Sea Tow
 

SEA TOW HAS SAVED MY BUTT SEVERAL TIMES IN THE NEW ORLEANS AREA AND I'VE ALWAYS HAD OUTSTANDING SERVICE. THEY LITERALLY SAVED ME AND MY CHILDREN'S LIVES! I WOULD NEVER BOAT WITHOUT SEA TOW! ALTHOUGH IF WHAT YOU ARE SAYING HAPPENED IN FLA HAPPENED THAT WAY, I SYMPATHIZE, BUT SOMETHING TELLS ME THAT THERE IS MORE TO THAT STORY. i HAVE READ ALL OF THE POSTS ON THIS SUBJECT AND THERE ARE JUST TOO MANY INCONSISTINCYS TO BASH A COMPANY AS A WHOLE.

"HE WHO GO TO SLEEP WITH ITCHY HINEY WAKE UP WITH STINKY FINGER"

Why not TowBoat US????

Heres' my reason......................... :eek:

I am guessing Cajun1 is associated with Sea Tow trying to do damage control. Nice story....

I wonder if he got ROBBED by some Seatow pirates to pull that thing out:eek:

Ya think :)

another interesting thread with some info from a Towboatus operator

http://www.swordfishingcentral.com/f...ad-minute.html

here is his post

"Gentlemen:

I read with great interest your comments about salvage and towing assistance. There has been a lot of publicity over the past year about unscrupulous salvors. I am proud to say I am not one of them. Let me explain the rules under which I operate.

Many boaters don’t know the difference between towing and salvage. Towing assistance, fuel deliveries, battery jumps and soft groundings are covered under membership programs such as the BoatU.S. Towing Program. Unlimited towing coverage will get you home if your boat suffers a mechanical failure but is otherwise sound. Your insurance policy will cover you if your boat is sinking or in some other peril. That is salvage.

U.S. Courts have defined salvage as a situation where there is marine peril, the services rendered were voluntary (no pre-existing obligation to assist exists) and success, in whole or in part, by the service rendered by the salvor. They go on to say "...it is not necessary that the danger be actual or imminent; it is sufficient if, at the time assistance was rendered, the vessel was stranded so that it was subject to the potential danger of damage or destruction." On the other hand, simple towage is defined as having taken place when a tow is called for or taken by a sound vessel as a mere means of saving time, or for considerations of convenience. The hallmark of towing is the absence of peril. I think we can all agree that a boat “taking on water, losing power, GPS inoperable”, unsure if their radio is transmitting in open ocean at night shooting flares is in danger and does not qualify as a towing situation.

How we get paid for salvage service is determined is based on a long standing US Supreme Court decision called Blackwell. Items such as the degree of danger from which the vessel was rescued; post-casualty value of the vessel saved; risk to the salvors crew and equipment; promptitude, skill and energy displayed in rendering the service and others are addressed.

Someone asked why we don’t just charge by the type of job rather than the value of the boat. Let me try to explain. We buy and maintain all of the equipment necessary to respond and successfully save vessels of all sizes. We operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week which includes captains on duty and dispatchers on the radios and telephones. Put in simpler terms our equipment is like that of a fire department which might spend most of its time waiting in the garage for a call, but when it’s called, it could be a life or death situation and it must be ready to respond to all sizes and types of emergencies. It’s not like a taxi cab, charging by the mile and in use regularly picking up passengers and driving normal routes. We must make a substantial investment to assure we have the equipment and crew ready. The Coast Guard is in the business of rescuing life, not property. Boat owners and their insurers rely on professional salvors to be there whenever they need help. Payment based on what we save as defined in Blackwell is what gives professional salvors the incentive to stay in this business and the funds to properly equip and man their operations.

This is not a lucrative business. Our insurance costs, fuel costs and payroll are huge and our towing rates are controlled by the market and our licensing agreement with BoatU.S. We do this because we enjoy the adventure and helping people, and if we make a few dollars doing it, it keeps us around a little longer. By the way, I know who owns the house on the point in Lighthouse Point. It belongs to my dad. If I had his money, I’d be on an island somewhere.

I hope this clarifies some of the misconceptions of what I do. Protect yourselves from unscrupulous salvors by knowing who to call before something happens and having the proper insurance to cover your situation when it’s over.
__________________
TowBoatUS Fort Lauderdale"

Wow, saved your life? Sounds like an interesting story. If you don't mind telling it it might help another member stay out of a bad situation.

Cajun1

I am not friends of either. However the following facts seem to be true

1. Sea Town agreed to be a sponser of the Race, for this they got free publicity.

2. Sea Tow also got all the race teams to sign up for memberships.

3. Their was a designated area to tow flipped, wrecked, broken down race boats.

4. Sea Tow did not tow the boat to designated area, instead towed somewhere else, ??? WHY????

5. Sea Tow expects bill of $8,000.00 to be paid!! for what?????? Towing a boat they had agreed to do for the race??? WTF bull chit is that??

I do not believe all Sea Tow offices behave in this ruthless business practices, however this one did and now is being called out on it. Maybe SEA TOW should investigate its own franchise and see why and how the agreement was broken?

BTW Canjun1, to have any credibility please identify yourself.:ernaehrung004:

No, They were trying to rob the blow boat they were attached to when the tide went out.