Making a pit stop in Grand Cayman

Lt. John Kidwell, Special to the Daily Pilot

* Editor’s Note: During a 35-day journey from New Orleans to Newport

Beach via the Panama Canal, Lt. John Kidwell, commanding officer of the

new Coast Guard cutter Narwhal, is keeping the Newport-Mesa community

updated on the crew’s journey through a series of e-mail reports and

photos from a dozen ports of call. The following is his fifth report as

he takes our readers aboard the ship:

Well, another leg down. We pulled into Grand Cayman around 0800 (8

a.m.) this morning. What a trip. We really hated to leave Cozumel, but

this place is even better.

Once again, we pulled into a pier that had water so clear that you

could see the bottom when it was more than 50 feet down. In one word,

awesome.

This island is much more expensive than any other we will encounter on

our transit. We were told this before we left, and it has lived up to its

reputation.

We were greeted by two American Military Consulate members from

Kingston, Jamaica. The “inbrief” was quick and easy and covered such

things as where we could get some laundry done, find Internet service and

where our fuel was located.

If we didn’t tell you last time, we had a little problem getting fuel

in Cozumel the first day. It seemed that the driver of the fuel truck

needed $35 in cash in order to drive the truck 500 feet with our already

purchased fuel onto the pier to the ship. It seemed a small price to pay.

Well, all is well with the ship. She is still running like a champion,

and we are learning more and more about her as the days pass. We have

much more to learn, though.

I have sent some pictures of a couple of the guys in Grand Cayman.

Take care, and there will be more to come. Next stop is the Panama Canal.

That should be an interesting entry into this journal.