About Us
Two organisations. One maritime story.
The Cayman Catboat Club Association and Cayman Maritime Heritage Foundation share a commitment to keeping Cayman’s maritime heritage active, understood and accessible for future generations.
One focuses on the living tradition of the Cayman catboat. The other looks across the wider history of Cayman’s relationship with the sea. Together, their work connects boats, people, skills, memories and historical records.
A heritage shaped by the sea
For generations, the sea shaped everyday life in the Cayman Islands. Caymanians built and sailed vessels, fished and turtled, worked aboard ships around the world and developed generations of practical maritime knowledge.
That history survives in many forms: traditional boats, photographs, documents, family stories, craftsmanship, place names, recorded memories and the knowledge still held within Cayman’s communities.
Preserving maritime heritage therefore means more than preserving objects. It means understanding the people, experiences and connections that give those objects meaning.
Cayman Catboat Club
Keeping the tradition active.
The Cayman Catboat Club Association focuses on the preservation, sailing and celebration of Cayman’s traditional catboats.
Through sailing, racing, maintenance, restoration, demonstrations and community activities, the Club helps ensure that catboats remain part of Cayman’s living culture rather than becoming something experienced only through photographs and museum displays.
Maritime Heritage Foundation
Preserving the wider historical record.
The Cayman Maritime Heritage Foundation looks beyond any single type of vessel to explore Cayman’s broader maritime history.
Its interests include seafarers, shipbuilders, working vessels, maritime trades, overseas connections, photographs, documents, oral histories, family collections and other sources that help explain Cayman’s life at sea.
How the organisations work together
The Cayman Catboat Club Association and Cayman Maritime Heritage Foundation are closely connected but have different areas of focus.
The Catboat Club provides opportunities to experience maritime heritage through boats, sailing, restoration and participation. The Foundation helps place those traditions within the wider historical story of Cayman’s vessels, seafarers and maritime communities.
This creates opportunities for practical activities and historical research to support one another. A restored boat may lead to questions about its builders or owners. A family photograph may identify a vessel. An oral history may explain how a boat was used. A race or sailing event may introduce another generation to the history behind it.
Preserve. Participate. Share.
Preserve
Care for traditional vessels, photographs, documents, recorded memories and the information that gives historical material its meaning.
Participate
Keep maritime heritage active through sailing, racing, restoration, volunteering, research, education and community events.
Share
Make Cayman’s maritime story accessible through publications, exhibitions, digital resources, photography, storytelling and public programmes.
Building for the future
Maritime heritage is not a finished story. New photographs continue to surface, memories can still be recorded, historical records can be connected and traditional skills can still be passed from one generation to another.
Our aim is to strengthen the organisations, expand opportunities for community participation and develop better ways to record, preserve and share Cayman’s maritime history.
That includes improving access to historical material, supporting research, developing educational opportunities and ensuring that Cayman’s maritime traditions continue to have a visible place in contemporary island life.
Be part of the story
You do not need to be a sailor, historian or boatbuilder to contribute. Volunteers, researchers, photographers, families, educators and anyone with an interest in Cayman’s maritime heritage can help.
