George Burnis Ebanks, 79, of Boatswain Bay, West Bay, died Saturday morning, some time after he had set out on an early morning fishing trip.
His body was found along the shoreline in the Barkers area of West Bay about 10:51 a.m., police reported.
Police and ambulance responded, and Mr. Ebanks was pronounced dead at the scene by a pathologist. An investigation into the cause of death is ongoing, police said.
His daughter Jennifer Ebanks, 49, said her dad loved the sea and spent time fishing and snorkeling.
She said her brother had called her to say the body police had recovered along the shoreline was their father.
“Every morning daddy would get on his bicycle and ride to the beach, coming back sometimes with lobster, conch or a bundle of fish. He was in a jolly mood before he left to go fishing around seven-ish that morning,” Ms. Ebanks said.
Called “Jin Jin” or “TeeTee” by her father, Ms. Ebanks thought it strange that later that day he had not returned from fishing.
She said her father was very strong, fit and agile for his age and loved to cook custard-top corn bread, sweet red beans and egg fritters.
The day before, she said, they had visited the Seafarers building in Prospect to pick up papers with her mother, and he was in a jolly mood, even stopping to tell some jokes with his friends along the way.
Mr. Ebanks in earlier years had worked with the Cayman Cadastral Survey, Ms. Ebanks said.
Chris Christian, owner of Cayman Traditional Arts, with whom Mr. Ebanks worked sometimes restoring and building catboats and cooking lobsters for his guests, said Mr. Ebanks taught him a lot about cooking fish and was always friendly and pleasant.
“He is a very good navigator, one from the old school of seamen. He could study the current and when out to sea he could always tell when he was getting close to shore,” said Mr. Christian.
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