Boating can be an inherently dangerous sport as we all know. Sometimes, we are placed in situations where somebody else needs help – form someone knowledgeable. The question is, would you be able to help? Here’s what I did two weeks ago when somebody else needed help and nobody else around had the skills and / or resources needed to help the person in a timely manner.

My father always taught me to do the right thing when somebody else was in trouble. (I've taught my son the same thing.) The other day, I was coming back from our Boat Storage Yard in the marina pickup truck and saw something odd out on Canandaigua Lake near City Pier. When I got closer, it appeared to be a capsized sailboat. I drove past the marina and out onto the pier and saw that there was a man clinging to the 16’ sailboat and all sorts of people waving and yelling on the pier. The water and the air were about 50 degrees and the winds were 20-25 MPH, so this wasn't good.

I rushed back to the marina, grabbed the 23’ Center Counsel service boat with a Mercury 200 outboard and hauled ass out the channel. (I always wanted to do that.) I could hear sirens as I came around the pier and saw the Canandaigua Fire Department and Police were just getting there. I pulled up beside the boat and pulled the soaking wet guy into the service boat, then took him to a waiting ambulance on the pier. I asked for a volunteer to help me get the boat righted and a CPD Detective hopped in. We went back out to the overturned boat and I explained how we were going to right it without getting wet or hurt. (He had no idea what to do.) I moved the service boat so we could approach from upwind and we righted it with very little difficulty - except that the sails were still up. So I showed him how to hold position in the service boat and I climbed into the sailboat. I dropped both sails and secured everything. We then towed the boat back to the Public Launch Ramp and left it for the owner. The only bad part was that the owner told me he had tossed the anchor out to hold the boat in position. He did alright. Tying one end to the sailboat would have been a nice touch.

The detective stopped at the marina later and told the owners that I'd saved the guy's life. (I don't think it was quite that big.) He also thanked the marina for helping out since the nearest police boat would have taken 25 minutes to get manned and respond due to the time of year. So it was a good public relations day for the marina too. The guy stopped in about an hour later with his boat safely on the trailer and thanked me for helping him out. Yea, that felt pretty good.

So, would you do the same thing? I hope so.

Tom

Nice story, I have never done anything of that level but if it looks like someone needs help, stalled, or even just a hand at the dock, etc. I always offer, you never know when you might be on the other side of that coin, and we all know Lady Karma can be a B****

I've always thought that boaters had a responsibility to help others in trouble on the water.

In the summer of 2012 I was cruising along the center of a fairly narrow part of my lake when I saw a couple of little dots bobbing in the water in front of me. It was a woman and a child. I stopped to see what was going on and protect them from the boat traffic. The woman was pretty frantic and started pointing upstream. There was an empty jet ski a couple hundred yards up with a guy swimming after it. After a couple seconds it was obvious the ski was being blown faster than the guy could swim and it was going to hit the rocks. I hauled the lady and her kid aboard and took off after it. My buddy got up on the deck and dove after the ski while I tossed the guy a line and pulled him up on the swim platform. He seemed pretty embarrassed and his lady was beyond pissed. In fact I don't even remember him saying thanks, but at least I logged some good lake karma that day.

Never done anything on that level. In the boating world, I was coming in from a lazy cruise with a buddy 3 summers ago in my then Chaparral. Just an old 24ft 350sbc boat. Saw a388 Slingshot with the engine hatch up and thought "hell I should at least check". Turns out he had lost power steering and was stuck. He made a call while I waited around and it turned out he needed a tow. Pulled him about 3mi to his marina. That was Oneida lake. met some good guys through that afternoon. Prayer all 3mi that my alpha1 wouldn't blow to bits

Do you work at Seager?

Well I have never done anything quite as heroic as Too Stroked but I have towed in to dock my share of broken down boats in my day. But that's just what you are supposed to do! Right?? I have also had to be towed in myself a few times. But in answer to the original question, YES! I would try by best to help someone in distress. Not boating related but a few years back I witnessed an SUV traveling close to 80 MPH on I10 in front of me blow a tire and roll close to 8 times and landed upside down off the side of the road. A trucker behind me and myself stopped and helped extract the driver from the mangled vehicle. Unbelievably he had only minor injuries. While watching the vehicle roll so many times I and my passengers thought sure there would be fatalities. I guess the moral to this story is "Wear you seat belt", If he had not been wearing his I'm sure he would have been ejected and seriously hurt. Any way yes I will always try and help. I'm not one myself but I come from a long line of Firefighters. Both my Grandfather and Dad were and my Son is a Firefighter/Paramedic now. "Pay it Forward"

Nice work Tom!

I've been on both sides of that table.

I was "that guy" one time, on a PWC. I was on my PWC many years ago, young, dumb, and stupid. 70 degree day in March, but water was only 59 degrees; and I went out alone on Lake Anna in VA. I was dressed for the air, not the water; with only the top half of a wetsuit on. I blew out a baseball sized chunk in the pump cavity on the PWC, and it sank to the handlebars. I could feel the air exit my lungs as I sank into the water with the ski. I was very lucky that an older couple were out for a cruise on their bass boat. They hauled me aboard, gave me a sandwich and a blanket, AND towed my sunken ski into a marina. I would not be here had it not been for them. Bless their hearts, I never saw them at the lake again.

On behalf of your sailboat guy as a person in similar peril, I say THANK YOU, again.



A couple years ago I stumbled upon a broken down boat in the middle of the night on Smith Mountain Lake in VA; NO lights, PITCH black night, and 3 drunk/high idiots aboard. They had blown their motor; and were content with sleeping it off in the middle of the lake. They rejected my offer to call for authorities to help them in (go figure). I called them anyway. They were a navigation hazard to other boaters. We almost ran them over ourselves.

Another time, attending a Wine Festival at SML as well; came across a Fountain 29 Single that adrift in the entrance to the cove of the festival (with swift breeze blowing in; LOTS of boats anchored/beached/docked). I pulled up along side, and they had blown the drive on the boat. Crew was exasperated, as their day was looking sour. Several boats had just cruised on by them. I towed them in, got them docked, and they enjoyed the festival; worried about the boat once the weekend was over. As a result, I made a friend (boat's owner) that has since bought me more drinks than I can count, and few meals as well; and we always have a blast every time we catch up.

I'm always willing to help out when anyone needs a hand weather it's on the boat or not. I learned this from years at the race track. You always help out someone in need because you never know when you'll be that person in need.

This summer I had to help one of my buddies out. I had just arrived at our usual raft up spot, just got all tied up and popped open my first drink. I'm not even two sips in and my phone starts ringing from my buddy that was supposed to meet up with us. He was achor down out in the channel with a dead engine. I untied and headed over to where he was and towed him about a mile back to the dock in some pretty good chop. Helped him load his boat up on the trailer then we all headed out on my boat for the day. Well, it turns out that karma was instant that day because we were pulling back in to the bay to raft up again my steering locked up tighter than a frogs a$$. Some guys around us lent me some tools but we could not get it fixed. Luckly the drives were locked straight forward and I decided to twin stick it and steer with the dual throttles back to the slip. As I got back to my slip several people came out to help slide me in.

Times like that are a good way to meet good people too.

.

I've towed twice and been towed twice. If another boater is in distress, my fun takes a back seat. I think that's how most boaters feel. I'm also always ready and willing to lend a hand at the ramp or at the dock to anyone who looks like they need it. I think that's one of the great things about boating. There is an inherent desire to help out a fellow boater, I think.

Great story Too Stroked

No, across the street a Sutter's.