I wanted to add a personal note to the release below. It describes the fact that the Bimini Big Game Club and Guy Harvey Outpost have mutually decided to end their licensing agreement. As one who has spent his lifetime involved with various sportfishing activities and businesses, the importance of reopening the Bimini Big Game Club was easy to understand. The club’s involvement in the history of saltwater fishing was too important for it to remain shut down, as it was before our Guy Harvey Outpost team became involved. The entire Guy Harvey Outpost partnership (Guy Harvey, Mark Ellert, Charlie Forman and me) are all proud of the role our team played in reopening this iconic resort. Reopening the Bimini Big game Club would not have been so successfully accomplished without the leadership and brand strength of Guy Harvey, the vision and hospitality expertise of Mark Ellert, and the legal and business judgment of Charlie Forman. This ending of Guy Harvey Outpost’s involvement at the Bimini Big Game Club leaves behind a win-win situation. The Club is now open to the fishing and diving public, its owner has the opportunity to build on the success we helped to create, and value of the Guy Harvey Outpost brand in the resort world has been proven.
—Bill Shedd
Bimini Big Game Club and Guy Harvey Outpost end licensing agreement
ALICE TOWN, BIMINI (May 9, 2012) – Owners of the historic Big Game Club and Guy Harvey Outpost, LTD have mutually agreed to end the licensing agreement for the 51-room resort and marina, which re-opened two years ago as a Guy Harvey Outpost Resort & Marina.
Eric Jarvis, spokesman for the Southern California-based Hankey Group of Companies, owner of the Big Game Club, said the relationship using the branding power of world celebrated marine wildlife artist and scientist Guy Harvey coupled with the financial backing and support of the Hankey Group put the iconic fishing resort back in play as a popular family destination, adding scuba diving and backcountry fishing as available pursuits.
“We will continue to develop the property and make capital improvements, including the addition of a floating dock facility this summer, which will facilitate direct seaplane service,” Jarvis added.
“We’re glad to have written this chapter in the history of Bimini and the Big Game Club,” noted Mark Ellert, president of Guy Harvey Outpost, LTD based in Fort Lauderdale. “Our redevelopment of the property and revitalization of guest services restored the Club’s reputation for top-of-class water sports recreation and popularity as an out-island resort destination. Given this success and our comfort that an experienced management team is now in place, as the Club enters its third summer season we believe the time is right for the property to reclaim its independence and storied reputation as simply the Bimini Big Game Club.”
“The current hotel management in place has grown and improved sales and marketing and based on their performance and solid bookings through the summer, we felt we could move ahead on our own at this point,” said Jarvis.
Closed for two years, the Big Game Club, which was founded as a dinner club in 1936, was re-opened in 2010 following completion of a $3.5 million renovation that included all guest rooms, the new Bimini Big Game Bar & Grill, Hemingway Rum Bar and Social Lounge and the Outfitter Shop.
Just over 50 miles from Miami, Bimini has long been a favorite destination for angling and diving enthusiasts. With more than 200-record-setting catches in the waters around the tiny out-island, Bimini has earned its title as Sport Fishing Capital of the World. The diversity of diving experiences also makes Bimini one of the top dive destinations among recreational divers.
The Hankey Group of Companies is a privately held financial services, real estate and insurance organization based in Los Angeles, California. For more information on the Hankey Group, visit www.hankeygroup.com.
For a complete list of our other featured blog posts and to see the full line of Guy Harvey Sportswear, please visit:www.guyharveysportswear.com
Historic Big Game Club Introduces Lionfish Nuggets
ALICE TOWN, BIMINI – OCTOBER 17, 2011 – With more than 400 servings of a new menu item last month, Bimini Big Game Club‘s General Manager Michael Weber and Chef Alvarez Bastian have found a recipe to help the environment and sate the most discriminating palate at the same time.
The Bimini Big Game Club’s Panko Breaded Lionfish Nuggets are the talk of the island, a gourmand’s answer to a tasty snack and an eco-solution for helping to rid nearby reefs of an aggressive and non-native predator.
“Our lionfish nuggets have become a huge seller. Though we don’t serve endangered species such as grouper – and we were the first Bahamas resort to feature a shark free marina – we have absolutely no problem turning lionfish into a menu item,” said Weber.
The colorful and charismatic lionfish, a member of the venomous scorpionfish family, are native to the Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean. First observed in Fort Lauderdale in 1985, they appeared in noticeable numbers in the Caribbean Ocean and Florida waters around 2000 and have continued to aggressively breed. Scientists are quite concerned that lionfish may be completely reinventing the western north Atlantic coral reef ecosystem.
“There are enormous concerns that lionfish will completely change and possibly destroy Atlantic coral reefs by overrunning them and shrinking their native biodiversity, and that the ongoing damage is severe and possibly irreparable. So far, there is no known quick-fix, and the problem is escalating exponentially.”
Weber is quick to admit that turning lionfish into finger food is far from a solution, but with proper cleaning, the lionfish meat is excellent in taste and texture, and any that make it to the table means “they are no longer a threat on the reefs.”
Recipe for Panko Breaded Lionfish Nuggets a la Bimini Big Game Club
(Please carefully adhere to cleaning recommendations before preparing)
Lionfish Nuggets:
4 oz of Lionfish
Flour
1 cup liquid egg
Panko breadcrumb
Salt & Pepper
Cajun seasoning
In 3 separate bowls place your liquid egg, flour and breadcrumb. Cut Lionfish into small bite sized pieces and season with salt & Pepper & Cajun seasoning. Dip pieces into flour, shake off excess flour, and then dip into liquid egg and then into Panko breading. Once covered in the breading they are ready to take a long hot bath in some hot oil at 325 degrees until crispy golden brown.
Homemade Cilantro & Key Lime Tarter Sauce:
Mayonnaise 1 cup
1 Gherkin’s or small Pickle
2 TBS Key Lime juice
6 leaves of chopped Cilantro
2 TBS of chopped Capers
Make sure all above ingredients are FINELY chopped. Mix the above ingredients in a mixing bowl and fold ingredients together and add salt & pepper to taste. Refrigerate until time of service to remain fresh. Enjoy!
For a complete list of our other featured blog posts and to see the full line of Guy Harvey Sportswear, please visit:www.guyharveysportswear.com
When we get the opportunity to combine work with our passions, we are indeed blessed. Last week at the Bimini Big Game Club was just such an opportunity, as I met with my Guy Harvey Outpost Resort Partners (Guy, Mark Ellerd and Charlie Forman), all together for the first time at Bimini. I worked on a photo shoot for the www.guyharveysportswear.com site and AFTCO catalog, and experienced some great fishing, diving and stand up paddle boarding.
As the licensee and manufacturer/distributor for all Guy Harvey clothing and footwear, one of our tasks at AFTCO is to put together a photo shoot of new product. This year, we were not only fortunate to do so at the beautiful Bimini Big Game Club, the first Guy Harvey Outpost Resort, but also to have both Guy and his son Alex Harvey there to be the featured models. For the Guy Harvey photo shoots, we always hire a professional photographer, but use regular folks, not professional models. The people wearing the Guy Harvey clothing you see in our photos for ads, catalog, and online website are all family and friends of Guy Harvey and AFTCO. During the Bimini shoot we took over 1000 photos. We were able to recruit several of the female students and interns at Dr. Gruber’s Bimini shark lab, so not only did we get some great photos for the Guy Harvey men’s and young men’s lines, but for juniors as well. Photos from the Bimini shoot will be on line at www.guyharveysportswear.com by October 1, when new products are released.
Photos from the Bimini Photo Shoot
Guy checking out his art with Bill Boyce and skipper
Bill heads to flats
Guy Harvey Deck Shoes at sunset
Alex in tank top and board shorts
Diving with some friendly reef sharks
Skipper on Bimini flats
Guy and Alex with heavy tackle
Friends from the Shark Lab
Guy in his Florida Lighthouse shirt
While some of the shoot was located on land, much of it took place while fishing and diving. One of the things that makes the Guy Harvey sportswear line so unique is the authenticity of Guy Harvey and his brand. Taking pictures of Guy, Alex and others doing what they do on, in, or around the ocean world is the natural way to show Guy Harvey clothing. Guy, Alex and I joined our good friend Bill Boyce as guests on his IGFA Salt Water Adventures TV fishing show for World Fishing Network (WFN) where he captured on camera the excellent fishing and diving that Bimini has to offer. We went offshore and caught a blue marlin that cooperated with some awesome jumps that are sure to make for great TV. We enjoyed some great drift, wreck and shark dives, made all the better with 100 foot visibility and post card perfect weather. We also fit in some bone fishing on the flats and stand up paddle boarding— a great way to see Bimini’s abundant marine life right next to the resort.
During this same week, the first Bimini Big Game Club Billfish Invitational Tournament was held, so the awesome days on or in the water were topped off with evening and nighttime activities with many friends from the fishing world. Photos, fishing, diving and friends in Bimini—a great week to remember combining work and fun.
— Bill
For a complete list of our other featured blog posts and to see the full line of Guy Harvey Sportswear, please visit:www.guyharveysportswear.com
Mahmood Shivji and Brad Wetherbee attach SPOT tag to tiger while Dr. Sam Gruber secures the shark
I recently joined Dr. Sam Gruber and his staff with the Shark Lab in Bimini to tag tiger sharks. We attached a satellite tag (SPOT -Smart Position or Temperature Transmitting) to the dorsal fin of a 9 foot male tiger shark caught off Bimini. This shark was named after a High School in Nassau called CV Bethel— As I follow up on my address to their assembly and to the ministers of the Bahamian Government. We named this shark after the school so the school children would be able to follow the migrations of “their” shark on a weekly basis. Shortly after we left, Dr. Steven Kessel and the shark Lab crew caught a 10 foot female tiger shark. She, also, had a SPOT attached and is named St. Mary, after another Nassau school. Mahmood Shivji and Brad Wetherbee will shortly be making these tracks available to the respective schools.
In addition, I was accompanied by film producer George Schellenger. We shot, for the tiger documentary, some amazing sequences with a great hammerhead and some interactions with Caribbean Reef sharks. No authoritative documentary on tiger sharks could be complete without a visit to the Bimini Shark Lab and some wise words from Dr. Gruber, who has worked in Bimini for more than two decades. The Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation is collaborating with the Bimini Shark Lab on a number of new projects.
By the way,the Bimini Big Game Club is looking great and is gearing up for a busy summer. Some mooring balls were being deployed while I was there, and the new restaurant expansion and deck was in full swing. Clients will be able to dine overlooking the crystal clear water below teaming with jacks, tarpon, eagle rays and bonefish.
The big game is definitely ON!
—Guy Harvey
For a complete list of our other featured blog posts and to see the full line of Guy Harvey Sportswear, please visit:www.guyharveysportswear.com
I would like to welcome you to the Guy Harvey Sportswear web site. Here we will feature my blog where I will report on expeditions, adventures, and various marine conservation efforts. We will also include various guest bloggers, videos and photos that I believe you will find interesting, whether you are a serious fishing or diving enthusiast, or simply someone who cares about the marine resource, loves living the coastal lifestyle, or just wants to learn more about Guy Harvey sportswear.
I would like to welcome you to the Guy Harvey Sportswear web site. Here we will feature my blog where I will report on expeditions, adventures, and various marine conservation efforts. We will also include various guest bloggers, videos and photos that I believe you will find interesting, whether you are a serious fishing or diving enthusiast, or simply someone who cares about the marine resource, loves living the coastal lifestyle, or just wants to learn more about Guy Harvey sportswear.
