Good deed for the New Year
 

My now 7 yr old daughter and I were trying to catch a redfish on New Years Day on the Suwannee River in Suwannee, FL. The weather was not perfect for the outing. Wind blowing 20 out of the north and about 45 degrees. Tides were running strong due to the blue moon and the tide was rushing out. On our way back in we were flagged down by a man and woman in a 24' Shearwater that had run aground trying to assist another couple that were broke down in a 16' airboat. It was a dismal scene. Both the man and the woman in the Shearwater were wading in the 55 degree water in the muck trying to free their vessel and some 150' closer to shore the man in the airboat was in the water trying to pull his vessel off the mud and attempt to make it over to the Shearwater. I asked if they could feel their extremities and they replied "barely", I knew we needed to act fast as the tide was leaving. My 19' NV boat has a 10" draft and I can usually jack the motor and make way in 12 to 14". I motored over to the Shearwater and towed them off the mud bar after the second attempt. As soon as they were in deep water they anchored down with the power pole. My boat will embarrass you in a 20 knot wind with the motor jacked all the way up so all the floundering around took approx 15 minutes. In the meanwhile, the man from the airboat had managed to walk thru the knee deep muck to the Shearwater and the woman from the airboat was in the water using the now floating airboat to keep her balance and pull her legs out of the muck bottom. All of out attention turned to her. I knew there was a slightly deeper creek bottom perpendicular to shore and somewhere near where the airboat was now anchored. I must have found it and motored all the way to the side of the airboat. The nice lady was not very talkative and was just before panic. She tried several times to pull herself up onto the boats but she was too tired. I left the helm and went to the front deck where I pulled her up by her arm and set her on the front deck of my boat. She was exhausted and relieved. I reversed my course and took her over to the Shearwater where she climbed aboard the other boat. The owner of the airboat did not want to risk my getting stuck and decided to abandon the boat. The airboat spent the night and most of the next day high and dry on the mud bank. As the sun was setting the weary couples gave us their thanks and we all exchanged names. I guess the adrenaline was up as neither I nor my daughter could remember their names. She named them happy, soggy, wet and tired.
We helped out some fellow boaters and made some memories that will last a lifetime.

Well done
 

Good thing you came along when you did. That bad situation could have gotten alot worse.

You are a good man Ridge, My God bless you and your family. Happy New Year !

Way to go Ridge. You were a hero to those folks, and now even more so than ever in the eyes of your daughter.

What kind of boat is your 19" NV?

Thanks guys, it was just something that happened. It was not exactly heroic. I was just in the right place at the right time, I would hope everyone here would have done the same.
Nipper this boat is a 1996 "NV-19", stands for "Inverted Vee". It was built in Bartow, FL. Mine is the older, all wood rolled gunnel cousin to the boats in the link. Probably not too many around the country, they didn't build many. I love the boat but I fear it will not make it in today's market. It has a number of bad handling characteristics and the original manufacturer went out of business. Namely it leans out in high speed turns and it will rail to the point it could throw you out. The plus side is the inverted "V" that acts like a tunnel which allows you to run in places the boat won't even float. At rest the 6'6" beam acts more like a pontoon boat, very stable. Basically rides like a flat bottom in the chop with the occasional sneeze like a twin hull. I want the 24' version but the new Kevlar construction has pushed the price over the top for me. The new builder is Harley Boats, they are innovative if not genious at large fast moving watercraft. Harley started with the "Inverted V" design on floats for small aircraft, the actual design goes back much farther. Hickman's Sea Sled was an Inverted V design that was patented and there have been more than one version built for the military over the years. www.nvboatsinc.com/

Good job , bet you made there day.....beautiful part of the Florida there...In my former life as an archaelogist, I spent a lot of time in the Cedar Key area and muckin around the gulf hammock area between cedar key and yankeetown a long time ago.

RR - what if you hadn't been there? Great job and I know anybody would have done the same.

RW - archaeologist? You are my new best friend! Lets go find some native american artifacts! One of my favorite non-boat-related passions. Unless of course if the lake level goes down far enough to use the boat to find the hunting grounds.

Very cool job.
Yes, the very best part of Florida, muck and all. But don't tell anyone. LOL

BTW, I could go on for days about boats. The heritage on the Inverted V goes back to the 1900's. Ray Hunt and his friend Fisher were impressed enough with Hickman's Sea Sleds to offer Hickman royalties and was scheduled to build the Sea Sleds but instead took the design and added a center V and created the 13' Whaler. Hickman built the first aircraft carrier for the U.S. Navy although it was only for launching the aircraft and he was the inventor of surface piercing drives. Where are the men of genious of today? I feel quite stupid in light of all this guy accomplished.

nice rescue RR. That's good karma, remember, "what comes around goes around". Happy new year!

good job rr , I m sure they were happy you came along.