Two TowBoatU.S. Ft. Lauderdale Captains to the Rescue

Just after 1 P.M. on Thursday, 5/7/2020 while TowBoatU.S. Captains George Bassett and Harrison Reiter were on their way to another job, they witnessed a couple on a 10’ West Marine inflatable boat having trouble. The Port Everglades Pilot boat was just coming by them in a canal near the TowBoatU.S. base in Ft. Lauderdale, located just North of Port Everglades. An elderly couple was on board the small tender which was equipped with a tiller motor. We learned later that the boat was new to them and they were still getting accustomed to how the controls operated. The operator of the tender inadvertently advanced to full throttle and lost control of the steering likely due to surprise and a bit of panic. The vessel struck a larger boat that was moored close by. Upon impact, the occupants were ejected from the vessel as the bow of their boat went straight up in the air. The vessel was still full throttle when it landed back in the water. The unmanned vessel circled around barely missing the male occupant as George and Harrison quickly approached the scene. As they scanned the water for the female occupant, they spotted only the top of her hat just breaking the surface. The vessel had struck her and as our crew soon learned, despite the fact that she was wearing a PFD she was unable to get her head above water in order to breath. George and Harrison alerted the Ft. Lauderdale Police Department Marine unit on the VHF radio and sprung to action while the crew on the Port Everglades Pilot boat called 911 for help.

The two TowBoatU.S. Ft. Lauderdale Captains were on board one of the company’s 31’ twin diesel tow boats. After carefully backing the tow boat down to the inflatable, George immediately pulled the subject vessels kill switch lanyard to prevent the vessel from taking off if freed from whatever it was bound up on. Harrison attempted to pick the woman up and was unable to so he hopped in the water to try and get underneath her.    Leaning over the starboard quarter of his tow boat, George was able to lift the woman’s head above water for short periods using the back of her PFD as a grab point. He noted that although this method was effective in lifting, her airway was being blocked as the PFD was riding up on her neck. He also noted that he could not keep her up very long as something was holding her down. Harrison dove under the vessel and quickly surmised that her pant leg was wrapped around the boat’s propeller and was holding her underwater. They were surprised and relieved that there was no blood in the water thinking that the propeller must have made contact with the woman’s leg. After George allowed her to take another breath, he quickly passed Harrison his knife from the tow boat. Harrison was able to cut her pant leg free from the motor, which finally let them get the woman’s head above water. A third person came along from the dock to assist and the 3 were able to roll her up into her boat. She was coughing and foaming from the mouth, the crew could tell that her lungs were filled with water. After gently striking the woman on the back a few times she was finally able to utter a few words, so they knew she was conscious and would hopefully be ok. The guys also helped the male into their boat as FLPD was arriving on scene. George then towed the inflatable to the stern of a nearby yacht while Harrison stayed on board with the owner, his wife and the other man that assisted so that they and the paramedics would be able to assist the woman more effectively. At this point officers from Broward Sherriff’s Office, and the USCG also arrived on scene to help. FLPD moored up to the TowBoatU.S. tug and came over to collect info from the male passenger and to try and comfort the woman as the paramedics were on their way. When the paramedics arrived, they took the woman to the hospital and kept her through the night to monitor her and make sure she was in good health. She was released with a clean bill of health and the couple was very thankful for the assistance that they received from George and Harrison!  Join us in thanking George and Harrison for their selfless assistance that afternoon!