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Little known
tidbits of Hotel Buena Vista's History
Did you know…
The guy whose photo is on the dining room wall by
the front entry walking across the top of the fish
scale where the day’s catch are weighed and
displayed for photo opportunities by proud anglers
is Cirilo. His current job is doing maintenance on
the boats and filleting fish. He was last seen
shirtless (again and looking very fit) on March 16th
helping dig out the septic system between the
kitchen and rooms 46 and 50. In the photo with him
is John Colyer, late husband of Suzanna who
continues to spend a month a year with us. He had
a big day fishing that day, because his blue
marlin looks to weigh in at no less than 300
pounds! There are also seven fairly small
(especially in contrast to the massive marlin)
dorados hanging up there with him. No wonder
Cirilo was dancing across the top of the pole!
Cirilo has been Chuy's right hand man for beach
operation for the past 27 years. He still is one
of the main guys around. His laughter is
famous among all of us. He is also compadre to
Esaul and Axel as they both have baptized Cirilos
daughters.
Contest of the
Month!
Last month’s contest winner was Mary Fedorka. Yes,
this is the second month in a row she has won.
Well, it’s slightly obvious that she is a whiz on
Buena Vista trivia! She will be joining us in
mid-April with her husband Buzz for three weeks.
When she’s here, we will make sure they enjoy the
special dinner two with a bottle of wine she won
in January, along with the free night of drinking
she won this month. Congratulations, Mary! Don’t
get carried away now with all your freebies!
This month’s question:
Get this one right
and you too can win a night with an hour open tab
at the bar! Who is the artist who painted the
mural of the hotel in the dining room and what
year did he/she paint it? Email your answers to:
info@hotelbuenavista.com
Fish Stories &
Adventure Stories
Our fish story of the month is a personal account
entitled “Diary of a Tagged Sailfish.”
Dear Hotel Buena Vista:
For the past 15 years, my wife Barbara, Dennis and
Sandi Noble of Edmond Oklahoma and I have been
making an annual excursion to Baja’s East
Cape. For the past 12 years, we have based our
stay at our favorite resort, Hotel Buena Vista.
Early on our policy was, and has been, to tag and
release all billfish caught so their growth rate
and migratory habits could be studied. The
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) at La
Jolla CA provided us with the necessary scientific
tags. Over the course of our fishing adventures,
we tagged and released dozens of billfish, mostly
sailfish and striped marlin. Unfortunately, two
blue marlin caught during this time were in no
condition to be released, but dozens of billfish
were returned to the Sea of Cortez safely and in
good condition.
Over the years, none of the billfish we tagged and
released were ever reported recaptured. Not a
single one. Don’t forget, that’s an awfully big
and deep ocean out there. Barbara, Dennis and I
always wondered about the fish we caught and
released; where were they now, did they survive
and reproduce? Deep inside, we felt a certain
kinship to those we set free. This wondering was
about to change.
On December 14, 2004, a concern that had bothered
me off and on for a dozen years was finally put to
rest. That day a panga fisherman south of
Manzanillo, Mexico caught a sailfish tagged and
released by me on Thursday, October 28, 2004
aboard the Eclipse skippered by Captain
Jesus Araiza, with Mauricio as our mate. The panga
fisherman reported the catch and tag number to
David Holts, Fisheries Biologist with the NMFS’s
Southwest Fisheries Science Center at La
Jolla. The fish had traveled a net distance of 446
nautical miles in 47 days, from Baja’s East Cape
across the Sea of Cortez to mainland Mexico’s west
coast. The recaptured sailfish was but one of four
caught, tagged and released in two days of fishing
aboard the Eclipse.
According to David
Holts, the Marine Game Fish Tagging Program was
established in 1963. Since then, the NMFS
Southwest Fisheries Science Center has provided
tagging supplies for tagging swordfish, marlin and
sailfish in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The
NMFS publishes an annual newsletter documenting
tagging data by region, recaptures, angler catch
per day fished, migratory patterns, and the
like. Additional information can be located on the
Southwest Fisheries Science Center web site at
http://swfsc.ucsd.edu/frd. Some
of the statistics relating to distances traveled
and days of freedom by previously tagged billfish
border on the bizarre.
By the way, there is a happy ending to this
story. The sailfish recaptured by the panga
fisherman was released to live another
day. Perhaps another lucky angler will catch (and
release) it or one of its offspring in the future.
Remember, preserve our planet’s oceans and
conserve our ocean’s resources for other
generations to enjoy.
Larry Peabody
(Larry Peabody is a retired National Weather
Service meteorologist, a Certified Consulting
Meteorologist, a Certified Weather Observer, and a
freelance writer. He is a member of the American
Meteorological Society, National Weather
Association, Outdoor Writers Association of
America, and Texas Outdoor Writers
Association. His articles have appeared in such
diverse publications as Sport Fishing, Golf
Digest, Texas Parks & Wildlife, Southern
Saltwater, Marlin, Outdoors Unlimited, Texas
Highways, Southern Outdoors, Saltwater Sportsman,
and Texas Gardener, to name but a few.)
Click Here for
January and February 2005 Total Fishing Count
In the News
Western
Outdoor News and the hotels in our area came
together to organize the first East Cape Fiesta de
Pesca. A festival through out April, we invite you
to come and read a little more about it, and also
the nice story they made for our resort.
Click here to read:
Buena Vista Beach Resort offers history, comfort
and Great Fishing
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