Cayman Brac

Cayman Brac is an island that is part of the Cayman Islands. It lies in the Caribbean Sea about 145 km (90 mi) north-east of Grand Cayman and 8 km (5.0 mi) east of Little Cayman. It is about 19 km (12 mi) long, with an average width of 2 km (1.2 mi). Its terrain is the most prominent of the three Cayman Islands due to "The Bluff", a limestone outcrop that rises steadily along the length of the island up to 43 m (141 ft) above sea level at the eastern end. The island is named after this prominent feature, as "brac" is a Gaelic name for a bluff.

The Teignmouth Electron, the boat in which Donald Crowhurst attempted to sail round the world single-handed in the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, has been left to decay on the south coast of Cayman Brac.

Christopher Columbus sighted Cayman Brac and its sister island, Little Cayman, on 10 May 1503 when his ship was blown off course during a trip between Hispaniola and Panama. He named them "Las Tortugas" because of the many turtles he spotted on the islands. The Cayman Islands were renamed by Sir Francis Drake, who came upon the islands during a voyage in 1586. He used the word "Caymanas", taken from the Carib name for crocodiles after seeing many of the large crocodilians. Many people believe he had only seen the Rock Iguanas that inhabit the island today.

During the heyday of piracy, pirates would use Cayman Brac as a haven and a place to replenish their supplies as there are a number of fresh water wells on the island and had many sources of food included in the local flora and fauna.

Of interest to scuba divers is a 100 m (330 ft) Russian Koni class frigate built in the Soviet Union in 1984 for the Cuban Navy. It is one of only a few sunken Soviet naval vessels in the Western Hemisphere, and the only one that is easily dived. The Koni II class frigate was purchased and sunk by the Cayman Islands government in September 1996. Originally designated 356, the frigate was rechristened the M/V Captain Keith Tibbetts, after a well-known Cayman Brac politician. The wreck is the only Russian warship that divers can explore in the Western hemisphere. It originally sat upright at a depth of 27 m (89 ft) with the deck at 18 m (59 ft), until wave action generated by a winter Norwester storm (December 1998-January 1999) which nearly tore the ship in two. The result was that the fore section tipped to about a 45 degree angle in relation to the remainder of the still-upright aft portion. and the midships became a debris field. The wreck's stern area was essentially unaffected. The frigate is located in a sandy area with generally good visibility, 200 m (660 ft) offshore (a fairly long swim) from 'Buccaneer', on the island's north side, near the western tip of the island. There are numerous openings in the upper portion of the ship for non-wreck certified divers. Many more openings are available since the ship broke in half. The site also serves as an artificial reef. Other interesting dive sites are Radar Reef, Cemetery Wall, and the Wilderness Wall, all well covered in corals and with a wide diversity of marine life.

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Wikipedia