HTurner
Guru
- Joined
- May 21, 2021
- Messages
- 500
- Vessel Make
- Willard Vega Horizon
Various tows.....
Well done, Slow! You should have required the passengers on the ski boat to send across a wench (not a winch) and a cask of rum, and to sing sailing shanties at the top of their lungs, a'la "Home Free:"
The guy on the ski boat was most concerned about getting seen by his friends being towed in by a sailboat! Said he'd have to sell the boat as he'd never live it down.
I was doing engine work at anchor last season when my anchor started to drag. The only other engine i had was my 9hp inflatable. I copied the way I saw the marina guys do it, and took a bow line from my 34 ft MT, hooked it to the dink, and towed in reverse. I was able to manuver it into wind and current (albeit very slowly) enough to reset the position and redrop the anchor.As rslifkin says, it depends on the conditions. I once used my 9' Avon inflatable to tow my 37' sloop back to the dock. The engine wouldn't crank, and the wind had completely died, so we couldn't sail. But the absence of wind meant for glass calm conditions, so I lashed the dinghy alongside and towed the bigger boat "on the hip." Once I had the bigger boat moving enough to answer her rudder, we steered the whole mess with that. (Try towing a larger boat with a little outboard sometime, and you'll quickly discover why I put it on the hip).
I am totally surprised that the Canadian Coast Guard would request untrained civilian assistance in towing. ..........
A few years ago I watched a kayaker tow a 30' Catalina sailboat to the linear dock here in Port Ludlow. At first I couldn't believe my eyes! Of course, conditions were completely benign. I ran back to my boat to get my phone to record on video, but was too late... Guess I can never prove it really happened. LOL
Seems a bit strange that the CG would request a recreational vessel to handle a tow.
Standing by is the norm and should be as far as most should go.
I've queried my FC (Flotilla Commander) to see what the actual story is.
I'll post my findings.
Understand, it is the law to assist when possible unless such assistance would put the rescuer's boat & crew in danger. Most boaters are not equipped to assist in a tow other than stand by in case of a boat sinking. There are just too many things that can go very wrong.
It also needs to be considered that if the CG won't tow and the boat in trouble won't be commercially towed due to the owner of the boat in trouble not wanting to spend the money, then why would another boater potentially risk their boat to do the towing. That is why there is BoatUS & SeaTow.
Here is a site (https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Our-Organi.../Domestic-Compliance-Division/Towing-Vessels/) which addresses the CG position on towing.
Have fun.
On the wet coast it is Aux RCMSAR, Royal Canadian Marine search and rescue (mouthful, was CGAux) that get tasked for simple tows leaving the guard on stand by for the big one.Canadian CG will often make a call for assistance on the boater's behalf that's directed at tow services. And if none respond the CG will undertake towing. It depends on the area.
I was out fishing today on Lake Ontario and I heard a call from Prescott Coast Guard asking for assistance to tow a boat off of Lake Erie. The boat was a 42 foot Kadey Krogen. It made me wonder how big a boat you would need to tow a boat of that size off the lake?
With respect to all of the comments, buy a commercial towing contract. Seems a bit silly to hear someone who owns a 42 KK did not have $179 invested in a Sea Tow or TowBoat contract. Also, most policies for >12m vessels will have towing incident coverage, however for $179, you could barely get a a 42 KK washed!
Tell them to drop an anchor and get a commercial tow.
One possible reason to get assistance towing membership, even when your area may not have the big towers there is because the membership does cover you for the cost of a tow (or up to a limit).
In some areas, there are companies that will tow that are not part of one of the big names or even not generally in the tow business but still will tow.
I know in the USA, a lot of people don't have towing membership and wait, and wait till someone comes and tows them. Once it goes long enough (which can be days), and the right criteria are met, the USCG will go...but it now has to be declared as an emergency situation.
If there is no big name towers around, and the boater finally gives into paying someone to tow, someone with the proper license may respond to the Marine Assistance Request Broadcast.
Commercial towers, we have several around Georgia Straight and they wait for the OK I'll pay and then race to be first to arrive for the job. They are respectful and will announce on scene at times.Not sure who you mean "racing to be first".....
Commercial towers, we have several around Georgia Straight and they wait for the OK I'll pay and then race to be first to arrive for the job. They are respectful and will announce on scene at times.
'two large guys in a bass boat, suck on a sandbar'?
If one or two got out of the boat, it would have re-floated, push it to the edge of the sand bar and climb in the boat. But be some reason they didn't do that, alligators???
Chuckle
While going south on the Tenn-Tom a few months ago I called a lock (cell call) about 4 miles away . . . said he could see me via AIS . . .