Jimmy Buffett has been a supporter of the Jamaican Dogsled team for years. Newton Marshall, a Jamaican musher is competing in the Iditarod race and Jimmy is cheering him on:

Newton Marshall, 26-year-old Jamaican musher, couldn’t have a better fan in the form of Jimmy Buffet. Not only is Buffet rooting for him to win the Iditarod, but he has been his team’s primary sponsor since the Jamaica Dogsled Team was founded by a friend.

“I just love the whole idea of it,” the singer said. “I love the absurdity that when we first did this, people laughed and thought it was a joke and guess what? It isn’t.”

Marshall, who lives in St. Anne Parish in Jamaica, has already completed a 1,000-mile dog sled race: the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race. Out of 29 mushers, he came in 13th. To prepare for the Iditarod, he has been training with the defending Iditarod champion Lance Mackey, who is a three-time consecutive winner and a four-time Yukon Quest champion.

If Marshall makes it to the Nome finish line, he will be the first black musher to complete the world’s longest sled dog race.

Learn more about the Jamaica Dogsled team here.

Jimmy Buffett is going up against Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone… in business. On Thursday, Hollywood, Florida (near Miami) will hear competing proposals from Margaritaville and Planet Hollywood for a plot of land on the boardwalk. Both pitches include a hotel, which would be a first for Buffett and Margaritaville Enterprises.

The Miami Herald has more:

John Cohlan, CEO of Margaritaville Enterprises in Palm Beach, said the beachfront location and Hollywood’s no-fuss vibe makes it a good fit for the brand’s first hotel.

“This is a very authentic beach town,” he said. “That’s what Margaritaville is about.”

Plans show a tiki bar wrapped around a seaplane and a sailboat by the pool, as well as an amphitheater with free concerts arranged by the Margaritaville staff.

Margaritaville Hollywood Beach also predicts it will command rates about 15 percent higher than what the top hotels in Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood charge.

“There are certain revenue streams Margaritaville brings to the project,” said Tabatchnick, refering to Buffet-themed shops, restaurants and bars expected to bring in day visitors. “A regularly flagged hotel would not be successful there.”

But the Planet Hollywood team rejects the Buffett boost as a tall tropical tale.

“At the end of the day, Margaritaville is a bar,” said Koslow. “What’s so special about a bar?”

A city panel will hear presentations from both developers Thursday in City Hall starting at 9 a.m. While no stars are expected for the selection panel, Koslow suggested Planet Hollywood would deploy some celebrity muscle for the final vote before city commissioners next month.

“It will be a classic Planet Hollywood presentation,” he said. “If you know the name . . . and the people involved in starting it, you’ll get an idea.”

Read the full article here.

On Tuesday, Jimmy Buffett flew to earthquake-stricken Haiti, filling his airplane with tents for some of the millions of Haitians that are now homeless:

Jimmy Buffett may sing about “Surfing in a Hurricane,” but cruising through Haiti’s earthquake-ravaged capital nearly left the singer without words.

“It’s like it was bombed,” the singer told The Associated Press after touring the ravaged country’s capital.

Buffett loaded his seaplane with tents for some of the 1.2 million Haitians who lost their homes and set a course for the Caribbean nation on Tuesday.

The singer is a lover of Haitian music who has his own room named after him at the famed Hotel Oloffson.

“Haiti’s something worth saving to me,” he said.

He was convinced to make his first visit to Haiti since 1994 because of the needs of so many after the magnitude-7 quake struck on Jan. 12. On Tuesday, he was escorted by U.S. Embassy security personnel past downtown and the destroyed national cathedral.

Shortly after the quake struck, Buffett recorded a video message asking his fans to help out by donating to the relief effort.

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The big show moved back to Sunrise Saturday night as Jimmy and the band ended the Summerzcool Tour with a show in Sunrise, Florida.

Returning to Sunrise for the first time since February 19th, 2005 at the same venue, the set list once again featured a few Florida treats. The first was just the second performance ever of “Wings,” in the first set this time. The second was the return of “Cuban Crime of Passion,” last played February 12, 2009 in Key West, FL, and last played with the band November 23, 2004 in Orlando, FL. The final treat was the last song, “Tin Cup Chalice.”

View the entire set list here.

Did you attend the show? Share your thoughts on our Discussion Board or post your photos in our Photo Gallery.

The Summerzcool Tour is now over. The next show and the first one of the “Under the Big Top” tour will be April 24th in Tampa, FL. You can still get your tickets now!