Captain Chip and The Far-Tortuga
Our trips are done on the sailing catamaran the Far Tortuga under the watchful eye of Captain Chip. Born and raised in the Cayman Islands, Captain Chip has been coming to the Sand bar for over fourty years and has been working with stingrays for the last twenty five years.
The Far Tortuga is forty-three feet long and twenty feet wide. What does this mean to the average person? Space, and lots of it. With trips with a maximum of twenty five people there is always lots of room aboard the Far Tortuga. Instead of sitting on a bench rubbing shoulders with the person next to you, we give you space to lay out in the sun to work on your tan.
WELCOME TO STINGRAY CITY
Stingray City all started with local fishermen throwing scraps of fish into the water and it has expanded into one of our islands largest attractions. Most interactions take place at a shallow sandbar in the middle of the North Sound. The Sandbar is currently home to over one hundred Southern Atlantic Stingrays. What makes this attraction special is that unlike other stingray encounters, these animals are free to come and go as they please. No fences, no gates, just wild stingrays who chose to swim up and interact with us and our guests. Once at the Sandbar / Stingray City, one of our crew will teach you the proper technique for interacting with the stingrays, then enter the water with you to show you how it is done. We will even supply you with fish (the favorite food of the rays) so that you can feed them and even tempt them up to the surface yourselves.
A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE REEF
The Barrier Reef stretches across the entire opening if the North Sound. This offers great protection for the delicate sound from the open ocean on the other side. Full of many varieties of hard and soft corals and teeming with tropical fish, this is a great addition to any stingray tour. We provide you with gear and instruction as needed and welcome you to explore the reef that rests in about six feet of water. While exploring the reef you can expect to see parrot fish, angel fish, four eyed butterfly fish and many more. If you are lucky you may see Caribbean reef squid, an octopus or even a friendly green moray eel.
THE JOURNEY BACK
Once we are done with everything, we raise the sails (weather permitting) for a quiet and relaxing trip back to the yacht club. In addition to creating lots of room the twin hull design provides a smooth ride by cutting effortlessly through the waves of the North Sound. There is no better treatment for a stressed out life style than laying out on the trampoline of a catamaran after a day of swimming and fun. On more than one ocasion we have had a guest lay their head down for "just a Moment" and had them wake up fourty five minute later wondering how we had made it in already. For those of you that are not quite so interested in quiet and relaxing, we do have coolers and a sound system.
Captain Chip
Owner/Captain
Over the last 25 years Captain Chip has developed his own unique style of interacting with stingrays. We heve grown accustomed to attracting more stingrays than any other boat out here. Come see for yourself
Michelle
Booking Specialist
Michelle came to the Cayman Islands on vacation in 1998, found something to fall in love with and has never looked back. Now with two kids who love the water and a boat to take them out on, there is no question that that giving up that scholarship to medical school was not that big of a deal after all.
Buster
Crew
Moving to the Cayman Islands from the Bahamas because the Bahamas were getting too stressful, Buster is the one that has made this all possible by passing on his knowledge and love of the water to his son, Captain Chip. Previously an accountant Buster now enjoys his retirement by helping out on the boat whenever needed.
Chris
Crew
This is literally the most normal looking picture that we have of Chris. Widely reconized by all as the second best Stingray handler at Stingray City.
