THE RIDE
THE OFFSHORE LIFE IN ANY WATERS
Offshore Stories: The Stories Behind Our Boat Names
Sailors started naming their vessels after gods and goddesses thousands of years ago in the hope it would bring them good fortune at sea. Today, we carry on this tradition with names that often hold a special meaning or place in our hearts. Many of us know and greet fellow boaters by that boat name, so it is not to be taken lightly!
We got in touch with several Regulator owners who shared their story behind their boat name. Have a cool story of your own? Send it our way and we will keep adding to the list!
TAILMATE
Regulator 41 (Long Island, NY)
As told by The TailMate Fishing Team
In 2016, we focused primarily on shark fishing and caught just about every shark indigenous to the Long Island area – with the exception of maybe one or two. We even caught a juvenile great white, which fishermen pursue for years and rarely catch! So, here is how our story goes…
One mid-summer day aboard our 31, we were shark fishing, and one of the rods took off. My 15-year-old son grabbed the rod, and I managed the helm to follow the fish. He fought it for 45 minutes and then gave the rod to my daughter’s boyfriend. Initially I thought he was being lazy…why did he pass the rod? My daughter’s boyfriend then fought the fish for over an hour to a point of exhaustion. He was dripping with sweat! At this stage, we knew we had something big. When it was my turn, I fought the fish to exhaustion. My daughter then took over, and we did the loop several times for more than three hours. We would get our catch to about 30 feet below the boat, then it would dive. At one point on the depth finder we saw the size…holy cow!
Finally, it came up alongside of the boat. That’s when we saw the enormity of it – it was easily three-fourths the size of our 31, with the top fork on the tail being over nine-plus feet for sure! At that point, we knew we couldn’t harpoon or land this shark. We were at a stalemate. His tail would have absolutely destroyed both us and the boat, which is what large thresher sharks are known for. The shark then dove again and again, and we didn’t want to cut the line. That would be giving up! So we decided he needed to break the line to get free. So we then began to tighten the drag down more and more and the line just wouldn’t break. Ultimately, the rod snapped in three pieces and the shark swam away. We were left with a memory and a broken rod, which we hung on the wall in our boat house as a remembrance of the stalemate.
After the fish swam away we all joked that we needed a bigger boat. The next day I called Suffolk Marine and decided to order the Regulator 41. We needed a name for the boat – something with a story behind it. We all thought real hard and decided that since a stalemate got us to purchase the 41, why not call the boat TailMate?
ELLE J
Regulator 28 (La Jolla, CA)
As told by Keith Humes
Elle J has a double meaning. She’s named after my daughter, Elle Jaqueline, and after the town we live in, La Jolla – also called LJ for short. My go-to spot with Elle J is the Coronado Islands in Baja Mexico, a prime location for yellowtail!
FISH ON
Regulator 28 (Ocean City, NJ)
As told by Doug Raab
My dad and I used to play a fishing video game when I was younger. Every time we would hook up, “Fish On!” would appear on the screen and I would yell “Fish On!”. So naturally, we named our first Regulator, a 26, Fish On then kept the name when we got our 28 in 2012.
DRIFTWOOD
Regulator 32 (Long Island, NY)
As told by Scott Roberts
I got my 32 for Father’s Day. It was actually a surprise from my mom and dad! Jimmy [of Suffolk Marine Center] and I were out fishing my Regulator 26 in the Star Island Shark Tournament out of Montauk when he asked me to get my satellite phone out.
I went into the head to get the sat phone, and when I came out, I saw my parents pull up on a Regulator 32 right along side us. They slowed down and yelled “Honey, surprise!”. I just stood there. Couldn’t believe it! I even stuttered two or three times at first. Then I took off my shirt, got on the gunnels of the 26, jumped into the water, pulled myself onto the 32 and gave them both a big hug.
I named the 32 Driftwood for two reasons. When we’re offshore and spot driftwood, there’s usually fish under it. It’s a good fish attraction devise. Plus, I’m in the lumber business, so it only made sense!
Since Father’s Day 2010, we’ve put over a thousand hours on it. We’ve caught bluefish, mako sharks, swordfish, yellowfin, flounder...you name it, we’ve been catching it!
