The front page of the 5 Sept. 1973 Cayman Compass announced the “largest real estate transaction in the history of the Cayman Islands”, which was Interbank House Group acquiring the “mammoth” Governor’s Harbour development. The 450-acre development included a 20,000-foot seawall (which was completed in a “record time” of 90 days) along with a central underground piped-water and sewage-disposal system. The accompanying photo offered a ‘Sneak Preview’ of the plans for the development.
Page 2 had a photo of the vessel, The Cayman Star, being put back in the water to be used once more for turtling. The boat was one of 14 being worked on at Harbour House Marina.
This issue of the Compass also contained an editorial calling for “drastic action” to prevent a bad accident on the water, or otherwise “Cayman’s beautiful clear blue waters are going to run red with blood”. The paper was dramatically highlighting the issue of “motor boats coming too close to the shore where people, mostly children, are swimming”. More specifically, it noted the danger of these boats pulling water-skiers, saying that “the speed boats continue their run close to the beach”. Several recommendations were made including calling for constant police patrols of the beaches, registering and insuring all boats, and asking boat drivers to “use more discretion”. Noting that they couldn’t predict when a “serious accident” will happen, the editorial ended by warning, “But, unless something positive is done, we can only say it will most likely occur.”
There were also two pages of photos, headlined ‘Preserving Cayman Heritage’, that celebrated traditional Caymanian architecture. While noting how George Town had become a showcase of “modern architecture that Caymanians can be proud of”, the story asked readers to “remember what makes Cayman so unique is its beautiful old characteristic houses”, with the writer wondering “how many will be left in 10-20 years time?”
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