Model of turtle schooner showcased at farm
(CNS): A model of the Goldfield, one of the Cayman Islands historical turtle schooners is now on display at Boatswain Beach. The detailed model built by Dr. William “Bill” Hrudey has been placed in a showcase in the reception area of the Cayman Turtle Farm as a celebration of the country’s seafaring past officials at the farm said. The model was finished in 2002 and took Dr Hrudey over 6 months of full time, painstaking work and countless hours of archival research to ensure that every detail was accurate and true to the original.
The schooner Goldfield was built for William Conwell Watler from a design by Fossie Arch, just 23 years of age at the time, at the James Arch and Sons Shipyard on South Church Street, approximately in the present location of the Hard Rock Café.
Her design was inspired by the famous Canadian Fishing Schooner Bluenose and was one of the first spoon bowed vessels built in the Cayman Islands. Up until 1929, the clipper bow was the normal feature on a Caymanian built vessel. The ship was skippered by Captain Reginald Parsons.
Shipbuilding was a major source of income to the Cayman Islands for over a hundred years, right up until the outbreak of the Second World War. From 1903 through to 1950 over 283 vessels were constructed across all three of our islands. There were at least eleven different shipyards on Grand Cayman, three on Cayman Brac and one or two more on the shores of Little Cayman during that period.
Dr Hrudey said he was thrilled to have his model of the Goldfield on display. “The Cayman Islands has a rich and colourful seafaring history that could easily be lost in time. I see this model as a wonderful way of preserving that history and I am delighted that it is being showcased at the Turtle Farm. It has been a real and unique labour of love and I will never create another,” he said.
Chris Jackson of the Operations department at the Turtle Farm has taken great care in setting up this exhibit. “The Goldfield is a symbol of Caymanian determination, pride, and workmanship,” he added. “It is a part of our heritage that too few of our young people really know about. I am excited that the Turtle Farm is giving people a chance to rediscover this part of our history and keep italive for future generations.”
Category: Local News
