Everyone talks about the ‘good old days’ when times were simpler. Take a look at these pictures from yesteryear and see if you can spot places, people and scenes you recognise.
Cayman Mermaid (1990s)
I was trying to think of my next subject for this section, and it came to me at about 2am. Of course! The Cayman Mermaid!
In case you aren’t aware, the Mermaid (or ‘Merpig’/’Sea pig’ as she is otherwise affectionately known), is a multi-deck vessel that has been used over the years for everything from concerts to fire shows and snorkelling trips. She is also one of the rare birds that has survived for decades and is still afloat. You can’t keep a good Merpig down.
I have my own personal memories of the Cayman Mermaid. I certainly recall the fire show. Would that even be allowed these days? A large boat full of people and fuel, with a fire thrown in? Sounds like a party!
On the Facebook page for Cayman Old Friends, Kenny Goettke – who used to work on the Mermaid – posted a pic of her in all her glory, and more pictures and comments immediately came flooding in from those who had either been a member of the crew at some point, or had spent many a legendary booze cruise on deck, dancing the night away.
Mermaid moves to Cayman
Roger Edmonds talked about when she first arrived in the islands.
“The Mermaid came down from Miami. Don and I and a few other people brought it down. I remember it was a rough go from around Cuba [on] and the legs on the Captain’s chair (barstool) were all splayed out when we got into Cayman.”
Paul Lawrence suggested that Mike Grundy, who was part of the delivery crew, might have some stories to add.
“He had several gallons of fresh water strapped to himself in case [the Mermaid] flipped over,” Lawrence claimed.
Nicole Thompson (whose callsign was ‘Zookeeper’) used to run shore excursions for Don Foster’s Dive, and was on a boat with another crew member, ready to greet the Mermaid when she finally pulled into local waters.
“I remember when it arrived in Cayman in the middle of a nor’wester. Anne was driving one of the flattops and I was crew. We waited outside the North Sound cut for hours… so we could ‘guide’ her in. Waves [were] huge!”
Of course, back then, there were no mobile phones, so they just had to wait and wait until the vessel came into view.
Creating a legend
Once the Mermaid was safely at her new home and put into operation, the memorable moments began. She would run cruise ship tours in the day, and then accommodate locals and stayover tourists for parties in the evenings. Drinks were on tap from the moment the first tour of the day began, including the notorious rum punch kept in a giant igloo cooler.
Thompson thought it would be nice for her parents to get a taste of what the Mermaid could offer.
“I put [them] aboard for a booze cruise. Mom got plastered on rum punch and tried to board one of the [cruise] ships when the Mermaid pulled alongside to unload passengers,” she said, laughing.
A couple of past crew members heard their share of hilarious questions from guests. A favourite was supplied by Jason Toyne.
“‘What floor is the glass bottom on?’ said a cruise shipper.”
“Top deck!” Mark Busby replied, to much laughter.
Edgy entertainment
As the sun went down, the Mermaid really came to life, with music pumping through speakers and revellers drinking and dancing on the upper and middle decks. It was the middle deck that boasted a live show, where Joseph ‘Bedpost’ Ward, performer extraordinaire, would strut his stuff.
“He used to ride onto the beach with the tender then pick up the bow and walk backwards, pulling it up the beach,” Busby recalled. “One day, it was left a little low and there was [some] surf, so we decided to pull it higher for him – it took three of us!”
Apparently Bedpost’s talents weren’t just limited to demonstrations of athleticism. He was also a whiz in the kitchen.
“Post and Junior used to catch fish through the divers’ well in the bow. Then they would cook up jerk snapper in the galley. Absolutely gorgeous,” said Jon Bass.
Marty Balin on Mermaid
My personal contribution to Mermaid entertainment was when my band, No Significant Features, played as the backup group for Marty Balin from Jefferson Airplane when he had been brought down to perform at a number of venues. The Mermaid was one of those locations. So was Spanish Bay Reef Resort (long gone) and the Lions Community Centre.
The man himself was lovely, and could certainly still belt out a tune, but it seemed his fan club was off the island at the time or something, because we had a very poor turnout at each event. It was excruciating. Here was this musician/singer who had played Woodstock, and we ended gigs early because we had barely any audience.
The Mermaid night was no different. We were set up on the middle deck of three, with dodgy electrical current and a slight wave swell hindering our ability to move without possibly falling over. If you were there, please correct me if I’m wrong, but I’d say we had about 20 or 30 people show up. Brutal.
Food fights… and more
When it came to Pirates Week, Cayman Mermaid was right in the thick of the action. Before some (probably warranted) rules came into place, there were water balloon exchanges and water hose fights between boats in the harbour.
Buccaneers and wenches would mingle with landlubbers on the huge party boat, with the proceedings degenerating as the hours passed. Innocent comestibles got dragged into the melee one year.
“I remember one Pirates Week, after several of the Mermaid rum punches, we covered the top deck with potato salad and started doing belly slides [along it] with the guests,” Brad Armstrong said.
Lee Barley chimed in, saying he was on the same trip, and recalled that they got into a food fight with a superyacht in harbour at the time, because all their cuisine had been drenched by water cannons.
That food got a quick ‘death’ compared to other items.
“I seem to remember some idiot [had] a [boat trip] cancelled the day they were to go off island for a break, but [they] forgot to remove the box of squid from under their seat,” Barley said. “[They] came back on island after a couple of a weeks to a nice surprise.”
Great memories
The Cayman Mermaid certainly wasn’t dubbed the ‘Merpig’ because she was pretty, but you only have to read the comments from those who worked on her, or guests that partied on the high seas, to know that she was yet another iconic ‘landmark’ from the heady days of the ’80s and ’90s.
“I worked the party cruise in 1998 – such good fun!” – Tracy Herald.
“Wow! These photos have brought back some seriously good memories… [Loved] working on the Cayman Mermaid, for 6 months Nov ’97-May ’98, then went and worked in Stingray City till Feb 2000.” – Rod Horlock
“My roomies got married in her… circa 1990.” – Kathleen Andy Mason
“I loved this boat!” – Clee Prochazka
Do you have any great stories of the Cayman Mermaid? Feel free to share them with us.
If you have some old photos that you’d like to submit for ‘Looking back in time’, we’d love to see them to consider them for publication. Be sure to include the credit for the image and any information you have about it. Email to [email protected].
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