, which laid the basis for offshore finance services.

In the late 1960s, the first cruise ships called into at George Town, but these visits were rare and in the first half of the 1970s, no more than eight arrived in one year. However, in the 1990s, cruise ship tourism exploded, and in 2007 more than 1,700,000 passengers entered Cayman waters.