Loss of The Compleat Angler

The Compleat Angler Hotel in Bimini (Bahamas) was a landmark, an historic relic of national proportions. Unfortunately this morning comes news that it has been lost in a fiery all consuming blaze. This was no ordinary hotel or landmark; this was part of the economic heart of Bimini and a favorite of visitors for over a half-century. The Angler (as we locals called it) was a night club, hotel, restaurant, bar and perhaps best of all a museum.

I shall fondly remember my last visit to the Compleat Angler as I sat at the day bar basking in the morning sunlight streaming through an eastern window, soaking in the history of the grand old wooden building and enjoying spirited conversation as well as a nice cold Heineken, or was it Kalik? After the first four or five of them before noon, the details get to be a little hazy. There was another more discrete bar, rich with local history, sports memorabilia and autographs of the rich and famous that opened only during the evening on the inside. It was the kind of bar where if you were fortunate enough to get a seat at 7pm, you didn’t give it up until just before you bravely staggered outside into a bright early morning sunrise. Frequent visitors to Bimini know that sleep is preferable and socially acceptable during the daytime - the night time is reserved for revelry.

To say that we have lost an important piece of our history would be an understatement as the rich and famous from all over the world had visited the Angler's hallowed halls. Some of the rich and famous, perhaps in various stages of inebriation, even had their photos added to the myriad of others lining the Angler’s mahogany walls. There you could view photos that told the stories of fishing tournaments from many, many years ago. And there too you would see photos of the straggly bearded face of Papa (Ernest) Hemingway whose writings and frequent visits brought fame to the Angler and the island. One famous photo of with a 500 pound shark is said to have inspired his Nobel prize winning novel The Old Man And The Sea.

We shall miss you Compleat Angler; for while New Orleans has Bourbon Street, those fortunate few of us who call Bimini home, we had the Compleat Angler.