Carl Darenberg, A Montauk Legend, Is Remembered

Carl Darenberg Jr., a Montauk native and owner of the Montauk Marine Basin, was pronounced dead on Monday morning after his body was pulled from the water at Uihlein’s Marina in Montauk. He was 64.

The cause of Mr. Darenberg’s death is still under investigation, according to East Hampton Town Police Chief Michael Sarlo, whose department responded to a report that a body had been found in the harbor Monday morning near the marina, which is not far from the Montauk Marine Basin.

A well-known figure in both the Montauk community and the boating industry, Mr. Darenberg was famous for being “the life of the party,” said his cousin Debbie Tuma, explaining that his social network consisted of essentially the entire hamlet.

“He had the most energetic, magnetic personality,” she said. “He attracted people all around him wherever he went, including business, fishing people, and the nighttime party people. He loved to socialize. Looking back, when we were children—I’m a year younger than him—he would always have the best birthday parties. Or really any kind of parties, he just loved them. It started when he was young—he loved to be around people.”

Despite his love for nightlife, said Ms. Tuma, Mr. Darenberg was an extremely hard worker. “He was there every single day, from the crack of dawn, until closing,” she said of his work at the marina.

Mr. Darenberg started out at the Montauk Marine Basin at the age of 7. His father, Carl Darenberg Sr., had purchased the marina from George Miller in 1955, and the younger Mr. Darenberg took it over after his father died in 2006.

“He cared so much about Montauk and wanted to promote Montauk as a fishing community,” Ms. Tuma said in a phone interview. “From me, coming from a fishing family, what I’m going to miss about Carl is his whole knowledge of the fishing history. It goes down with him. He knew so much about all the history, the fishermen, the winning fish, the things that happened in Montauk that were significant. The sport fishing in Montauk is seventh in the world. If you ever wanted to know something, you’d ask Carl. He always had pictures, documented the fishing history.”

Mr. Darenberg was also “knowledgeable, respected, and loved in the boating industry,” said a longtime friend, fellow marina owner and former classmate Henry Uihlein, who helped pull Mr. Darenberg from Montauk Harbor, where his body was found Monday morning.

“I’ve known Carl since 1958,” said Mr. Uihlein, explaining that he and Mr. Darenberg had gone through grade school, high school and college together. “I would’ve never gone to the University of Tampa if it weren’t for Carl,” he said.

During the 1980s, Mr. Darenberg, while still working at the marine basin, would photograph fish that were caught at the docks and send them to the AP, working closely with Frank Mundus, the famous shark fisherman.

He also worked as a mate on boats like the Osprey, and he was active in the Montauk Boatman’s Association, the Montauk Harbor Committee and the Montauk Chamber of Commerce, of which he was a member for 30 years. Additionally, Mr. Darenberg served as an East Hampton Town Trustee from 1980 to 1982, and was one of the co-founders, as well as secretary and treasurer, of Montauk Citizens Voice.

He was named the Montauk Chamber of Commerce’s Man of the Year in 2012.

“Anything for Montauk,” said his friend Lenny DeFina during an interview at Uihlein’s Marina on Monday. “Carl was so giving. If you needed something, he’d give it to you. And if he couldn’t, he was going to help you.”

Longtime friend and colleague Lynn Calvo, of Lynn’s Hula Hut, which is located on the Montauk Marine Basin property, described Mr. Darenberg as a “beloved friend.” “He was an amazing man,” she said. “He lived life to the fullest.”

Mr. Darenberg was extremely supportive of the local musicians in Montauk, said friend and Montauk musician P.J. Delia. “Carl loved to have a good time,” she said on Monday. “He would grab you and make you part of the party.”

Ms. Delia, who sings in a band with her husband, Joe Delia, of Joe Delia & Thieves, said Mr. Darenberg was “so encouraging” and that many local musicians can attribute their success to his support.

“He’d come and take pictures and say how great the band was,” she said. “He was just always there. That was part of his great big bear hug for Montauk. Life was a party and he was going to include you if you were open to it.”

Mr. Darenberg is survived by two children, Courtney, 31, and Chase, 29, and by his wife, Jo Ann, as well as a brother, Gary, of Montauk. He was predeceased by his mother, Vivian Tuma.

Visitation will be held at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton on Thursday, September 4, from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Funeral services will be held on Friday, according to the funeral home, but a time and location had not yet been scheduled.