Ernest Hemingway’s love of the sea and eye for detail have scientists hoping that a visit to Cuba by the author’s grandsons will open access to his fishing logs, which may be a treasure trove of information about the state of deep-water species before they were diminished by overfishing. Patrick and John Hemingway launched a five-day mission to the island Monday intent on helping improve U.S.-Cuba ties and gaining permission for researchers to study the aging documents. Traveling with a team of U.S. marine scientists, the two men sailed a massive, gleaming white sport-fishing yacht to the seaside village that inspired their grandfather’s Pulitzer-winning “Old Man and the Sea.” An honor guard of aging local fishing boats and a crowd of hundreds cheered the Hemingways as they gathered around a bust honoring their grandfather.
Hemingway was there in Cuba for 20 years. If he did keep log books for that long, having 20 years — even if it is only for a single vessel — would be very valuable.
Dr. David Die, a U.S.-based fishery scientist
Scientists are optimistic the trip could allow them to review Hemingway’s fishing logs, which could help them piece together details about the Florida Strait’s deep-sea fish populations over the last 75 years. Such information could improve efforts to protect the species that sustain Cojimar. One of the earliest and most prolific sport fishermen in the Florida Straits, Hemingway lived in Cuba from 1939 to 1960 in a villa on lush, orchard-filled grounds in the village of San Francisco de Paula on the southeast edge of Havana. From Cojimar, he often launched his boat, the Pilar, with first mate Gregorio Fuentes, who helped inspire the aging fisherman who battles a giant marlin in the “Old Man and the Sea.” That has scientists hoping Hemingway may inadvertently have created an unparalleled scientific resource with the logs he kept as he prowled some of the world’s richest fishing grounds for marlin, sharks and tuna.