A traditional sailing vessel built by Cayman Boats Ltd of Cayman Brac, the Fair Weather is a classic example of the wooden boats once built throughout the Cayman Islands and earned local shipwrights a reputation as some of the best in the world.

Her return to Cayman will help keep the memory of the Islands’ seafaring and boatbuilding days alive and educate young people about their Islands’ history.

Finding the Fair Weather

During the long days of lockdown, local businessman Paul Deegan had a lot of time on his hands. While surfing the internet, one of his perusals brought up a boat in La Manga, Spain, whose graceful lines were uncannily familiar. As he read the listing for La Bella Lola, he realised that she looked very similar in size and shape to a Cayman-built schooner. A little digging at the National Archives confirmed that it was, in fact, the Fair Weather, a 72-foot yacht commissioned by Sir Anthony Jenkinson in 1947.

Deegan knew that this rare boat had to be saved. He travelled to Spain in May 2022 along with his business partner Chris Rowland and master Boat Captain Patrick Rogers to inspect and sail the yacht with a view to purchasing it.

Learning from past mistakes

This is not the first time a Caymanian schooner has been found and returned to her place of origin. In the 1980s, the Goldfield, reputed to be one of the most magnificent schooners ever built in Cayman, was purchased by the Goldfield Foundation and sailed home. Sadly, that turned out to be her last voyage. With no clear plans for what to do with the vessel, she lay at anchor for months, slowly falling into disrepair and ultimately sinking. Her remains lie on the seabed off Canal Point.

Then, shortly before the pandemic and unknown to Deegan at the time, a consortium of Caymanian elders located the Fair Weather and began negotiations to bring her back. However, lockdown, sickness, and global uncertainty meant the project was also abandoned before it got underway.

It was only after initial negotiations had begun between Deegan and the Spanish owners that he learned of the other consortium. He was now even more determined not to let the Fair Weather endeavour fail. He immediately set about securing funding, setting up a non-profit foundation to ensure the people of Cayman owned the vessel, and formulating clear plans for how the vessel would be used, maintained, and funded.

First Steps

The immediate priority is to make the Fair Weather seaworthy.

“Although she had been through several refits and had gotten one and three-quarters way around the world, she is an old wooden boat and, as such, requires ongoing maintenance,” Deegan says.

She has therefore been taken to T. Nielsen and Company, a shipyard in Gloucester, UK, that specialises in repairing, restoring, and building traditional ships, where she is currently undergoing a complete renovation. The work should be completed by the late summer of 2024, at which point the boat will be shipped to Florida and, from there, sailed back to Cayman just in time for her 75th anniversary in 2025.

Phase 1 Plans

Once home, the Fair Weather’s primary function will be an educational one.

“There is nothing in the curriculum at present about seafaring and shipbuilding,” Deegan points out, “So we are working with both public and private schools to develop a module on that.”

Not only will the schooner be a living example of the island’s boat-building heritage, but she will also function as a training vessel.

“We plan to take kids out on the boat and teach them to read charts, tie knots, and navigate with the stars. We’re putting in more bunks so we can take groups of up to 20 students out and even sail between the Sister Islands,” he adds.

The schooner will also initially be available for exclusive private or corporate charters to cover the maintenance and operational costs. However, to work smoothly with an old boat, the number of passengers and outings will be limited.

There will also be opportunities for the public to sail her as a few free of charge outings will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis each month.

Phase 2 Plans

The five-year plan for The Feather Weather Foundation is even more ambitious.

It includes using the original blueprints for the Fair Weather to build a replica, thereby teaching younger generations about this historic trade. The replica will then take over the Fair Weather’s seagoing role. At the same time, the original vessel will be retired, becoming the centrepiece of a maritime museum, showcasing memorabilia from the schooner along with all manner of artefacts relating to the Islands’ maritime history and its celebrated seafarers.

Deegan has already set his sights on he ideal location for this: Seafarer’s Square in George Town. From there, they will be able to launch the replica the traditional way, and the museum will be a welcome and easily accessible new attraction, whose entrance fees would more than cover the operating costs.

These may sound like lofty plans, but Deegan believes preserving this piece of Cayman’s history is vital. “She is the missing link in our nation’s maritime culture and heritage – and sometimes history cannot be repeated,” he says. “Once she’s gone, she’s gone.”