Description

The Pilar was author Ernest Hemingway™’s prized possession. The 38-foot fishing boat was built by the Wheeler Shipyard in 1934 and was named after a bullfight shrine Hemingway™ had visited in Zaragoza, Spain. The shrine is prominently mentioned in Hemingway™’s book “For Whom the Bell Tolls.” Pilar is also said to be the nickname of Hemingway™’s second wife. Hemingway™ purchased the boat in 1934 for $7,500. Hemingway™, an avid sport fisherman, did most of his fishing with Capt. Gregorio Fuentes on the boat. Fuentes was used as the fictional character in Hemingway™’s classic novel “The Old Man and the Sea.” The boat now rests at Hemingway™’s Finca Vigia estate in San Francisco de Paula, Cuba. The boat originally had a black hull, but it has been painted green while in Cuba