The Ongoing History Of Fishing Fury

In the 1960′s tournament fishing was virtually unheard of in the Caribbean. A man named Jim Needham, the owner of the Flamboyant Hotel. Jim fell in love with the coastline of Grenada, and in his little 14 foot open boat “Mambo” and raised and caught dozens and dozens of Billfish. In 1964 he met my father, Martin Mathias and together with Louis Rostant they dreamed up the Spice Island Billfish Tournament. The tournament took off, and his still held to this day, celebrating its 40th anniversary in early 2009.

“He just had to share this love with someone and so in 1964, he called his friend Louis Rostant (Trinidad) and they met in Grenada with Martin Mathias, owner of a beautiful sports fishing vessel named “Bahari”, to formulate and stage the first ever Grenada Fishing Tournament.

Sadly, no records have been available but we do know that less than 10 boats (Grenada & Trinidad) participated in what was essentially a gentleman’s tournament. No formal rules were in effect at the time.”

Flash forward to the seventies. Short shorts, aviator glasses, bikinis and mustaches were all the rage. I wasn’t even born yet, but my soon to be parents were living the good life down in the Caribbean. My dad was was charter boat captain, specializing in catching big game such as tuna, sailfish and marlin around the island of Grenada.

The year was 1976. A woman by the name of Sue Gallibrand stepped aboard the mighty Bahari a mere mortal, and stepped off a legend, setting the womens world record for yellowfin tuna at 138 lbs (62.5 kg) using 20 lb test.

Sue Gallibrand (center) and Martin Mathias (far right)

While the record has not stood the test of time, I’m certain the story will live forever.

The History of Stormy Kromer

In case you been wondering what a “Stormy Kromer” is, its more then just a hat. Check out the history of Stormy Kromer below and don’t forget to submit your own story for a chance to win a free hat!

Retired semi-pro baseball player, railroad engineer and general tough character Stormy lost a few too many hats to the icy wind whipping through his locomotive.

On a cold morning in 1903, Stormy asked his beloved wife, Ida, to help him modify one of his many hats from his baseball days by sewing ear flaps on the thing. The newly revised cap also featured a soft flexible visor and was a great departure from the traditional engineer hats of the era. But to Stormy, the best part of his modified cap was that it managed to stay right where it belonged on his head high winds and all.

And that’s it. That’s where it all began.

It was just a matter of time before the Stormy Kromer cap became so popular first among other locomotive engineers and then among all the hard-working folks in the upper Midwest that in 1919 Stormy created the Kromer Cap Company, moving with his wife and employees to a large manufacturing factory in Milwaukee.

From that point on he spent the rest of his days as a hat maker. Anyone who’s ever owned a genuine Stormy Kromer has undoubtedly said several words of thanks for the man’s diversity.

Today, the Stormy Kromer cap is still made true to its original design continuing to protect all those who wear one throughout the North.