The story behind the story….
Through the decades we’ve often been asked, “How did you name your business and why Chartle, what does it mean and how do I say it?”
Well, it all started with Joe’s fascination with the Alaskan people, in particular, the Tlingit Indians and how they fish. He was intrigued with their art as well. A family friend sketched up a rendition of the halibut that we have come to know today as our logo. So we’ve got our “logo” but now what, what should we call it? Literally, Joe is walking through this village in Alaska, turns the corner and sees a Tlingit Indian sitting on a stairway and thinks to ask him, “What is the Tlingit word for halibut?”
The local replies “Sha-Tall.” Joe proceeds to ask how to spell it and we get Chartle. Put this all together and Chartle Charters is created with our cool Tlingit halibut logo. Yes, we could have named our business Santa Cruz Fishing or Joe’s Charters, but we like our little story and we hope you do, too.
We hope our logo reminds you of great adventures and swashbuckling good times aboard the Taylor-Gene. Speaking of the Taylor-Gene, it’s no mistake that we have a reason for just about everything we do and naming our boat is no exception. Our first charter boat was a 25’ Farallon and appropriately named, Flatfish. This name fit nicely with our Tlingit logo and suited us perfectly for a good number of years. As our business grew it was undeniable that our boat needed to also.
In 1998, we acquired a 34’ Hatteras Sportfisher and while Joe was outfitting her with new electronics and a nice new set of twin diesels, I was at home outfitting our new nursery in anticipation of our firstborn. Once we finished the boat, we planned on naming her Flatfish II but then our daughter was born. Unbeknownst to us, she was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome and her young life was taken way too early. It was immediately apparent to us that the best and only way for us to continually pay homage to our beautiful little girl was to name our boat after her and thus the Taylor-Gene was “born again.”
Taylor-Gene worked hard for many years pulling double duty as a sport charter boat in the spring/summer months then switching over to a commercial vessel in our winter months. This was hard on her and the captain. In 2012, we acquired our coinciding second boat that would be exclusively dedicated to the commercial crabbing segment of our profession. It seemed only apropos to name this second boat after our second daughter, Lauren Rose.
I doubt that we will ever own three working boats at once. However, I’m the sailor of the family and strive to one day own a small sailing vessel as to where I’ve already named her after our third born, Coco Mae. Makes you dream of piña coladas and Jimmy Buffett songs, doesn’t it? And then there is our son, the last born, the epilogue of our tribe, the unexpected surprise, the exclamation point to our clan. We don’t know exactly what his plans for this family are as he’s still only two but one thing is for sure and that is he is adored by us all and will no doubt make a big splash in this humble abode…
