Mako Capsizes Offshore!

The owner of a 28' Mako put out a Mayday call when his boat took on water over the stern about 15 miles east of Hollywood Florida the afternoon of March 19th. The fisherman was in the middle of the well known swordfishing grounds named "Hollywood Hills" when his day of fishing began to unravel. Calls like this are relatively common in these waters when the seas and winds begin to build. You can listen to an excerpt from the initial Mayday call by following this link. Calls like these are typically met with a response from the United States Coast Guard as you can hear in the clip. Meanwhile, assets from the Coast Guard, FWC, local law enforcement and commercial salvage are generally underway to assist within minutes. TowBoatU.S. Ft. Lauderdale arrived on scene quickly and determined that the owner had already been airlifted by a Coast Guard Helicopter and rescue swimmer and was being transported safely back to land. "We got to work immediately" Captain Chris Young recalls "Salvage Master Chris Stevens was first on scene and I arrived a short time thereafter. He got into the water and rigged the casualty with two lines that allowed us to right the vessel without the use of lift bags. We had to take our time getting the boat upright to prevent damage to the T-top and center console. Once upright, we deployed high volume pumps and set a course for Hillsboro inlet while the dewatering process continued."

Upon arrival at the boat ramp in Pompano Beach, TowBoatU.S. Ft. Lauderdale loaded the boat on one of their trailers and transported it to the company's warehouse located just minutes away. The fleet maintenance staff got busy immediately to preserve the machinery. Within hours, both motors were running, the entire vessel was rinsed with fresh water and stored until the owner arrived to pick it up. TowBoatU.S. Ft. Lauderdale has been training their staff for nearly 25 years to provide prompt and professional towing and salvage services. You can count on them to get on scene quickly and minimize salvage related damages. For more information on TowBoatU.S. Ft Lauderdale's salvage, towing, machinery preservation and storage services, contact Barney Hauf at 954-783-7821.