Good things that boaters have done for each other?

[luckydude]

I saw the scummy thread and while I get it, I've seen it, wanted to bring it back to more positive stuff. We'll see if this gets traction.

I've done little stuff like seeing a newbie at the dock struggling to get in, all nervous, I'm behind and I shouted out "I was new pretty recently, take your time, if it takes you 45 minutes to dock, I'll wait". I could see him relax.

I've hauled a boat in that had an engine failure (stupid skiff that should not have been on the ocean).

The biggest thing had to do with me being new with a brand new Grady White, I'll spare you the price tag but it is the most I've spent other than on a house, I was terrified to do anything with that boat, so scared I'd screw up. I'd set the alarm for 4am, lie awake in bed and argue with myself why I shouldn't go out, all these imagined things that could go wrong (I always went and I'm glad I did).

Not that long after, maybe a year, so I'm more comfortable, I ran into a guy who had a Parker, new to him, nice used boat, but new to him. I went over to talk to him and somehow mentioned how completely frigging terrified I was at first and he said "I thought that was just me". And he opened up and talked to me about everything, it wasn't for me, it was for him, I just let him talk. He felt better.

I feel pretty good about having the smallest of clues and being patient with new people, helping them. Learned a lot of that here.

 

[SeanC]

Out chasing black marlin and came across a boat with a double hook-up. One fish heading off the stern the other off the bow. They called us over. They were running out of line on both fish. We transferred one angler onto our boat. Ended up tagging both fish.

 

[Halfhitch]

We towed our boat up to Sekiu, Washington on the Strait of Juan de Fuca, for halibut several years ago with our truck and camper. We had went out early and had got one fish but the wind and rain started getting nasty in the early afternoon, so we ran in (about 10 mi) and were up in the camper when there came a knock on the door. A young fella standing there in the pelting rain, says he was having trouble docking his boat next to ours in the wind and had hit our boat. He wanted me to come see the damage and was severely apologetic. I threw on a jacket and followed him down to the dock and he showed me the damage on the side up near the pulpit. The wind had caught him and shoved him into our boat as he tried to slide into the space ahead of us on the transient dock. His boat was white and oxidized from age and sun and our boat was dark blue and shiny. The transfer of gelcoat from his boat to ours did look impressive but on a close look I could see that it wasn't bad. The young guy, probably early twenties, was beside himself, telling me how sorry he was and I should take it to a shop and he would pay the bill. His boat wasn't top shelf so to speak, his truck wasn't much either and he was probably gonna put just enough gas in it Sunday night to make it to work so he could pay the rent. I pretty much knew if he had to pay a shop bill, then his wifes' grocery money would take a hit. But he loved fishing. He had made the halibut opener, docked his boat in a rainy squall, crashed into my boat and could have just walked away cause nobody was out there to see it happen. Instead he asked around at the marina all the while soaking wet and cold and then walked up the hill to our camper, about a short 1/8 of a mile to tell me what had happened. I told him not to sweat it, that I would fix it and not to worry about it. He really seemed relieved. We shook hands and I told him to show me his fish tomorrow. The scuff on my boat was a couple feet long and back home it took me about 20 minutes with some compound and it disappeared. What that young fella did for me though was considerable. What he did for me was, he reminded me that lots of people instill in their kids a sense of what's right and how to conduct themselves. I just wish I could have contacted his folks and told them what a great job they had done on that kid of theirs.

 

[Hookup1]

Scummy Things Fellow Boaters Have Done To Others... 13 replies

Good things that boaters have done for each other? 2 replies.​

???????????????

 

[luckydude]

Scummy Things Fellow Boaters Have Done To Others... 13 replies

Good things that boaters have done for each other? 2 replies.​

Give it time. I have faith in this crowd, lots of good people here. The 2 replies were more fun than all the scummy replies put together in my opinion.

 

[Mustang65fbk]

Up at our beach cabin, I had our dinghy out on the tide flats and my brother was supposed be up in an hour or so. So I went in and took a nap, thinking he'd wake me up when he got there and I'd have plenty of time to walk back out and pull the boat in. He ended up being very late, about an hour and a half later than he was supposed to be there, so I overslept and the dinghy drifted off. I went out in my big boat that I had at the time to see if I could find it by following the wind and the current. No dice. I called the Coast Guard to inform them about what happened and it was really more just for information as the boat doesn't have hardly any value to it. And I didn't want anyone seeing it and thinking there might be someone inside the boat that needed help. They took down my name and phone number in case someone did find the boat, of which the next morning they called me back and told me it drifted from our beach cabin on Whidbey Island down to the Tacoma narrows bridge, which is I'd say around 45-50 miles away. The person who called in to make the report towed it back to Port Ludlow, where they lived, and then next morning I took my big boat over there and towed it back with my big boat. It was very nice of them to do that and offered to give them some money since they called it in and brought it back with them. Of which they declined. We also had another incident of something similar but where we actually saw the dinghy floating off and our neighbor went out with me in his boat and we pulled it back in. Which was very nice of him to do, and he as well as his family are also just great people in general.

Things that I've done to help other boaters would be towing multiple boats back in to the dock, one of which was my buddy's neighbor while we were out halibut fishing and we were quite a long distance away from the dock. It took us probably 2 hours or more to get him back to the dock, of which he offered to pay us and I declined, but he wouldn't take no for an answer. I used the money to put back back into the boat and asked if he wanted to go out fishing with us the next morning, but he was upset about his boat not working and wasn't really in the mood to go out. Another time, I was at the dock with my dad, he was holding onto the boat and I was in the truck backing the trailer up to load the boat onto it and pull the boat out. While I was doing so, I heard him whistle and screaming at me, so I got out of the truck and saw a guy in the water grabbing onto the side of the dock. I ran down and pulled him out of the water, of which I guess his wife was dropping him off at the dock, he stood at the bow and was about to jump off when she hit reverse, so he misjudged the distance and fell in the water. He was an older guy, I think he still should've been able to climb out of the water but the shock of falling in probably didn't help things. Or he could've held onto the dog and did a hand over hand type thing until he got to where it was shallow enough to stand in the water. I didn't even get a thank you for that, although like I said, I think he was still in shock that he fell in and that he was incredibly embarrassed over what had happened. I always try to tow people in if possible and pay it forward in the event that the same should ever happen to me, and because it's also the right thing to do.

 

[enfish]

My experience fishing offshore in southern California is that while there is a lot of bickering on the radio, especially when fighting over fish, for the most part people look out for each other.

First story: I was out fishing albacore out of Ensenada, Mexico with a buddy in his 20 foot Proline. We were about 50 miles west of Ensenada, 70 miles southwest of San Diego, when the motor took a dump and we were dead in the water. No problem... he had the Vessel Assist Gold membership with 200 mile towing. The only problem was we were out of radio range and could not raise Vessel Assist or the USCG. So we put a call out on the VHF channel used by fishermen out here and someone came back to us right away. They were a few miles away, so they stopped fishing and came to our location. They handed us off some sandwiches and drinks and since they were a big flybridge sportfisher, their antenna was higher and were able to relay our location to VA and the USCG. We let them get back to fishing, but they put us on 30 minute check-ins on the VHF. But after a while, we were able to get in comms with the USCG and continued the 30 minute check-ins until VA arrived. We broke down about noon, got picked up by VA at 8pm, and commenced our 5 hour tow back to Ensenada where the trailer was.

Second story: We were offshore about 30 miles and heard a call from someone having motor issues that forgot to fill his 2-stroke with oil. We were a couple miles away and always kept a couple quarts tucked away for those "just in case" moments. So it was a no-brainer for us to hand off our emergency oil and save his day.

 

[JLR]

Leaving a restaurant on the water in Connecticut with our 43 Hatteras Open. Saw a guy waiving his arms about a mile away in the Sound. Hooked him up and towed him in. Turned out it was Charles Barthold, editor of Yachting magazine. Who knew?

 

[Byram]

2 years ago while waiting for my mooring gear to be installed I had a transient slip for my other boat. I came down one saturday morning to prepare for a later departure and passed a man with a couple teenage boys on a grady 192 tournament. Had one of those giant tow behind tubes and a ton of line on the dock. I said hello and have a great day. He said probably not because the clips that hook onto the stern eyes would not fit. (side note) I dont know about you guys but on my larger boat I carry a formidable tool box and equally as large parts box filled with hooks ,clips,wire etc. I told him to hang on and went to my my magic box and produced 2 stainless carabiner type pieces that fit the bill perfectly. He was super appreciative and I told him it was all about giving the kids a good time on the water and was glad to help. Next time I came down to the boat there was a nice bottle on my lower helm. I have also been towed in before and have towed people in. I would do that for anybody anytime. Remember that boaters wave to each other !

 

[Uncle Joe]

I was a teenager and took my Dad's Mako out fishing with a few buddies. We were 5 or 6 miles from home when the water pump crapped out on the outboard. A passing sailboat saw us in trouble and towed us all the way back in. This very nice couple and their kids spent their Saturday morning assisting us instead of doing their own thing. I never forgot it and I try to pay it forward whenever I can.

 

[wires38]

Was moving my 23 G from the survey repair shop to my new dock, maiden voyage. About 15 miles into a 25 mile trip in the state boat channel alarms start ringing! If memory served it meant low oil! After spending $$$$$ on a survey/transport/repairs/detail , found myself underway with very low oil, and no spare. Slowed to 1000 rpms, came upon an older gentleman fluking. Desperate I asked him if he had any tcw3, which he sold me for the fair price. Was nice enough to help me out , came alongside, made the exchange. Then bam! bent rod and a fat fluke for him! I made it safely to my new dock.

 

[Matteo]

We ran our boat on the Delaware River last summer and ran out of gas just as we were heading into Big Timber Creek. I had to tie up at an old dock right there for as it got dark. A lot of boats passed yelling at me. I saw a speed boat pull up and he asked if we needed a ride in but would not tow us in. His mate turned and told me wait he will be back in a few. He returned with a 35 ft boat and towed us in. He said I’m a former Marine and Marines never leave anyone stranded. We talked and he served with my old friend Lex Henniger who looked after all us rookie cops in Philly PD He was highly decorated Philly Cop that passed years ago. I could not believe our luck and this guy got us in this guy was Lexs Buddy in the marines.

 

[magicalbill]

2016 or so in Florida. Had my 16 ft Donzi on one of the inland lakes near Lakeland and she overheated due to the lousy water quality. Continued operation in said water had finally ruined my impeller.

A couple guys in a Pontoon idled over and towed me back to the ramp. There was no Sea Tow or Boat US, and I knew no one on that lake. I just got lucky with these two fishermen.

I had to slow him down once during the tow back; he obviously wasn't experienced in towing other boats, and I had to ask him to hang up his cell phone while he was trying to jockey me close to the dock.

That said, I was extremely grateful to them for their nice gesture. They would take no money for it.

Helping people either on land or afloat matters, and is a noble thing to do.

 

[Meanwhile]

When I launch and load my Marlin by myself, I've asked people on the dock to hold lines and I've never been turned down. We chat about fishing, I give tips on catching if needed. Sometimes I get a good tip from them.

It makes the day more enjoyable.

Coming inbound from an albacore trip I was hailed on a local channel. I had neglected to turn on the dual channel function to monitor 16 and my local channel. The other boat saw me running and knew enough to broadcast on the local 'tuna' channel.

It turns out a Seasport had hit a log straight on and had lost his lower unit on the inboard/outboard. Luckily there was no water intrusion. We put our ropes together to make a bridle and towed them 10 miles in over the bar. The CG took over the tow to get them into their moorage.

I now have two radios, one always on 16. I would have felt bad had I missed his call for assistance.

 

[Scot Smith]

Last fall I was limping back to a marina 10 miles from my home port
Not sure I would even make it there
When I got to the harbor and saw my wife waving to me I was relieved
Then as I came up to the docking there was a sailboat stuck outside of the dredge, I was their only hope , it was late October - no one on the water - of course I pulled them out - not a big deal - but they had no idea that I and my boat were on its last leg

 

[Uncle Joe]

Here is another one.......I was returning from an early May striper fishing trip in Jamaica Bay NY where I grew up. The water was still very cool but the air had warmed up considerably and there was a pretty dense fog. The tide was pretty high which allowed us to take a shortcut through a marsh which we called The Cowpath. It was about noon on a Saturday. I was running the boat and concentrating on my route when my buddy starts whacking me on the shoulder telling me someone was stuck on the marsh. I look and see 2 people waving from a small boat about 100 yds in on the marsh.

I turn around and nose my Grady onto the marsh as close as I can get and 2 women start slogging to my boat ...one of them carrying a little girl. They get over to my boat and it turns out to be 2 of my younger sisters friends and one of their nieces. They were wet and shivering. Turns out that they were babysitting the night before for the little girl and the weather was so nice and it was a moon tide so they decided to take a boat ride. They also tried to return via the Cowpath but the combination of it being night....a moon tide and the marsh grass which defines the Cowpath still being very short at that time of year they ended up offline and way up on the marsh.

It broke my heart when they told me they were stuck out there from 10PM the night before with no food or water with inadequate clothing. 14 hrs shivering in a little boat. They said several boats had passed that morning but didn't see them because of the fog.