RIP Jimmy Buffett

If you have SiriusXM, the Coral Reefers are playing Jazzfest right now on Radio Margaritaville.

 

From the April issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine, editor Dan Harding remembers Bubba:

When Jimmy passed away in September, the world mourned; but it was the outpouring of love for the lifelong waterman that really resonated with me. On social media, it seemed that everyone I know who enjoys boating shared a memory of a concert they went to, or a song or lyric that touched their heart. The memories people shared felt extremely personal. For once, boaters of all creeds, race, religion or political affiliation all agreed on one thing: The world was a quieter place without Jimmy.

After learning of his passing, I reached out to two people who knew him personally. The first was Senior Editor Chris Dixon who worked for Jimmy for a number of years and who formed a friendship that he cherishes to this day. I also reached out to his long-time-captain Vinnie LaSorsa who the magazine worked with under much happier circumstances when we featured the Freeman/Merritt catamaran that he helped bring to life for Buffett.

I tried my best to convey a kind word or two to the captain whose world was just turned upside down. It would take months of healing, but LaSorsa ultimately decided he wanted to work with us to tell the story of his friend and mentor. He told me, “All over the Internet, there’s people saying what a nice, great guy he was, I want everyone to know that they’re more right than they will ever know.”

Living with his wife and two kids in Buffett’s guest house in Sag Harbor, I sat down with Vinnie at the kitchen table. Now 41, Vinnie finds himself at a channel marker of life. His boss and friend of 19 years is gone; he’s still working for the Buffett family, but his future is shrouded in a dense fog. Since his improbable path to becoming a captain for Buffett at just 23 years old until the musician’s passing, Vinnie’s life has been equal parts rich and rewarding, filled with the kind of adventure and chaos that you only see in the movies. He also got to know Buffett like few others, he was with him on his best days cruising through paradise when he felt on top of the world, and when, near the end, he would look off into the water and reflect on his life and mortality. I’m thankful to Vinnie for sharing those memories.

When I think of Jimmy Buffett, the wake he left in this world and the music that will endure for generations, I can’t help but think of the quote, “heroes get remembered, but legends never die.”

Thanks for the memories, Jimmy. Fins Up.​

Here is a link to Capt. Vinnie LaSorsa's memories of Bubba: https://www.powerandmotoryacht.com/page/remembering-jimmy-buffett-the-captain-and-the-kid

 

Thanks for posting. Vinnie's story at the link is really nice.

 

Glad the Reefers are still touring but it seems kind of like a mishmash of players. They really need to have a featured guest artist at these dates.

https://www.buffettnews.com/tourdates/

 

My cousin saw Mac McAnally in a solo show a few weeks ago and really liked it.

 

I see Mike Utley isn't playing some of the dates. He's seemed to have declined pretty quickly the past few years, to the point that his son was playing keys alongside him to help out.

 

Utley actually missed some shows on the last more or less full tour, and his son took his place. That must have been '21.

 

This is really well done.

 

Yeah, that was pretty dang awesome.
The number of ads was quite annoying.

 

Really good article on the Reefers mini-tour. I really don't know if it is sustainable - but if the CRB did 10 shows a year here and there - I might check it out.

https://www.al.com/life/2024/08/jim...h-of-its-future-we-found-it-in-the-songs.html

 

I don't know if my heart could handle a Jimmy Buffett show without Jimmy Buffett.