Whipray Caye had been a vacation home to the Cabral family for over 30 years, a fishing camp operated solo by Julian off and on for over 15 years, and finally, after Hurricane Iris leveled the caye in 2001 and destroyed much of the mangroves and vegetation and ALL of the buildings, Julian and his soon-to-be wife Beverly decided to take over the family lease and start over. What a way to start a marriage!

They began rebuilding the first cabana after many months of clearing away the hurricane debris with helping hands from friends and family. When the first cabana was livable, Julian and Beverly moved in and greeted their first fishing guests who also happened to be dear friends who have returned to Julian year after year for the last 15 years. They officially opened as a fully operational lodge in December 2002, and married in January 2003.

Julian began his fishing career when he was a young man of 6 years old, traveling out in fishing dories with his dad George, and later with some of the ‘older heads’ in the fishing village, doing commercial fishing and learning the art of cooking for the crews while camping on various cayes, coming in to sell their catch and renew the ice supplies, and heading right back out again for more of the same.

When fly-fishing was starting to catch on as a tourist attraction, Julian trained himself through experienced visitors from the fly-fishing areas of the states, fishing and camping with them for weeks or months at a time. The skills he picked up from them: casting and tying his own flies, led to a full-fledged career that he carries with him to this day.