Chris Corbin dropped about 20 feet to the ocean floor at Looe Key Reef off the Lower Florida Keys July 20 to perform an important task: planting small staghorn coral bundles as a volunteer for Mote Marine …
LYC Commodore Sends Letter of Thanks for Successful 2010 Bimini Blast Event at the BBGC
26 Sep 20105:49 PM
The Commodore of the Lauderdale Yacht Club recently sent a letter to the staff of the Bimini Big Game Club expressing his gratitude to the BBGC for hosting a sucessful “Bimini Blast”, which is the LYC’s annual gathering in Bimini:
Click here to see a photo album of the 2010 “Bimini Blast” event at the BBGC.
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![](mailto:?subject=LYC Commodore Sends Letter of Thanks for Successful 2010 Bimini Blast Event at the BBGC&body=The Commodore of the Lauderdale Yacht Club recently sent a letter to the staff of the <a title="Bimini Big Game Club web site" href="http://www.biminibiggameclub.com" target="_blank">Bimini Big Game Club</a> expressing his gratitude to the BBGC for hosting a sucessful "Bimini Blast", which is the LYC's annual gathering in Bimini:
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/lyc-loving-letter1.jpg"><img class="size-large wp-image-133 aligncenter" title="Letter from the Commodore of the LYC" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/lyc-loving-letter1.jpg?w=788" alt="" width="567" height="737" /></a>
<a title="Bimini Blast 2010 at the Bimini Big Game Club" href="http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=13362&id=127094040665962&saved" target="_blank">Click here</a> to see a photo album of the 2010 "Bimini Blast" event at the BBGC. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/lyc-commodore-sends-letter-of-thanks-for-successful-2010-bimini-blast-event-at-the-bbgc/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Wounded Vets, SCUBAnauts Help Mote Marine Replant Coral in FL Keys&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/11800530_873480432730276_4381179584041674224_n.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2838 alignleft" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/11800530_873480432730276_4381179584041674224_n.jpg?w=300" alt="11800530_873480432730276_4381179584041674224_n" width="300" height="249" /></a>Chris Corbin dropped about 20 feet to the ocean floor at Looe Key Reef off the Lower Florida Keys July 20 to perform an important task: planting small staghorn coral bundles as a volunteer for Mote Marine Laboratory's reef restoration project.
This was the 37-year-old retired U.S. Army Green Beret's fourth year as a volunteer citizen scientist working underwater alongside fellow combat vets and middle- and high-school students from SCUBAnauts International on a Mote project. But fastening the coral fragments with zip ties to nails driven into the bottom was proving challenging in the strong current-- especially since Corbin wears two heavy prostheses to replace both legs blown off at mid-calf.
"I just found it easier to drop my feet on a sandy spot and control my buoyancy with my breathing," Corbin said.
He planted four plots with five fragments each and still had air left in his tank.
"Every time it's awesome," he said. "It's kind of cool to see your work--'oh, that was last year and that was 2012'. It's always fun. If nothing else, I'm just playing in the ocean."
Corbin and about 50 other scuba divers and snorkelers from SCUBAnauts and the Combat Wounded Veteran Challenge planted 250 corals along Looe Key that day-- adding to the 7,500 already placed by Mote scientists and volunteers on 50 sites along the Keys. The aim is to restore decades of manmade damage that has wiped out most of the branching corals in the Caribbean-- a huge loss to the marine ecosystem and the humans who depend on it.
"Humans have so screwed up the reefs that they will never recover on their own," Dr. Michael Crosby, Mote President and CEO, told the volunteers. "This is science-based restoration in partnership with all of you."
Scientists say the rewarding aspect of working with staghorn coral is that it grows fast and is the easiest to bring back. Fragments cultivated in Mote's coral nursery have grown large enough to spawn within two years of being replanted on the reef. Their average survival rate is 75 percent.
"It proves we're on the right track," said Erich Bartels, who oversees Mote's coral nursery project.
Tampa high school student Riley Gillis, 16, became a certified scuba diver last year just so she could help with the restoration work.
"The coral dive is actually my favorite dive I've ever done," Riley said. "It's awesome to be part of a team. I love looking around, the science, the working part of it. You're contributing to something."
For the wounded vets like Corbin, the work isn't just fun, but an opportunity to bond with fellow vets.
"No one understands a service member that's been injured like another service member that's been injured," Corbin said. "We're all trying to get back to a semblance of normalcy after injury."
He invited fellow retired Green Beret Bobby Dove to join the mission. Dove, 28, who lost most of his right leg and right arm to an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan, didn't hesitate.
"Hell, yeah," he responded. "I have not gotten to plant coral. I'm very excited about it."
Following their stint as coral farmers, the vets and kids were treated to a barbecue at Mote's Summerland Key lab.
The mission was supported by the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation; the Islander Resort: A Guy Harvey Outpost; "Protect Our Reefs" license plate; Harbor Graphics and Custom Apparel; Looe Key Dive Center; Strike Zone Charters; Underseas Inc., Rock Bottom Divers; Derby Lane; and Oceanic. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wounded-vets-scubanauts-help-mote-marine-replant-coral-in-fl-keys/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Guy Harvey Outpost to Host Fun Back Country Fishing Tournament&body=Once upon a time in Everglades National Park, one of the very few fishermen intrepid enough to explore the remote and mosquito-infested waters of Hells Bay was park ranger Herman Lucerne. His deep back country angling adventures overcoming extreme heat, hungry gators and venomous snakes reaped rich rewards, among them huge snook. And this induced other fishermen to muster their courage and follow in his wake-- chief among them Dr. Lloyd Wruble, a Miami oral surgeon.
Lucerne died in 1992 while working on his home after it was battered by ferocious Hurricane Andrew. In 2000, Wruble created the Herman Lucerne Memorial Backcountry Tournament to honor his friend's memory and dedication to the park's abundant fisheries.
The Sept. 16-18 tournament, presented by Hells Bay Boatworks, is the largest back country fishing event in the Keys-- expecting 68 teams and 112 anglers based at the Islander, a Guy Harvey Outpost in Islamorada. Anglers will catch, measure, photograph and release seven eligible species--tarpon, snook, sea trout, bonefish, snapper, and bass OR black drum. Top honors will go to the angler notching the greatest number of inches of all seven using bait, artificial lures or fly rod. Last year's grand champion was James Lytle fishing with captain Larry Sydnor.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Herman-Lucerne1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4237" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Herman-Lucerne1.jpg" alt="Herman Lucerne" width="720" height="480" /></a>
The tournament awards no prize money-- only original local artwork. But there are numerous prize categories and plenty of swag. Proceeds benefit projects at the park, which last year received $50,000.
Tournament coordinator Kellie Trotta says there are three main reasons for the tournament's continued success:
"Not only do we throw a great kick-off party and have a great ditty bag, but we welcome the kids and families. And it's for a great cause," she said.
The public is invited to attend the Sept. 16 kick-off party, raffle and auction and the Sept. 18 awards banquet for $75 per person for each event. The theme is Mardi Gras, with executive chef Andy Niedenthal serving up plenty of NOLA favorites.
Reservations for the parties close Sept. 9. Go <a href="https://hermanlucernememorial.com" target="_blank">HERE</a> for more information.
To make lodging reservations at the Islander, visit <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com" target="_blank">GuyHarveyOutpost.com</a>. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/guy-harvey-outpost-to-host-fun-back-country-fishing-tournament/){kind=link}
, grunts, parrotfish, angelfish, and rock beauties, plus the stingrays. Visitors can book guided snorkeling tours daily, with all gear included.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/P1000085.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4847" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/P1000085.jpg" alt="" width="4608" height="3456" /></a>
For those who don't feel like getting wet, there are touch tanks holding horseshoe crabs, starfish, and other invertebrates, a live seahorse exhibit, educational talks, and tanks where you can observe a juvenile Goliath grouper and a weird-looking Atlantic guitarfish, and pay extra to feed nurse sharks and rays. I think a lot of the kids were startled at the loud sucking noise emitted by the sharks as they gulped the baits on the surface using the powerful pumps in their jaws.
After touring the aquarium, visitors can stroll across the parking lot and fly through the sky on seven ziplines and other treetop conveyances at the Castaway Canopy Adventure. Swinging through the full range of lines, sky bridges and towers takes up to about two hours-- all under the supervision of professional guides. Advanced bookings are recommended at <a href="http://www.OldCityZip.com">OldCityZip.com</a>.
For more information and reservations for the St. Augustine Aquarium, visit <a href="https://www.saaquarium.com/">www.saaquarium.com</a> or call 904-429-9777. To book a hotel room for your stay, check out Holiday Isle Oceanfront Resort on St. Augustine Beach, soon to re-open as a Guy Harvey Outpost. Call 1-800-513-5257.
https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/aquarium-gets-kids-interested-in-oceans/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Guy Harvey Outpost Hosting Herman Lucerne Memorial Kick-Off Party and Awards Dinner&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/10345549_1090351407659179_1203005855189145553_n-2.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-2882 alignleft" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/10345549_1090351407659179_1203005855189145553_n-2.jpg?w=300" alt="10345549_1090351407659179_1203005855189145553_n (2)" width="300" height="284" /></a>From the early 1970s till the early 90s, Dr. Lloyd Wruble fished the remote waters of the Everglades back country twice weekly with a mentor who'd been roaming the region well before it became a national park in 1947. Herman Lucerne-- the former Florida City mayor and pioneer citrus grower nicknamed Mr. Everglades--introduced Wruble, a Miami oral surgeon, to the winding mangrove labyrinth of Hells Bay where the two endured extreme heat, relentless mosquitoes, and menacing reptiles for the exhilaration of catching monster snook.
"He showed me a lot I didn't know," Wruble said of Lucerne. "We were prepared to stay all night-- mosquito suits and all that."
Being unable to explore some of the park's narrowest inland passages in Lucerne's wide motorboat prompted Wruble to procure a 16-foot aluminum craft with a 70-horsepower Yamaha capable of penetrating creeks only as wide as stairwells and plying flats less than a foot deep. There they caught plenty of other game fish -- tarpon, bonefish, snapper, black and red drum, sea trout and even black bass where the 'Glades waters ran fresh enough. In the days before GPS and reliable cell phone service, the pair were the envy of South Florida sport anglers who longed to plumb their secret spots but were daunted by the perils and discomfort.
In 1992, Lucerne died in the aftermath of devastating Hurricane Andrew. But Wruble kept fishing on his own and eventually introduced up-and-comers such as captain Rick Murphy, now host of television's Chevy Florida Insider Fishing Report, to the hardships and rewards of Hells Bay and the Everglades.
In 2001, Wruble held the first Herman Lucerne Memorial Backcountry Fishing Championship to honor his friend's pioneering fishing legacy. The 2015 edition slated for Sept. 18-20 will host more than 70 angler teams competing to catch and release all seven eligible species --snook; tarpon; bonefish; sea trout; snapper; red drum; and either black drum or black bass--on bait, lures or fly tackle within Everglades National Park. No prize money will be awarded; proceeds benefit the park. The Islander, a Guy Harvey Outpost Resort in Islamorada, will host the Sept. 18 kick-off party and the Sept. 20 awards dinner.
Logging all seven species will be fun to try, but tough to accomplish.
"They have to time the tides and have to pre-plan where to go at what time," Wruble said. "Knock off the easy ones first and save time to go after the more difficult ones. Bonefish is usually the toughest. It's very difficult to do, but every year we have several anglers that get all seven species."
The angler who measures, photographs and releases the greatest total length of all seven will be crowned grand champion. Trophies will be awarded in numerous other categories as well. Co-hosting the event are fishing celebrities Flip Pallot, Chico Fernandez, C.A. Richardson and Rick Murphy. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/guy-harvey-outpost-hosting-herman-lucerne-memorial-kick-off-party-and-awards-dinner/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Bonefish Packages Announced at Bimini Big Game Club, a Guy Harvey Outpost&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/vaughn-cochran-and-bimini-catch-lr1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-938" title="Vaughn Cochran taming bonefish in Bimini " src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/vaughn-cochran-and-bimini-catch-lr1.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="366" /></a>
Set a New World Record for Bonefish or Permit and Win a Week's Stay For 2
ALICE TOWN, BIMINI-NOVEMBER 21, 2011-Management at the <a title="BBGC web site" href="http://www.biggameclubbimini.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bimini Big Game Club</a>, a <a title="GHO web site" href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Guy Harvey Outpost Resort and Marina</a> has created a novel challenge tied into their newly announced bonefish fishing travel package - break any world record in any line class for <a title="About bonefish" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonefish" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">bonefish</a> or <a title="About permit" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permit_(fish)" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">permit</a> on fly or spinning rod and win a week's all-inclusive stay for two!
<a title="About Bimini" href="http://www.bahamas.com/out-islands/bimini" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bimini</a>, located just less than 50 miles from Miami/Fort Lauderdale, is home to some 50 World Records, with four of those current world records being for bonefish/permit.
Perhaps the most remembered bonefish record was set in 1971 by Virginia Beach sportsman Jerry Lavenstein, who along with legendary guide Ansil Saunders landed a 16-pound, 3-ounce monster just some 300 yards from the
historic Big Game Club.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/jerry-ansil-record-catch-lr-1.jpg"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-940" title="Jerry & Ansil with their world record bonefish" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/jerry-ansil-record-catch-lr-1.jpg" alt="" width="495" height="640" /></a>
Break Lavenstein's 40-year-old record - or any <a title="IGFA web site" href="http://www.igfa.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">IGFA</a> registered record for Bonefish or Permit - and the Big Game Club will provide a complimentary seven night stay, including airfare and transfers, and a day on the water with fly fishing personality Vaughn Cochran.
The competition challenge offer, which is open through 2012, is available to anyone purchasing the special Fly Fishing Package. Details are available at <a title="Bonefish Bimini web site" href="https://guyharveyoutpost.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bonefish Bimini</a>, or call Captain Vaughn Cochran at 904-997-2200 or BBGC reservations at 1-800-867-4764. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/bonefish-packages-announced-at-bimini-big-game-club-a-guy-harvey-outpost/){kind=link}
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