With the end of 2022 near, the Cayman Compass team has selected, from the video archive, some of the memorable moments that marked the year.
Caymanian athletes Aaron Jarvis and Jordan Crooks made names for themselves this year in the sports world.
Climate change mobilised youth and activists in the islands. And the topic of climate remained in the headlines with the passage of Hurricane Ian and record levels of sargassum.
The death of Queen Elizabeth II left much of the world and the Cayman Islands in mourning.
The Compass Cold Case Files, in association with the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service, examined the islands’ biggest unsolved crimes over 11 episodes.
Finally, we revisit the controversial selection of Miss Cayman Islands Universe, the housing crisis and the historic selection of Margaret Ramsay-Hale as the islands’ first female chief justice.
Cayman teen makes golf history, heads to US Masters
The year began with teenage golfer Aaron Jarvis becoming the first Caymanian in history to qualify for the US Masters after a thrilling final hole victory at the Latin America Amateur Championship.
The win, secured with a birdie on the 18th hole, propelled 19-year-old Jarvis to the biggest stage in the sport.
The house that hope built
Next, an unprecedented community effort – involving donors, contractors and volunteers from across Cayman – saw a brand new ‘tiny home’ designed, approved and built in record time.
Coordinated by non-profit Acts of Random Kindness, it is the first project of its kind in Cayman and a template for future action to change the lives of hundreds of families living in similarly unsafe conditions.
American Airlines resumes flights to Cayman after two years
In February, Cayman marked the arrival of the first American Airlines flight at Owen Roberts International Airport since the borders closed in 2020.
The flight from Miami came after United Airlines returned to the jurisdiction with the resumption of its routes from Newark, Washington (Dulles), Chicago and Houston.
Activists urge climate action at Government House
Just over 100 young environmental activists joined in a climate march at Government House in March, calling on local leaders to take action on climate change.
“We need action and we needed it a long time ago,” Emily DeCou of Amplify Cayman said when she joined with members of Protect Our Future and Mangrove Rangers to shine light on climate change.
Waving signs and chanting “we want change and we want it now,” the local environmental groups, mainly consisting of students, pleaded for local legislators to pay serious attention to climate issues.
Record-breaking swim puts focus on ocean plastics
After more than 36 hours in the water in May, Oly Rush staggered through a scrim of sargassum fringing the beach, hauled himself to his feet and raised his arms aloft to accept the applause of a large crowd gathered at West Bay Dock.
He had set off, almost alone, from the same spot in the half-light at 5am the previous morning.
The 37-year-old plasterer from Dorset, England, entered the history books as the first person to swim around Grand Cayman.
Sea of Sargassum: Invasion spreads in North Sound
By the summer, businesses and residents along Morgan’s Harbour, West Bay were greeted with large mats of brown sargassum along the shoreline, which they say was the worst they have experienced in the area.
Department of Environment Deputy Director Tim Austin said the department was fielding calls from affected residents in the area and an emergency meeting was planned with government to discuss a way forward.
Tiffany Conolly crowned Miss Cayman Islands Universe 2022
After months of training, public appearances, a motorcade and sashing ceremony, eight contestants took to the stage at the Westin Resort in August to vie for the title of Miss Cayman Islands Universe.
The selection of Tiffany Conolly proved controversial as the 24-year old faced trial on two counts of common assault, two counts of damage to property, two counts of assaulting a police officer, and one count of disorderly conduct.
She has denied all the charges. The verdict is expected in February.
First runner-up Chloe Powery-Doxey was selected to replace Conolly at the Miss Universe pageant.
Cayman reacts as Queen Elizabeth II dies
The Cayman Islands joined millions around the world in mourning the loss of Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away in September at Balmoral Castle in Scotland at age 96.
Governor Martyn Roper, in a statement said, “The death of our much loved, and longest serving monarch, will I know be terribly sad news for people across our three Islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, as well as across the entire world.”
Her Majesty The Queen, he said, served the United Kingdom, Commonwealth and Overseas Territories with “quiet dignity and powerful diplomacy for over 70 years”.
Waves from Hurricane Ian batter Cayman
Later that month, surging seas battered Grand Cayman’s south coast, as Hurricane Ian passed close to the island.
Residents posted videos of waves leaping over sea walls, docks submerged by the rising waters and roads strewn with debris.
Aside from some damage to coastal property, the island escaped the worst impacts of the storm.
Historic day as Ramsay-Hale becomes Cayman’s first female chief justice
Margaret Ramsay-Hale became Cayman’s first female chief justice in October.
Clothed in her late father’s barrister robes, Ramsay-Hale was sworn in on Tuesday, 25 Oct., witnessed by Cayman’s political leaders, her fellow judges, the wider legal fraternity, and scores of viewers online.
Cold Case Files: Irvin Garland Bush
The Compass Cold Case Files, in association with the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service, examined the islands’ biggest unsolved crimes over 11 episodes. The series allowed the public to hear testimonies from family members and detectives involved in cases that marked the islands.
Jordan Crooks becomes Cayman’s first world champion
The arrivals hall at Owen Roberts International Airport filled with people welcoming home Jordan Crooks, who won a gold medal at the FINA World Championships, rounding out our recap of some of the key events of the past year.
Crooks won gold in the 50-metre freestyle event at the FINA World Swimming Championships in Melbourne on Saturday, 17 Dec., becoming Cayman’s first world champion in any sport.
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