Saving the M/V Francis on the M/V Helen Merrill in St. Louis

[@cthompson5195]

I’ve been working on the river for over 30 years, I’ve been a Capt over 20 years. This maneuver took big balls.

[@robertrishel3685]

This amazes me every time I watch it. Not only was the maneuver very difficult, but the courage to even attempt it in this very litigious atmosphere was equally commendable. I worked a couple years on shift boats in St Louis harbor and I can tell you that the river current is ferocious even in low water; high water, however, is deadly. It is not forgiving to the inexperienced. This situation could have ended very badly for the Francis and its crew. Bravo to this wheelman for accepting the risk and having the skill to pull it off👏👏👏

[@ThatSB]

Litigious atmosphere? What exactly would he be liable for? There would be no liability

[@zarryis3365]

​@ThatSB companies get real pissy when their multi-million dollar vessels get sent to the river bed. Merely throwing a line on another vessel means accepting partial or even full responsibility for whatever happens afterwards, depending on how good the lawyers are.

[@robertrishel3685]

@@zarryis3365 100%. I’m sure there were phone calls to the office made before he even made the attempt to help. When there is a serious Marne casualty/incident everyone gets named in the lawsuit. And I mean “everyone”. I have unfortunately worked several big incidents as a Port Captain and/or company principal which included loss of life, not just property. The amount of headache and money that was saved here is considerable. It’s really nice to see a good outcome, we don’t usually hear so much about those.

[@marktwained]

If I worried about the legal outcomes from my actions, I think I’d just stay home every day. Lol Seriously, the training we get is for making correct decisions. I heavily rely on my training in any of these situations. Trust me, I learned from this incident.

[@marktwained]

@robertrishel3685 fyi my first cousin Cathrine Perry is federally appointed judge in St. Louis.. My family was either farmer or lawyer.. until I changed it up. 😉👍🏻

[@MrAnimatemylife]

What a great job by the Captain on the rescue boat . He knows how to work with the river current . Not to many on the river now days that can do work like that . Thumbs up to you Captain.

[@harryd9579]

Great video narration too. LOL

[@wallochdm1]

Amazing skills. There aren't many people who could have done that. Bravo, Captain.

[@jamesweir2943]

this is the first video I ever saw on your channel - what a primer!

[@jamesalles139]

I would love to see an edited version to include a voice-over narrative of the setup & conditions that led to this situation, what the maneuvers were, if pumps were employed, who was 'evacuated' and when. thanks for your service!

[@TroubleToby3040]

You mean the part where the guy said, "Grab that mother f****r!!" didn't completely clarify what was happening? 😂🤣😂 I'm just kidding. I also wish this had a narration. I would be even more interested if I fully understood it, and had some backstory. 👍👍👍

[@katherinekinnaird4408]

It may be 10 years later but just as impressive now as then. Amazing work gentleman.

[@marktwained]

This was a move handled by a very confident and skilled wheelman. I will elaborate on my thoughts when I get off watch tomorrow afternoon. It's past my bedtime. I'm the trip pilot that filmed this. Glad it sparked such interest.

[@graham2631]

Dam good skipper! Hats off. Cool customer just a grunt or three an one curse real pro

[@Coltgov191145]

Not just the captain, everyone always remembers the captain but its a team no one ever remembers the deckhands who make the throws to the bits and tie em off in a hurry. A captain is a skill less pile of meat without his crew...

[@scottrichards2044]

He may have been confident but I know of a couple things he did that he should not have done. He's lucky things didn't go wrong. He could have lost her.

[@skipdreadman8765]

@@scottrichards2044 yes, Admiral, we'd all like to hear how you would have done it so much better. By all means, regale us with your nautical wisdom and armchair piloting skills! I await your thorough thrashing of this obvious amateur with your scathing rebuke. Have at him, Sir!

[@scottrichards2044]

@@skipdreadman8765 do you no me or my back ground? I don't think you do. For one the captain of the tug did a good job but things could have went wrong ezier the way he did it. Even he says in the clip " there she go's" if I remember right. My back ground when it come to boating is. I grow up most my life around boats and boating on an island near Seattle. I skippered from commercial fishing boats up in Alaska to a tug pilot for Foss tug boat company out side of Seattle.. So no I'm not an arm chair captain.

[@richardthaxton8469]

Absolutely brilliant commentary!

[@marktwained]

The sounds would make better sense if folks could see the body English I was giving it. Haha I was not at the sticks.

[@richardthaxton8469]

Sounded like you were taking a dump.

[@BowzerTowboats]

+marktwained People do not realize how intense this is.

[@vw4x4]

+marktwained Yes, we realize how intense it was, specially becasue of the excitement in your voice!

[@evilevilsaint]

+marktwained Thank God she had watertight doors and they were dogged down!

[@xx2345000]

That is one of the most amazing I've ever seen, serious boat skills.

[@CLEEPER1]

I have been on a boat sinking like that and it was a very eary feeling to watch this video. Great job on saving it, You put your self at risk and I can tell by the grunts that you was squeezing your spincter shut. You still kept your cool and did a great job Capt.

[@JohnT-q2f]

I was on a Rayco boat built in the 70s, sure was a sweet boat! Glad you were able to save it! Great work! 9:16 😅 9:16 9:16

[@outwashplain7108]

That was amazing! I was holding my breath, and yelling "Nooooooo!" when she started to go, and then went even more. What a relief when she finally righted herself! Thank you for sharing.

[@BrandonWyrick]

Holy shit. the power of that river current. Nice work, Captain. everything happening in slow motion, but I bet the adrenaline was pumping and the hearts were racing. Impressive.

[@DoggNewTrix]

Freakin AWESOME!!!! Big big big ups to the Helen Merrill and crew for that amazing rescue...I was on the Tripper just below the fleet and I JUST KNEW she was a goner!!! Amazing job

[@Barrygrif]

Great Job Capt. you sure kept your cool working in that swift water on that downstream landing. Do believe the owners of the Francis should treat the crew of the Helen Merrill to a fine dinner and a few cool ones!!

[@mericavids]

Man of few words, a few fingers and front row to a tug rescue. Thanks for a great video

[@kevinmccaffrey2471]

Rescue boat says and that's how it's Done!!!! No sweat great job Capt.

[@mikeuk4130]

Great video which explains the whole incident very clearly in layman's terms, including exactly what was done about it.

[@DmdHaui]

Well done, Captain! That took balls! Greetings from a german captain!

[@galegregory341]

Yassin you talk on that podcast tonight you were talking about this boatI thought you were driving it was another Captain driving but you got some footage is going to be archived forever great job

[@emjaytwelve]

as a ships engineer ...my hat is off to you !!

[@happycamper5900]

I enjoyed the video. I wish there was more information on what is going on. I was on the Mississippi in my younger days and find these videos fascinating. Thanks for posting this video!

[@advancedusvsystems6255]

This is an amazing video. The big river is as dangerous as the ocean, but in a different way.

[@markwathen7600]

Outstanding job well done captain

[@DirTyOhGee]

AMAZING video...she just pops right out of the water. Well done crew!

[@christopherjensen794]

Well done! I haven't spent any time on the western Rivers, but jeez Louise, nothing about that gig looked easy! I liked the other towboat doing a great job of keeping close enough to help out if need be, but far enough out of the way! BZ all around!

[@66leeman]

Always keep the waterjight doors battoned down. thats what saved her.

[@tanneraljets5785]

Amen to that! The last place you wanna get caught with your pants down is the Mississippi!

[@captainflatbed.7927]

I got the pleasure of steering under this captain, learned so much

[@BilgeDweller]

With 36 years on the river, I've never seen anything like this! Great job! Downstreaming on a fleet in St. Louis is one of the most dangerous things you can do, and a number of folks have died in this exact situation over the years, but not this time! Having those watertight doors shut made all the difference. In a tug, ALL of your reserve buoyancy is the engine room. Fill it with water, and it's all over.

[@noneyourbusines6738]

You should be on NMR to see the pilot use the wheel washer procedure to safe the pilot from under the barger back in 2008.. after he flip the boat he were turn off the propeller, but the crew and the pilot they are all right..

[@170boone]

I’m not a tug boat worker and don’t pretend to be one on social media either. 😂 what is happening? Was the barges pushing the tug downstream? Tug lose power and was being pushed?

[@BilgeDweller]

@@170boone , He was going downstream to land on the head of those barges in that fleet. If you don't aporoach and land perfectly square to the barge, under these river conditions (high water), the current takes the stern of the tug and does just what happened here. These guys are VERY lucky, people die when this hapoens.

[@marktwained]

Anchor chain tug hung up on probably saved lives. 👍🏻

[@braverywalker69]

@@170boone looks like they got sideways under the rake of the barge being pushed under by the river current

[@crashedking1931]

Just all calm and everything shows experience.

[@theoutdoorslifetv3200]

Boys, what you witnessed here was true talent. I was down at Baton Rouge that high water running from Devil’s Swamp to Donaldsonville. Heard about this indirectly. Hell of a year.

[@emdf59phi]

Excellent job!!! Hats off to you!

[@walkinguphill5178]

Every time I’ve watched this, it makes me fight my own nerves. Well done Helen Merrill, maybe one day my balls will clink like that. St Louis harbor is in my nightmares, respect to ADM and OMS, and every other pilot who runs that harbor. Just insane

[@dannykim6218]

That good thing people stayed so calm

[@bradrankin844]

Been there and done this MANY TIMES!!!! Down streaming…..VERY DANGEROUS! That’s why everybody has to be up and awake when they do the mover! So many people do not understand and don’t appreciate how fast and how strong water can travel and move!!

[@TimPdotTM]

I've watched this video about 4 times total. I just watched it for the first time since being cut loose. Only now do I realize how close the Captain came to losing that ass end. I sure wouldn't have been in the bunk, if that's where you were. I would've had my ass in the wheelhouse with life jacket at the ready. That's a badass pilot and a badass boat.

[@marktwained]

+TimPdot TM this video was viewed by boat owners, fleet owners and USCG before I ever posted it. I was were I was for a reason.

[@marktwained]

+TimPdot TM there were some very fortunate fellas that day. In my opinion there was quite a bit of good luck involved, and a bit of skill

[@TimPdotTM]

Just saying, I would've been scared shitless. Stay safe.

[@marktwained]

+TimPdot TM I was 👍🏻

[@anthonymartin5662]

Absolutely awesome pilots.. good save.

[@redeyestlouis4651]

Just started my decking career about 6 months ago with adm in the st.l fleet. Someone was just talking about this and i was like i swear i seen a video of exactly that too😂 im still obviously niave and learning all the ways of this job and really now having realizations about how risky down streaming is.

[@HighCottonHoneyFarm]

The seaman’s church shows this video to their steersman’s class during the week long steersman’s coarse in Paducah .

[@marktwained]

I’m a fan of those folks. I’ve known Kelly since she started working there. I was crew dispatcher in Paducah when they first built the simulators. When I got the OK from USCG and companies’ involved to post the video, it was so we (industry) could maybe learn from it. I hope it has served some good purposes. 👍🏻

[@onceANexile]

Calm undre fire. Well done.👍

[@riverguy988]

Does anyone know roughly what the velocity of current that it takes for a tug to be put in a serious trouble like this? Thanks for any input from professional mariners.

[@marktwained]

Probably 5-6 mph current in this video.

[@welshpete12]

Skill of a very high order ! I would think he has been working on these dugs all his life .

[@spec_opsgaming]

Ah man hearing the roar of those engines brings me back, and honestly i don't miss accidents on these boats but everything else

[@ronewi39]

Great video of working on the river when things have gone bad.

[@richardgray115]

Very well narrated... Bravo 😀

[@CaptClick609]

The boat owner of the boat that you saved should be cutting you $100,000 check with a smile on his face

[@marktwained]

There was a decent “safety” bonus on that paycheck. It wasn’t anything like that amount, but it was unexpected and helpful. 👍🏻

[@delphilungwyn5308]

I'm waiting on the "money" shot.😂

[@splatmanhooha4264]

Nice piece of seamanship, well done, she looked a bit troubled there for a while, pumps on full for a bit????

[@topgptx]

O.K. whos the greenhand that left the second deck door open.

[@nickphxfan]

In my opinion that is a great pilot at the sticks. To be able to hold the boat there with the river doing what it's doing, awesome skills that most people that see this vid won't be able to appreciate. If you see this Kyle, just curious how long is the boat you are on?

[@marktwained]

+nickphxfan the vessel in this video was just about 100ft long. It was one of the shorter towboats I've been on. This was from years back.

[@nickphxfan]

Appreciate the response, and awesome videos!

[@gabekremer7148]

Will Givenoname......clearly you have never had to try to save a boat in the mississippi. I pulled a 25ft pontoon out of the channel in front of a southbound tow near fort madison iowa. I can unstated the stress this guy's under and he's playing with much larger iron than I ever have. I was running a rinker 360 vee with 2 496 mercruisers and a bow thruster. It takes a shit load of patience and attention to detail when your getting pushed by the current and hooked onto a vessel with no power. The people I pulled would have either been killed or run over by the tow that was coming. Most people around here on the river don't have a radio. Only reason I made it up was the captain of the south bound kept trying to call on channel 13 to a pleasure craft. Knowing the river as well as I do here I ask his position and what was going on. After he said he was southbound I knew he couldn't stop. He finished his statement with distance off the head. At that point I knew I could either get the people off or get a line on to pull south. I got them tied in to my side with bumpers and pushed then north and out of the channel. I will say this when you hear a full size tow giving it hell in rewind coming down the river shit getting real. That captain bought me some time and even got a salute from the wheel house railing as they passed by while I was holding position. Was a slow ride back to fort madison behind him but everyone went home. Lot to think about but when your on the river it's very unforgiving when things go wrong and people do some stupid crap around these guys. I always call when coming up on a tow and I always let them decide how and where I pass. I miss the river though boat is gone now I get to watch from the sidelines

[@rogerescudejr9000]

Somebody give this man a lollipop

[@integr8er66]

I woke up one night to the sound of a loud horn, and the burning heat of a carbon arc spot light on my ass. My boat anchor had let loose and I had drifted into the channel and was only a few hundred feet in front of a fully loaded barge headed down the Illinois River at Grafton. Luckily my engine started up right off and I blasted out of there anchor skipping along behind me. Boy talk about shitin your pants.

[@74superglide]

. I’ve suspected for some time now that my wife has been cheating on me. The usual signs… Phone rings but if I answer, the caller hangs up. My wife has been going out with the girls a lot recently although when I ask their names she always says, “Just some friends from work, you don’t know them.” I always stay awake to look out for her taxi coming home, but she always walks down the drive. Although I can hear a car driving off, as if she has gotten out of the car round the corner. Why? Maybe she wasn’t in a taxi? I once picked her cell phone up just to see what time it was and she went berserk and screamed that I should never touch her phone again and why was I checking up on her. Anyway, I have never approached the subject with my wife I think deep down I just didn’t want to know the truth, but last night she went out again and I decided to really check on her. I decided I was going to park my motorcycle next to the garage and then hide behind it so I could get a good view of the whole street when she came home. It was at that moment, crouching behind my bike , that I noticed that the valve covers on my engine seemed to be leaking a little oil. Is this something I can fix myself or should I take it back to the dealer?

[@deanlamberth0sbcglob]

Have you stopped doing videos? I haven’t seen any lately

[@marktwained]

Uploading more soon.

[@deanlamberth0sbcglob]

@@marktwained your videos are missed. I went back to see if I missed any, all caught up here

[@catt7475]

Wow!! Nice save Captain Kyle

[@patty9265]

That's some mad skills right there. Awesome

[@the209jungalist]

Wow, very nicely executed!

[@Ivansgarage]

If not for the courage of the fearless crew the Francis would be lost.

[@paxmule]

the Francis would be lost......

[@RailPreserver2K]

oof gilligans island reference

[@MrDrewthat]

Can you plz.......explain how or why that tug was there, why or how they didnt know it was there? I'm so flippin confused? But all that moaning kinda turned me on!!

[@raybrdjr]

@@MrDrewthat looks like the towboat got caught up in the anchor chain used to anchor them barges

[@highvelocity123]

That was good stuff, way to stay calm and collected.

[@wiz12]

Well done but I wonder if longer yarding line might have been more prudent....

[@marktwained]

Probably, but in this situation there were many things that could have been done differently. I posted with blessings of the companies and Coast Guard in hopes that it could be a teaching tool. You make a very good point. 👍🏻

[@robincarlton1574]

Nice work Cap!!

[@CaptainChris69]

Great job, Captain, you Sir gotta a set of nuts. I've seen three of them go down in my 26 year career, one with deaths in Houston, one with deaths in New Orleans, and one in the Atchafalaya, at Morgan city, La.

[@sealawj]

Was that one in Houston down in the Galveston/Texas City cut?

[@Sacosniper]

Fucking down-streaming man can be dangerous as fuck. That was some fine boathandling to able to pull that pushboat off that barge in that ripping current using another pushboat!

[@lennoxtatum1742]

Pro tip: you can watch series on flixzone. I've been using them for watching all kinds of movies lately.

[@danieljulius1818]

@Lennox Tatum Yea, been using Flixzone for since december myself =)

[@Boatyarddog]

Love it this guy seems to not be excited at all.

[@Darrell1981]

When I seen this thing come back up I was like ohh shit

[@doughesson]

Notice the genset kept turning the whole time as evidenced by the radar scanner spinning through the whole video.Good thing they had the watertights shut. I'm sure there was a job opening for that company soon afterwards,though.

[@CROWNFIRECOACH1711]

The people on the barge are the the TUGS CREW. You can see how fast she could have gone under in that current. Great job by the rescue tugs capt.

[@rak184]

Good job Capt !!

[@100SteveB]

Nicely done.

[@awidesigns]

Those tugs are super tough!!

[@samuelgordonelliott]

Holy crap! Baaaad spot to be in! Darned good job!

[@groundpounder8855]

Excellent save!

[@badbobtn]

what a fantastic job! althogh the Captain needed a PFD!

[@galegregory97]

Wow that was crazy but you saved it

[@noneyourbusines6738]

I am proud to say that I did weld on those all 3 boats there plus the one that is saving Francis from sinking

[@caterpillarslim1288]

Holy shit that was tense! And there weren't even nobody screamin and yellin. Good job handlin that situation.

[@ssroscoe1]

Had to turn down the volume because my girl thought I was watching porn.

[@marktwained]

+Ross Sargant haha yeah I've noticed folks think that from comments. It was just natural fear sounds... I guess it is a bit strange sounding

[@richardcline1337]

I just wonder if he actually kisses his wife with that potty mouth. I muted the sound so I could finish watching the video.

[@okanogen2010]

@@richardcline1337 poor you.

[@davidallen9526]

@@marktwained I would have been making all sorts of sounds and sly comments also. You've got a brother down and your trying to save him! You were not the pilot at the time you were filming were you?

[@jeffhicks2070]

That was captain crapping in the crockpot😅😅

[@okanogen2010]

Looks like she was hung up on that second barge anchor line? Well done, captain, well done by your deck crew also.

[@johnjerman3421]

looks more like being caught sideways & her decks are lower than (the curve of) the barges & the force of the current was holding her tight, perhaps the pilot made the mistake of trying to turn her bow - yah have to remember these are twin prop when your caught in the current that force increases & it doesn't take much to start washing over the deck when the deck is less than 2 feet above the water line

[@marktwained]

Caught on anchor chain

[@Chuck59ish]

There's a fine line between having a great day and oh boy, we're in trouble. That's when great to have friends to get you out of trouble.

[@mfeffer1957]

Sounded like he was trying to squeeze out a toilet brownie, I'm just sayin...

[@carterthechevrolet9219]

Actually, it looks like he was trying to guard the barge.

[@kingy002]

Sounded more like porn wanking to me.

[@julieenslow5915]

Awesome job

[@richardhoepfner1633]

Life on the Mississippi River in definitely an adventure everyday.

[@michaelrice500]

Bit of brown water in the scuppers for a while there. Also on the boat. Good work, Cap.

[@snowgorilla9789]

That is some fine seamanship

[@ofdiscordia]

That boat nearly sank. It's called downstreaming and the worst that can happen did, it got sideways for whatever reason and if anyone had been on board they could have drowned. If you think it's trivial try being on a boat that this happens on and see what you think. You're staring death in the face, possibly.

[@drwho135]

It really sounds like this guy is filming with one hand.............

[@user-cp1yv6xs7u]

🤣🤣🤣

[@taffythegreat1986]

drwho135 and wanking with the other hand lol 😂

[@Fix-N-Ride]

He meant to film it in selfie mode.

[@carmenschumann826]

. . . no, not filming with a hand - he is using a camera . . .

[@craigmontgomery1963]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@PeteSteele-p8p]

Did I miss something.. Any comms ?? Good job cap !

[@alanhill4334]

Kyle that was a great piece of boat handling. You had plenty of opportunity to screw up what with that current (6kts ?) up your stern. I've I 'd been doing it I'd probably be whimpering so a few grunts are quite acceptable. I hope they bought you a beer.

[@marktwained]

+Alan Hill I was not at helm. Capt. Donnie Labove was doing the driving. I was an off watch observer, on standby to help if needed. I only posted this video after Coast Guard and boat owners had seen it and requested I post it for training purposes.

[@bobv8219]

Nice camera work , million dollar save.

[@lbnorthern5426]

thank god she never sank and no lives were lost. I worked on the Francis before and the mary burke (Jackie sue) what boat made the video?

[@joshmchughs3347]

You worked for Osage?

[@abidaadhil9777]

M v d.. Marunaanenghil ninghal ellaawarkum rakshaa..!

[@roscomc63]

this video was shot by a trip pilot who was NOT on watch. in fact he was only on board for a few days and yea the capt on watch was a bit busy to be making movies.. this was on a 99 foot 3200 hp vessel during high water and the guys you see are the crew of the Francis who had abandoned her. All in all it turned out good. Had the tug gone under, not only would a boat had been lostbut this could have busted up the fleet causing chaos in the harbor and no i wasn't the pilot but was a crew member.

[@charlesWilliam-gf5db]

one hell of an operator

[@themodelrailwayrepaircentr297]

Didn’t get past the adverts

[@wiz12]

Some serious power to do that in reverse

[@sealawj]

With all them barges breathing down on ya!

[@johnjerman3421]

@@sealawj lol all those barges? dang dude they were at anchor - that is the current on the Mississippi river, not the barges moving

[@1_fishin_magician153]

it went right back to work after being saved ...!! * how on earth did it get in front / sideways ...of the barges anyway ??

[@davidgros4838]

Rayco boat?

[@jefffederer1807]

Sounds like he's getting his knob polished

[@kidsniffer2654]

That was an amazing save

[@markgamble8377]

Thought it was goina roll over.nice job Saving her. I was wondering why didnt see any pumps hoses over side pumping like crazy. Interesting thanks for sharing

[@Builttobeat]

The water wasn’t rushing into the boat, the current had her pinned and was trying to pull her under the tow

[@marktwained]

Fleet barges, not in a tow. The boat got into the anchor chain.

[@eligebrown8998]

Did the tug get turned the wrong way to get stuck like that? That was cool to watch.

[@marktwained]

Caught on fleet anchor chain trying to wash drift off during extreme high and swift water. Chain saved lives, probably.