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Stuck at sea for five hours

Joezilla

Joezilla

Moderator- Wilderness and Survival Skills
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Dad got talked into a boat ride yesterday in SC (I'm here now). They were going out into the inlet, to check out some of the islands and start scouting for clam/oyster season. An hour into it they spun the propellar. After a while of finagling, they called in a tow boat. 6 foot waves were starting up, and thank god, Dad was the only guy with a cell phone. They did have a radio, and talked to the coast guard as well, however it wasn't a coast guard issue at that time, (it wasn't that bad) so used the cell to call the tow service. Though it wasn't the only means of communication, the cell came in handy and had reception.
 
Gad your Dad is OK... Goes to show.... an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cures...good thing he was prepared.
 
Interesting story Joe. I've towed out at least 20 or so boats in the past decade on the Detroit River while doing work. Coast guard should respond to a mechanical failure or at least respond by relaying your coordinates to a towservice if one is available in your area.

Also one thing I've seen time and time again is other boaters completely avoiding a distress call, like flagging them with oars etc. It is an obligation to help other boaters that are in distress.

Glad it worked out for you in the end. Five hours is a long time to brood in a small vessel!
 
Here is the interesting part. They subscribed to a two service for a one time fee of $150. I guess kinda like AAA for boats.

If they didn't, it may have cost over $1,000! I went to talk to the tower in the bay today. He said he gets so busy this weekend that he usually has to pack gas with him and keep going! They couldn't bring the boat into the main bay due to waves so they had to go the long rout. Cool boat though, bright colors.
 
Joezilla said:
Here is the interesting part. They subscribed to a tow service for a one time fee of $150. I guess kinda like AAA for boats.

If they didn't, it may have cost over $1,000!
Click to expand...

Thereby lending credence to the saying, "A boat is a hole in the water that you pour money into."
 
I know a guy who while on his SAIL boat came across a disabled power boat. He towed the power boat back to port while under sail !!! That's bragging rights !
 
Towboats USA and SeaTow are both about $150 a year and if you have a boat its worth every penney. I maintain a membership even with my boat down for the last few years. I go out on other peoples boats and am not about to get stuck out there. I also make it My responsibility to know something about the other guys boat and make sure there is at least 2 ways to call for help. Since I am gonna be on it, I like to be secure.
 
Sixfooter, the company was in fact, SeaTow.


On a much less, off topic note, I got yelled at for snorkeling in the community pond about 40 minutes ago, looking for good fishing holes. The nerve of some people.
 
Joezilla said:
Sixfooter, the company was in fact, SeaTow.


On a much less, off topic note, I got yelled at for snorkeling in the community pond about 40 minutes ago, looking for good fishing holes. The nerve of some people.
Click to expand...

Please tell me you came out of the water with a big condor machete :D :D
 
My cousin and I lost the prop off of his boat on the Missouri river about 15 miles from nowhere. He thought he had it made because he had kept his old prop for a spare. The only thing is, He didn't have a spare bolt or pin to hold it on.

We started back using the electric even though we knew there was no way it would run that far. Thank goodness, another fishing boat came by and although we just ask him to take a message back for us, he just hooked on and towed us back, Fishermen are good guys. I have heard however, that some of them can get a bit careless with the truth.:eek:
 
Check out the stories about tow boats bringing boats back in, they can claim salvage rights on them sometimes.
 
Having friends that are captains of charters, and those that own their own boats, 99.9% of them will tell you going off shore or in the sound in any boat that isn't equipped with two motors (outboards) or having a secondary motor/lower unit available is asking for trouble.

Lucky they had a cell phone. And I'm surprised the CG didn't respond. The boat was in distress.
 
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