iStock/Thinkstock(HAVANA) — A fishing competition in Cuba named after Ernest Hemingway has an American winner this year, as vessels from the U.S. are allowed to participate for the first time in years.
The Hemingway International Billfishing Tournament hosts boats from around the world for a fishing competition where eager fisherman are on the hunt for “marlin and other large deep sea fish, including tuna and wahoo,” according to the tournament’s website.
Bill Helman, the owner of the winning boat deemed Billy the Kid, traveled to the competition from Florida and said “there’s tons of people that want to come and participate in this tournament.”
Ernest Hemingway’s grandson, Patrick Hemingway, was also at the event and agrees with Helman.
“I know that there’s fishermen in Florida that are just chomping at the bit,” he said. “They can’t wait until next year.”
He also said he expects the tournament to continue to grow as the U.S. and Cuba normalize relations.
Fisherman involved in the first competition in 1950, including Hemingway himself, proposed to name the event after Hemingway because of his “passion for big game fishing,” according to the website. The website also said the writer of The Old Man and the Sea was the winner of the first three tournaments.
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