Chasing Tail - Getting Nauti with the Spiny Lobster

As you must’ve noticed here at Getting Nauti, we love a cheeky play on words, and our ‘Chasing Tail’ design demonstrates this perfectly. I’ve had people question what we are trying to say exactly, wanting reassurance that we aren’t so bold as to be suggesting the Urban Dictionary’s top meaning.

chasing tail (2008) Urban Dictionary  ‘The pursuit of casual sexual relations, especially a males pursuit of a female.’

Now clearly, if that’s what we meant, we wouldn’t have produced this lobster emblemed design for females too, or would we?  Obviously we are merely celebrating the crustacean hunting pastime enjoyed by many, even we aren’t getting that naughty! Maybe.

Did you know that catching an actual lobster can involve the use of something called a tickle stick? A handy wikiHow article explains;

• Take out your tickle stick. A tickle stick is a narrow stick you use to help safely dislodge a lobster from its hiding spot.
• Stick the tickle stick into the crevice where you see the lobster. Use a sweeping motion to encourage the lobster to move.

I’ll leave these directions along, with all their improper associations, right here ...

The Urban Dictionary’s next definition discussed a southern tradition which involves tying bottle rockets to the tails of cows. Anyone?

To be quite honest I am not sure which of the Urban Dictionaries definitions would cause the highest eyebrow.

Are there other examples of tails being chased? Well, indeed there are. Dogs have a merry old time chasing their tails, don’t they? Well maybe not, it seems this behavior is caused either by boredom or because they are seeking attention, neither of which you’ll fall victim to when wearing our Chasing Tail design.

It seems you can be a tail chasing human too. If you were to say of someone, “He’s just chasing his tail!” he wouldn’t literally be spinning circles but figuratively he would, meaning that he is very busy but achieving nothing. This turn of phrase was clearly inspired by canine angst and quite a different state from the slightly more desirable one of being busy doing nothing.  That situation might find you lounging beachside, gently rocking on a boat patiently waiting for your surface interval to slip by or your fishing rod to tug you into action. You see chasing tail doesn’t just have to be about lobster, there are many fishy tails out there to be chased in any manner of ways, but if you did want to catch a lobster how might you go about it?

Well, first it’s a damn good idea to make sure it’s legal, find out if you need a permit and what season and size conditions apply in your chosen locale. Clawed lobsters and spiny lobsters are the two main types of lobster. Clawed lobster tend to be found in colder water and are caught with traps or pots and spiny lobster inhabit warmer waters and are more likely the type you will dive for. This is way more James Bond and liable to furnish you with far more anecdotes to fuel those other chasing tail situations in which you may or may not be partaking. 

In truth, finding your lobster is likely to be the hardest part (isn’t it always?); you need to be looking on a healthy and plentiful reef at a depth or ten feet or deeper. Now, in my opinion, while you could use scuba equipment, I feel that this is cheating and to be fair to your prey, you should be freediving. Grabbing the lobster from behind is best which will require the use of the previously mentioned tickle stick. Be aware that lobsters like to co-habit with moray eels, so check for friends! Once you’ve caught it, for goodness sake, put it in a keep bag or net. Know that spearing it, can bring sharks and anyway lobster are tastiest when boiled alive. I know, I know! Contrary to popular belief, though, they don’t scream. The noise is simply hot air escaping.

Obviously take only what you need and know that the pleasure is in the fishing and not the catching. A days fishing will still result in those tall tales even if it was a day without catching. How can a day out on the ocean not be time happily spent; a gleeful state of being busy achieving nothing perhaps?

If you fail to catch you can always head along to Chasin Tails, sporting your t-shirt of course. They have restaurants in Arlington and Centreville and proudly proclaim, ‘No Plates, No Forks, No Rules.' They serve crawfish Cajun style and dump these tasty crustaceans directly onto your table inviting you to get involved with your food, roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty. Chasing this tail is guaranteed to deliver on taste and fun.

But all this is merely digression and debate. In the end, it doesn’t matter what we meant by those two words, Chasing Tail, when we emblazoned them along with a lobster across hoodies, t-shirts, and tank tops. What matters is how you wear it, you assign your own level of cheek based solely on the swagger you sport while wearing it, so have fun and get as naughty as you dare!