El Zorro Comes Back to Life!
The famous El Zorro – the mothership on which the late St. Thomas-based sports fisherman Jim Edmiston traveled around the world in search of a 2000lb blue marlin – has come back to life thanks to a loving restoration by Trinidad & Tobago’s Didier Remacle and his wife Danielle.
“My wife and I were looking to purchase property here in Trinidad,” explains Remacle, who has enjoyed yachting for the past 30-years out of Cape Town, completed two transatlantic voyages and has restored 11 yachts during his career. “Instead, we opted to buy El Zorro, which was lying at Coral Cove Marina here in Trinidad, as our home.”
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El Zorro started life as a long-range vessel used for commercial fishing in the Pacific Ocean. Edmiston, then living in California, purchased the 160 ton (100ft LOA, 28ft beam) vessel and spent two years converting her into a comfortable floating fishing lodge. Most notably he added a 31ft sports fisherman named El Zorro II on the back deck papoose-style along with a crane to launch her to fish. Edmiston cast off in 1986 on what turned out to be a four-year, 70,000-mile, 40-country trip. He didn’t catch a double grander but he did land enough incredible fishing stories that many of these tales are still talked about around the waterfronts.
Today, El Zorro II is also enjoying a second life as the beautifully-maintained Yes Aye. She’s owned and chartered by Capt. Gary Clifford, who runs True Blue Sportfishing out of Grenada. The years since Edmiston’s big trip, however, weren’t as kind to the mothership.
“We purchased El Zorro in January 2006,” tells Remacle. “She was in very bad shape and in need of a lot of TLC. Restoring her was a true labor of love.”
Remacle hauled the yacht at Peake Yachting Services in Chaguaramas, Trinidad, and immediately set to work. He stripped off all the fiberglass from the the hull and re-glassed it with epoxy. Inside, he gutted the interior, which originally consisted of six cabins with four bunks each, and rebuilt it with four en-suite cabins and six additional port holes. The master cabin and bathroom were totally restored. He also added a beautifully rounded interior staircase that leads from the saloon to the bridge thus eliminating the need to access the bridge from the outside only. One crew cabin on the bridge was converted into a second galley, which makes the bridge area pretty much self-contained for two persons.
In terms of operation, Remacle gutted the engine room and installed two new 825hp Iveco engines along with new gear boxes, two brand new 48kw Norpro generators, 1500-gallon per day water maker, brand new fuel polisher, and three new diesel tanks with a capacity of 10,000 gallons. To facilitate the maneuverability of El Zorro, Remacle installed a twin prop 49hp Side-Power bow thruster. He also added a brand new Maxwell windlass and new fly bridge with better visibility.
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“I personally redid all the plumbing and waste and tiling,” Remacle explains. “We had a very gifted fiberglass and fairing guy, Leon Layne, who is responsible for her looking smooth. She was completely rewired by our electrician, Anand Laltoo. The beautiful woodwork was done by Dan Jelsema, Rob Caulfield and Anthony Wellington.”
Remacle did discover some memorabilia from El Zorro’s former life during the restoration, which included some fishing plaques and trophies. All of Edmiston’s fishing equipment had been sold to various sports fishermen in Trinidad before Remacle purchased the yacht. However, he did borrow a rod from one of these fishermen for ‘good luck’ during El Zorro’s shakedown cruise to compete in the Budget Marine Spice Island Billfish Tournament in January. The lucky rod did produce the release of one white marlin.
“We bought El Zorro with the potential for doing business such as cruise and dine and fishing charters,” Remacle explains. “Right now, we’re enjoying every minute since we moved on board on Christmas Eve.”
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Carol Bareuther has written for ALL AT SEA since 2004.
Worth your time?
Thanks — noted.
I miss the old boat I put a lot of miles on her and she always kept us safe. I’m glad someone has put some love back in her. Dave , coop and myself all saw a big part of the world on that boat, I even meet my wife on her.
Such fond memories… Sad to say Bad juju behind this boat!
met your wife MIKE PALMUS ???? were you not engaged to someone else at that time and married her ? but 20 years later you had a cyber affair with the person you had met on the boat and ruined 2 families 20 plus years later
Awesome work
Is this the Jim Edminston that owned the Polaris pool cleaner company years ago?
Hi Matt,
Just got a confirmed, “Yes.”
Thanks!
I fished off Mona Island (Puerto Rico) while on a short trip aboard the El Zorro. We stayed aboard when the owner of the Dallas Cowboys was aboard. Late 89 maybe 90? I wear a gold marlin necklace with emerald eyes as a trophy of my first Marlin catch. I even wore a green El Zorro t-shirt for several summers after. We took our smaller yacht, that we moored to the El Zorro, 50 miles off the coast of Mona island where I caught a 225 lb on 10 lb test. Thanks to the captain and our smaller yacht for a memorable fishing trip.
Wow great to see her back in the water brought her across the pond with a limited crew from Abijain Africa to St Thomas .. Funny really no mention the great Captain Billy Boar that skippered her to SO Many ports and Huge Blue Marlins … lot wild adventures on this boat .. Think i remebr correctly we held the tag and release record for Blue Marlin .
I remember Jim and El Zorro fondly. She was moored in Red Hook on St Thomas, seems like yesterday. I did a lot of work on Jim’s house on St Thomas. I still have a green El Zorro World Tour hat.
I love to hear the stories of fishing on the el Zorro. I was on the boat for a few days off the coast of Puerto Rico with my group and at the same time as the owner of the Dallas Cowboys. I think the late 80’s. I caught my first Marlin on light tackle near Mona Island. 225lbs on 10lb test. To the wire in 45 minutes! I give credit to the captain of the smaller fishing yacht that we used that day. I wear a 24 karat gold marlin with emerald eyes that Jim had in his possession. My boyfriend, at the time, bought or traded for the piece to give me for my first record fish. Jim told him that I should be given this piece of jewelry for the achievement of my catch. I still have it almost 40 years later.
Correct me if I’m in error please but I
Aa I recall the sportfishinherman used on thr El Zorrow was a 30vft center console built bt sonny Briggs in wanches N C .she was laubched and completed at sportsman boat works where I was reporting my Bertram. I met thr then fishing team from Australia I think who had no problem jumping in blue water to film real tome catches of blue marlin etc. Hats off to that crew for all their innovations and record catches….cuddos to her reentrance to the fishing world again