When Randy Emberley was 15 years old , he gave up school to go fishing with his father , who was unwell at the time . As time went on , his father started having seizures , and over the years , a tumor was found on his brain . In order to support the family , Randy had to step up and take turns taking his four younger brothers fishing to make a steady income for the family . He did this over and over for many years . “ We got enough to keep going ,” he says . “ I never drew anything from TAGS .”
Eventually , Randy ’ s brothers were old enough to take over and Randy was able to go on his own . So in 1986 , he began to fish on the Krista-Lee , a 38 ’ boat , with four other fishermen . This boat lasted him and his crew until 2000 , but at just 18 ’ wide , it was too narrow for the active sea and “ always rolling around .” In 2000 , he had his first new boat built , the Christina Lorraine , which has managed to stay in the family and is now owned and operated by his son , Trent .
In 2021 , Randy decided to build a new boat . The bank didn ’ t want to loan him the money unless he owned a company , so Randy started TRC Fishing Enterprises Limited , in August 2021 in order to finance his new build . He was fishing with four other fishermen at that time , including his son , Trent , for crab , lobster , and scallop . Today , he also fishes for herring , cod , and whelk .
To Randy , fishing isn ’ t a job , it ’ s a lifestyle . With the exception of the $ 18 he earned while briefly driving a garbage truck , every penny Randy has earned has come from the ocean . We are honoured to have had the opportunity to work with Randy on bringing his vision to life .
A friend of Randy ’ s once had a boat built at West Head , so Randy knew of us when he came in . We worked with Randy to build the 49 ’ 2 ” x 28 ’ Lolly Lorraine , which was designed to emulate his previous boat but complete with a 22-inch raise and an RFW system for refrigerating water and live wells . The RFW system helps Randy get a significantly better price for his hauls because it keeps them cold on the way to shore , which maintains the freshness and quality .
Seventeen people worked on the Lolly Lorraine in total . Randy visited five or six times and found the crew to be very skilled , especially Steve , the “ main man .” The Lolly Lorraine , with her Grizzly hull and Mitsubishi 583hp engine , took 10 months to build and launched on a cold day in March .
The name Lolly Lorraine comes from Emberley ’ s loving and devoted mother , Lorraine , who passed away in December of 2021 . His father used to call her Lolly , and she could dance a jig like no other . Wherever she went — by car , by chair , or by scooter — she brought joy , laughter , and a hint of mischief . The Lolly Lorraine dances for her now .
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