One of the premiere fishing destinations in northeast is St. Augustine where a stop at any marina in the area and there will be an abundance of boats polished and ready to tackle any species in the area. But Life as a Charter Boat Captain and guide service is not as glamourous and simple as it appears.
For Captain Chris Castle of St. Augustine, Fla. Life has been a winding roller coaster that has taken him through many turns that most captains would buckle under and give up.
The bottom line for any successful Captain regardless of what area that they fish in is Capital. For Captain Castle this was not a problem once he started Wide Open Charters in 2006. At the time Castle was a successful real-estate agent for Exit Realty Destinations. In a matter of a year in 2007 once the housing market took a turn for the worst so did his life.
In the next 10 years Castle was involved in a divorce from his wife Laurie Baker; lost his job as a realtor; the house where he raised his kids was being foreclosed, and both of his charter boats are mechanically failing.
Castle was forced to find a new place to live and store the gear used on his various charters. Castle was graciously taken in bye his new girlfriend Kathy that lives in the St. Augustine Beach area.
Not as extravagant as many big money boats with endless tackle bags these rigs sit waiting to be used. Much of Castles gear is very old and tarnished but still gets the job done.
Contrary to public beliefs Captains do not live the life of Luxury. In Castle’s case a series of unfortunate but self inflected events got him to this point.
The helm that has seen it all from days of jubilation offshore catching mahi mahi or dolphin as locals say to putting out small electrical fires that sparked because of faulty wiring. Castle has put his 17 foot Kenner through hell and back in his eyes.
Known bye the Locals as Captain Hook one can only imagine the reasoning behind the name. The nickname given to Castle was acquired after he had a rotator cuff operation that turned fowl. Castle then experienced a decline in business because of his limited mobility which further spiked his problem with alcoholism.
Castle lives day bye day trying to put his past behind him but is constantly reminded of his past.
Castle reminisces of the good times listening to Ted Nugent’s song “hibernation”. But the more that he listens to each line the more he drinks and is reminded of the things that he did wrong. This drinking problem leads to his alternate persona Captain Hook.
Castle goes through each picture as if it happened yesterday. In hand he explains how proud he was of his son Drew and daughter Kinsey. The emotion pours out of his soul after each word that he says.
After he picked up each picture and explained it sparring little detail Castle stated that he was going to burn all of these pictures to put it behind him.
Castle is forced to put all of this behind him though each time he goes out on a charter. In a flip of a switch he goes from depression to sobriety and a warm personality.
Through his struggles he has found signs of life. Little does the public know that Castle has an artistic and entrapranual side.
In recent years Castle has sold driftwood, jewelry, and hides to various local stores around St. Augustine
Tami Rogers hoists up one of Captain Castles gator hides that he harvested during a charter.
Many of Castles belongings like most outdoorsman can be found in his beat up chevrolet truck that has seen just as much as his boat.
Castles love for the outdoors is apparent once asked about certain things that he has. This Remington 870 shotgun is one of Castles most prized possessions that has been used to open beers, paddle home, harvest game, and is another story in itself.
Castle’s fleet of Boats consist of this center console Kenner and his fathers 32 foot Express Sportfish. Castle Stated that they might not be the prettiest boats on the water but the get the job done.
Even though the struggles of life sometimes seem to be insurpassable, Castle still keeps an upbeat personality that many charters find extremely amusing which further add to the persona that he wants to be “Captain Hook”.
Cecil Aenea Vignutti Photography 