Whew, That Was A Long Day

Yesterday’s safety patrol got off to a quick start.  We hadn’t even got underway yet when we were tasked to go out and tow someone in.  Figures – Saturday was a halibut fishing day and the weather was perfect.  When I arrived at the marina at 6:45 am, there were dozens of boats lined up waiting for their turn to launch.  Many more fishermen had gone out Friday night and spent the night at sea so they could get an early start.  Because of that, the local Coast Guardsmen had been working until about 3:00 am and were totally bushed.  This particular tow was interesting in that the owner had broken down over 30 miles out.  That was much farther out than most people will go in a 19’ boat.  Its certainly much farther out than I would go.

Anyway, we get out there about noon, and this is what we see:


The hookup went smoothly, and in only about three minutes we had him under tow.


Here is a shot of Ralph and Le in the cabin on the way back reporting out position to the Yaquina Bay Coast Guard Station.


Took us almost exactly six hours to tow him back in, get him alongside the dock, and secure for the day.  All in all, my work day was about 16 hours.  We were glad to be on hand and allow the “Regulars” to get a little more shut-eye.  Semper Paratus!