Fifty Bucks for a Tow

[mastreb]

We were coming back from a raft up this evening around sunset, rounding the south end of Shelter Island past the boat ramp and along the mooring field under motor when I see a guy about 100 feet away on an old derelict 60' catamaran yell "Fifty bucks for a tow!"

I look at my wife and say "did he just yell fifty bucks for a tow?" and she allows that he did.

I didn't think I could tow the cat or any other boat that size, but I didn't want to leave a mariner in distress without at least checking in, so I maneuvered closer and as I came around the boat I saw that he was actually on a much smaller 20' cuddly cabin fishing boat behind the cat that appeared to be rafted up to the catamaran.

Turns out it wasn't rafted up to it, they'd drifted into the moored cat from somewhere in the bay and grabbed it by hand to avoid drifting into the quay about 50' shoreward. We were perhaps 500 yards from the Harbor Island Fuel dock across the channel.

"You folks need help?" I offer.

"Yes, we ran out of gas!" he says. "I'll give you fifty bucks to tow us to the fuel dock."

"I don't need $50, but I'll tow you." I say. We backed towards them, the admiral tossed them our 50' utility line, and he caught it. "Thanks man! I called Sea Tow but they wanted three hundred bucks!" he yelled, as if that were remotely expensive for saving one's ass.

He then attempted to wrap it around the anchor chain above his roller.

"You'll want to cleat that off to the cleat where your forward dock line is!" I yell.

"Where?" he says.

"You're port forward cleat!" I yell.

"What's a cleat?" he says. Okay. The problem is becoming clear to me.

"It's that thing the line--the rope--by your foot is tied to. Remove that rope, and then cleat this one on."

"Okay," says he. He removes the dock line just fine, but clearly doesn't know what to do with the tow line we've tossed him.

"Bring it in through the hole in the base, wrap it around the base once, then figure 8 it over both horns until you run out of cleat or line." I say. I didn't want to get too complicated.

He does so, and we pull out, beginning to tow. Their boat swings wide and crabs behind us.

"You still need to steer!" I yell back to him. "Steer like you're just going slowly behind us."

"Okay!" he yells. "Thanks for doing this!" I set our speed to 3 knots, which is about as fast as I'd want to be hit by him, and set off towards the fuel dock which happened to be the direction we were going anyway.

"Sure thing. What happened?"

"We ran out of gas" says he. "I'm not sure how, I put $150 in before we went ocean fishing outside of San Diego Bay." He possessed some kind of certainty that $150 worth of gas should be sufficient to solve any sort of speed x distance solution for any boat.

"You're lucky you didm't run out of gas out in the Ocean!" yells my wife.

"Yeah, I guess so." he says.

"That's why I sail." I say, to which he laughed.

We towed them across towards the fuel dock, and fortuitously a sailboat left just as we were coming to it.

"Uncleat the dock line all but the last loop around the horn and hold it. Have your buddy steer towards the dock as if you are under power. We will pass by, and when you're certain you're in good position, unloop the towline and throw it off. If you don't get good position, just steer back out and we will bring you back around for a second pass!" I yell to him.

We pass by the dock about 5' away, he tosses off the dock line as they come along side and with the fuel dock attendants they get tied off.

"What are you guys, professionals? That was way simpler than when the Sea Tow guys come in" yells the fuel dock attendant as we pass.

That last bit made me feel kind of good. Probably it was just simpler because I didn't have to stop to get my $50. Waved to them and proceeded to our slip.

[dlandersson]

Yeah, on the radio (I was chillin' - no wind for a bit) I heard a conversation between the coast guard and someone in trouble "accross from the Hancock Tower, Chicago, in Lake Michigan. Coast Guard kept asking the person if they had any kind of tow service. The person either could not or would not understand.

Wind came up and I busy - have no idea what finally happened.

[beene]

50 bucks....

All the times I have towed Highlanders butt around. ... never offered me 50 bucks....

http://youtu.be/3qmnJLh2Lrc

[Russ]

Good deed.

The guy needs some boating education. He will be in trouble again.

[Highlander]

50 bucks....

All the times I have towed Highlanders butt around. ... never offered me 50 bucks....

http://youtu.be/3qmnJLh2Lrc

Well hoping that my eng. issues r finally over after problems two seasons in a row , Bye the way G that nice seafood dinner & bottle of wine I prepared was worth a lot more than $50.

J
I,d be doing a lot of paddling before I.d pay anyone $50. , unless I was in danger of damaging my boat

[Phil M]

Interesting story, for sure. $300 for a commercial tow, eh?

[Bob McLellan]

It is something like $100 to $120 for one year of SeaTow service but, yeah, $300 if you are not a member. Paid it once when the engine in our power boat went kaput coming out from Shelter Island SD and the tide was taking us out to sea. Thank goodness for a good anchor and lots of line. We were talking to the coast guard about coming for us, but they came on line with an announcement that it was 6 pm and they were going home! that's it: right in the middle . . . and they went home. I didn't know they were union. But they did call my wife back in Arizona so she could worry. Anyway, I switched channels and got SeaTow.

[wccorder]

Sounds like someone need the USPS's basic boating course!!!! I would be happy to let him fly me out there to teach the class

[topcat0399]

50 bucks....

All the times I have towed Highlanders butt around. ... never offered me 50 bucks....

http://youtu.be/3qmnJLh2Lrc

Well hoping that my eng. issues r finally over after problems two seasons in a row , Bye the way G that nice seafood dinner & bottle of wine I prepared was worth a lot more than $50.

J
I,d be doing a lot of paddling before I.d pay anyone $50. , unless I was in danger of damaging my boat

Ha ha ha ha...

A humbling reminder that even those of us that put endless thought into this way of life can sometimes end up needing a helping hand.
I'd be willing to bet that Highlander HAS paddles aboard, as do we, and I'm with him...I'd do a hull of a lot of paddling before I ever get to the point of sending up a flare under any circumstances.

[Crikey]

Ha Ha! Always a pleasure for a stickboater to bail out a stinkpotter!

[Divecoz]

HUmmm BOB.... JSYK The Coast Guard is NOT a tow service... they will rescue you...... but they dont tow.. the work 24/7 /365 so I am wondering what your talking about..???

It is something like $100 to $120 for one year of SeaTow service but, yeah, $300 if you are not a member. Paid it once when the engine in our power boat went kaput coming out from Shelter Island SD and the tide was taking us out to sea. Thank goodness for a good anchor and lots of line. We were talking to the coast guard about coming for us, but they came on line with an announcement that it was 6 pm and they were going home! that's it: right in the middle . . . and they went home. I didn't know they were union. But they did call my wife back in Arizona so she could worry. Anyway, I switched channels and got SeaTow.

[RobertB]

Most boat insurance policies cover towing. Check yours and don't sweat working a claim. I have a lot more than $300 invested. If I need a tow, I will gladly pay - and then get reimbursed.

[mastreb]

HUmmm BOB.... JSYK The Coast Guard is NOT a tow service... they will rescue you...... but they dont tow.. the work 24/7 /365 so I am wondering what your talking about..???

It is something like $100 to $120 for one year of SeaTow service but, yeah, $300 if you are not a member. Paid it once when the engine in our power boat went kaput coming out from Shelter Island SD and the tide was taking us out to sea. Thank goodness for a good anchor and lots of line. We were talking to the coast guard about coming for us, but they came on line with an announcement that it was 6 pm and they were going home! that's it: right in the middle . . . and they went home. I didn't know they were union. But they did call my wife back in Arizona so she could worry. Anyway, I switched channels and got SeaTow.

They will actually tow you from the ocean... to five miles out. Then they disconnect and hand you over to the tow service of your choice, just so you'll have to pay commercial rates.

Just read an article where they did exactly this--towed a boat from 100 miles out to the coastal shelf, and then required the crew to call a commercial tow service to go in. Partly they don't want to try to deal with fuel docks, marinas, etc. with their big cutters, but mostly its so people don't try to treat them as a tow service.

The reason the crew called USCG? "Exhaustion". They had weathered a gale, boat was found to be completely operational by the Coast Guard. Husband and wife crew.

I guess I don't understand how that's a reason to call for help, when the boat is sound, there's no risk of collision, and the gale is past its peak.

[seahouse]

I've given tows a half dozen times or so in my life (not with the Mac yet, though), including a kite surfer once when the wind died, been offered money and never accepted either.

Of course, my reason for not accepting is totally selfish- I'm hoping that if I ever do need a tow (fingers crossed) someone like us will be around and it won't cost $300.

I used to carry a spare 2 gallons in a gas can on previous boats that I gave out once too, but it's not convenient to carry one on a Mac. There are a lot of older boats around here, so breakdowns are common too, especially at the start of the season. There is usually traffic within radio call distance, and most people are willing to respond even before a radio call becomes necessary.

A couple of times each year the Coast Guard, Police, or Border Patrol has to rescue someone who had trouble too close to Niagara Falls. Yikes!

-B.

[Catigale]

Tow from lower rapids to lakeOntario...free. Current runs 12 knots in middle.

Tow from upper rapids, priceless. 170 foot drop into rocks, not recommended.