Boat Birthdays!
Happy Birthday to the Ladies of the Fleet!
September is a big birthday month around here at Casa Vieja Lodge—and yes, we keep track of the lovely ladies on our fleet, too! This month, we’re celebrating three of our iconic vessels on some major milestone birthdays this year!
Happy Birthday to the Release, 65 Years strong! Built in 1961, our 37′ Merritt remains a timeless legend. Sixty-five years of slicing through blue water, raising billfish, and carrying on the golden standard of custom wooden sportfishers. She’s as sharp and deadly as the day she hit the water.
Next up, were celebrating the Chilero sailing smooth for 55 Years. Happy Birthday to our 38′ Warren O’Neal! A true Outer Banks classic built in 1971, Chilero continues to prove decade after decade why classic hull design and pure fishing soul never go out of style.
Last but never least, the baby of our fleet, Afinity turns 35 years old this year! Happy Birthday one more time, to our 39′ Billy Knowles that balances rich heritage with raw performance. Built in 1991, she’s spent three and a half decades making angler dreams come true on the ocean.
Here’s to many more decades of tight lines, perfect weather, and unforgettable days on the water for these three beautiful hulls!
Lucky Number 11
Speaking of birthdays, if you follow us on social media, you might remember we have another another big day to celebrate in September: our Captain David Salazar. This year, to honor him we unveiled a special birthday gift in his memory: the eleventh vessel to join the Casa Vieja fleet. Currently known as La Hechicera! This 43′ Merritt shares the same legendary specs as La Chingona—and will be serving as David’s “His” boat to Kristen’s “Hers,” La Chingona.
Capt. Jono and Ludwing from The Hooker made the journey across the water to run her all the way back from Curaçao, to learn all about her journey in Capt. Jono’s own words, read on below!
Curaçao to Aruba
On August 20th, we flew into Curaçao to meet Jens and begin initial preparations. Our first leg was a short 70-mile shake-down run to Aruba to test the vessel’s systems and sea keeping. We docked at the historic Varadero Marina and held up for a couple of days to let a weather window pass. This gave us the perfect opportunity to get intimately familiar with the boat, stock up on fuel, provisions, and ensure everything was set for comfortable passage-making.
The Atlantic Ocean & Colombia
Leaving Aruba, we set a course for Santa Marta, Colombia—a 280-mile leg across the Atlantic. Running in typical Caribbean conditions with 19 to 20-knot winds and building seas, she proved herself immediately: soft-riding, economical, and solid, burning just 430 gallons over 13 hours of steady running.
After a quick, seamless check-in with help from local friends at Marina Santa Marta, we pushed 150 miles onward to Cartagena. Crossing the notorious Rio Magdalena plume brought heavy choppy seas, but she handled it with ease. We tied up at Club Náutico de Cartagena to prepare for the overnight push across the Caribbean Sea to Panama.
Transiting the Panama Canal
Leaving Cartagena at 6:00 PM, we ran 260 miles through the night and into the following afternoon, arriving at the Marina in Colón, Panama. After two days of preparation, we received our slot for the Panama Canal transit—a seamless 9-hour passage through the locks from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, anchoring at Marina La Playita to rest.
The Pacific side brought its own set of challenges. En route toward Golfito, Costa Rica, we encountered severe squalls, lightning, and heavy floating debris. Safety comes first, so we made an opportunistic pitstop at Paradise Fishing Lodge near the Costa Rican border—240 miles from La Playita—to let the storm system clear.
The next day, we completed the 130-mile run into Golfito, where our friend Bruce handled our clearance paperwork. Due to torrential rain and dangerous night-running conditions, we strategically hopped up the coast: 120 miles to Marina Pez Vela in Quepos, then 180 miles up to Marina Flamingo.
The Final Leg to Guatemala
At Marina Flamingo, the ocean finally lived up to its name—Pacific. We waited a day and a half for the infamous Gulf of Papagayo winds to lay down, then seized the window for the final 360-mile stretch home to Guatemala.
It was a smooth, memorable run to finish off an incredible crossing. A massive thank you to Ludwing—a loyal, tireless hard worker who never says “no”—and to my old friend Luis, with whom it was a privilege to share the helm again after so many years.
—Captain Jono Arena (The Hooker)
Now safely in our boatyard, she is officially ready for her signature Casa Vieja overhaul! Check below to see some fun photos of Capt. Jono & crew’s crossing!
September Fishing Report
September was a nice relaxing time for us at the lodge. A great reset for the calamity of the coming months. We can’t wait to see what the coming months have in store!
Overall this month we saw 20 sailfish raises, 14 sailfish bites, and 5 sailfish releases!
If you’d like to see these real-time numbers for yourself, check out the seriously cool Fishing Counter on our homepage! There you’ll see our total Billfishing Release numbers for 2026, plus the last several years as well!
Below are our fishing highlights (combination of conventional & fly):
- September 19th & 20th, Chilero (38′ Warren O’Neal) with Capt. Nico Melendrez had 20 sailfish raises, 14 sailfish bites & 5 sailfish releases plus 1 mahi-mahi!
