BajaNomad

Hx of Flying Sportsmen Lodge, Loreto in Pac Coast Sportfishing mag

wilderone - 4-1-2016 at 07:50 PM

With David K's father in a photo! "Dr. Ed Kier and friends with a day's catch" Great Baja article in April 2016 issue of Pacific Coast Sportfishing ("A Baja Odyssey The Rise and Fall of Flying Sportsmen's Lodge" p. 62). Story by Gary Graham, generally Ed Tabor's flying adventures and Baja excursions. Many old photos.

David K - 4-2-2016 at 08:43 AM

Cool! My dad was the greatest, introducing me to Baja... Is there a link?

wilderone - 4-2-2016 at 09:04 AM

I just got the magazine in the mail yesterday and saw the article. Saw your photo credit. I didn't check to see if there was an online version. That was an exciting Baja era for all those adventurers. My dad flew in to fish too.

David K - 4-2-2016 at 09:18 AM

Gary had contacted me several months ago asking if I had old Flying Sprortsman photos... and I sent him the ones from my dad's trips there in the 1960s in Ed Tabor's plane and 1972 when he drove down with two other dentists (I posted those photos here a few months ago).

I stayed at the Flying Sportsman's RV park next to the lodge, in 1976. I think it went out of business shortly after. Aero Mexico forced him to end his flying service and the Magdalena Village Resort he opened didn't succeed as much as he hoped, without the airplane connection.

The cover of Ray Cannon's book is the pier at the Flying Sportsman Lodge...

wilderone - 4-2-2016 at 09:27 AM

According to the story, there were ejido disputes about the property the lodge was on, and it was divided into two parcels. Aeromexico started flying to Loreto, and Tabor sold his planes to them. He then had 8 operators to take calls to book visitors to the lodge. In essence, he didn't need to fly visitors himself any longer.
I'll send you the magazine.

David K - 4-2-2016 at 10:29 AM

Terrific!
Funny how the story changes over the years or is retold to not upset the powers that be. Nobody wants to get blacklisted by an airline, or the government that runs it!



flying sportsmen-r.JPG - 48kB

David K - 6-14-2016 at 04:27 PM

Here are the photos from my (of my) dad that I sent to Gary Graham. He used the first one in the article:













[Edited on 5-20-2022 by David K]

BajaBlanca - 6-15-2016 at 12:38 PM

great photos!

ncampion - 6-15-2016 at 04:17 PM

Great photos and probably great stories as well. Can anyone tell me exactly where the Flying Sportsman was located? Was it on the now vacant land just South of Loreto Shores RV park? Thanks

David K - 6-15-2016 at 05:08 PM

The pier is still there (I hope)...?
It is (was) just south of the river...
On Google, it looks like the pier is in ruins?



The pier was directly in front of the lodge.

[Edited on 6-16-2016 by David K]

ncampion - 6-16-2016 at 10:02 AM

Thanks, that's where I thought it was. Looks like a beautiful piece of property, too bad it didn't survive.

David K - 6-16-2016 at 04:23 PM

We last stayed there in 1976, using their RV park added just south of the lodge rooms south building. When Hwy. 1 was completed at the end of 1973, the flying business and much of the hotel business took a big hit. Americans (and Canadians) brought their own rooms in the form of RVs and campers.

tiotomasbcs - 6-17-2016 at 12:45 PM

I flew into the La Paz Airport and they boarded us on the party bus up to Mag Bay for a few days and then over to Loreto. As usual Mag Bay was windy! Sportsman's Lodge was a paradise. We fished and went spear fishing--lot's of big Lobster and dog snapper. Place was full up and some friends got to stay in the owners house where we enjoyed ourselves indulgently. Since those early days I always thot it was where the Oasis now sits, another great old place on the water. I'll try to find it next time I'm in town. Thanks for the article and pictures, Amigos. 40 yrs ago?! Can't be true, sino. Tio

David K - 6-17-2016 at 02:19 PM

The Oasis was very close and is just on the north side of the river. Nice story about Ed Tabor's Mag Bay Resort at San Carlos. He was just getting that one off and running when government owned Aero Mexico killed his flying service (at least that was how my dad related it to me).

elizabeth - 6-18-2016 at 05:08 AM

Part of the Lodge is where the Villas de Loreto is. Remnants of the pier still exist.

David K - 6-18-2016 at 06:49 AM

Thank you, Elizabeth!

tiotomasbcs - 6-18-2016 at 11:20 AM

Can you drive thru Villas or is there a guard gate? Did Loreto Bay purchase the property? Sorry for all the questions but I would like to go back if anything is left of the old place. Thanks. Tio

elizabeth - 6-20-2016 at 04:48 AM

Villas de Loreto is a small compound of private homes...used to be a hotel. It's just the other side of the arroyo, you can walk the beachside.

David K - 6-20-2016 at 07:11 AM

Quote: Originally posted by elizabeth  
Villas de Loreto is a small compound of private homes...used to be a hotel. It's just the other side of the arroyo, you can walk the beachside.


Do you recall if the old (Flying Sportsman) pier is in front of Villas?

The fun to watch Vincent Price movie/ with stars Jane Russell/ Robert Mitchum/ Raymund Burr and produced by Howard Hughes was based on a fly-in Baja fishing resort of 1951... ("located on the east coast of Lower California") https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/His_Kind_of_Woman

Below, from the Internet:




Plot:

Down on his luck, professional gambler Dan Milner (Robert Mitchum) accepts a mysterious job that will take him out of the country for a year but pays $50,000. He accepts a $5,000 down payment and tickets that will take him to an isolated Mexican resort, Morro's Lodge, where he will receive further instructions. Milner is attracted to the only other passenger on his chartered flight to the resort, Lenore Brent (Jane Russell).

When he arrives, Milner finds that several guests at the luxurious Baja California resort have hidden agendas. He is disappointed to find that Lenore is the girlfriend of famous movie actor Mark Cardigan (Vincent Price). Milner overhears two guests, self-proclaimed author Martin Krafft (John Mylong) and a man named Thompson (Charles McGraw), planning something which he suspects involves him. When Milner confronts them, he is given $10,000 and told that someone is on his way to Baja to see him.

Seemingly drunk Bill Lusk (Tim Holt) flies in, despite warnings of very dangerous storm conditions. Milner thinks he must be the contact, but when the two are alone, Lusk claims to be an undercover agent for the Immigration and Naturalization Service. He tells Milner that the U.S. government suspects that underworld boss Nick Ferraro (Raymond Burr), deported to Italy four years earlier, is scheming to get back into the country posing as Milner. The two men are a close physical match and Milner is a loner, so no one is likely to miss him. Krafft turns out to be a plastic surgeon.

Meanwhile, Cardigan's wife Helen (Marjorie Reynolds) and his personal manager Gerald Hobson (Carleton G. Young) show up. She had gone to Reno to get a divorce, not really intending to go through with it, as she is still fond of her husband. Hobson also thinks it is a poor idea because Cardigan's film contract is expiring and the bad publicity would make it hard to get a new one. With her own plans ruined, Lenore confesses to Milner that she is really just a singer looking to hook a wealthy spouse. Milner shows his softer side when he helps unhappy newlywed Jennie Stone (Leslie Banning) by cheating at poker to win back her husband's gambling losses from investment broker Myron Winton (Jim Backus).

Lusk sneaks into Thompson's room, but is caught and killed. Milner and Lenore stumble upon his body dumped on the beach. Milner is convinced that the dead man must have been telling the truth. That night, Thompson and his men take Milner to a newly arrived yacht. Milner is able to pass along a veiled plea for help to Lenore. She persuades Cardigan, who is tired of just pretending to be a hero, to help out. While the actor keeps the pursuing mobsters pinned down with his hunting rifle, Milner sneaks back onto the boat, knowing that the only way out of his mess is to deal with Ferraro once and for all. He is caught and brought to the crime lord. After killing two of the thugs and wounding and capturing Thompson, Cardigan mounts a rescue with the reluctant assistance of the Mexican police and a couple of the more adventurous guests. A gunfight breaks out aboard the boat, followed by a melee. Milner manages to break free and shoot Ferraro dead.

Cardigan and his wife are reconciled. Milner and Lenore end the film in a clinch.





[Edited on 6-20-2016 by David K]

TMW - 6-20-2016 at 09:25 AM

DK you should be a film critic. Good write up.

David K - 6-20-2016 at 09:35 AM

Quote: Originally posted by TMW  
DK you should be a film critic. Good write up.


TW, that was the Plot from Wikipedia... I found the clip and that by doing a search. I will have to watch the movie again, as it was a hoot.

elizabeth - 6-20-2016 at 01:20 PM

Quote: Originally posted by David K  
Quote: Originally posted by elizabeth  
Villas de Loreto is a small compound of private homes...used to be a hotel. It's just the other side of the arroyo, you can walk the beachside.


Do you recall if the old (Flying Sportsman) pier is in front of Villas?

[Edited on 6-20-2016 by David K][/

The remnants of the old pier are there!

David K - 6-20-2016 at 08:06 PM

Quote:
Quote: Originally posted by elizabeth  
Quote: Originally posted by David K  
Quote: Originally posted by elizabeth  
Villas de Loreto is a small compound of private homes...used to be a hotel. It's just the other side of the arroyo, you can walk the beachside.


Do you recall if the old (Flying Sportsman) pier is in front of Villas?



The remnants of the old pier are there!


Great... then that is where the Lodge was.

defrag4 - 4-27-2019 at 11:22 AM

Ever since I moved here to Zaragosa i have been mildly obsessed with the Flying Sportsmen, my wife and I walk the beach in front of it daily, past the ruins of the old pier and gaze up at where the original property once stood.

I imagine Tabors fleet of fishing vessels moored up with the occasional seaplane stopping in for a visit, the cast of characters that once roamed these grounds.

I imagine Loreto has changed alot since those glory days, long before the highway was paved down here and the international airport made it easier to arrive, but if I close my eyes I can still see the way it once was.

We have been thinking more and more about possibly making Loreto a permanent home, Ive started casually browsing land/homes for sale and came across the Casa Davison up for sale, which stands where the Flying Sportsman used to live.

Mr. Davison resurrected the lodge back in the mid-90s, razing many of the decrepit structures but also saving some of the original bungalows and much of the main house in homage to the original lodge.

At $2.95 million its quite outside of our meager budget, but a boy can dream cant he?

https://www.buyloreto.com/property/davison-estate/











[Edited on 4-27-2019 by defrag4]

StuckSucks - 4-27-2019 at 12:34 PM

Mar 27, 2019 by That Baja Guy-Gary Graham: Flying Sportsmen Lodge – Tribute To Tenacity

David K - 4-27-2019 at 01:49 PM

Nice link, thanks Jim.

TMW - 4-27-2019 at 03:57 PM

Quote: Originally posted by StuckSucks  
Mar 27, 2019 by That Baja Guy-Gary Graham: Flying Sportsmen Lodge – Tribute To Tenacity


Wow what a great story, thanks.

The Flying Sportsman Pier in 2017

David K - 4-27-2019 at 04:30 PM

As a follow up to this 2016 thread, in 2017 I went in search of the Flying Sportsman Lodge remains (originally shared in my TRIP #2 report):











[Edited on 5-20-2022 by David K]

fishbuck - 4-28-2019 at 08:53 AM

Flying and fishing... that sounds like a very good idea... and having a fishing lodge.... now that is the way to live life:coolup:

David K - 4-28-2019 at 10:57 AM

You will get a kick out of this Howard Hughes, Baja fly-in resort movie!



Full movie: https://youtu.be/NJGLRroEWaw?si=KlU3saw60dElmZnI

[Edited on 11-23-2024 by David K]

fishbuck - 4-30-2019 at 09:15 AM

Whoa! Howard was very cool.

David K - 11-22-2024 at 05:51 PM

Quote: Originally posted by David K  
You will get a kick out of this Howard Hughes, Baja fly-in resort movie!



The full movie is on YouTube: https://youtu.be/NJGLRroEWaw?si=KlU3saw60dElmZnI