Dave Brandt knows towing - and being towed
May 5, 2008
While Dave Brandt was growing up in Jacksonville, his father had a marine towing business, so Dave spent a lot of time on tugboats working on the deck.
By Capt. Carl Kelly
After college, Brandt went to work for Westinghouse in other parts of the country.
But he and wife, D'Ann, knew they would eventually return to Florida.
When the time got close, Brandt joined the U.S. Power Squadron in Cincinnati to reacquaint himself with boating and hone his skills.
They bought their first boat when they moved to Marco and have owned several boats, working up to a 34-foot Sea Ray.
Brandt joked about grounding a lot and having to call SeaTow so much that when his daughter-in-law is on board and sees the yellow boat, she'll say, 'There's a SeaTow boat. They're looking for you."
"We have had our share of groundings," he admitted. "Our most significant grounding was in 2002."
They were going to St. Petersburg with a group, but couldn't leave with them in the morning. He and D'Ann started about 1:30 p.m.
"Of course, the waves kick up after lunch," Dave noted. "We were only going about 12 or 15 knots, getting beaten up. So I called ahead to Southeast Plantation. They'd been hit bad by Hurricane Charlie, but the fuel dock was open. We got there about 20 minutes after five and they were closed. So, we docked and spent the night."
The fuel dock didn't open until 9 a.m., so they left early and went to Sarasota to fuel. Leaving Sarasota, D'Ann navigated while Dave piloted.
"So, I was plowing along on a compass course until we got to a marker where I was supposed to make a turn," Dave recalled. "She said, 'You're supposed to turn at that marker.'
"I said, 'No. It's the next one.' Well, we went hard aground.
"It took a while for the TowBoatUS people to find us and get us backed off. So, I got back in the channel. Two miles later, I'm aground again. I was so embarrassed.
"Fortunately, I didn't go aground hard. I had my wife come to the stern. I jumped overboard, getting the boat back in the channel, with other boaters going by."
They arrived at the St. Petersburg Yacht Club too late for dinner, but Dave summed up the trip with "Had a great time at the club. Came home safely."
Students
Brandt is assistant administrative officer for the Marco Island Power Squadron.
"Basically I work with the students that have finished the boat safety course," he said.
"After the initial course, we try to take the graduating class and do a circumnavigation of Marco Island," thus putting theory into practice.
His boat is a Sea Ray Sundancer 34 with a beam of 11.5 feet and a draft of 36 inches. It is powered by two Mercruiser 7.4 liter engines and "It has all the amenities."
Capt. Carl has held his USCG captain's license since 1994. If you have questions or would like to make suggestions for this column, contact Capt. Carl at
marcocaptain@comcast.net.