Owner/Operator, "Searcher" and Searcher Sportfishing - San Diego, Ca.

Art Taylor is the Owner/Operator of the "Searcher" and Searcher Sportfishing. He started in the fishing business at the ripe old age of 12. He was cleaning bunks, wheelhouses, scrubbing hulls and going out on the boats as a "pin head", not getting paid but receiving room and board and sharing in the crew tips. He worked his way up on several different boats until he got an opportunity in 1975 to go to work on the Royal Polaris when it was a new boat. At that time the boat was owned and operated by Bill Poole with Steve Loomis as the first ticket.

Art accumulated time and got his captains license while he was still on the Royal Polaris. By the age of 19 he was operating boats as the first ticket. Art progressed up the line in the long range fleet and in 1978 started working as the second ticket aboard the Searcher. In 1982 Art moved to the first ticket slot and started operating the "Searcher" with hopes of some day owning the boat. He says that he was in the right place at the right time and was able to start a lease purchase program in 1984 and has been on the "Searcher" ever since. This year marks his 19th year as an owner/operator. He now spends in excess of 160 days a year on the water running the boat.

The Searcher was built in 1970 by Bill Poole and was originally called the Cape Polaris. In 1975 Bill sold the boat to Frank Lo Preste who renamed the boat the Searcher. The boat is 95 feet long with a double planked mahogany hull with all the frames and joyces also constructed out of mahogany. The boat carries 3,300 gallons of diesel, 600 gallons of water and has a 350 scoop bait capacity. The Searcher was repowered in 1999 with two 475 hp Catepillar engines.

Searcher Sportfishing's onshore operation is headed by Art's partner and wife, Ciela. She handles all the reservations, bookings, accounting and signing all the guests in for the various trips. Should you ever call the office more likely then not she will be the one picking up the phone.

In February, March and April the boat operates natural history tours that travel down the coast to Baja California for whale watching, bird watching, hiking and snorkeling. There isn't another place in the world where you can go and have an opportunity to see 13 different species of whales in a ten day period. Baja is a very rich marine environment. Starting in May and continuing through November, the Searcher has a variety of open and chartered fishing trips that pursue various offshore species and fishing adventures.