What a Man

When Jess and I were cruising, one of our stops was George Town, Grand Cayman Island. We didn't book a shore excursion, we just got off the ship to go shopping. We were on our way to the tourist traps when we saw a large sign with the following story.

There was this dude who was born of 'royal' African parentage and kidnapped by French slavers, who named him Richard Le Noir (noir,of course, meaning black). Apparently, he was quite rambunctious and made repeated attempts to escape. The French decided he wasn't worth the trouble, so they tossed him overboard near a Caribbean Island which may have been Grand Cayman.

Miraculously, he reached land, and went to work in a sugar cane field. He also learned to turn sugar cane into some of the Caribbean's finest rum. In addition, he learned to cultivate tobacco plants and to hand craft the richest cigars in the area. Ah, rum and cigars.

In the early 1700s, his Caymanian master rewarded Richard's hard work by setting him free. Richard, a skilled seaman, earned the rank of captain of a 3-masted square rigger named "Caymanus," which had 20 cannons and 200 crewmen.

Richard Le Noir was a dashing and handsome man, who apparently dressed like a pimp, in a bright purple velvet coat and a red silk sash. He was a big hit with the ladies, reportedly because of certain physical attributes. After a successful career, he retired to make rum and cigars. Oh, yeah, he ditched his French name when he got his freedom, so for the rest of his life, he was known as . . . .



And after reading that story, there was only one thing to do. Go to Margaritaville.