November 09, 2012
By Florida Sportsman Staff
Baker's Haulover
A Maritime Treasure of History and Pioneers
By Martha Saconchik-Pytel
Baker's Haulover, A Maritime Treasure of History and Pioneers is the first ever account of little known but remarkable pioneers, landmarks and events that are revealed through a story of previously overlooked topics in Miami's (Florida) maritime history.
This writer presents research into the life of the Baker (1765) whom she believes to be the namesake of Baker's Haulover in North Miami Beach by chronicling his land grant from the Spanish Crown in 1804. Contained in the book is a powerful and compelling maritime history documenting the dawn of the charter boat and big game fishing industry at that site 87 years ago, its pioneer captains and their part in World War II (many assumed duties as submarine spotters). Baker's Haulover was a mecca for deep-sea family fishing from 1925-1926 into the 1960s, drawing tourists and celebrities from around the world to make Florida a prime destination of sportsmen and sportswomen. President Ronald Reagan, along with Arthur Godfrey, Robert Mitchum, Al Capone, ZZ Top and Alice Cooper were among the many celebrities that sought the game fish.
The book is published by Legacy Key Books, LLC, Tallahassee, Florida and is being printed in Gaithersburg, Maryland by Signature Book Printing. Books may be purchased now, before they arrive from the printer at www.haulover.us
In this book you become an eye witness to the start of the Orange Bowl powerboat regattas along with their first drivers at Haulover in the 1950s. The names of racing legends Sam Griffith, Jim Wynne, George Peroni, Allan “Brownie” Brown, Dean Chenoweth and Don Aronow can be found in these pages.
The book overflows with information for fishermen and fisherwomen, maritime history buffs, the history scholar, those interested in Florida's history, World War II enthusiasts, genealogists, powerboat racing fans, memorabilia collectors, students searching for a reference volume, naturalists and adventurers of all ages seeking to read an exciting part of Miami's forgotten past. This book is extraordinary in its use of over 500 photographs, a number of them from the camera of Doris Barnes, a photographer for fifty years at the Haulover and Castaways Docks. Revealed for future generations in the 432 pages are the contributions by the Baker's Haulover pioneers to the progress of South Florida.
After ten years of research, documentation and writing by this author, the untold adventure and stories of early Miami pioneers at Bakers Haulover are told through her personal memoirs and unique first-person narratives taken from more than 400 interviews. Many of the pioneers interviewed have since passed and if not for this author's research, first-hand dialogues would be lost forever.
From the Preface in this book by Dr. Joe Knetsch, Author/Historian,
Florida Department of Natural Resources, Division of State Lands, Tallahassee:
“. . . She (Martha Saconchik-Pytel) has demonstrated that the sport fishing industry is really the story of the growth of Florida tourism, as we now know it. It was the first industry to consistently bring national press coverage to Florida in a positive manner. Sport fishing attracted the famous and notable that spread the word about the wonders and joys of Florida living. Martha has clearly demonstrated that sport fishing was and is one of the bedrocks of the tourist industry that has done so much to support Florida's overall economy. . . Martha has put the sport fishing industry and those who made it back into the limelight it so richly deserves. . . ..”
