George Town merchants, in particular, are frustrated as stormy skies, windy conditions and rough seas are expected to linger through Thursday while a cold front moves across the area.
Cruise passengers who normally throng the downtown area were mostly detoured as ships avoided the Cayman Islands altogether.
The Port Authority stated that two ships due in port Tuesday, Jan. 7, decided to bypass Grand Cayman, as a “light chop” was deemed enough to make tendering difficult. Carnival Glory approached the island, but pulled out soon afterward. Crystal Serenity stopped briefly to allow some passengers to disembark, but according to the customs department at the port, only those who were remaining in the country or flying from here to their next destination left the ship.
Marsha Bryant, director of merchandising for Island Companies, expressed frustration with the weather, exacerbated by the fact that there is no berthing facility in place.
“The poor weather has had a direct impact on our business,” she said. “The lack of berthing facilities makes it impossible for the cruise ship passengers to disembark, [so] it doesn’t bode well for our stores in the George Town sector.”
Majestic Tours is regularly booked for tours through the ships, but faced a day of canceled trips as a result of the weather.
“Even when the ships are in, we’ve had to cancel tours when it’s raining, or if we go ahead, the number of people taking the tours is significantly reduced,” said Nigel Mitten, operations manager of Majestic Tours.
“When there’s lots of rain, people just don’t want to go out. A sun shower is one thing, but when the sky is dark and overcast, they want to stay inside.
“We try to reschedule as much as possible,” he said, “but obviously we can only do that with stayover guests, and even so, in a week like this where bad weather is forecast for days, it’s tough.
“The ships give guests the option to cancel up to the last minute; the cancellation policies are pretty relaxed, so we lose the money. We could have four buses booked, but we only end up with two due to the rain. The weather definitely impacts our business.”
Some dive companies have managed to work around the conditions by choosing dive sites that are more sheltered when there are higher swells, and using alternative docks such as the West Bay Dock.
“The weather hasn’t really affected our work,” said Pete Foster-Smith, operations manager for Sunset Divers. “We get the divers out by avoiding the rough sites, but we’ve had to close the shore diving until the seas calm down.”
Watersports operators are hit particularly hard when bad weather rolls in. Red Sail Sports immediately began to feel the pinch when the cold front arrived, beginning with the cancelation of Stingray City trips.
“When it comes to beach watersports, the sea swells lock the beach out for activities,” said Rod McDowall, operations manager of Red Sail Sports. “When people are in the hotels and it’s rainy, they can go to restaurants or bars to entertain themselves, but no one wants to be out on the beach or the water.
“We were very fortunate that the weather was kind to us in that crucial week in December leading up to New Year’s Eve,” he said, “so we’re grateful for that. And we can take people out diving even if it’s rainy.
“Light rains aren’t the issue,” he said. “It’s the strong winds and deluges that hurt us. We had business with both cruise ships on Tuesday, but what can you do?”
Andres Ramirez, director of catering and convention services at the Westin Grand Cayman, has found the rain particularly challenging in the past month. “It has affected a lot of our outdoor venues,” he said, “including the pool bar and service on the beach.
“People want to stay inside when the weather deteriorates, so we have created an indoor space for them, providing board games and activities to try and keep them happy and entertained. It’s Mother Nature, so there’s nothing we can do.”
The cold front has made life interesting for the manager and his staff this week, as they have a large group in-house where many activities were planned outdoors. “[Yesterday] we had to flip a number of functions around,” he said. “We were to have breakfast on the beach for 270 people, but obviously that had to be moved because of the weather. It’s a challenge.”
John Tibbetts, chief meteorologist for the Cayman Islands, said there is a high pressure system over the southeast United States associated with the cold front in the area, and winds and rough seas were expected to continue through Thursday, with skies starting to clear late Wednesday.
Despite a number of businesses noting that they felt December was unusually rainy compared to previous years, Mr. Tibbetts said 3.2 inches of rain was recorded for the month, less than half an inch more than the long-term average of 2.79 inches.
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