As part of the 66th Ernest Hemingway International Billfishing Tournament running in Cuba, participants from Cuba and Puerto Rico yesterday signed an Agreement of Friendship, it was officially reported today.
The document unites the Hemingway International Club of Cuba, organizer of the tournament, and the Ponce Yacht and Fishing Club of Puerto Rico, in an act described as important by those attending the meeting at the yacht club that bears the name of the American writer.
The competition is one of the hallmarks of the island's tourist industry and receives the full support of the Cuban Ministry of Tourism and the Marlin S.A. Nautical and Marine Base Company.
The signing took place during a free day in the fishing competition. Several personalities, including two grandchildren of the American writer, John and Patrick Hemingway, attended.
Both men, also fishermen, have shown their love for Cuba, a country which they have visited several times and intend to continue visiting.
Nort Passage Yacht Clubâs Commodore, John Buckman, and representatives of the Big Game Fishing Club, of France, three times winners of the Hemingway Cup, were also at the signing.
The Mariposa Hunters Point Yacht Club, of the United States, and other teams, part of the more than 90 boats from 10 countries taking part in the competition, attended the ceremony.
Hector Rosado, on behalf of Commodore Francis Vazquez, of the Puerto Rican club, and Commodore Jose Miguel Diaz Escrich, of the Hemingway Yacht Club of Cuba, the main animator of recreational boating on this island, signed the agreement.