Tow BoatUS Opens Two Ports in Bahamas
Marsh Harbour and West End mark first TowBoatUS coverage
Posted Thursday, August 10, 2006
New Ports are Additions for TowBoatU.S. Port Canaveral
TowBoatU.S., the United States' largest on-the-water towing service for recreational boaters, has made landfall in the Bahamas with the opening of TowBoatU.S. Marsh Harbor in the Abacos and TowBoatU.S. West End on Grand Bahama Island. The two ports are an expansion of TowBoatU.S. Port Canaveral, FL, owned by Capt. Jess Cooley. While TowBoatU.S. Ft. Lauderdale and TowBoatU.S. Palm Beach will continue to provide service to parts of the Bahamas, the two new ports represent the first full-time, 24-hour a day presence in the archipelago known for its great fishing and cruising grounds. "We're elated to now have a Bahamian service for boaters who can be serviced or repaired locally," said Jerry Cardarelli, vice president of BoatU.S. Towing Services.
TowBoatU.S. Marsh Harbor is located adjacent to Rainbow Rentals and Marine while TowBoatU.S. West End is located at the Harbour Hotel & Marina. A 25-foot Steiger Craft pilothouse operated by Wayde and Tracey Collins is stationed in Marsh Harbor while Kendall Nottage runs a 30-foot Curtis Bay - a former USCG rescue vessel - at West End. Both vessels can be identified by their distinctive red hulls, white bow stripes and "TowBoatU.S." lettering along their sides. Each response boat has a full complement of towing and salvage equipment including extra fuel, pumps, airbags and battery "jump packs" to handle every breakdown from running out of fuel to running aground.
"By positioning our vessels in the Bahamas we greatly reduce response times," said Capt. Cooley. "This region sees a lot of transient cruisers, and tournaments bring in the big sportfishing crowd, but there is also a good quantity of local boats that could use our assistance on occasion," he added. Cooley says many cruisers are unfamiliar with local waters and sometimes get into trouble running aground in the island chain's shallows. "That's where we can help. You won't have to guess how you're going to get some help in getting off the bottom, jump your battery or get a few extra gallons of gas. These are some pretty isolated areas and we can get you back to repair facility if need be," he added.
Boaters in need of towing assistance can reach either port 24-hours a day, seven days a week by VHF radio on channel 16, or they can call TowBoatU.S. Marsh Harbor at 242-367-4602 or 242-357-6851 and TowBoatU.S. West End at 254-543-3925 or 242-441-5518. BoatU.S. toll-free Dispatch Service can also be called at 800-391-4869.
Like an auto club, BoatU.S. offers on-the-water assistance plans starting at around $37 a year. Without a towing plan, boaters face costs that nationally average about $600 per incident. Boaters can call 800-888-4869 or visit http://www.BoatUS.com/Towing for more information.
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