07/11/2014

Sea Tow Calls Increase After Hurricane

Hurricane Arthur’s impact on East Coast boaters led to a quiet Fourth of July that was followed by a busy holiday weekend after the storm passed.

Sea Tow’s National Dispatch Center saw an overall 20 percent decrease in call volume, compared with 2013, because of a lack of boating on Friday, but the activity on Saturday and Sunday showed some of the highest call volume numbers in a decade.

“A Sea Tow membership saved our customers over $900,000 over the holiday period since they didn’t have to pay out of pocket for member services,” Sea Tow chief operations officer Capt. Joseph Frohnhoefer III said in a statement.

Sea Tow’s Coast Guard-licensed captains provided services to boaters on the water throughout the holiday weekend.

More than 50 percent of the calls Sea Tow received during the long weekend were to request a boat tow. Other on-the-water assistance services ranged from delivering fuel and jump starts to responding to emergency situations and helping to save lives.

Note: A version of this article first appeared in Soundings Trade Only Today.