Skip to content
TowBoatUS Cape Coral logo

News Read about what we're doing in the community

Stranded Boater Near LaBelle Results in 10-Hour Rescue by TowBoatUS Cape Coral April 22, 2014

SUMMARY:
Captain Danny Medina of TowBoatUS Cape Coral recently rescued a stranded boater near LaBelle, FL which resulted in a 10 hour mission.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Capt. Richard Paul
TowBoatUS Cape Coral
(239) 945-1664
tbuscapecoral{at}aol.com

Cape Coral, Florida (April 22, 2014) – A stranded boater near LaBelle, Florida recently resulted in a 10-hour rescue mission. After an engine fail near the LaBelle bridge, a boater called TowBoatUS Cape Coral. Due to the series of events, the entire rescue took approximately 10 hours. However, TowBoatUS was able to get both the boat and captain to safety.

Capt Daniel Medina with children“After the call, I dispatched one of our Captains, Dan Medina at 2:30pm,” said co-owner of TowBoatUS Cape Coral, Richard Paul. “Dan was near the Cape Coral yacht club when I dispatched him, so it took him approximately 2hrs to arrive in Labelle. Upon arrival, Dan saw that the 28’ sailboat had been pushed ashore because of the wind.”

After un-grounding the sailboat, Captain Dan took the stranded boater in tow at approximately 5:30pm. He then towed the sailboat to the east side, Franklin Lock park, where the sailboater had arranged for a mobile mechanic to repair his engine the next morning. However, because Franklin lock closes at 7pm, TowBoatUS Cape Coral was not able to continue through to the towboat ports along the coast.

At 10:00pm Captain Richard Paul, owner of TowBoatUS Cape Coral, came to meet Captain Dan at the Franklin Lock boat ramp with a boat trailer. The towboat was then trailered to downtown Fort Myers and launched at that boat ramp to travel back to its port. Captain Dan finally arrived home from the rescue at 1:30am.

“This was definitely an out of the ordinary rescue,” said Captain Richard Paul. “We were happy that we were able to bring the captain and boat to safety, after a long night and an unfortunate series of events. But, the good news is that this particular boater had a BoatUS unlimited membership. So, the services did not cost him anything out of pocket, even though it was a 10-hour rescue!”

ABOUT TOWBOATUS CAPE CORAL
TowBoatUS Cape Coral, (also known as Marine Towing and Salvage of S.W. Florida), offers marine assistance towing, fuel delivery, part delivery, jump starts, contract towing, marine salvage, diving services, and contract oil pollution clean-up services to recreational and commercial boat owners in Lee County. Visit www.TowBoatUSCapeCoral.com for more information or to apply for a membership.


Back to News
TowBoatUS Cape Coral place picture
4.8
Based on 100 reviews
powered by Google
Ray Bole profile picture
Ray Bole
01:24 16 Apr 26
Very prompt and professional
John Witt profile picture
John Witt
21:22 04 Apr 26
Yesterday I had an engine problem on my newly purchased sailboat. I had so many problems with my 1980 Morgan 382 and nothing went as planned on moving it to where I live in Melbourne. Long story short, I ended up motoring it off shore south from St. Pete. The sail plan I had come up failed for all the anchorage locations and inlets to the ICW weren’t accessible due to channels being too shallow or low bridges. So I motored over night and concluded Fort Myers Beach was the best option. I got within about 6 nm from Moss Marina where I was heading to and had engine failure. I called BoatUS and got wonderful service. Paul the tow boat operator was awesome and so helpful. Tonya who I dealt on the phone with was equally helpful. Both went above what I expected. They both gave me a measure of comfort after so many things went wrong and got me to a marina where I could rest and feel safe.
Estero Island Parasail profile picture
Estero Island Parasail
17:45 04 Apr 26
Great team! A must have for anyone on the water. Paul is fantastic, he knows exactly what to do when you need a tow.
SEL profile picture
SEL
21:24 01 Apr 26
Within a half an hour towboat US was there to tow me back in, Paul tied up my 38 footer brought it back to my dock landed perfectly couldn’t ask for a better captain👍
Joe Banta profile picture
Joe Banta
15:15 29 Mar 26
James knows his stuff. Had engine problems James showed up quickly towed me right to the dock . Very knowledgeable
Mike Murphy profile picture
Mike Murphy
23:10 02 Mar 26
Engine would not start. Paul responded promptly and towed us all the way to our dock!
Jana Barnard profile picture
Jana Barnard
19:01 02 Mar 26
Amazing service. Got stuck on the Chahasatchpee river from my dads house. i’m on vacation to see my dad and his boats engine died😱 Guys were very good with communication, updating on time. We waited bout an hour, enjoyed the sun tbh and the tow personnel was very professional and accurate. Thus membership saved us $1000 for a tow! Highly reccommend
Jane Cooke profile picture
Jane Cooke
17:49 21 Feb 26
Paul came quickly to our aid and solved the issue we had. He was courteous and super helpful and skilled. He waited for us to get going and gave us contact info if we had any further problems.
Jack Cunningham profile picture
Jack Cunningham
18:05 10 Feb 26
Couldn’t be more pleased with the service. Very communicative, prompt and Paul was very helpful! Wouldn’t own a boat in SW Florida without this service!
Anthony Morris profile picture
Anthony Morris
17:27 21 Jul 24
Paul came out and helped us while anchored off of the Sanibel lighthouse. Our starter wasn’t turning the engine over. After a couple of taps with hammer and a jump pack it fired right back up.

Thanks for being out there willing to help us when things don’t go the way we expect them to.

If you have a boat you absolutely need to have a TowBoat US membership.

Thank you again Paul.
(239) 945-1664 Dispatch Available 24/7