“

L

POWERLESS

A

s the 24-foot cruiser drifted

closer to the sandbar along the

beach, Hughes and Kendrick

took dif erent approaches to the dis-

tressed vessel. Hughes, more experi-

enced with the local waters, ran outside

the bar and tried to approach them from

behind. Kendrick approached from

inside the bar, hoping to fi nd a way to

get close.

“The boat was in no-man’s land,” re-

calls Hughes. “I was trying to fi gure out

how to get to them without being stuck

in the same situation.”

Just then, a set of three breakers

rolled in and hit the boat hard to star-

board. Overwhelmed, the boat quickly

started going down. The whole family,

wearing their life jackets, jumped in the

water. Fortunately, the outgoing current

swept them over to Hughes, who quickly

pulled the girls into the boat before help-

ing the parents over the transom. Within

minutes, only the bow of the boat re-

mained above water as Kendrick circled

the debris fi eld to salvage the family’s

personal possessions.

Hughes ran the family to a local fi re-

department boat. The crew rushed them

to shore and checked them over; all were

unharmed by the incident.

“The Shallotte Inlet is notorious be-

cause its sandbars are always shifting,”

says Hughes. “Unfortunately, we see a

lot of this here.”

This story had a happy ending,

largely due to the family’s actions. “They

all had on life jackets. The dad made

a mayday call over the radio, not the

phone, and gave his exact coordinates

from the GPS,” says Hughes. “The only

other thing he could have done was drop

the anchor, but it happened so quickly,

he didn’t have time.”

LEAP OF FAITH

O

n a fall day on Shelter Island

Sound, Long Island, New York, a

crew of six were running across

the bay in a 37-foot go-fast boat when

the driver suddenly lost control, ejecting

himself and his fi ve passengers into the

water. He was not wearing his kill switch,

and the boat kept running in circles

at a speed just over 20 knots. Capt. Bill

Barker, owner of Sea Tow Eastern Long

Island, headed toward the runaway ves-

sel, accompanied by Capt. Garrett Moore.

When the two arrived on scene, the

six boaters had been safely removed

from the water, but the boat still spun

dangerously out of control right of the

busy waterfront of Greenport, with no

signs of stopping. Barker, a 100-ton Mas-

ter and Sea Tow’s fi rst franchise owner,

deftly matched the speed and course of

the runaway go-fast and pulled up along-

side it. Moore, in a daring move, jumped

from Barker’s Sea Tow vessel into the

cockpit of the runaway boat and suc-

cessfully killed the engines, preventing

it from causing a serious accident.

The U.S. Coast Guard recognized the

two captains with Meritorious Public

PHOTOS: (FROM TOP) COURTESY WEST MARINE, COURTESY GARMIN

THE BOAT WAS IN

NOMAN’S LAND. I WAS

TRYING TO FIGURE

OUT HOW TO GET TO

THEM WITHOUT BEING

STUCK IN THE SAME

SITUATION.”

Last June, Capt. Clay Hughes and his colleague Capt. Kendrick Schwartz

were launching a boat from a nearby ramp when Hughes, the owner of

Sea Tow Ocean Isle in North Carolina, got a call from his dispatcher. She’d

heard a mayday call over VHF Channel 16 from a boat in distress near the

notoriously treacherous Shallotte Inlet. Acting quickly, Hughes jumped

into the boat while Schwartz jumped into a second Sea Tow vessel on

hand, and the two raced toward the boat in trouble. As they approached

the scene, Hughes observed a powerless 24-foot cruiser adrift near a sand-

bar, the waves pushing it closer and closer to danger. A couple with their

two young daughters, ages 4 and 5, remained on board as the boat took on

water. Hughes and Kendrick had to act fast before the situation spiraled

out of control.

What, you thought being a Sea Tow captain was just about bringing

you gas or providing a tow? Sometimes they have to save lives too. Here

are fi ve stories of Sea Tow captains who went beyond the typical job

description, braving rough seas and tough situations to help boaters in

danger. Read how they saved the day and what we can all learn from

each experience.

SEAMANSHIP LESSON

Always wear your safety-stop lanyard

(kill switch) at the helm.

SEAMANSHIP

LESSON

Always bring a GPS

and know how to

use it so you can

provide would-be

rescuers with your

coordinates.

90 | BOATINGMAG.COM | MAY 2018