Born and Bred, Sayville Style...

By: Cynthia Lynn

Catching up with Long Island’s own 6’3 Hottie Yachtie, Tanner Sterback. We all love Tanner from Bravo TV’s Below Deck’s season 7 with the one and only Stud of the Sea, Captain Lee, on the yacht Valor.

Growing Up Sayville: Colin Macy-O’Toole

Growing up in the town of Sayville, on the south shore of Long Island, I thought I had my life figured out. I was going to be a music teacher, buy a house and start my adult life in the place I’ve always loved. Being a naive twenty-something-year-old, I thought it would be easy getting a teaching job on Long Island. Boy, was I wrong.

Thankfully at that time I was, and still are, a Fire Island ferry captain at Sayville Ferry Service, While debating whether I wanted to pursue a teaching career, I stumbled across a television show on Bravo, “Below Deck.” I knew I had plenty of maritime experience, but was also aware working on a mega-yacht is nothing like captaining a four-mile journey to Fire Island. So I went online, filled out the application and within a few months I was on the show, that’s when life took a full 180.

Filming two seasons of “Below Deck Mediterranean” in Italy and the South of France were the best experiences of my life but this was only the beginning. Being invited to “Watch What Happens Live” and to the very first BravoCon in New York City was an honor and I relished every moment of it.

By 2020, my Below Deck days were behind me and I didn’t know what was next. Then in late 2020 a new show “Galley Talk”,where former Below Deck yachties go to each other’s houses and discuss the latest episodes of Below Deck, came a calling. Now, between filming Galley Talk, I try to use my social media to help local Long Island companies. I like to highlight new restaurants and attend local charity events. One company I’m excited to be partnering with is Northern Nav, a local clothing company whose proceeds go to Long Island’s Neighborhood House, a support group for individuals struggling with loss from addiction, suicide, or coping with grief. Northern Nav produces a variety of shirts, hoodies, and hats representing special areas of Long Island.

A lot has happened over the past five years. One thing I will never lose sight of, however, is where I come from. Sayville, Long Island, is a place that will always be special in my heart.

So if you see me on Fire Island, out in Montauk or driving a ferry on the Great South Bay, come say hello –that’s what Long Island is all about.

Tanner is a Long Island guy who grew up in Sayville. He is now living with his girlfriend in Rhode Island with their two dogs Tito and Bear. He’s currently working for Freedom Boat Club where he enjoys working on the docks, maintaining the boats, and mingling with customers. His new passion, and it seems like it is everyone else’s, is pickle ball which he plays in a league with a group of friends.

Tanner discussed what he loves about Long Island. He misses the food scene that you can only find in New York, especially on Long Island. He misses going to the deli for a BEC sandwich as well as getting a pie (if you know, you know). He’s always comparing, with his girlfriend, the food found here vs. the food found up in New England. Be it the quintessential BEC, a pie, or a New England staple-lobster roll, more often than not Long Island takes the win.

Tanner misses the traveling aspect of Below Deck. His season was in Thailand. The people, places, and food found there left an indelible mark on him. He enjoys earning a living at something he loves to do. As they say, if you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.

As the co-host of The Big Fat Joey Show, heard Sundays on WGBB radio and on your favorite podcast platform, you know I had to play ‘This or That’ with this hottie yachtie!

Q: Sand in your sandwich or sand in your shorts?

A. Shorts.

Q: Sandals or slides?

A. Sandals.

Q: Top bunk or bottom bunk?

A. Top bunk.

Q: Captain Lee or Captain Morgan?

A. Captain Morgan.

When all is said and done, Tanner is grateful for all of life’s experiences and the people he has met along the way. He lives by the mantra “appreciate what you have and who you are doing it with.”

Follow Tanner on IG: @Tsterbs https://www.lukessyrup.com/