Some of the last known photographs of the Pious Puffin appeared in two Cayman Island tour brochures in 1979 and 1980. It broke the Curtis’ hearts to see that much of their restoration work was let go – with the decks and carvings deteriorating once again.
Here are some of the stories from the Caymans …
From Jon Allan
In 1978 or 1979 (I was 8 years old) my family were in the Caymans on vacation. This was our place to go and I believe we went a dozen or more times in a four year time span.
Anyway, on one of these trips the Puffin was moored off of the Holiday Inn on Grand Cayman. My step father being a man of means and an infectious sailor had to investigate the vessel. We ended up renting the Puffin for what I believe was a one day sail (I was 8. Things memory semi-hazy that long ago).
I must say even at eight years old, there are moments from that day that when I remember them I swear I can smell the sea. To this day I tell friends stories of the Puffin. I’m gloating of course. I recall islanders rolling out the red carpet for us. People would say “Oh my, you’re taking the Puffin?” It was a big deal. Little did they know we were just a small family from Tennessee who had a farm with cows, horses, chickens, even a buffalo!
Jon Allan has also shared what are some of the most recent photos of the Puffin, taken in 1979 …
Cayman was another world back then, nice compared to today. Way too much development and no one knows the other today. The “Island Time Forgot” has been found.
The Captain at that time was Mike Perrine, he died a few years ago. The last I heard, some had seen her on the Miami River in very poor condition. I actually started out to bring her to Key West and Miami once, but that’s another story. She was later brought up, but I don’t remember the date or crew.
The following is an account of phone conversations with two men who did some repair work on her in the Cayman Islands.
One was in the Caymans as a dive captain mostly – for 8 years, until 1983. He said that Mike Perrine (now deceased) was the Captain, but he never really knew who the owners were. He said it was a group out of Houston Texas, but so many came on board claiming to be “one of the owners,” it was somewhat unclear.
At one time, probably around 1980, he was asked to bring her to Florida. But she was already in pretty bad shape, and had become a “booze cruiser” with lots of wild parties on board. He was concerned about any drugs left on-board from the parties, so did a dog search before leaving. Part way to Florida she started sinking. They had blown a haws pipe and had to stuff it with mattress materials and return to the Caymans.
He heard that she had been brought back to Florida later, and a friend had seen her on the Miami River a few years after that. Possibly around 17th Avenue.
The other man indicated that Mike Perrine did not want to spend any money on her – just running her into the ground with charters. Last he had seen her in the Caymans, she needed completely new decks and had many leaks and rust. Many of the engine/generator systems were European and no one knew how to fix them. He also had heard a rumor that the Captain had removed some, or all of the Stained Glass windows before she left the Caymans.
The following has been contributed by Matthew Seales, and is shared here with permission of the Seales Family.
Matt’s father produced a magazine called Nor’Wester which ran an article featuring the company chartering the Puffin in July of 1979.
In 1979, professional photographer Michael Wood visited Grand Cayman Island with his family and stayed on 7-mile beach. They rented the Pious Puffin for sailing and riding the spinnaker.
Open Michael Wood Photos