Robertson & Cane 47 Dismasted
Near 17th Street Causeway In Ft. Lauderdale

TowBoatU.S. Ft Lauderdale's Captain Pete Marhan pulled up on scene with a beautiful sailing catamaran that had just passed under the 17th Street Causeway Bridge in Ft. Lauderdale. The mast of the vessel made contact with the bridge and was broken near the base, it was also bent at a 90 degree angle 20 feet from the base with the top of the mast touching bottom and acting as a "spud" in the shallow water a short distance northeast of the bridge.

TowBoatU.S Ft. Lauderdale instantly sprung into action. After securing the vessel using two anchors to insure the outbound current did not move the vessel and cause additional damage, more crewmembers converged on the scene. Two Engineering staff members gathered tools and made plans to free the damaged mast from the vessel. A rigging specialist was summoned from Nance & Underwood in Ft. Lauderdale to oversee the operation to insure the impact of the operation caused as little collateral damage as possible. The overall goal was to preserve the value of the boat and make the ultimate repair work as straightforward and cost effective as possible. TowBoatU.S. founder and President Larry Acheson said "I didn't want my guys cutting cables or taking the chance of possibly damaging sails and hardware. I thought it best to call in a specialist to help guide us in systematically dismantling the rigging; in the end it was the right call." After the mast was carefully removed from the boat and the rigging was wrapped around it to reduce the risk of entanglement, the mast was then refloated by TowBoatU.S. divers using lift bags and towed to their dock in Dania Beach. The damaged mast was lifted from the water with the 7.5 ton knuckle boom deck crane which is on the company's 96' salvage vessel and placed on land for eventual transportation over the road. Meanwhile the casualty was towed to Lauderdale Marine Center for haul out and repair.

The operation was a testament to the diversity of the company's salvage skills and thoughtful planning. In the end, the vessel owner, the insurance provider and the local authorities were completely satisfied with every element of the operation.