Tow Serves as AAA for Boaters
By William H. Sokolic - Courier-Post Staff

SEA ISLE CITY - For Charles Conroy, the perfect day is spent on his fishing boat out at sea.

But last summer, at the end of a daylong expedition for tuna in an area known as Hot Dog, some 60 miles off Ocean City, Md., a friend pushed the wrong button and his 26-foot boat went into a hard spin. The hydraulic line snapped. ``The engines locked up and all I could do is go in a circle,'' said Conroy, of Glassboro.

Enter Sea Tow, a nationwide organization of captains who assist boaters. ``It's like AAA on the water,'' said Conroy, who owns paint stores in Somerdale, Westmont and Wayne, Pa. A Sea Tow vessel eventually towed Conroy's stricken boat back to the docks in Sea Isle City. ``There's no way I would not have Sea Tow. There's too many variables on the water. You can't prepare for all of them no matter how hard you try,'' said the long-time member, one of 4,500 under Capt. Phil Risko, who covers Cape May and Cumberland County, one of four New Jersey Sea Tow franchisees.

Founded in 1983, Sea Tow has more than 450 Coast Guard- licensed captains on call around the clock. An annual fee of $95 buys a boater free towing anywhere anytime. Sea Tow handles non-emergency calls, leaving the Coast Guard to help boaters facing dangerous conditions such as fires or taking on water, or those with health concerns.

Commercial towing rates can run as high as $175 an hour. And if a boater is 60 miles out and the seas are rough, the costs can rise sharply. Without Sea Tow, Conroy could have faced a $1,500 bill.

``Unfortunately, those who are not members get expensive bills. The average tow is $360, based on an hourly rate of $ 150 an hour,'' said John McLaughlin, captain of the 4,000- member Sea Tow franchise in Atlantic County.

Risko, whose eight boats cover the Delaware Bay and along the Maurice River, said the busy season runs from June through October. ``In the fall, we're busy with striped bass fishing,'' he said.

With vessels as large as 50 feet, Sea Tow will take on any boat 65 feet and less, Risko said. Sometimes the job requires more than one boat. Sea Tow also brings fuel and untangles propellers from nets and other flotsam.

Captains offer navigational assistance such as sandbar locations and even recommend dockside restaurants. They also help with oil spill cleanups and other emergencies on the water unrelated to pleasure boating.

A 50-foot boat, one of 10 of various sizes in McLaughlin' s fleet, worked near the World Trade Center shuttling people from Jersey City to Manhattan after the terrorist attacks on Sept 11. McLaughlin also participated in the sinking of discarded boats at the Atlantic City reef site, some 10 miles off Absecon Inlet.

Sea Tow vessels pull airplanes from the water and boats off sandbars. More than 60 percent of the calls involve engine failure of some type. Others result from human error, like failure to pay attention to weather or the gas gauge.

``People in a hurry, who have to be at a certain marina at a certain time, often get jammed up,'' McLaughlin said.

Norman Lepow of Cherry Hill hasn't used Sea Tow since he ran out of gas in Absecon Inlet in the early 1990s. But he still plunks down his annual fee. An executive with Aluminum Shapes in Pennsauken, Lepow owns a 27-foot boat that he and his wife, Judith, use for fishing trips in the bay and up to 20 miles out in the ocean.

``It's the best investment you can make. When you're out on the water, AAA can't come and get you,'' he said. ``I like the security and safety of having a backup when something goes wrong on your boat, knowing you have a capable and prompt response.

FROM: Courier Post 10/01/02