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Dad to the Rescue!

All parents will agree that embarrassing their kids (in a good natured way, of course) is one of the great joys of parenthood. Giving your teenage son a big hug in front of his friends, showing silly baby pictures to his prom date, towing his new-to-him powerboat behind your small sailboat . . . wait, what?

That’s just what Napa’s Bill Crowley was called upon to do last weekend when his son Sean called to report his inboard had died and wouldn’t start while he and his buddies were fishing in Carquinez Strait. The young men set their anchor and waited to for rescue. 

"I hooked them up to a tow bridle made from a dock line and a piece of swim noodle I cut off my flotation stash, and towed them about two miles to the municipal launch ramp at Benicia," reports Bill. "I was towing them against a 1.8-knot ebb and this was the first time in the six years I’ve owned my Newport 23 Clarsa that the 2-hp Honda fell short. We were just barely making headway, but the wind was behind us so I raised the main and staysail, which had us clipping along at two knots. The crew of a commercial tug that passed by must have been amused at the sight of a powerboat being towed by a boat under sail!"

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