I nominate the above referenced individual in the pioneer category because he went to sea at 18 years of age in 1942 on the Goldfield and pursued a career at sea for about 15 years. Rayburn or 'Socky' as he was dubbed by his father, Cap'n Charlie, from when he was a toddler, sailed first as an able-bodied seaman but at the first opportunity he 'headed below' to work in the engine room. He was a natural with things mechanical and electrical and he soon rose up the ranks to Second and eventually to First Assistant Engineer. He sailed on ships for the United Fruit Company on the Suwannee line from U.S. to ports all around the Caribbean, Central and South America and Canada. He also sailed on ships in both the North and South Atlantic during the U-Boat heyday of WWII on boats owned by the Volusia Steamship Co. carrying different types of ore. He recognized that the ships he sailed, like the converted LST's were often overmatched by the Atlantic and having lost friends including his first cousin to the Atlantic storms he migrated to working tugs and dredge boats around the U.S. Gulf Coast working for the Sabine company. Eventually he was able to parlay his engine room skills into mechanical and electrical work onshore in the U.S. In the 1960's he did work for his company on many of the Florida highways and airfields as well as the Vertical Assembly building at Cape Canaveral for NASA. As with all his fellow seamen, the earnings he sent home to maintain his young family helped keep the Cayman economy afloat and growing. Ships he sailed on were the Goldfield, the Patuca, the Berlanga, the Romana, the Truxton, the ill-fated Daytona and the Parris Island amongst others.

I nominate the above referenced individual in the pioneer category because he went to sea at 18 years of age in 1942 on the Goldfield and pursued a career at sea for about 15 years. Rayburn or 'Socky' as he was dubbed by his father, Cap'n Charlie, from when he was a toddler, sailed first as an able-bodied seaman but at the first opportunity he 'headed below' to work in the engine room. He was a natural with things mechanical and electrical and he soon rose up the ranks to Second and eventually to First Assistant Engineer. He sailed on ships for the United Fruit Company on the Suwannee line from U.S. to ports all around the Caribbean, Central and South America and Canada. He also sailed on ships in both the North and South Atlantic during the U-Boat heyday of WWII on boats owned by the Volusia Steamship Co. carrying different types of ore. He recognized that the ships he sailed, like the converted LST's were often overmatched by the Atlantic and having lost friends including his first cousin to the Atlantic storms he migrated to working tugs and dredge boats around the U.S. Gulf Coast working for the Sabine company. Eventually he was able to parlay his engine room skills into mechanical and electrical work onshore in the U.S. In the 1960's he did work for his company on many of the Florida highways and airfields as well as the Vertical Assembly building at Cape Canaveral for NASA. As with all his fellow seamen, the earnings he sent home to maintain his young family helped keep the Cayman economy afloat and growing. Ships he sailed on were the Goldfield, the Patuca, the Berlanga, the Romana, the Truxton, the ill-fated Daytona and the Parris Island amongst others.