The Tribune

BORN in 1932 in Alice Town, Bimini, Captain Ansil Saunders is the second of ten children born to the late Milton and Alicia Saunders, and is the latest father to feature in The Tribune who was honoured in Mount Tabor Full Gospel Church’s celebration of 40 ‘Fabulous Fathers’ to tie in with the 40th Anniversary of Independence.

The Saunders’ family descends from Scotland and a long line of boat builders.

Captain Saunders attended the Bimini Public School and enrolled in correspondence courses. He received his high school diploma from a correspondence school in Chicago. Subsequently he attended night school classes at the Lerner Marine Laboratory in Bimini for five years.

Captain Saunders is married to Mary [nee Smith] Saunders and he is the father of two children Tyrone and Jewel, and is a grand and great grandfather.

Captain Saunders is a long-standing member of Our Lady’s and St Stephens Anglican Church [of which his grandparents were founding members] and has served on its Vestry Board for over 14 years. He was also a member of the Local Board of Works serving on that for 14 years also.

At the age of 15, Capt Saunders built his first boat. He built six more boats until he took up bone fishing under the tutelage of The Renowned Bonefish guide Sammy Ellis who taught him the art of bone fishing and trained him to be a qualified Bone fish Guide.

In 1971, he caught the largest bonefish of 16 lbs, a record. He also proudly holds the Bone fish Challenge Record to date.

He was a personal friend of the late Prime Minister Sir Lynden Oscar Pindling.

Capt Saunders was selected and travelled with the Government delegation to the World Leadership Conference that finalised the sanctions to end Apartheid and free Nelson Mandela.

He met Queen Elizabeth on two different occasions, one in which a unique gold shell necklace handmade by Capt Saunders [dug up from the mangrove roots], was presented to her by Louise McDonald as a gift from the Island of Bimini.

Dr Martin Luther King visited Bimini in 1964 and Capt. Saunders became Dr King’s designated fishing guide. Dr King never fished. He spent the hours writing his speeches.

On July 10, 1973, Capt. Saunders masterminded the first independence ceremony on Bimini. There were three paratroopers who jumped out of a plane three miles up with the colours of the Bahamian flag in smoke. They landed bull’s eye on the Basketball Court in Bimini’s Bayfront Park surrounded by hundreds of people.

They presented the MP at the time, Henry Bowen and the Commissioner of the Island with the new Bahamian Flag as the people proceeded to sing the Bahamian National Anthem.

Capt Saunders founded The Bimini Youth Building Club [a boys club] and operated it for many years. He has been instrumental in moulding many of Bimini’s men into the productive members of society they are today.

Bishop Neil Ellis was once its Chaplin at the age of eight even though the age to join was 10 years old.

Capt Saunders is a proud recipient of the Minister’s Cacique Award.

Coretta Scott King, widow of the late Dr Martin Luther King, presented Ansil with a first edition copy of her book, “My Life with Martin Luther King Jr”.

He also received awards and recognition from the US House of Representative, Corrine Brown and the former US Ambassador to the Bahamas, Nicolle Avant.