The top article in the 29 Jan. 1976 issue of the Caymanian Compass reported ‘Marooned Sailors Reach Cayman” and described the anchoring at the Holiday Inn of the 52-foot ketch called ‘Poco Loco’, which arrived from Swan Islands where the crew members spent 11 days having the rudder repaired and refuelling for the trip to Cayman.
The crew, from Florida, had left Jacksonville for a three-day holiday to Key West and the Dry Tortugas and were caught in a 36-hour storm north of Cuba on 5 Jan. “The aftereffects of the ranging storm lasted six days, tossing the crew about like toys,” the article said. The ship was blown 30 miles off Honduras where it gradually lost the mizzen mast, ran out of fuel, lost power, radio, oars and dinghy, and the sails were ripped. With limited water supply, the crew drifted for the next eight days, eating marinated artichokes and pickle juice, wondering if they were going to make it. They were finally rescued and towed to Swan Island by a ship out of Rock Port Texas, which happened to pass by.
Members of the crew were all ill, and one suffered a broken shoulder and finger.
The story, which made television news in the US “sounded really exciting”, said Mark Austin of the crew, “but the real thing was harrowing and we’re glad to be back.”
A photo on the front page showed that vandals had damaged a flower centrepiece built by the Rotary Club in the car park in the back of the English Shoppe.
Another article, on CUC blackouts, noted “Grand Cayman residents and visitors got a surprise opportunity to go ‘primitive’ … during six island-wide power outages.” CUC customers were already “rankled by exorbitant rates and confusion regarding a rate increase”, mentioned in last week’s story, and “further angered as restaurant freezers slowly defrosted and air conditioners and other large appliances experienced damaging power surges”.
CUC manager Roy McMillan said, “we are trying”, and pointing out that the blackouts were the first since November.
Another article, ‘Cayman Trough Project in Progress’, described a US scientific underseas research project that started that week. The first series of dives was taking place about 80 miles southwest of Grand Cayman.
The editorial tackled two topics: the appeals tribunal and crime prevention.
With the tribunal, it said Caymanian residents can be assured that fears about the original objectives to the plan will be allayed, and that all coming before the tribunal “are made to feel that their case is getting the appropriate consideration”.
On the topic of crime prevention, it called on “all citizens of the country to support the police in their crime prevention efforts. Crime prevention is more important that crime detection. While the police on the one hand are going all out to maintain a very low crime rate in Cayman, they still need the cooperation of all citizens in the country.”
An advertisement from the Royal Bank appeared on page three of the paper, encouraging residents to save “for good things” like dream vacations, engagement rings, a beautiful chair or an appliance that would make life easier.
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