Who you gonna call?

As we have discussed in the past, there are lots of ways to enjoy yourself on the water and also many ways to get into trouble. Hopefully you have taken a safe boating course and received a NASBLA or state approved certificate. But who do you call when you get in trouble? Your VHF radio should be your first line of defense. Use your VHF radio on channel 16 to contact a commercial salvage or towing agency such as Tow BoatUS or Sea Tow. You will be instructed by the tow boat captain to switch to a working channel (whatever channel he uses on his radio). Be sure you give the captain detailed information on your position, nature of problem and any other circumstances you feel relevant. Make sure you ask upon his/her arrival whether this is a tow or salvage. Your insurance policy will usually provide for a “light” grounding or breakdown. Salvage is any voluntary and successful rescue of a boat, its cargo and/or its passengers from a peril at sea, is usually very expensive and can cost you a high percentage of the value of your boat.

If you do not have towing insurance, you can call the Coast Guard on 16 and they will put out a Marine Assistance Radio Broadcast or MARB. On occasion, a Coast Guard Auxiliary unit (if available) will be authorized to provide a tow depending on the conditions.  Unfortunately, I have read dozens of articles by angry boaters who feel they can bad mouth the Coast Guard because they couldn’t get a tow after they ran out of fuel or became stuck on a sand bar. The Coast Guard is not a towing or salvage service, they are in the business of protecting our shores and saving lives. If you are in a life threatening situation, you can bet your next boat payment they will be there, but if they set off the SAR alarm every time someone called with a dead battery or overheated engine, there would be no resources available for real emergencies. Boating is an expensive hobby indeed but get the towing insurance, it’s relatively cheap and is well worth it.

Categories: Captain John's Log