2012 Billfish Invitational to Present Tim Choate with Achievement Award at Bimini Big Game Club
February 8, 2012 at 2:15 am | Posted in Billfish Invitational, Bimini Big Game Club, Guy Harvey, Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, Guy Harvey Outpost Ltd. | Leave a commentTags: Bahamas, billfish, Billfish Invitational, Bimini Big Game Club, Black Fly Bimini, fishing tournament, Frank Johnson, Guy Harvey, Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, Guy Harvey Outpost, Hemingway, IGFA, Kent Ullberg, Michael Lerner, sport fishing, The Billfish Foundation, Tim Choate
Tim Choate in Bimini with his first blue marlin, 1962
Ft Lauderdale, FL, USA – February 7, 2012—Captain Ned Stone, Tournament Director for the 2012 Billfish Invitational, confirmed today the Bimini Big Game Club, a Guy Harvey Outpost Resort will host the tournament from May 30 – June 2. At a special dinner event on May 31st, renowned conservation advocate, international sport fishing angler and entrepreneur Tim Choate will be presented the Frank Johnson Trophy for Personal Achievement in the Advancement of Big Game Sport Fishing. The Billfish Invitational was launched last year to celebrate the reopening of the legendary Bimini Big Game Club, now operating as a Guy Harvey Outpost Resort.
In announcing Choate’s selection, Guy Harvey, Chairman of Guy Harvey Outpost Resorts added, “Tim’s visionary and passionate commitment to billfish conservation and the operation of top-of-class sport fishing operations in Costa Rica, Guatemala and more recently Brazil and the Galapagos have pretty much shaped international recognition and respect of these countries for their robust conservation practices and dedication to healthy and sustainable recreational fisheries.”
Choate is a co-founder of the prestigious Billfish Foundation, an organization dedicated to billfish research and conservation and the promotion of circle hook fishing techniques. “He has been and continues to be a driving force behind today’s worldwide Billfish conservation movement” notes Harvey. “Every marlin angler today owes a debt of gratitude to Tim for his tireless work to protect billfish from irresponsible fishing practices.”
Commenting on his nomination, Choate noted, “The honor of receiving this perpetual trophy at the Bimini Big Game Club brings me full circle with my passion for marlin fishing and growing up in South Florida. I caught my first blue marlin here in Bimini in 1962.” A big game fishing enthusiast by nature, Choate is angling to win the tournament outright. “I have probably some 50,000 billfish catches to my name and those of our boats, but I’m leaving nothing to chance. I’ve got legendary charter captain Bouncer Smith and my daughter Stephanie as an angler. We fish together around the world, but winning this tournament in Bimini at the Big Game Club would be a truly memorable accomplishment for me and my family.”
The winning billfish team is presented the Hemingway-Lerner Trophy, a Kent Ullberg sculpture commissioned by the Club to recognize “Friendship, teamwork and the pursuit of Excellence.” Both trophies are on permanent display at the Big Game Club. The tournament is a charity event that donates all net proceeds for the exclusive benefit of conservation and education programs in Bimini. The Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation administers the funds in concert with the International Game Fish Association.
About Tim Choate
Tim Choate has been an ardent angler since moving to Islamorada from New York City as a boy in the mid-1950s. His Florida Keys childhood fostered an enthusiasm for offshore fishing, particularly in Bimini and Cat Cay. While earning his law degree from the University of Miami in 1974, his 19- foot center console was a fixture at the Big Game Club. Choate gave up a successful Miami law practice in 1982 to form Artmarina to pursue the sport fishing business and travel the world in pursuit of big game records. In 1984 he acquired Striker Aluminum Yachts and through the years his Artmarina subsidiary has managed numerous charter fishing operations and lodges throughout Central and South America, including Guatemala’s famed Fins ‘N Feathers. Choate pioneered the use of socioeconomic studies by governments and conservation groups to validate the correlation of billfishing conservation and tourism. These efforts lead to the creation of the Billfish Foundation which he co-founded with the late Win Rockefeller and the establishment of the Presidential Challenge Conservation Series, Central America. He remains a tireless advocate of billfish conservation legislation both in the United States and worldwide.
An Invitation from Vaughn Cochran to View his New Exhibition at the IGFA Hall of Fame Museum Through April 15th
January 25, 2012 at 2:48 am | Posted in Bimini Big Game Club, Bonefish Bimini, Guy Harvey | Leave a commentTags: Bimini Big Game Club, Bonefish Bimini, Guy Harvey, Guy Harvey Outpost, IGFA
Ned Stone and Vaughn Cochran hang the artist's self-portrait during preparations for an exhibition of Vaughn's work at the IGFA.
From Vaughn Cochran – artist, conservationist, fly fishing guru and proprietor of Bonefish Bimini at the Bimini Big Game Club, a Guy Harvey Outpost Resort & Marina:
You are invited to attend the GRAND OPENING of my newest art exhibition at the IGFA Hall of Fame Museum in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. There will be a reception in the main entry to the Museum on Wednesday, January 25th from 5 to 7 pm serving food and drink. The exhibit will run until April 15th.
ABOUT THE SHOW
The invitation to do this show arrived at the same time I decided to venture into the difficult world of portraits. Not just any portraits but drawings and paintings of the legends of the industry, following the path I chose years ago to create art that spoke about the images, ideas and concepts of the fishing industry….the tools, the colors, boats, familiar scenes and of course the fish. Degas painted dancers and Andy Worhol through his colorful paintings, silkscreen prints and sculptures elevated everyday items of the popular culture into the art world, (where the term “Pop” came from). This would be my chance to elevate the icons of fishing and to explore bringing my interpretation of my friends to the walls of the IGFA. What better way to force myself to actually execute the idea of contemporary portraits from conception to “hanging a show”.
Each piece in this show could be a starting point for another show, paintings that would be take offs, exploring the concepts that were established in that particular painting. I’m sure you’ll see these thoughts again in paintings somewhere down the road, as every artist is always asking the same question…where do I go from here? Should I keep painting the same thing over and over again or should I take a chance and risk failure?
Take a chance…..failure is not an option!
I hope you enjoy the show.
Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation President Steve Stock Named to Board of Directors for The Center for Coastal Conservation
December 7, 2011 at 12:31 am | Posted in Guy Harvey, Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, Guy Harvey Outpost Ltd. | Leave a commentTags: Center for Coastal Conservation, Guy Harvey, Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, Guy Harvey Outpost, IGFA, Steve Stock
Washington, DC – December 6, 2001 - The Center for Coastal Conservation, an organization formed to promote good stewardship of America’s marine resources, today elected Steve Stock, President of the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, to its Board of Directors.
The Center for Coastal Conservation is a coalition of leading individual, institutional and corporate advocates for marine recreational fishing and boating. Among its prominent members, the Center includes institutional partners, such as the American Sportfishing Association (ASA), International Game Fish Association (IGFA), The Billfish Foundation (TBF) and National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA).
The Center for Coastal Conservation’s role is to affect public policy related to the conservation of marine resources with broad abilities to pursue political solutions. The organization is non-partisan and focuses on having an impact in the national political arena, principally Congress and federal regulatory agencies.
As president of the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation (GHOF), Stock works closely with a Board of Directors to set policy and implement numerous programs designed to inspire scientific research and innovative educational programs to encourage conservation and best management practices for sustainable marine environments.
In only its fourth year of existence, GHOF has been front and center internationally with its support—in both science and grants—to provide common sense solutions to reversing overfishing, pollution and other threats to the marine ecosystem.
Numerous organizations and causes have benefited from GHOF support over the years, including the Guy Harvey Research Institute at the Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center, Bimini Biological Field Station, University of Florida: Florida Museum of Natural History, Mote Marine Laboratory, The Ocean Foundation, Florida Sea Grant’s Guy Harvey Scholarship, Florida State University, University of South Florida, Florida International University, University of Texas, University of Southern Mississippi, Central Caribbean Marine Institute and the RJ Dunlap Marine Conservation Program at the University of Miami.
Last month the GHOF was honored as the Outstanding Foundation by the Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) as part of the 2011 National Philanthropy Day Celebration.
The Center for Coastal Conservation activities include advancing marine resource policy initiatives by influencing federal decision makers and by exerting a direct impact on the national political process. It built the Center for Coastal Conservation Political Action Committee – Center PAC – so its individual members can promote marine conservation issues in federal elections.
The Center worked in 2007 to secure an Executive Order signed by President George W. Bush protecting redfish and striped bass as federal gamefish. Its leadership also worked to achieve a 2008 Executive Order protecting recreational fishing on all federal lands and waters. Currently, the Center for Coastal Conservation is encouraging the White House to move its National Ocean Policy toward responsible uses of ocean resources, rather than protectionism. The Center also led the effort for President Obama to appoint The Billfish Foundation’s Ellen Peel as his commissioner in international fisheries.
Other corporate sustaining members of the Center include AFTCO, Grady White Boats, Shimano and Yamaha.
Stock will serve as a sustaining member of the Center for Coastal Conservation for a minimum of three years.
IGFA Remembers Trustee Jack Willits
November 29, 2011 at 7:46 pm | Posted in Guy Harvey Outpost Ltd., Uncategorized | 1 CommentTags: Guy Harvey Outpost, IGFA
Obituary courtesy of the International Game Fish Association
A life filled with passion for sport fishing came to a sudden end last week, when IGFA Trustee, friend and benefactor John “Jack” F. Willits passed away on Wednesday, November 16, 2011. His contributions were many to his favorite sport, and he was committed to doing all that he could to ensure that recreational fishing would thrive.
At the Billfish Expo - Left to right: Mark Ellert, Guy Harvey Outpost President; Jack Willits, IGFA Trustee; Capt. Ned Stone, Guy Harvey Outpost Director of Programs
Born on July 17, 1932 in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, USA, Willits graduated from the University of Vermont in 1956. In 1958 he joined C. R. Bard, Inc., a manufacturer of medical equipment, where he served as Director from 1958 until 1970. In 1971 he left to continue his work with Willits International Company, based in Red Bank, New Jersey, dealing in worldwide investment and development. Among the company’s many projects were a charter airline, resort hotels in Thailand and the Seychelles, Taurean Films Production Company, and The Racquet & Yacht Club of Boca Raton.
But beyond his business acumen, Willits was known for the great love he had for sport fishing. A long-time member of the Manasquan River Marlin & Tuna Club, one of the most influential clubs in the eastern United States, and a member of the Board of Governors of the Chub Cay Club in the Bahamas, Willits and his 45’ Rybovich
Frisky Lady were staples of the Annual Billfish Tournament sponsored by the Nantucket Anglers’ Club and tournaments throughout Florida and the Bahamas. But it was a routine fishing trip, rather than one of the many tournaments in which he competed, which landed Willits his world record swordfish. The 177.81 kg (392 lb) Xiphias gladius he caught on 15 kg (30 lb) test during a daytime trip on August 3, 1976 stands as the line-class record to this day.
Willits was earnest in sharing his passion for deep sea fishing with his contacts among anglers and fishing clubs throughout the world. Having been elected to the IGFA Board of Trustees in 1975, he served as a Board Member for nearly 37 years and never once missed a Board meeting. During that time he worked diligently to enable the IGFA to inspire others to take to the water as he had. In recent years Willits served on the Museum Oversight Committee, promoting the IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame & Museum in Dania Beach, Florida, USA as the heart of the sportfishing community. Additionally, Willits was a founding board member of The Billfish Foundation and an honorary board member of the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust.
When he wasn’t pursuing a business venture or a billfish, Jack Willits had another love: Boykin spaniels. His first Boykin, “JV”, found him on a golf course in South Carolina, USA, and the lost dog quickly found a warm place in his heart. He owned a number of the breed over the years and served on the Board of Directors for the Boykin Spaniel Society. Seldom was Willits seen without a dog close at hand, and was known to spare no expense or effort in their well-being.
Jack will be remembered in a small private ceremony in the Bahamas. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memoriam to the International Game Fish Association, 300 Gulf Stream Way, Dania Beach, Florida, 33004, USA.
Bonefish Packages Announced at Bimini Big Game Club, a Guy Harvey Outpost
November 21, 2011 at 6:13 pm | Posted in Bimini Big Game Club, Bonefish Bimini, Guy Harvey Outpost Ltd. | Leave a commentTags: Bimini Big Game Club, bonefish, Bonefish Bimini, IGFA, permit, Vaughn Cochran
Set a New World Record for Bonefish or Permit and Win a Week’s Stay For 2
ALICE TOWN, BIMINI-NOVEMBER 21, 2011-Management at the Bimini Big Game Club, a Guy Harvey Outpost Resort and Marina has created a novel challenge tied into their newly announced bonefish fishing travel package – break any world record in any line class for bonefish or permit on fly or spinning rod and win a week’s all-inclusive stay for two!
Bimini, located just less than 50 miles from Miami/Fort Lauderdale, is home to some 50 World Records, with four of those current world records being for bonefish/permit.
Perhaps the most remembered bonefish record was set in 1971 by Virginia Beach sportsman Jerry Lavenstein, who along with legendary guide Ansil Saunders landed a 16-pound, 3-ounce monster just some 300 yards from the
historic Big Game Club.
Break Lavenstein’s 40-year-old record – or any IGFA registered record for Bonefish or Permit – and the Big Game Club will provide a complimentary seven night stay, including airfare and transfers, and a day on the water with fly fishing personality Vaughn Cochran.
The competition challenge offer, which is open through 2012, is available to anyone purchasing the special Fly Fishing Package. Details are available at Bonefish Bimini, or call Captain Vaughn Cochran at 904-997-2200 or BBGC reservations at 1-800-867-4764.
Art of the Dive/Portraits of the Deep Exhibition Scheduled At IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame & Museum in October
September 22, 2011 at 4:35 pm | Posted in Guy Harvey | Leave a commentTags: Guy Harvey, IGFA, marine art
DANIA BEACH, FL—SEPTEMBER 22, 2011—A group of internationally acclaimed marine artists, including Dr. Guy Harvey, Wyland and sculptor Kent Ullberg, will be among the featured artists in the Art of the Dive/Portraits of the Deep traveling museum exhibition, scheduled to be on display at the IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame & Museum from October 1st to November 30th.
The exhibition, produced by David J. Wagner L.L.C., features work by leading artists who portray underwater life forms and habitat.
- “Blue Runner” – Guy Harvey
- “Jewfish 6 – Sabbath Reef Worship, Belize” – Stanley Meltzoff
- “Caribbean Reef Shark” – Ian Coleman
The exhibit features original paintings and sculptures and photographs by the world’s leading marine painters and sculptors. These begin with New York painter, Stanley Meltzoff (1917-2006), who as curator/author was given his art-of –the-dive start with a commission from National Geographic Society in the 1960s and who is now generally recognized as the progenitor of the series.
In addition to works from Stanley Meltzoff, Guy Harvey, Wyland and Kent Ullberg, artists and sculptors represented include Charles Allmond, Al Barnes, Renee Bemis, Eric Berg, M.J. Brush, Ian Coleman, Jean-Louis Courteau, John Kobald, Diane Peebles, Randy Puckett, Don Ray, George Schelling, Randall Scotts, Rachelle and Wes Siegrist, Mark Susinno, Fred Thomas and Ronnie Williford.
Mike Myatt, IGFA Chief Operating Officer stated “We are very excited and deeply honored to be the first venue of this truly incredible collection of art. This is definitely a show not to be missed.”
Billfish Invitational Auction Items Announced
May 10, 2011 at 8:05 pm | Posted in Billfish Invitational, Bimini Big Game Club | Leave a commentTags: Billfish Invitational, Bimini Big Game Club, Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, IGFA
Can’t fish in this year’s Billfish Invitational? No problem – you can still make a contribution as a Friend of Bimini by participating in the Invitational’s live auction on Thursday, May 19th!
Bid paddles are ready. It’s not a Bimini Start, but the next best thing…a live auction featuring exciting travel packages, outdoor gear and original artwork. The Billfish Invitational will be raising proceeds to benefit education and conservation initiatives to be established and monitored by the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation and the IGFA, for the exclusive benefit of Bimini, Bahamas.
Join in the cause. Join the Billfish Invitational anglers on Thursday evening for cocktails, dinner and after dinner bidding action. Tickets are $150/pp, and can be purchased by contacting Ned Stone at nstone@guyharveyoutpost.com, or the tournament staff on site during the event.
LIVE AUCTION ITEMS:
1. IGFA History Package
2. Lost in the Out Islands (EPIRB from ACR Electronics)
3. “Jumping White Marlin”, photograph on canvas by Scott Kerrigan
4. Dock, Dine, Stay & Play Palm Beach-style (Ritz-Carlton, Singer Island)
5. It’s Good to be a Bahamian Pirate (Graycliff Mansion, Nassau)
6. Abaco Turtle Bones (Green Turtle Club & Black Fly Bonefish Club)
7. “One Second”, photograph on canvas by Marc Montocchio
8. Any day is Valentine’s Day (Valentine’s Resort & Yacht Club, Habour Island)
9. Escape to Eleuthera (Cape Eleuthera Resort & Yacht Club)
10. “The Blue”, a bronze casting by Kent Ullberg
11. The Bimini Big Gamer (Big Game Club, “El Viejo” Sportfishing Charters & Sky Limo Air Charters)
12. “Surfaced”, a colored pen-and-ink original by Guy Harvey
Friends of Bimini: Your Invitation to the Billfish Invitational, May 18th – 21st at the World-famous Bimini Big Game Club
May 4, 2011 at 7:23 pm | Posted in Billfish Invitational, Bimini Big Game Club, Guy Harvey Outpost Ltd. | Leave a commentTags: Billfish Invitational, Bimini Big Game Club, fishing tournament, Guy Harvey, IGFA
Hemingway-Lerner Trophy unveiled for Guy Harvey’s upcoming Billfish Invitational in Bimini
April 29, 2011 at 2:02 pm | Posted in Billfish Invitational, Bimini Big Game Club | Leave a commentTags: Billfish Invitational, Bimini Big Game Club, fishing tournament, Guy Harvey, Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, IGFA
ALICE TOWN, BIMINI - Designed by Kent Ullberg, one of the world’s foremost wildlife sculptors, the Hemingway-Lerner Trophy will not only go to the overall winning team at the upcoming Billfish Invitational, but will commemorate the ideals of friendship, teamwork and the pursuit of sportfishing achievement.
Celebrated artist and conservationist Guy Harvey will host The Billfish Invitational at the historic Bimini Big Game Club located in Bimini’s Alice Town. The tournament will run from May 18-21.
With the Hemingway-Lerner Trophy, Ullberg has cast a perpetual “Fighting Blue Marlin” trophy commemorating the achievement of the tournament’s top billfish team. Ullberg is the sculptor of theInternational Game Fish Association’s (IGFA) signature monument, “Sword Dance”, which graces the IGFA’s museum fountain in Dania Beach, Florida.
The Frank Johnson Trophy, designed by noted Hawaii-born artist Ed Pang, has also been created for the Billfish Invitational to celebrate personal achievement in the advancement or recreational sportfishing/billfishing.
Host to numerous major sport fishing tournaments for more than half a century, The Billfish Invitational marks the Bimini Big Game Club’s return to world-class bluewater tournament angling, after a decade long hiatus.
The all release tournament will feature three days of fishing, and target all billfish species. In addition to individual prizes, the tournament format will include the award of the two perpetual trophies, to be displayed in the Club’s new trophy room lounge.
Bimini’s location along the legendary Gulf Stream (a “river” of warm water) location is at the apex of a superhighway for migrating fish and acts as a kind of sushi conveyor belt carrying abundant food to the local fish. Deepwater game fish include marlin, tuna, sailfish, wahoo and swordfish, while big grouper, barracuda and schools of snapper can be found on the reefs. Bimini’s flats are home the fishermen’s favorite prey, bonefish and permit. With more than 50-record-setting catches in the waters around the island, Bimini has earned its title of Sport Fishing Capital of the World.
Eligible species for the Billfish Tournament include Blue Marlin, White Marlin, Sailfish, Spearfish and Swordfish.
Tournament sponsors include Woods and Associates, which originally began in Fort Myers Beach as Woods & Oviatt in 1973, has long been a fixture in South Florida yacht and sportfishing boat sales. A Blue Marlin Sponsor, the family-run firm joins Hell’s Bay Boatworks and Costa del Mar sunglasses (Sailfish category) and by Rybovich, the Bimini Boatyard, Johnson Marine Electronics, Seacoast Marine Finance, ACR Electronics, Luu Marine & Associates and Sky Limo Air Charters (Wahoo category).
Administered by the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation and the IGFA, net tournament proceeds will be reinvested in Bimini and surrounding waters. For registration and further details, contact Captain Ned Stone at nstone@guyharveyoutpost.com, or call 954-524-2225 (office) or 954-205-9595 (cell).
The Ultimate Bimini Big Game Club Getaway Up For Bids During the IGFA’s 27th Annual Auction
January 13, 2011 at 1:04 am | Posted in Bimini Big Game Club, Guy Harvey Outpost Ltd. | Leave a commentTags: Bimini Big Game Club, Guy Harvey Outpost, IGFA, online auction
BBGC Package Is Also Available For Bidding on the IGFA’s Online Auction Site
The Bimini Big Game Club has donated the ultimate angler’s vacation as one of the items up for bid in the 27th Annual IGFA Auction. The auction will be held at the IGFA’s January 28th fundraising event at The Breakers, but bids are being accepted now online. Put in your bid now – and you just might be the lucky winner of the Ultimate Bimini Big Game Club Getaway (auction ends on 01/24/2011 @ 09:00 AM).
27th Annual IGFA Auction
Item Number: 31
This exciting package includes an entry for four persons to the “Invitation Only” Inaugural Guy Harvey/IGFA/Big Game Club Billfish Tournament scheduled for May 17 – 21, 2011. Your team will fish with renowned artist and conservationist, Dr. Guy Harvey, also an IGFA Trustee and Hall of Fame member, on one of the fishing days (bring your own tackle). This package also includes complimentary dockage for your fishing boat for five (5) nights, accommodations in the Hemingway Suite of the Big Game Club for five (5) nights and one day of bonefishing with Ansil Saunders for two persons. Ansil Saunders is a legend in the world of bonefishing in Bimini which is home to several IGFA world records. The Big Game Club has been completely refurbished with new accommodations, public areas and a new Dive Bimini operation. Enjoy the place where Hemingway, Lerner and the early fishing legends gathered together. Valid through May 2011.
Prize donated by Guy Harvey Outposts Resorts and Marinas
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