OUR CRAZY STORY

A swim of 11 nautical miles for 6.5hrs with no life jacket for myself as I given mine to my date. Pulling him the best I could to safety. 

 

Five boats passed us , even a large commercial fishing boat. My date thought we were being saved but was totally wrong. The last thing I wanted was to be sucked under the boat so we swam as hard as we could to escape the pull from the propeller.

 

We were totally alone. No one could hear or see us. 

 

As time passed we felt so cold because of the slight temperature drop mid July at around 8pm . During the swim, I suggested he keep his back to the waves and I’d do the work because every time we would kick together we would just go in a continuous circle and not get any headway. I just wanted both of us to be ok. 

 

The sky got dark and the water turned to glass ,a full moon and a sky full of stars, I could see the lights from the boats at the island in the distance. It was the party weekend. As we all known as Pottahawk pissup. It was my first time encountering this event but I  had no care in the world for is as I’m not a partying type. Just wanted a relaxing boat ride. 

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I started to yell help and my date followed. But all we could hear is the people screaming back as they thought we were partying too. 

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Little did I know the previous year there was people out on a floating mattress playing wolf so people assumed it was fake. So I decided to change the way I screamed. More like I was in a horror movie. 

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And it worked. A group of people from Niagara Falls were sailing that weekend and heard my screaming. I was told the scream was so real it was spine chilling.  The captain said that if he could get the engine running and the light on the mast working they would try to find us. And thank goodness it worked. 

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All of a sudden I see this light on the water and we are being pulled into a sailboat. Coast guard is speeding down and then being rushed to the Simcoe hospital. 

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Hypothermia, almost kidney failure and lactic acid built up in my legs so bad the charlie horses were horrendous. 17 blankets later I finally called my mom from the hospital and told her what happened. My date and I were safe, but had to stay hospitalized for a week.

 

But what about our beloved doggies. He had a beautiful caring brindle and I had a soft fluffy Pomeranian chihuahua on the boat that day. His dog did jump in the water to try to save him but was swimming for a while making him extremely exhausted.  I couldn’t handle the three of us. So for safety we tried to direct him to land and wished for the best. Unfortunately he didn’t make it and breaks my heart to this day. As for my pup , while we were in the hospital the boat drifted to Long point lighthouse and when the coast guard went to get him, my dog got spooked by the  boat and took off into the reeds in the long point biosphere. There were many people that did a search for both of our dogs that day and I was forever grateful. But there was no luck. I never seen my dear Levi again. I was and still am heartbroken to this day. 

 

It has now been 5 years this July 2024 that this tragedy happened and I’m stronger than ever.  The past 5yrs have been hard. Healing from the boating trauma, beating cancer, completing school to be a licensed hairstylist, losing family and the normal run around  with my dating life. 

 

I went against the odds and won. 5yrs later I have amazing clients , friends and family that continue to support in which I’m extremely grateful.

 

The funniest part of this story is the captain that pulled me out that day we are now together. Caught my soulmate.  I never thought in a million years I’d find the person I’d want to be life partners with starting with a boating tragedy. So now the real adventure begins.

 

 

“You are stronger than you know , just keep being persistent and positive. The universe will help you find your way “ -Natosha Busse

 

Now The Naughty Angler came about from designing my tattoo. I’m a local artist from Tillsonburg Ontario. First my upper sleeve told the boating story. But I didn’t want trout on the bottom of my arm since that story happened in Lake Erie. So I made it in a way it was fiction to fantasy. First tattoo, full arm , 5yrs and wow some pain. But was totally worth it. I wanted to include a character at the ocean bottom with my octopus and mermaid and decided on the angler fish. The naughty part, well there's many different meanings to that, everyone has a spiciness to them naughty or nice but was a way for me to relate to that character

 

Anglerfish symbolizes the unseen world, navigating darkness, and luring energy. 

 

Anglerfish have a symbiotic relationship with bacteria, giving it the ability to glow with bioluminescence. Bacteria are part of the “unseen” world. Anglerfish reminds you that by strengthening your relationship with the various layers of the unseen world, you will be able to see and navigate deeper truths and emotions than most. 

 

Anglerfish have highly attuned organs that sense the changing pressures and movements in the water. When you feel your surroundings shift, trust it and reposition yourself accordingly. You are picking up information from the unseen world that guides you in ways that the mind cannot understand. 

Anglerfish have a glowing lure that reaches out from their 3rd eye to help them navigate in the dark as well as attract nourishment into its life. When traversing the deepest, darkest places in your life remember to turn on your own light to guide you through. Trust in your ability to see.

-Tanya Casteel

 

The angler fish has many different meanings and various characteristics. It really is the ultimate fisherman. Where there is darkness there is light and my company The Naughty Angler brings light and laughter and of course a little naughty. I want to make people smile and laugh through my illustrations. That’s when we need it most.

 

Enjoy life and stay tuned to the next part of our adventure.