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Tow, Tow, Tow your Boat.

by Capt. Les Hall - As appeared in Southern Boating

You are probably not reading this on your boat so we'll need to use your imagination for a minute. Imagine yourself on board your boat with your family (perhaps Uncle Louis and Aunt Tillie too). The day is a gorgeous one: ten knot breeze, just a few puffy, pure-white clouds hanging from azure-blue skies. The one-to-two foot seas split perfectly before your sharp bow, creating rainbows as the early morning sun lays upon the spray. The shore-line Condos are rapidly disappearing as you cruise at 25 knots, about 15 miles offshore. No one on board speaks, the moment is too beautiful for words. Your senses are at their peak: the wind and sun tingling your skin, the colors filling your eyes, the sounds of the spray and the deep drone of the engine, the smell of the salt air with the occasional whiff of exhaust, the special taste of boat-coffee. You are at the helm, feeling at one with the boat, part of its power.

Suddenly you lurch forward as the boat quickly decelerates. The deep drone is replaced with a series of loud coughs. A few more lurches and coughs, a final bottom belly belch and then silence, except for Aunt Tillie. She starts screaming. The boat is dead in the water, beam to the seas. Wait! What's that big black, anvil-shaped cloud on the horizon behind us?

The above scenario gets replayed daily on Southern waters. Those who are prepared for such events are inconvenienced. Those who are not prepared face a life threatening situation. Being a Tow Boat Captain, I see the results of improper preparation first hand. We recently were called to assist a vessel that was swamped nearly six miles offshore and a few miles north of the Jupiter, Florida inlet. The call was placed by a passing vessel that had stopped and fished the two occupants from the water. When we arrived on scene we discovered a 17' center console, swamped but still upright, in four to five foot seas, with absolutely no signaling or communication devices on board. The two occupants were in their early twenties, the age of immortality. NO OTHER VESSELS WERE IN THE AREA. Had the passing vessel not spotted them, both men would have surely died. The wind and current were both heading due north. The Florida Coast takes a turn to the west beyond Jupiter. The vessel and its occupants would have drifted northerly at two to three knots virtually invisible, probably washing up somewhere in the Carolinas - if then..

Let's go back to the dock for a minute and check out our boat before we head out. The Coast Guard, for some very good reasons, requires minimum safety equipment to be on board. I'm sure that you are all familiar with the requirements but, just for the sake of review, let's run down the list:

Approved Personal Floatation Devices (life jackets or equivalent), one for each person on board.

Visual Distress Signals (Three Day and One Night signal required). Three flares of the type approved for both day and night use will meet the requirements. However, these are minimum requirements. According to Coast Guard reports, 80% of all flare cases end unresolved. Flares can be seen from long distances and provide a bearing only. Where along that line of bearing the distressed vessel is located is impossible to determine. With currents and winds, the distressed vessel will be moving off that line of bearing at speeds of up to five knots. If you really want to be found, be prepared to use a flare every half hour to aid your rescuers. Keep half a dozen or so on board. Flares also have a shelf life with expiration dates printed on them. The last time I checked mine, they were two years out of date. Had I been boarded by the Coast Guard or local authorities, I would have been fined.

A sound signaling device. Vessels 12 meters or more (39.4 feet) are required to carry a power whistle or power horn and a bell. Vessels under 12 meters must have some means of making an efficient sound signal.

Fire Extinguisher. Get one that is larger than required.

In addition to the above equipment, you should have a VHF radio (at least one), charts, a basic Loran or GPS unit, compass, lights, an anchor with lots of line and some form of Marine Towing Coverage. Marine Towing costs about $125.00 to $175.0 per hour (dock to dock) with the average tow being somewhere around $300.00. I've had local tow bills run as high as $2,000.00 - you really should have some form of protection.

Currently, there are four major marine towing programs available: Sea Tow, Boat U.S., Vessel Assist and NBOA. In addition, many insurance companies offer towing riders or include limited towing coverage with the policy. The primary problem here is the fact that each tow is treated as a claim and can affect your annual premiums or even your renewal.

Each towing program, like everything else, has its strengths and weakness - particularly in different locations. One group may be very strong in one area and weak in another. For your own safety and convenience, take the time to check out each one by asking questions like:

How many boats to you own?

What sizes are they?

How many Captains do you employ?

How do I get in touch with you? Do I have to go through some central dispatch or can I reach you directly on the water?

What is your area of coverage?

How far out will you go to get me?

What about dock to dock tows?

Will I have to go to the nearest repair facility or will you take me home?

Do you get paid an hourly rate for towing me or am I actually your member?

Is your coverage unlimited or is there the potential for me to have to pay money out of my own pocket?

Do I have to pay the towing company and then submit the invoice for reimbursement or can I just sign the paper work and walk away?

After you have answers to the above questions, get a copy of the towing company's written towing program policy. This is where the fine print restrictions and exclusions are located. Your safety and your bank account are at stake here. Take the time to do your homework.

Now that you are equipped and protected, let's get back out with Aunt Tillie. Remember, we are dead in the water, Aunt Tillie was screaming and there's a storm coming. What do we do now? Well, the first thing we want to do is calm down Aunt Tillie (seriously, if you've got nervous folks on board, reassure them.) Next we want to find enough life preservers for all on board. If you are anything like me, you'll have forgotten where you stuck them. After that, check the bilges to make sure that no water is coming in, shut down all unnecessary electrical and electronic equipment and switch the battery selector to one battery if you have multiples.

If you are in no imminent danger, simply call your towing company. Give them your position (from your GPS or Loran), state the problem (engine died) and request an estimated time of arrival. If you are not satisfied with the response, tell them. There's a storm coming, remember? However, be reasonable. Being fifteen miles offshore, any vessel will take a while to get to you. But if your towing tells you that they can't get underway for an hour - don't accept it. You are responsible for the lives of the people on board your vessel. If you think that the storm will hit before your towing company can get to you, call the Coast Guard. They will issue a "MARB" (Marine Assistance Request Broadcast) to which anyone can respond. They may also dispatch a vessel if they determine that conditions so justify. DO NOT ISSUE A MAYDAY CALL unless your vessel is in imminent danger or unless there is a medical emergency on board.

Let's say that, for some reason, your towing company can't respond for an hour and a half and you've called the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard has issued a MARB to which the good Samaritan Casper Wilkens is responding. The seas have built to three to four. Here comes Casper in his 22' bowrider. He wants to run a line from his stern cleat to one of your bow cleats. Don't let him.

Why not? Find out in PART TWO