February 2017 |Business View Caribbean

40 41 People who come here, come here because they want to immerse themselves in a vibrant and unique culture. There’s no Starbucks down the street; it’s a remote property. And the airlift is not one that has been taken on by the major airlines. matthew brear general manager The Cape Santa Maria Beach Resort Columbia coast and Oregon, U.S. “He started his empire about 54 years ago with a row boat and a fishing rod,” says Matthew Brear, General Manager of the Cape Santa Maria Beach Resort, which was eventually added to the Group’s portfolio. “He used to take people out fishing in Oak Bay, which is a suburb of Victoria. He grew that business into the largest sport fishing empire in North America. In 1990, he was at the Super Bowl in Florida and a friend said, ‘You’ve got to come and see this property on Long Island.’ They flew out here and fell in love with the location and the people.” The property that Wright fell in love with was on a four mile stretch of white sand beach that has been recognized as one of the top ten beaches in the world. It featured a small hotel, com- prised of six bungalows and, according to Brear, all but aban- doned. But since all of his sport-fishing properties in Canada were seasonal, and the fishing off Cape Santa Maria Beach was