# This should answer the "How Far Out" question



## [email protected] (Feb 11, 2009)

I received this letter from a very satisfied customer today. Keep in mind as you read this that the weather was perfect for this job. When you plan your trips this far offshore make sure you have enough supplies like food and water because should something happen it will take some time to get on scene with you. I contacted the USCG on my way out and they did not have a resource that could get on scene faster than us. I would also like to point out that we do not go this far offshore for Non-members because there is no way to secure payment. I was very surprised that I was able to communicate to my office while on scene 112 miles out on VHF 16. 

Capt John Ward
Sea Tow Destin/Pensacola/Orange Beach
850-492-5070

www.seatow.com



March 17, 2014


Sea Tow Services International, Inc
700 Hummel Ave
PO Box 1178
Southold, NJ 11971


To All You Outstanding People At SeaTow:

On Monday morning, March10, at 1:00am, we left Orange Beach, Alabama in my 33 Grady-White Express with twin Yamah 350’s to fish for Yellowfin tuna. We had 5 adult men onboard and thought we might end up at an oil rig by the name of Blind Faith located about 120nm from Orange Beach. After a great day of fishing we headed back, but at 2:00pm the engines quit and we were about 112nm from Orange Beach. With my sat phone I called SeaTow, even though we thought we were possibly too far out to have you respond. After talking with Capt. John Ward, owner of Pensacola SeaTow, he assured me they would be on their way as soon as he loaded fuel and that it would take about seven hours to reach us. At about 9:00pm SeaTow arrived with a very positive, helpful, and professional attitude. We put 100 gallons of fuel in my boat, knowing that it would not get us to shore, and Capt. John assured us he would be following and would tow us when we ran out of gas. About 30nm out we were dead in the water again and Capt. John and his assistant towed us to SanRoc Cay Marina where I discovered that my auxiliary tank, which holds almost 160 gallons, had failed to work due to a faulty check valve or fuel selector valve....it was completely full! 

Because I am a SeaTow member, and have been since 2003, my only financial obligation was for the 100 gallons of fuel. Folks I can’t begin to tell you how much that membership paid off and it was the first time that I had ever called SeaTow. To all boat owners, small and large, if you aren’t a member you should be. To Capt. John and his entire professional crew, thank you for being there. You were a godsend. 


Sincerely,

Joseph S Black

P.S. This was by far the longest run ever made by Pensacola SeaTow and probably one of the 
longest ever made by SeaTow period.


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## hjorgan (Sep 30, 2007)

Awesome!!! Hats off to SeaTow, BoatUS and all the folks who sacrifice their time and safety to help us get back.


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## Kim (Aug 5, 2008)

Bravo Zulu to Sea Tow!


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## JoeyWelch (Sep 25, 2009)

Capt John You are the man!!!

Say's a lot more about the person than the buisness. Karma.

I am riverbound at the moment and will be for the next couple years but I'll continue to pay my Seatow membership even though I won't use it until I get my next offshore boat. Hope I don't need it then either.


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## Bean Counter (Nov 15, 2010)

That answers the question I have always had. Will be signing up as soon as I can, before we head out again.


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## sealark (Sep 27, 2007)

Wow great ending and another great job from the towing business. With that said I can't help thinking that a better understanding of the boats fuel system would have had a different ending. Just knowing that all the fuel wasn't used from the miles traveled would have put my mind to figuring something out. I am just thinking on the keyboard so I don't need any comments on me bashing someone. Maybe just think about what I am saying that a better knowledge of a 33 ft boat hundreds of mile offshore with a stuck check valve.


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## murfpcola (Aug 28, 2012)

Wow, that is a heck of a run!! Sounds like great customer service to me!


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## 08everglades (Jun 28, 2013)

Last year we ran our of Weeks Bay, headed for snapper with a crew of young kids. We broke down half way to the mouth of the bay. SeaTow was there in a very short amount of time. I do not plan to boat without a membership. One of those "insurance policies" that are worth their weight in gold when you need them. Thanks for your help guys!


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## TOBO (Oct 3, 2007)

Next time just take sealark. Problem solved.


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## purple haze (Sep 2, 2013)

*Great Job! Capt John*

Capt John You went way above what was required of you and your crew:notworthy:. We will try our best to make it back in on our own power but it is a comfort to know "you will come if needed" :thumbup:.


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## Five Prongs Of Fury (Apr 15, 2008)

purple haze said:


> Capt John You went way above what was required of you and your crew:notworthy:. We will try our best to make it back in on our own power but it is a comfort to know "you will come if needed" :thumbup:.


I agree with this. Its nice to know you've got a safety net if you need it.:yes: I didn't realize they would run that far, even for members.


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## tbaxl (Mar 13, 2013)

sealark said:


> Wow great ending and another great job from the towing business. With that said I can't help thinking that a better understanding of the boats fuel system would have had a different ending. Just knowing that all the fuel wasn't used from the miles traveled would have put my mind to figuring something out. I am just thinking on the keyboard so I don't need any comments on me bashing someone. Maybe just think about what I am saying that a better knowledge of a 33 ft boat hundreds of mile offshore with a stuck check valve.



This is correct, know your boat and be prepared to trouble shoot the systems. Before finishing the letter my first thought was how could you go that far and not keep an eye on gas. Well turns out he had enough just did not think to check and but if he had could/would he have a solution to remedy the problem. Way offshore is not the place to just be sitting around waiting. As for John and Sea Tow he put my mind at rest the first time I talked to him, I hope I never need him but I like having him in my corner.


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## X-Shark (Oct 3, 2007)

Well done Guys....Renewed my membership last week. Saw ya on the water yesterday afternoon with the smaller boat you did the bottom paint on right in front of the shop in passing.



> stuck check valve.


These are known problems with boats. My Parker had one removed and one still in the other tank which was removed last year.

I just removed the 2 in my buddies boat the other day. One was stuck OPEN and the other was stuck SHUT as this boat in the story was.


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## jmunoz (Jan 11, 2012)

That's good on yall sea tow awesome story. Here's what im thinking though before you make a trip of this distance aren't you adding all the number together say ok we are Going X amount of miles so we need X amount of fuel. it just don't make sense to me he should of know that the fuel was still there and something isn't working right. Not trying to derail I'm just saying I agree with sealark do a little math. I put 300 gallons of gas in, boat burns 1gpm, we have been 150 miles therefor we should still have around 150 gallons of gas left so what's Going on. 

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk


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## gator7_5 (Oct 4, 2007)

My good friends 27 Grady has had issues with his reserve tank being full and inaccessible. It too caused us to get towed in on one occasion. Wonder if its an issue Grady needs to look into..


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## swhiting (Oct 4, 2007)

This is the ONLY insurance I don't complain about.


.......................


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## Waste-N-Away (May 20, 2009)

that great, good on you John.

IMO if you have an offshore boat it is absolutely stupid to go out with out towing insurance, its no different than going without lifejackets to me. while im not a sea-tow member i have been a Tow Boat US member for 20+years, i haven't had to use it but a few times, but those 3 or 4 times probably saved me from doing something stupid that would have cost me my boat or worse someones life, trying to remedy the problem. not to mention the 15-30k it saved my wallet. It's not a question of if your going to need it its when, if you spend enough time out on the water it will happen dont be dumb over a few hundred bucks a year...


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## MathGeek (Mar 31, 2012)

I've never been out of state waters, but if they had a SeaTow in SW Louisiana, I would surely be a member.


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## Fielro (Jun 4, 2012)

Kudos to sea tow & Capt John


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## JVT (Jun 5, 2009)

This is why I am a SeaTow member. 

And I draw from both my tanks simultaneously on my 25' Grady, especially since reserve is further aft.


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## panhandleslim (Jan 11, 2013)

tbaxl said:


> This is correct, know your boat and be prepared to trouble shoot the systems. Before finishing the letter my first thought was how could you go that far and not keep an eye on gas. Well turns out he had enough just did not think to check and but if he had could/would he have a solution to remedy the problem. Way offshore is not the place to just be sitting around waiting. As for John and Sea Tow he put my mind at rest the first time I talked to him, I hope I never need him but I like having him in my corner.


The way the old GWs used to work was that when the main tank was exhausted or nearly, you had to manually switch to the Aux. To check the fuel in the Aux. you could flip a console toggle that went back and forth between tanks giving indication of only one tank fuel level at a time. Stupid system. I would have thought they would have changed it by now but maybe not. Anyway, access to the tanks is convenient but if there is a fighting chair involved, it has to be out of the way and the screwed access plate removed. 

At any rate, I basically have to agree with you but lots of people don't take the time to understand their systems. The one that failed was pretty simple, compared to a lot of things that could have gone wrong. The old GWs also used to have the filler caps on the same side of the boat. There may have been a simple way to transfer fuel...don't know. 

The issue is this. 112 miles out, cold water and maybe someone in this crew starts voicing panic. LOUDLY. In order to placate, they make the call. Now, you have a minimum of 4-6 hours to solve on your own. Inexperienced mechanics can turn a simple fuel problem into a very complicated fire problem. 

Ended with a good result. Everybody got home to their families and Sea Tow went above and beyond to make sure it happened. Don't know much about Boat US or any other companies but I can tell you that Capt. Ward is about as solid as they come.


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## Bill Me (Oct 5, 2007)

I have paid sea tow for close to twenty years (maybe boat us some years in the old days ) and never needed a tow. A great investment I will continue to make. I fish 100+ offshore multiple times a year and am glad to know if I get in trouble sea tow will be there for me. That said, I hope I only see them at boat shows.


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## SteveFL (Aug 2, 2010)

Excellent post Capt John and kudos for going the "multiple" extra miles! I'll be back to Sea Tow at renewal. I had always wondered just how far you guys would really go and as you've noted, that question is no longer a question.


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## [email protected] (Feb 11, 2009)

Thanks for the feedback, my staff and I really appreciate it. One other thing that wasn't mentioned that I was really surprised to find out was that I could talk to my office on the VHF radio that far out. Having our base station antenna 350' tall really paid off for a job like this. That doesn't mean it will always work that well though, I think we had a very good skip off the clouds that night. If you find yourself offshore and you try to hail our office on VHF 16 and you are having trouble reaching us, please try to get in touch with anyone out there, maybe they will be close enough to shore they can relay your information to us and we can get some assistance to you. 

Capt John Ward
Sea Tow Destin/Pensacola/Orange Beach
850-492-5070

www.seatow.com


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## sealark (Sep 27, 2007)

I have had towing service for around 10 years never used it hope i never will because if i did i would feel i failed and the ocean defeated or outsmarted my 60 years at sea. But i wouldn't hesitate to call and say hey come get me i'm whipped earn you fees. Good night......... 

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk


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## Candy (Jan 6, 2008)

If you have a boat, it will break down. Murphys law.

If you have Sea Tow with Capt. John Ward, I can tell you from personal experience, you don't have to worry. You will get back to your dock.

Towing insurance is a must and Sea Tow is the best you can get around here. Fast, friendly and professional.


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## Rickpcfl (Nov 12, 2013)

I don't usually like to read the posts from businesses that are promoting their service. But I really appreciate this one. 

It would have been easy for Seatow to inform the boat that they don't provide service out that far under their membership. Or even to try to charge more for going that far since they would lose money on gas and time. However, they loaded up and headed out and did what they do.

That is top-notch service and a story I'm glad to read about.

I think that this is going to give reassurance to a lot of the guys who do go far offshore. 

Thank you for sharing.


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## dockmaster (Sep 27, 2007)

Not to take anything away from the OP, but one thing to think about though as Capt. John put in his first sentence.....the weather and sea conditions were perfect. What would have been plan B for the boater or Sea Tow had the conditions been worse? 
Great job though...probably calling today to get my plan!


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## [email protected] (Feb 11, 2009)

dockmaster said:


> Not to take anything away from the OP, but one thing to think about though as Capt. John put in his first sentence.....the weather and sea conditions were perfect. What would have been plan B for the boater or Sea Tow had the conditions been worse?
> Great job though...probably calling today to get my plan!




Our policy for active Sea Tow members is "We never make the call from the Dock" we always launch. In the ten years I have owned Sea Tow my staff and I have only turned around on 2 member jobs, one in Destin when a tropical storm was in the gulf, and one in Orange Beach when Perdido Pass was too rough to get out. Both of these jobs were prior to us having our 36' Twin Vee. Although we are in the business of rescuing people we only go above and beyond for our Sea Tow members. If you are that far offshore and the weather turns nasty and your in distress, if the Coast Gaurd doesn't have a resource close by, you are going to have to rely on your fellow boaters in the area or a helicopter from the Navy or the Coast Gaurd. 

Capt John Ward
Sea Tow Destin/Pensacola/Orange Beach
850-492-5070

www.seatow.com


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