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Tom and Lori (right) with friend Kelsey, who made the trip with them, safe at home aboard their new boat.
Last fall, my wife, a close friend, and I purchased a 40-foot Sea Ray located on the Florida panhandle. While bringing her home to the central east coast of Florida, we ran aground, so we called TowBoatUS.
Capt. Zachary Donelan from TowBoatUS Venice met us. It became apparent that he had his hands full, quickly realizing there was no way he could budge us until the tide came in. The only option was for us to wait for 11 hours in horrific weather conditions, hoping and praying that this was just a bad dream. It wasn't.
Zachary kept in regular contact with us throughout the afternoon into the night, making sure we were safe, and reassuring us that it would all be OK. He returned once the tide came in, around 12:30 a.m. It was still a challenge for him to free our boat, however, with pitch-black water and unpredictable depths.
Once he finally got us floating again, he brought us directly to the marina, helped us tie up, and made sure we were OK before leaving. I want to give a big shout out to TowBoatUS and Capt. Zachary. He was kind, sincere, and all-around professional. He made us feel safe and went above the call of duty. The world needs more people like him!