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© Corey Miller Photo
Smith Point Sea Rescue was officially organized in 1974 as an all-volunteer sea rescue service.
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Photo used courtesy Smith Point Sea Rescue.
Currently, Smith Point Sea Rescue has 40 volunteers, both men and women, and the majority of them are come-heres, who not only love the water but bring extensive experience in myriad fields to their service.
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Photo used courtesy Smith Point Sea Rescue.
Smith Point Sea Rescue has three boats, two for the southern group based out of Reedville and one for the Lottsburg group that serves the Potomac.
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© Corey Miller Photo
Sandy Point Marine Services Captain Chris Parker and wife Katie are happy to aid boaters with around-the-clock towing.
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Photo used courtesy Sandy Point Marine Services/TowBoatU.S.
Similar to AAA for cars, Sandy Point Marine Services and TowBoatU.S. offer assistance on the water whenever members need it.
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Photo used courtesy Sandy Point Marine Services.
Sandy Point Marine Services offers additional services beyond assisting boaters in trouble. Boat sales, storage and maintenance concierge services, rental crew boats, boat transport, fuel drops and jump-starts. Call Sandy Point Marine Services today or stop by their office located at 27 Campbell Drive in Topping.
If recreational boating was popular before 2020, the pandemic only added to the number of people who decided to take up recreational boating, an activity particularly well suited to social distancing.
But with the uptick in boats, new boat sales saw a 13-year high in 2020 and boat rentals increased 700% in 2021, came an uptick in the number of boaters either in need of some assistance or in serious trouble on the water. Boaters in the water-centric Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula can consider themselves fortunate to have resources available when things take a turn for the worse.
Smith Point Sea Rescue
You could say that Smith Point Sea Rescue came to be because of a six- and a nine-year-old.
It was late October 1973 and their father took the two children with him to bring his boat home from being repaired. Halfway down the Bay, seas got rough and the boat began to fill with water, so the trio moved to the bow of the sinking boat near Reedville.
Meanwhile at home, his wife became concerned that darkness was falling, and her family wasn’t back. In the pre-cell phone era, there was no way to reach her husband, so she alerted friends to the situation. Local people got in their own boats to go looking for her husband and children, spending the entire night searching with no success.
By the time they were found the next morning, the little girl had severe hypothermia. Dr. Robert Beatley took the child to Richmond for treatment, and she recovered, but the incident made clear to the local community that there was an urgent need for a marine rescue service. Then when a Coast Guard cutter sank near Smith Point, locals spent another entire night searching for the men who had been aboard, and their resolve only deepened.
Smith Point Sea Rescue was officially organized in 1974 as an all-volunteer sea rescue service with members using their own boats. As of 2022, it’s especially notable for being the last remaining volunteer sea rescue unit on the Chesapeake Bay, operating 365 days a year, and not charging for its services. The group has three boats, two for the southern group based out of Reedville and one for the Lottsburg group that serves the Potomac.
Because Smith Point Sea Rescue receives no funds from the state or federal governments, fundraising and donations have always been central to its existence. Step one was the board of directors’ deciding to become a 501(c)(3) nonprofit so any donations made would be considered charitable contributions and that included donations of boats, which were converted for rescue service.
Beginning in 1984, Smith Point Sea Rescue kicked off hosting the hugely popular Reedville Fishing Derby to bring in funds. Held during June, the derby featured bands and vendors and, in its most successful years, attracted as many as 500 boats. Funds from the entry fees, as well as food and T-shirt sales, helped sustain operating costs. The derby continued for 31 years, until there were so many other fishing tournaments that declining attendance no longer made it viable. In 1994, they added a March oyster roast that continued until the pandemic hit in 2020. One annual fundraising mailing is sent to local residents to help offset ongoing operating costs.
Currently, Smith Point Sea Rescue has 40 volunteers—both men and women—and the majority of them are come-heres, who not only love the water but bring extensive experience in myriad fields to their service. A member with grant writing expertise told the group that money was available from various local foundations. “So now we write grants when the need arises,” says Senior Boat Captain Buddy Sylvia, a member since 1994. “When we need something—not gas or day-to-day costs, but radar or instruments for a specific purpose—we apply for a grant. It’s the smartest thing we ever did.”
The first Monday of every month is devoted to a meeting with all members. In addition to going over official business, the group discusses the Mission Report, a detailed log of every search and rescue mission of the past month. “We talk about what happened on different rescues,” Sylvia explains. “If mistakes were made, we talk about how to do it better next time.” The Mission Report is also submitted to local newspapers for publication as a means of informing the public of the vital service Smith Point Sea Rescue is performing week in and week out. “It helps get us in front of the public,” Sylvia says.
After 48 years and thousands of successful missions, you wouldn’t think the group would have a recognition problem. Yet despite giving talks to boating clubs and other interested groups, some people don’t learn about Smith Point Sea Rescue until they run aground or break down on the water, necessitating a call to 911. Local dispatchers have Sylvia on speed dial and once he’s alerted, he contacts the members on duty via the radios all members carry. “Once dispatch gives me the boater’s cell number,
I’ll call and explain who we are and ask for their latitude and longitude,” he says. As he talks to the boater, his crew is already preparing the boat for departure, waiting only for the captain to arrive to head out. “I always ask if children are on board, then I tell them we’re coming to get them, and we’ll tow them where they want to go.” Some grateful boaters make a donation once returned to safety, but surprisingly, some do not.
It’s that 24/7 readiness and rapid response capability on close to 3,000 missions that in April 2018 earned Smith Point Sea Rescue the highest Coast Guard award given to a civilian organization, the Distinguished Public Service Award. “We’re just Good Samaritans doing something we love doing,” Sylvia says modestly. “If people feel like donating, we’re grateful for the support.”
Smith Point Sea Rescue | smithpointsearescue.com | 804-580-5221
Sandy Point Marine Services and TowboatU.S.
Although not a 911 rescue service, Sandy Point Marine Services can be a lifeline for boaters when something goes wrong on the water. They maintain four TowBoatU.S. ports that serve the Northern Neck, Middle Peninsula and Eastern Shore of both Virginia and Maryland.
Similar to AAA for cars, TowBoatU.S. offers assistance on the water whenever members need it. The service can be especially invaluable for those new to boating, providing reassurance that even the newest boat can’t. “When a member needs us, no job is too small,” explains Katie Parker, co-owner with her husband, Chris Parker, of Sandy Point Marine Services in Topping. “We’ll bring you fuel if you run out or come out and jump your dead battery.” Like AAA, there are several levels of towing membership options, from the most basic to the Unlimited Gold Towing membership, which provides 100% payment for tows while underway in the service areas and 100% for tows from your home dock or mooring. There is even an inexpensive Unlimited Trailer Assist add-on to cover trailer issues.
Captain Chris Parker has a long boating history, having grown up with parents who owned a marina on the James River in Richmond. When the couple and their two boys moved to the Northern Neck and Chris began working with TowBoatU.S. out of Reedville and Gwynn’s Island, it wasn’t long before Parker realized that he wanted to work on the water permanently. After taking over the Reedville location, he added boats at Buzzard Point Marina, Whelan’s Marina and another in Crisfield, Maryland. Having four separate ports allows Parker and his crew to respond to any situation in the most expedient way possible, and sometimes that means trailering a boat to get to an access point much sooner. “He’s a natural on the water,” Katie acknowledges of her husband. “He’s extremely calm, so people feel safe in his company.”
When a boater with a membership has a problem or gets in a bad situation on the water, they have several options to request assistance. They can call the dispatcher directly any time of the day or night for water or roadside assistance. Many choose to keep the BoatU.S. app on their phone so they can request a tow through the app with the touch of a finger. Or they can do it old-school style and hail TowBoatU.S. on VHF radio station 16. Additionally, members can schedule dock-to-dock transport when the occasion arises, as when they need their boat moved to or from their home dock and a marina. One particularly valuable benefit to membership is that coverage includes incidents when a member is on a friend’s boat and something goes wrong.
The Parkers are pleased with what Sandy Point Marine Services has to offer, from around-the-clock towing to boat brokerage to concierge services to crew boat transports for construction projects on the water. “We’re proud of what we have going here, being part of this community and helping out,” Parker says. “You don’t want to have to use our towing services, but when you need us, you know you’ll be well taken care of. For our members, it’s peace of mind.”
Sandy Point Marine Services/TowBoatU.S. | sandypointmarineservices.com | Call 804-724-0833 24/7 for Assistance.