James and I explored a ghost ship. Just one of the 325 wrecks that can be found all around the coasts of the Cayman Islands and particularly Grand Cayman. Testament to the sea fairing history of these islands and the dangers that the maritime life poses.
The originally named the ‘HAWAII’, our ghost ship was built in 1900 by A. McMillan & Sons Ltd. of Dumbartonshire.
She was, in life, a 220 foot long, four masted barquentine. A steel schooner. These ships, in their day, were the cutting edge of technology. Travelling all around the globe. Crucial to world trade. They must have been stunning to see, the last great sailing ships, the pinnacle of their evolutionary family the last of their kind before their extinction and the birth of modern engine driven ships.
A. McMillan & Sons most famous ship was the Hawaii’s sister ship, another four masted barquentine, called the Swanhilda. Launched in 1890. In 1899 the Swanhilda left Spencer’s Gulf near Adelaide, South Australia, with a cargo of grain. She sailed eastwards across the Pacific, rounded Cape Horn and sailed up the Atlantic to Britain in 66 days. A world record that has never beaten!
The Hawaii plied her trade in the Atlantic and Caribbean for nearly 50 years under many different names. In 1933 she was sold to Mexican owners and renamed HIDALGO. In 1946 she was sold again this time to Colombian owners and renamed CALI.
After nearly half a century on the 9th January 1948, whilst carrying a cargo of 30,000 bags of rice, the Cali developed a leak. In a desperate effort to prevent her from sinking at sea the crew made for the safety of the Cayman Islands. Here in a last-ditch effort to save her she was deliberately run ashore at George Town.
But fate did not spare her. There in sight of land and safety the stricken Cali caught fire, burnt down to her waterline and sank.
The wreck of the Cali now lies less than 40 yards off shore near Central George Town.
She lies in 20-30 feet of water adjacent to a small reef that teems with fish.
The wreck and reef are home to huge tarpon.
The Cali is gradually becoming part of the reef as nature claims her.
Under an Endless Sky 