The US Coast Guard Launched a C130 to Look for Me!

[@SeaPro360]

Best job ever, my man. Upgrade that antenna, maybe? The adventure never ends.

[@CaptKenO]

That was the first thing I did the next day. Not an upgrade since we have a good one one there already, but replaced with a new one because this one was pretty old at this point and had been whacked a few times

[@psi23k]

Not all heroes wear capes. Great job done by all 👍

[@CaptKenO]

Most definitely!

[@kennethhacker3014]

That's one hell of a tow , great job dude

[@CaptKenO]

Thanks Ken!

[@mikesmith7217]

As a retired Coast small boat coxswain, outstanding.

[@CaptKenO]

Thanks Mike!

[@AdventuresofHappyOurs]

Well done!

[@CaptKenO]

Thanks Capt!

[@dennisreeves632]

Man those night rescues are scary.

[@CaptKenO]

Generally more boring than scary... Especially these long ones that are offshore since there's not much going on. I think for this one I was on the boat for a bit over 13hrs. The hard part on these late and long tows is staying awake since I basically steer the same compass heading for hours on end. This particular one was about 8 hours from the time I picked them up to when we got back to the coast

[@dennisreeves632]

@@CaptKenO That is when a first mate would come in handy. I can't imagine doing what you do but I'm sure glad you do it.

[@TheErrie]

Nice vid. I understand your priority is with the towed vessel. But to me it seems the coast guard is trying to understand if they need to search for another vessel in distress. That’s why they are requesting you multiple times to ask your towed vessel if they called out earlier at 3.. By not actively trying to figure that out with your towed vessel did you might have prolongued an unnecessary search or endangered a vessel in distress. What’s your perspective? Keep uploading, great adventures.

[@CaptKenO]

Good question. In hind sight, yeah, I should've stopped the tow to ask them, but at the time I was thinking that this boat didn't have issues until well after the time sector hear the first callout. Being 1am at this point probably didn't help with my thought process either :)

[@72ford360]

Wouldn't hurt to have a spare HT to hand to boat your pulling. They usually aren't prepared... Obviously 😉

[@LuisMiguelGarciaTorres]

great videos captain. keep up the good job!!

[@CaptKenO]

Thanks Luis!

[@greatnortherntroll6841]

Why did the tow boat seemingly change names from Venice to Osprey? Am I missing something here?

[@CaptKenO]

The boat name is osprey and I work for towboat us venice. I was using the call sign towboat us venice, and since they had called my boss to see if he had contact with me when they couldn't, he gave them the boats name

[@psi23k]

@@CaptKenO that makes sense. Good question and answer.

[@robslifeadventures]

Trying to make comms with your antenna horizontal is a large loss in transmission when the other station is vertical antenna. I watched one video where a vessel was calling mayday at quarter mile out but was broken and virtually unintelligible because he had his antenna in the horizontal position.

[@robslifeadventures]

Somehow my message was cut. I did say glad you realised it in the end and raised the antenna

[@CaptKenO]

Not sure why you thought my antenna was down. Both were in the upright position...

[@robslifeadventures]

@@CaptKenO I meant when you were at the dock with them and attempted to call the sector. Your antenna was down then you raised it.

[@robslifeadventures]

@@CaptKenOStill love your videos though.

[@CaptKenO]

@@robslifeadventures oh. Gotcha. Sorry. This video is so old I didn't remember putting them down, but knew they would've been up if I was offshore. I probably put at least the big one down going under the Longboat pass bridge and forgot about it 🤷

[@jjosephm7539]

Many times the Airstation will send guys on training flights to get hours

[@CaptKenO]

Talking to other people who are/were in the CG, it seems likely that they were already in the area for something else or went up as a training exercise. Regardless, I'm happy to know they're always looking out for us on the water!

[@HansGyswyt]

Wow, new subscriber, love you confidence. Curious about your boat Osprey. What kind of diesel power plant? Is that a stern thruster I hear helping you out or just a bow thruster?

[@CaptKenO]

Thanks Hans. It's a Yanmar 4lha-ste. No bow or stern thrusters on my boat although those would definitely be nice sometimes! :)

[@rjr-yp9uj]

Is that the VHF antenna layed back on the starboard side of your vessel?

[@CaptKenO]

Yes it is. It's a 18ft antenna and wouldn't fit under the bridge across longboat pass

[@rjr-yp9uj]

@@CaptKenO Ok. thanks fror the work you do. Do you ever watch the videos from Haulover Inlet on you tube? If you don't , you should . It's very entertaining.

[@CaptKenO]

@@rjr-yp9uj I sure do!

[@rjr-yp9uj]

@@CaptKenO Great stuff, isn't it.

[@randalljames1]

Well I wonder what happened to the guys at 3:00 assuming that they are still out there?

[@CaptKenO]

They were talking about the guys I had in tow

[@psi23k]

@@CaptKenO I think he meant the call the coast guard were asking about at 3pm.

[@kennethhudson8013]

How much was this guy charged for tow?

[@CaptKenO]

Not a single dime. It was all covered by his TowBoat US unlimited gold membership ($200/year). If he didn't have the membership it would've cost him somewhere around $4k.

[@kennethhudson8013]

@@CaptKenO wow that's cheap

[@CaptKenO]

@@kennethhudson8013 yep. That's why I shake my head anytime someone doesn't have the membership. Basically, an average tow for a non member costs the person somewhere around a decade of yearly dues

[@kennethhudson8013]

@@CaptKenO wow

[@drifter9425]

Is that a Shamrock your towing with

[@rickbacon9150]

Those US Coast Guardsmen need to be more eloquent and slow down their speech. Emhmm

[@CaptKenO]

It would definitely help if they'd slow down sometimes :)

[@53Peterbilt]

listening to you comment to the Coast Guard @ 6:54 , it makes me wonder if that wouldn't be a bad idea to have a set of walkie-talkies for you to give to the people you're towing. My son always carries a set in his truck on it's charger, and we've found them to be extremely handy in all sorts of ways never considered. In situations where the towed vessel has lost power and have no direct way to communicate with you, this would be a cheap and practical solution. Situations where their boat was talking on water, or there was an issue with the tow line on their end, or some problem with a passenger...they'd have a way to talk to you and alert you of what was going on. I enjoy your videos and often wonder what I would do were I in your position to make my work life easier, safer, and more efficient, and I do think this would be one. Great tow! Keep up the good work

[@CaptKenO]

That's a good suggestion! I'll definitely look into it. Any suggestions on brand/model?

[@Vegvisir_Oceanis]

For close range communication, any cheap brand would do well as long as they Come with an ear-muzzle or other headset. No need for pricey marriage savers.

[@72ford360]

@@CaptKenO GASDF SAR, we use Baofeng UV-82 with an aftermarket antenna, and often can hit HAM repeaters within 10 miles. Usually around $50. I've used my current radio for nearly 3 years of hiking and SAR missions.

[@CaptKenO]

@@72ford360 waterproof and floats? I'm not looking for something amazing since I only need to reach a few hundred feet los at most. Waterproof and floating would be the most important features for me

[@tc1uscg65]

Must be nice to know they didn't blow the US Tow off. Launching a C130 for a comms platform is not cheap but when lives are on the line, it's well spent. Glad everyone made it back to shore and that the CG went out to check on the boats.

[@CaptKenO]

Always comforting to know the CG is looking out for us out there!

[@tc1uscg65]

@@CaptKenO Yes it is. Though I've been retired for over 20 years, as a Radioman, we took loosing comms seriously. Even one of our own (helo's were notorious for not checking in every 15 minutes like they were required to do). So, my hats off to some SAR controller for having the smarts to send someone out to check on you. Stay safe. 73's

[@beachcouple1741]

Well done!

[@kevinjames9724]

God bless you my man. In the day, in the night… respect!

[@CaptKenO]

Thanks Kevin!