After years flying the world with British Airways, Lady TJ Staples settled down in the place she could best indulge her passion for diving, the Cayman Islands
I have always had the travel bug, ever since I can remember. My childhood ambition was not to be a ballerina, but to fly on Concorde. At college I studied travel and tourism and at 18 years old I got my first job with British Airways. I stayed with BA for almost 13 years in various roles, and I got to travel the world. I even managed to achieve my ambition and fly on Concorde. On one of my adventures I learned to SCUBA dive and discovered I had found a new love.
I continued my diving education and became a divemaster, teaching part-time in the UK. I decided to move to warmer waters, and. after traveling to various locations over a couple of years, I applied for a job on Grand Cayman.
Having traveled a lot I knew that the Cayman Island would be a safe choice for a single lady. They have three or four direct flights a week to the UK, and who wouldn’t want to live in the Caribbean? The Cayman Islands have some of the best scuba diving in the world, including sheer wall drop-offs into the Cayman Trench and pristine and healthy reefs.
I was lucky enough to find a job at Ocean Frontiers Dive Resort, and have now been with them for six years. I’ve worked my way up to become course director and general manager. The Cayman Island are English speaking and are a British Overseas Territory, but even with a British passport I still needed to apply for a work visa. Jobs must be offered to qualified locals first and you need medical and police clearance to apply.
When I arrived I was warmly welcomed and met the girl I was going to be sharing a condo with. She had only arrived two days before me, so it was nice to have someone in the same boat, so to speak. We had moved into a street with very friendly neighbors who immediately took us under their wing. They helped us get settled, showed us the town and drove us to the shops. There is a large expat community in Cayman, especially in the diving industry. It’s easy to make friends, as we are all like-minded, adventurous individuals. Friends become a close group quickly, we are each others' family on the island.
Being one of the only PADI Course Directors on Island, I have had the privilege of teaching some of the locals to become dive instructors. This has lead to long term friendships and I have even been helping out with the local Marine police.
I love my job, but work is work no matter what country you are in. However, the things surrounding you can make a difference. Ocean views, warm weather and friendly people can make a hard day at work better. As my uncle told me, if you can make a living at something you love doing, you will never work a day in your life. I think I am pretty close.
Days in the diving industry are long and hard; I start at 7am and close the dive shop at 6pm. My drive to work is 15 minutes with no traffic, free parking and a gorgeous blue sea as a view. Compare this to my old two-hour haul round the M25 on dark rainy days, and you can see that this is one of the many reasons I have stayed so long. I get to spend the day in the sunshine, on a boat, diving, and living the dream! A typical day will involve anything from one to five dives, running the shop or teaching courses. I could be with experienced divers or introducing new people to the wonders of the great underwater world.
However, it’s not all sun, sea and sand. I still have the normal everyday chores to do, like housework and shopping, there are bills to pay and when I drive to town I have to watch out for chickens and iguanas crossing the road. But the weather is warm all year round, and even when it rains, it’s warm rain. I don’t think I’ve worn anything but flip flops in six years.
Obviously, I miss my family a huge amount, but Skype and a web am has helped me with that. Otherwise I miss clothes shopping, the theater and my favorite snack, Twiglets. Please bring me some if you ever visit! Christmas is strange on the beach but the holiday I have most fun with is Pirates Week. I get to dress up, misbehave and dance in the street.
I now live my life at a slower pace and I ‘ve found that I am a lot less materialistic. I spend more time outdoors rather than in front of the television, which can only be good for your health. The air is fresher and the people are friendly.”
5 Top Tips
1.Make sure you get certified to SCUBA dive, or you will only see half of what Cayman has to offer.
2.Bring a good, unlocked, quad-band phone with you so you can just add a local sim card.
3.Ship anything you are going to need in the first six months of arrival, as that way you don’t have to pay the import duty.
4. If you hold a UK or other international driving license then get your local one in the first 3 months and you won’t have to take a test.
5.Bring a reference letter from your home bank, as you’ll need this to open an account here.
