The Pilar was a boat that Ernest Hemingway acquired in April 1934 from Wheeler Shipbuilding in Brooklyn in New York City for $7,495. Hemingway regularly fished off the boat in the waters of Key West, Florida, Marquesas Keys, and the Gulf Stream off the Cuban coast. He made three trips with the boat to the Bimini islands wherein his fishing, drinking, and fighting exploits drew much attention and remain part of the history of the islands.
The boat at display in Cuba.
The Pilar in "Cayos in the Stream"[]
To escape marital discord, Ernest Hemingway took his beloved boat, the Pilar, on a hunt for German U-boats in the Caribbean, off the Cuban coast, or as he put it, "to do his bit in the war".
Off Cayo Bernardo, he came across an actual U-boat and destroyed it by shoving dynamite down its hatch. He was awarded a Distinguished Service Medal by President Roosevelt for this act of courage.
| ||||||||||
_Cuba.jpg){kind=link}