Who is Capt. Willie Adams from To Have and Have Not and what is their importance?

Captain Willie Adams owns a white charter fishing boat named the South Florida, He admires Morgan's cojones for crossing the Gulf during a storm, though he cannot imagine why anyone would still rum liquor from Cuba when importation is legal. Adams is carrying two customers on a charter up Woman Key Channel, when they pass a wounded Morgan on his booze boat. The client, who claims to be an important government official, demands that Adams allow him to capture the criminal, but Adams warns Morgan before heading out to sea, intending to give the men the full charter for which they have paid.