In the Wheelhouse

Wow, it's been a busy August so far here at Safe/Sea! June and July featured horrific weather, as both months posted all-time record rainfall, and our caseload showed it. August has been a different story, as we have pulled even with last year's job count as of yesterday. Since August 1, we've completed 165 cases through the 17th, just short of a 10 per day average. Following is one I did last week...

I picked up this 42' Silverton just south of the Point Judith Harbor of Refuge. He was headed to Mystic, Ct., so it was my job to tow him from Point Judith to Watch Hill, where I would turn him over to TowBoatUS Mystic for the rest of the job. It's about 15 nautical miles or so from Point Judith to Watch Hill, but the current was against us.

It was a lovely day, and friendly Capt. Steve from TowboatUS Mystic met us promptly at Watch Hill, ready to finish the job.

By this time, the wind had almost completely died, and it was a mill pond for our transfer of the tow. It's not always as easy as this.

Later this week: all work and no play make Capt. Pete a dull boy. (Well, okay, I *am* pretty dull by nature, but I do have some fun every now and then.)

High speed towing. Safe/Sea has pioneered the concept and application of modern propulsion technology over the past several years to provide this major innovation in the quick response marine assistance industry. Here's an example of a member whom I was able to keep out of a major thunderstorm due to the Safe/Sea Newport's high speed towing capability.

Here's the view out my wheelhouse windshield coming into Bristol Harbor. Hog Island is the landmass to starboard. It's looking to get ugly shortly.

Giddyup! We're headed down the east side of Hog Island toward Brewer Sakonnet North in Portsmouth. Our speed is cutting our time exposed to the weather by 67% as compared to a slow tow.

About an hour after my original radar picture above, the storms have intensified and are moving fast in the direction of the arrow. But I've already got my customer on the hip and headed into the marina. Without my high speed towing capabilities, we would've gotten hit by the storms right around the Mount Hope Bridge.

PS - Look for some extra posts this week as I try to catch up with the July 4th Weekend jobs. We handled over 60 cases Friday through Sunday, so I've got some photos to process and typing to do!

Well, the boating itch finally got the better of me yesterday and had to be scratched. It was still pretty cold and generally grey, but a fine day for my first boat trip of 2009. On the way out of the harbor, we were treated to the sight of the North Kingstown High Sailing Team getting in some practice time in their 420's.

As many Rhode Islanders know, Narragansett Bay is home to a huge number of seals over the winter months, and seal watching is one of my family's favorite excuses for a weekend outing. Yesterday was a perfect day for it, so my wife and I loaded up our daughter Sarah (12) and son Will (10) for a quick trip out to Rome Point, just south of Wickford Harbor, to see how many of our blubbery friends we could spot.

We were not disappointed! The rocks just off Rome Point were loaded with what had to be over 50 seals. I don't have any pictures of them, as getting too close to a marine mammal is a considered harrassment (and, hence, a felony), but they were all over the place. There were huge grey adults and some juveniles that still sported their white baby fur. The beach at Rome Point was covered with other seal-watchers who made the short hike from Route 1A, where there's a parking lot maintained by the state. As you can see at right, high powered, electronically stabilized binoculars come in rather handy for seal watching.

If you get your boat in the water before the weather gets too warm and the seals depart, Rome Point isn't the only place to see them around the bay. Just about any tidally-exposed rock that's big enough is likely to host some, although Rome Point is usually a sure bet, as it's a great spot that can be accessed by land or sea. Just remember that it's illegal to get too close or harass the animals in any way, so bring your binoculars or a telescope.