Ernest (Papa) Hemingway was a world traveler, a
fighter/brawler, a hunter, a scientific researcher, a world class fisherman,
and of course an amazing author. The
Pilar, his beloved fishing boat, was one of his most prized possession.
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| Ernest and Pauline Hemingway in 1927 |
Hemingway acquired the 38” Pilar from the Brooklyn, New York
based Wheeler Shipbuilding company in 1934 for $7,494. He picked up the Pilar in Miami and along with
a friend and a Wheeler representative, mad athe initial "shake down" cruise to a marina near his home in
Key West, Florida where he took final delivery. Under Hemingway’s
instructions Wheeler had modified her to add dual engines, a livewell, and a
special roller on the transom to aid in hauling large fish (tuna and sailfish
in particular) onto the boat. At a later
date the boat was equipped with a flying bridge. The name Pilar was Hemingway’s nickname for his second wife,
Pauline, and the name of a key character in his Spanish Civil War novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls. The yacht was the inspiration for naming Playa Pilar (Pilar Beach) on Cuba's Caya Guilermo.
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| Hemingway aboard the Pilar |
In addition to fishing Hemingway found other uses for the
Pilar, among them scientific research and submarine hunting. Starting in 1935 he spent three summers
fishing near Bimini. During this time he
developed a technique to prevent sharks from attacking and dismembering his
catch. This method involved continuous
retrieval of the Tuna (the previous method was to prolong the fight in order to
tire the Tuna), and use of a Thompson sub-machine gun to “discourage” the
sharks! Much to his dismay the injured
sharks’ blood simply attracted more sharks
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| Hemingway and Mike Strater with "apple cored" Marlin |
Hemingway was fond of Cuba.
During the 1940s he purchased a second home there While on his first trip to Cuba with Pilar in
1939 he was joined by a pair of noted ichthyologists. They were determining whether white, blue,
black and striped marlin were different species or just color variants. As a result of this study North American
Marlin variants were reclassified.
The Thompson sub-machine gun wasn’t only used as a shark
deterent. Additionally, it was his only
armor against German U-boats patrolling Caribbean waters. The Pilar was equipped with with HF/DF
(Huff-Duff) direction finding equipment and other communications gear to assist
with the U-Boat search patrols. Since
the machine gun wouldn’t have been an adequate defense against a U-boat, it is
likely Hemingway’s primary intent in carrying the gun was to obtain extra gas
rations from his participation in the war effort, and to get a pass from Cuban
police for driving drunk!
There is little doubt, however, that Hemingway’s primary use
for the Pilar was fishing in the Miami, Havana, Bimini Triangle. While on Pilar he caught many record breaking
fish and won every tournament in the area.
He set a world marlin record by catching seven in one day. He was the first person to successfully land
a whole giant tuna that had not been ravaged by sharks. He kept meticulous records of his fishing
excursions including not only fish caught, but weather, guests, currents,
etc. Some of those records were later
typed and are on display at the John F. Kennedy Museum and Library.
Starting in 1950, The Hemingway Fishing Tournament has been
held in Cuba. This four day tournament
awards prizes for marlin, tuna, wahoo, and other fish caught using 50 pound
line Not surprisingly, Hemingway won the first
three years.
He hosted many world famous guests on the Pilar including
Fidel Castro, Ava Gardner, Archibald MacLeish, John Dos Passos, and Alan Jay
Lerner’s son and daughter.
Hemingway’s experiences aboard the Pilar influenced many of
his novels including For Whom the Bell
Tolls, The Old Man and the Sea,
and Islands in the Stream.
Today the yacht is located in Finca Vigia, his former home,
at the Museo Ernest Hemingway near Havana.
The Pilar is owned by the Cuban government and has been restored. Its original black paint has been replaced
with green. Pilar’s sister ship is on
display in Islamorada, Florida.
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| Ship Model of Pilar |
To view additional ship model images of the Pilar click here. You can also visit my web site at Ship Models Online
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