We had a great turnout for our very special guest speaker, Phil Thompson, an outdoor writer and author of "97 Miles South - Key West to Cuba," Phil Thompson's articles highlighting Cuba have appeared in the Huffington Post, USA Today and he is a regular contributor to Gaff and Coastal Angler magazines and On-Line Fisherman. Capt. Phil spends time between Ruskin, Key West and Cuba. Phil has made many passages to Cuba, and with the Stuart Sailfish Club's invitation to fish the 66th Ernest Hemingway Billfish Tournament in June of 2016, this was a very timely speaker to share with us the do's and don'ts of traveling in and around Cuba.
The meeting was held under the Pavilion behind Fish Heads of Stuart. We had a projector set up which enabled Phil to share a lot of great stories with photo’s. Everyone planning to go to Cuba learned a lot of great information and many of those who weren’t planning to go before are now thanks to Phil.
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Invitation to Havana, Cuba, 66th Ernest Hemingway Billfish Tournament:
The opportunity to fish the 66th Ernest Hemingway Billfish Tournament in Havana is the trip of a lifetime for many avid anglers, captains and owners. We are now up to 11 boats that want to join us for the Flotilla to Havana, Cuba next June. Several boats that are going have room for another couple to join them. If would like to go on this historic trip and are willing to share expenses with a boat including splitting fuel costs, please let me and Tish know and we will match you up. Anyone interested in making this trip needs to let us know of their interest so that we may add your name and email to a dedicated email group regarding requirements, permitting, and updates as we move forward.
Skip Smith, Marlin Magazine, Suggested Reading:
I just received the October issue of Marlin Magazine and the cover story is an excerpt from Capt. Skip Smith's new book Tales of a Hooker and her Madam. Skip is our new Tournament Director for this Year's Light Tackle Tournament. The article tells a portion of when Skip captained the Mother Ship Hooker and her sport fishing boat Madam, the most famous mothership operation of all time. Skip ran the Hooker around the world and hosted charters for many of the best anglers in the world. The article is fascinating and includes a picture of one of our members and directors, Scott Levin, who served as the first mate on Hooker. A much younger Scott by the way.... The full book is available from Amazon and I just ordered my copy. I know you would enjoy the article and the book.