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.^{[1] [2]}

Descendants of Habana Joe

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.

Habana Joe's grandson, "Habana Joe" Gere, grew up with stories of Cuba’s unparalleled bill fishing and celebrating Cuba’s lavish lifestyle. As a tribute to his father and grandparents, he founded Habana Co.^{[3] [4]}

References

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