On September 12, House of Hope and Old Havana Cafe are teaming up to attempt something that has never been done in Martin County: building the world’s longest Cuban sandwich! If they pull it off, the sandwich will stretch 400 feet, long enough to beat the current record of 365 feet set in Tampa in 2024, and long enough to stretch the length of a football field.
The event, called Bite Into History: The Longest Cuban Sandwich Ever Made, will take place at Justin Wilson Memorial Park in Palm City. The gates open at 11 a.m., and sandwich building officially begins at noon. Spectator admission is free, so visitors and residents are invited to watch the larger-than-life sandwich take shape. Attendees can also expect vendor booths, face painting, salsa dancing, dominoes, live music, and more.
This is more than a kitschy stunt. The event supports House of Hope’s mission to help Martin County residents overcome hunger and hardship through food access, financial assistance, and workforce programs. The Doris M. Carter Family Foundation is matching every donation dollar for dollar, up to $15,000. Sandwich builders must be 15 or older, and registration and sponsorships are open now through August 12 at hohmartin.org/sandwich.
It turns out this would not be our destination’s first brush with the record books. Long before anyone thought to measure a sandwich in feet instead of inches, Martin County quietly built up a pretty weird, wacky, and wonderful collection of world records in Florida. Here’s a look at some of our favorites.
The Backward Barefoot Water Skier
In September 1989, Steve Fontaine, manager of the Southeast Water Sports Skiing Center, skied backward and barefoot from the Jupiter Island Bridge to the Hobe Sound Bridge. He stayed up for 1 hour, 27 minutes, and 3.96 seconds, more than doubling the previous world record of 39 minutes. Don Mixon, past president of the American Barefoot Waterskiing Association, was on hand to make it official.
It was actually Fontaine’s second entry in the Guinness Book of World Records. The year before, he had set the world distance record for barefoot waterskiing, covering 1,321.16 miles in 46 hours, 22 minutes, and 49 seconds. After his second record, he put it plainly: “I hope my two records stand so I don’t have to do it again anytime soon.”
Maggie Kennedy
The 99-Year-Old Pool Shark
Maggie Kennedy, of Jensen Beach, holds the Guinness World Record as the oldest competitive pool player, a title she first earned in 2021 at age 94. She is still defending it. Earlier this year, at 98, she flew to Las Vegas to compete in the BCA Nationals Pool League Tournament with her team, Sunday Funday. The pool community at Raxx Billiards in Stuart chipped in more than $2,000 so she could fly first class.
The Sibling Unicyclists
Jensen Beach also produced Tate Robinson, who holds the Guinness World Record for most consecutive bunny hops on a unicycle, with 492. He set the record in March 2024 after making it his New Year’s goal to earn a Guinness title. The talent must run in the family, because his brother Everett Robinson, also of Jensen Beach, holds the record for most cans crushed by unicycle in one minute, with 22. We told you some of these were pretty wacky.
Michael McFadden
Can’t Forget About the Fish
Martin County has been called “Snook City,” “Kingfish Kountry,” and “the Sailfish Capital of the World” for good reason. Local waters have produced dozens of IGFA line class and all tackle records over the generations. A few of the most impressive:
- In 1996, Bram Broder was beach fishing off Sewall’s Point when he hooked a 31 pound, 8 ounce snook on 8 pound test line, nearly four times the fish’s weight in line strength. He landed it, set the IGFA record, and released it alive.
- In 2000, John Flowers caught a 50 pound African pompano on a shallow reef off the St. Lucie Inlet using 20 pound test line, meaning the fish weighed two and a half times more than the line was rated to handle.
- In 1996, Suzan Sellian (one of Martin County’s most accomplished offshore anglers for 30 years) still holds the IGFA 130-pound test line class world record wahoo, a 113-pound fish she caught.
- In 1999, Ronald Skelton caught a 10 pound, 8 ounce Spanish mackerel on 12 pound test line in the St. Lucie River, setting the IGFA line class world record for the species.
- In 2025, while fishing off the coast of Stuart, Michael McFadden landed a stunning 10-pound, 6-ounce blackfin snapper, earning him the IGFA All-Tackle World Record for the species.
A Community that Keeps Showing Up
So, what exactly connects a barefoot water skier, a 98-year-old pool shark, a family of unicyclists, and passionate anglers from around the world? It’s the Martin County community, willing to try something a little unusual, in public, together. And that’s exactly what we’re looking forward to on September 12 in Palm City! Come watch history get made one foot of Cuban sandwich at a time. Hopefully Martin County can add one more record to the list.