Wreck of the Ten Sails Park
Wreck of the Ten Sails Park (Gun Bay, East End, Grand Cayman) – this park was set up to commemorate the Cayman’s best-known shipwreck. On February 8, 1794, the Cordelia, heading a convoy of 58 square-rigged merchant vessels en route from Jamaica to England, foundered on one of the treacherous East End reefs. A total of ten ships were lost. Locals living on Grand Cayman at the time helped rescue all but eight members of the ships’ crews. Legend says that a member of the passengers rescued by the locals was a son of Britain’s King George III, and as a reward for their bravery, tax-free status was granted to the Caymans by the British Crown, as well as their being free from military conscription. However, there’s no actual historical evidence of this. Nevertheless, Queen Elizabeth II visited the park, and dedicated a memorial plaque of the ship wreck in 1994 (200th anniversary of this event).