Cape on-the-water tow company adds locations
Last year, when marine fuel prices surpassed the $5-per gallon mark, many boaters left their vessels in the slip or at home in the garage. Now, although again on the rise, fuel is more affordable and recreation boaters have again taken to local waterways.
More boats on the water means more potential for mechanical problems and, TowBoatU.S. Cape Coral, an on-the-water towing company that offers recreational boaters assistance day or night, has added two new operating locations. Company owners Capt. Richard Paul and Capt. Jay McMillin have opened TowBoatU.S. Ft. Myers, located at City Yacht Basin, and TowBoatU.S. Ft. Myers Beach, located in Siesta Isles. The U.S. Coast Guard-licensed captains say the two new ports will decrease response times for boaters seeking non-emergency help on the Caloosahatchee River east of Ft. Myers and near Bonita Springs. Battery jump starts, fuel drop offs, ungrounding services and tows back to a launch ramp are common requests.
Most breakdowns are just mechanical failures, McMillin said, sometimes resulting from basic wear and tear and sometimes stemming from under use.
“If you’re not using the boat, you’re not going to know that something is wearing out,” he said.
The increase in recreational boaters over the same time last year has kept McMillin and Paul much busier, so far, than 2008, but the too captains take nothing for granted.
“You never know when you are going to get a call. You can’t look back at the same day last year and say ‘this is what we are going to do this year,'” McMillin said.
AllTowBoatU.S vessels have the shallow drafts necessary for plying the region’s skinny waters, McMillan said, and carry a full complement of towing and salvage equipment including extra fuel, engine fluids, pumps, dive gear and a battery “jump pack” to handle dead batteries. They can be identified by their distinctive red hulls, white bow stripes and “TowBoatU.S.” lettering along their sides.
The company’s service area includes from Redfish Pass south to Wiggins Pass, and the Caloosahatchee Waterway all the way up to Moore Haven on Lake Okeechobee. Offshore the company offers a 75-mile “extended” service area in the Gulf.
Paul and McMillin first met over two decades ago while working as store managers at Publix before retiring and purchasing TowBoatUS Cape Coral in 2005. McMillin has been in the Cape Coral/Ft. Myers area since 1960. Paul grew up in the Lakeland/Winter Haven area and learned to fish as a child while living on Little Gasparilla Island. Both had extensive boating experience before going into business together and are certified scuba divers.
McMillin said the region sees many transient boaters who are unfamiliar with local waters, which sometimes leads to trouble. “It’s very shallow around here, but the good news is the bottom is sand so we can usually get them on their way with a gentle pull,” he said. “But sometimes, things get crazy, Mother’s Day was a zoo.”
In general, McMillin said, boaters are safe and responsible, but he does recommend that everyone take a boater safety course either through the Cape Coral Power Squadron or the Coast Guard Auxiliary .
Boaters in need of towing assistance can reach all three ports by calling the company directly at (239) 945-1664, by VHF radio on channel 16; or through the BoatU.S. toll-free Dispatch Service at (800) 391-4869.