HabanaJoe

Every time I get to posting about the good ole days I get very nostalgic!!!

So, I’m deciding to let you all do a little research about my family, specifically my Grandfather.

The person who can orrectly post what my grandfather “Habana Joe” was infamous for (not famous but infamous), I’ll make you a set of 6 UV tee shirts with whatever you want on them. You work with our graphics dept and design whatever you want, use your boat, modify a design we have or use something you already have. We’ll put that on a 6 shirt set for free, no art charges, nothing!!!

Also, I want to thank the OSO member who called me this morning about where to find our clothing on Marco Island (Marco River Marina).

Don't forget we offer short run (6 pcs) custom graphics on our own UV protected clothing!

"Habana Joe" Gere

DirtyMoney

rum runner

offshoredrillin

Habana Joe was a legendary sea captain, rum-runner and angler who ploughed the waters off the coast of Cuba for many years before the revolution. He fished with other legendary individuals such as Ernest Hemingway and Captain William S. McCoy on some of those trips. The original Habana Joe could be found as far north as Prince Edward Island in the summers and later in life he would call Florida and such Bahamian Islands as Bimini and Nassau his winter homes. When he wasn’t fishing, he and his wife were manufacturing specialty textiles and clothing. His wife, a seamstress by trade, also designed and created all of the clothing Joe and his friends wore during their numerous fishing expeditions.

His son, Joe Jr., who was also involved in the textile industry, accompanied his father on some of those memorable trips to Cuba. By the time Joe Jr. was old enough to land the Granders (1,000+ lb. billfish), the revolution had taken place and those fertile fishing grounds were closed. Following in his father’s footsteps, Joe Jr. worked the ledges, drop offs and canyons all up and down the Eastern Seaboard. He had seen the schools of Giant Tuna off Bimini, the birth of Big Game fishing in the Carolinas and Big Eye Tuna so thick in the Canyons of the Northeast you could walk across them.

oops I forgot these ...xxl please

Today’s "Habana Joe" Gere grew up with stories of Cuba’s unparalleled bill fishing and celebrating Cuba’s lavish lifestyle. Although these things are no longer accessible to him, he longs for the magnificent days of his father & grandfather before him and the lifestyle they were fortunate enough to enjoy. As a tribute to them and to his grandmother, the first designer of Habana clothing, he founded The Habana Company. Many of his designs are timeless classics that look as good today as they did when the original Habana Joe strolled through the streets of Havana and the waters of the Atlantic.

HabanaJoe

You getting close!

lowblue320

"The Real McCoy"

Rum-runner William S. McCoyCaptain William S. McCoy was a boat builder and excursion boat captain in the Daytona Beach, Florida, area from 1900 to 1920. He was also reputed to be a non-drinker.

With the start of Prohibition Captain McCoy began to bring rum from Bimini and the Bahamas into south Florida through Government Cut. The Coast Guard soon caught up with him, so they began to bring the illegal goods to just outside of the U.S. territorial waters and let smaller boats and other captains such as Habana Joe take the risk of bringing it into shore.

The rum-running business was very good, and McCoy soon bought a Gloucester knockabout schooner named Arethusa at auction and renamed her Tomika. He installed a larger auxiliary, mounted a concealed machine gun on her deck and refitted the fish pens below to accommodate as much contraband as she could hold. She became one of the most famous of the rum-runners, along with his two other ships hauling mostly Irish and Canadian whiskey, as well as other fine liquors and wines, to ports from Maine to Florida.

In the days of rum running, it was common for captains to add water to the bottles to stretch their profits, or to re-label it as better goods. Any cheap sparkling wine became French champagne or Italian Spumante; unbranded liquor became top-of-the-line name brands. McCoy became famous for never watering his booze, and selling only top brands. This is one of several reputed origins of the term "The Real McCoy."

On 15 November 1923, McCoy and Tomika encountered the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Seneca, just inside U.S. territorial waters. A boarding party attempted to board, but McCoy chased them off with the machine gun. Tomika tried to run, but the Seneca placed a shell just off her hull, and Bill McCoy's days as a rum-runner were over

lowblue320

Founded on December 5, 1933, the bar's (Sloppy Joes)most famous patrons were Ernest Hemingway and the infamous rum runner Habana joe

he would take the risk............xl would do.

Sean H

rum running right onto the beach in a flat bottom skiff?

offshoredrillin

Broke his foot off in Fidels butt?

kimmer

Angler?
To catch a swordfish off of Florida, most anglers such as the infamous Habana Joe drift live or dead baits in the Gulfstream. Boats drift beam to sea, which is why center consoles are so popular for this type of fishing. From Miami's Government Cut, Haulover Inlet or Port Everglades, the run to the swordfish grounds is less than 20 miles. Given the speed of the Gulfstream though, and fishing the majority of the night, you may end up as far as 40 to 50 miles from your homeport. From talking to longliners who used to fish in our waters, swordfish can be found in various parts of the Gulfstream, but the majority of recreational anglers fish a corridor of water that is 3 to 4 miles wide, but starts in the upper Keys and ends in Palm Beach. The reason this area is so popular is due to the bottom terrain. In this lane there are a series of rises and falls in the depth contour which provides upwelling and seems to hold bait better than open expanses of flat bottom

HabanaJoe

That's it? That's all you can find?

You think one of you knows the answer?