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Sea Tow Services International News

18 Nov 2016

Sea Tow Presents Franchise Awards

Sea Tow Rookie of the Year (Photo: Sea Tow Services)

Sea Tow Services International, Inc., a professional on-water assistance provider, honored members of its national network for outstanding customer service and dedication to boating safety at the Sea Tow Awards Luncheon held on November 17. The event was a highlight of the organization’s 2016 Annual Meeting, which brought Sea Tow operators from across the country to the Wyndham Lake Buena Vista Resort in Orlando from November 14-17, 2016. Sea Tow Franchise of the Year, awarded to the franchise that most exemplifies Sea Tow’s high standards of service and operation…

25 Mar 2015

Joe Frohnhoefer, Founder of Sea Tow, Dead at 71

   Captain Joseph Frohnhoefer, Jr. (Photo courtesy of Sea Tow)

Captain Joseph Frohnhoefer, Jr., the founder and CEO of Sea Tow Services International, died Tuesday at the age of 71. He passed at his home in Southold, NY after a battle with cancer. Frohnhoefer founded Sea Tow, which now has over 100 locations across the U.S., Europe and the Caribbean, in 1983. He stated publicly that he founded the company after the U.S. Coast Guard stopped responding to non-emergency calls. Previously he had been a Coast Guard captain, a licensed electrician and a woodshop teacher at Mattituck High School.

18 Dec 2013

Free Marine VHF Check Call Expanding, Seeks Hosts

VHF whip antenna: Image in public domain

Sea Tow Services International, Inc., a leading professional marine assistance provider in the USA, says that the number of stations transmitting its free Automated Radio Check service in coastal and inland boating areas across the U.S. has risen to over 130 locations. Claimed to be the first and only service of its kind, Sea Tow continues to seek new host stations in its mission to expand this vital boating safety service. Automated Radio Check, which is provided by Sea Tow in association with MariTEL, lets boaters quickly and easily check that their vessel’s VHF radio is working.

24 Jan 2013

Sea Tow Services International Celebrates Thirty Years

Your Road Service at Sea (R) Reaches Milestone Worth Celebrating. For three decades Captain Joe Frohnhoefer and his wife Georgia of Sea Tow Services International have leveraged their greatest strengths-- Captain Joe's in-depth knowledge of the sea and Georgia's meticulous attention to detail-- and built an impressive worldwide network of everyday heroes, their Sea Tow Captains. Throughout 2013, Sea Tow International will celebrate these efforts and reflect on the ground-breaking accomplishments of the past thirty years.

06 Jul 2012

Sea Tow Provides Activity/Response Reports

Sea Tow Reports Increased Boating Activity and Calls for Assistance Midway Through July 4th Holiday Week. Incidents Underscore the Need to Follow Commonsense Boating Safety Guidelines. The extended July 4th holiday has been one of the busiest in recent years for Sea Tow Services International Inc., the nation’s leading on-water assistance provider, and its network of Sea Tow locations across the U.S. This increased activity reflects a growing desire among boaters to enjoy the many benefits of the boating lifestyle with friends and family. By midway through the July 4th holiday week, which runs this year from June 29-July 8, 2012, Sea Tow already had received more than 2,200 calls for assistance.

05 Jun 2012

Sea Tow Announces New Delaware Bay Franchise

Sea Tow Services International Inc., announces the opening of Sea Tow Delmarva, owned and operated by Capt. Hank Fulmer. Sea Tow Delmarva serves boaters along the coasts of Delaware and Maryland on Delaware Bay, from Slaughter Beach Inlet south to and including Lewes and Rehoboth, Del., and Indian River Inlet and Ocean City, Md. Capt. Fulmer and his staff of U.S. Coast Guard-licensed Sea Tow Captains operate three boats out of Slaughter Beach Inlet, Ocean City, and Indian River Inlet, and may add a fourth boat to the Sea Tow Delmarva fleet in the next year. "We're excited that Capt. Fulmer has joined our long list of Sea Tow operator Captains nationwide," said Capt. Joseph Frohnhoefer, Sea Tow's founder and CEO. Capt.

27 Mar 2012

CT Marine Trades Association Names a Board Director

Captain Tom Kehlenbach

Sea Tow Services International Inc. announced that Captain Tom Kehlenbach, owner of Sea Tow Central Connecticut, has been named to the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Marine Trades Association (CMTA) for a three-year term, starting July 1, 2012. The appointment was made on March 14th during CMTA’s 58th Annual Meeting at the Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut. Capt. Kehlenbach has been a CMTA member since 1990, when he founded Sea Tow Central CT. “The CMTA has been a great organization to be a part of for so many years,” he said.

14 Jan 2012

Sea Tow Captain Receives Life-Saving Award

Sea Tow Clarks Hill Lake, S.C. & Ga., Capt. Jon Gridley Recognized for July 4th Rescue. Capt. Jon G. Gridley, co-owner of Sea Tow Clarks Hill Lake, South Carolina and Georgia, was honored with an international life-saving award by AFRAS (the Association for Rescue at Sea, Inc.) at the 25th Anniversary C-PORT (Conference of Professional Operators for Response Towing) Annual Meeting on January 9 at the Grand Hyatt in Tampa, Fla. The AFRAS C-PORT Award, which recognizes extraordinary bravery exhibited by a member of C-PORT during an on-water rescue, was presented to Capt. Gridley and his friend, Jim Masiongale, who also participated in the incident, by Steve Sawyer, president of AFRAS and retired captain, U.S. Coast Guard Office of Search and Rescue, at an awards ceremony on Monday night.

12 Aug 2011

Sea Tow Is Named Marinalife’s Official Towing Partner

Southold, N.Y., August 11, 2011 – Sea Tow Services International, Inc., the nation’s leading marine assistance provider, announces a new partnership with Marinalife, the first and only company to provide an extensive online directory of marina information and boating resources, as well as easy-to-use reservations and travel tools. Under the terms of the agreement, Sea Tow is Marinalife’s official marine assistance service provider. Marinalife members will receive 14 months of Sea Tow membership for the price of 12, adding Peace of Mind on the Water™ to their boating experience, as well as all the deals and discounts offered by the Sea Tow Advantage Network™. The 24/7 availability of Sea Tow’s fleet of U.S.

08 Aug 2011

Sea Tow Installs ARC Boating Safety Service

Sea Tow Services International, Inc. announced it has completed installation of its Automated Radio Check (ARC) boating safety service through its network of Sea Tow franchises, and will make the free public service available nationwide through additional marine outlets. Boaters can now obtain radio checks through the Sea Tow ARC service in major coastal boating markets across the U.S., including the East Coast, Gulf of Mexico, and Southern California, as well as in select inland regions. The first boating safety program of its kind, Sea Tow ARC is made possible due to Sea Tow’s ongoing relationship with marine communications specialist MariTEL.

10 Dec 2010

Sea Tow Presents Awards during 28th Annual Meeting

Sea Tow Services International, the world’s largest professional marine assistance organization, welcomed Rear Admiral William Baumgartner, the Coast Guard’s 7th District Commander, and Captain David McBride, the U.S. Coast Guard’s Chief of Search of Rescue, to its annual awards ceremony and dinner on Dec. 2, 2010, as part of the company’s 28th Annual Meeting held Dec. 1-3, 2010, in Delray Beach, Fla. Together with Capt. Joe Frohnhoefer, Sea Tow’s founder/CEO, RADM Baumgartner and CAPT McBride presented eight Sea Tow captains with Awards for Efforts Above and Beyond. RADM Baumgartner also presented the Sea Tow captains with his challenge coin, a military honor rooted in the U.S. Navy that acknowledges the receiver’s courage, strength, leadership and commitment to duty.

06 May 2010

Backhaus VP Ops for Sea Tow

Sea Tow Services International, the world’s largest marine assistance provider, announced the promotion of Robert Backhaus to Vice President of Operations, along with two additions to its corporate staff: Christine de la Garza, Director of Marketing, and Cindy M. McCaffery, Director of Sales & Training. These key staff appointments are part of Sea Tow’s ongoing initiative to raise its brand awareness worldwide and to improve customer service to its franchise owners and through them, its entire membership. A 32-year-veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard, whose service experience included shipboard duty, maritime search and rescue (SAR), maritime law enforcement…

05 Dec 2001

Sieczka Joins Sea Tow

Michael J. Siecka recently joined Sea tow Services International as the Western Region corporate representative. He will coordinate Sea Tow activities in an effort to improve and expand Sea Tow’s presence on the west coast. He will be responsible for the recruitment of new franchisees, marketing and the development of relationships with marine retailers, boat dealers, marinas, trade associations and government agencies. Captain Joe Frohnhoefer, CEO and chairman of Sea Tow Services international sad, “We believe that the West Coast is an area that has great potential for the marine assistance towing industry and the Sea Tow system. Prior to joining Sea Tow International, Sieczka was Branch Manager for two food service companies and handled logistics, financials, sales, and marketing.

05 Apr 2002

Triump Tapped To Outfit Sea Tow With Boats

Triumph Boats Inc. has completed an agreement with Sea Tow Services International to market and distribute a boat that provides the ultimate commercial towing package for Sea Tow franchisees and the Marine Assistance Industry. Captain Joe Frohnhoefer says, "It's the ultimate boat for us, in construction and function. Triumph's Roplene™ technology boat can withstand adverse conditions better than any other boat available today. We can run into rocks, hit submerged objects and floating debris without any concerns. Triumph and Sea Tow collaborated in designing a commercial boat that utilizes a standard 210 Center Console model. The Triumph boat for Sea Tow was built using a yellow marine grade polyethylene, and the color is molded throughout the material.

09 Dec 2004

Zaloom Joins Sea Tow

Sea Tow Services International, Inc., announced the expansion of its Business Technology group with the hiring of technology expert Charles Zaloom. He will serve as the company’s Director of Business Technology, effective immediately. “We are entering a period of extensive growth both physically, through the expansion of our corporate office and our national franchise network, as well as professionally through an increase in strategic business relationships and alliances,” explained Keith Cummings, President of Sea Tow Services International. “We know that capitalizing on the major technological advancements and alliances is the key to sustaining this strategic growth, which is one of Mr. Zaloom’s core competencies.

29 May 2007

Sea Tow Reports High Activity Levels

Sea Tow Services International Inc., released their statistics this morning on the company’s activity level for the Memorial Day weekend. Capt. Joseph Frohnhoefer III, Sea Tow’s vice president of operations credits the spike in boating activity to the beautiful weather conditions throughout the country, particularly in the Northeast where Memorial Day has come to mark the beginning of the boating season. “There was a significant amount of activity this weekend, particularly in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, which saw a running start to their seasons.” Frohnhoefer said. Of the nearly 1,000 assistance calls Sea Tow responded to this weekend, most were for routine, member-covered services such as fuel drops, battery jumps, dock-to-dock tows and mechanical failures.

23 Mar 2007

Sea Tow Awards New U.S. Franchises

Sea Tow Services International Inc., announced the opening of four new franchises: Sea Tow Buzzards Bay (Mass.), Sea Tow Montauk (N.Y.), Sea Tow Lake Eufaula (Ala.) and Sea Tow Lake Lewisville (Tx.). The company also announced the sale and transfer of ownership of three existing franchise areas. Captain Walter Garschagen is the new owner of Sea Tow Central Hudson (N.Y.), Jim and Jan Pulley are the new owners of Sea Tow Table Rock Lake (Mo.), and Capt. Frank Howell is the new owner of Sea Tow Orlando Lakes (Fla.). The new franchise owners for all of these locations were awarded certificates for their successful completion of the extensive Sea Tow training program, which includes both on-water and classroom instruction at the company’s corporate headquarters in Southold, N.Y.

15 Feb 2007

Sea Tow Expands SeaSmart

Sea Tow Services International Inc., announced the expansion of its Sea Smart VHF service offering. Sea Smart VHF will be available throughout Florida’s Southeast coast, from Jupiter Inlet to Islamorada. The service is already available throughout the West Coast of Florida and in the Northeast from Cape Cod, Mass., to Cape May, N.J. Thecommunications service, launched at the 2006 Miami International Boat Show, utilizes boaters’ existing equipment to provide an application for their DSC-enabled VHF: a reliable communications connection on the water. Sea Smart’s marine voice and data network is comprised of coastal high site radio towers that connect, via RoIP, to a national operations center manned by professional marine dispatchers and licensed captains 24-hours a day.

03 Jun 2003

Sea Tow Services International Continues U.S. Expansion

Sea Tow Services International, Inc. has expanded the company’s franchise program into seven new regions, one of which extends Sea Tow’s footprint into the state of Michigan. Three of the areas are also in lake regions, which remain important geographical targets for Sea Tow. The new Sea Tow Services coverage areas include Lake Erie (OH), Eastern Lake Michigan (MI), Lake George (NY), Trenton/Severn (Ontario), Solomons (MD) and Lake Gaston and Albemarle Sound (both in NC). “This is the second major expansion announcement for Sea Tow this year,” explains Captain Tim Wilson, National Corporate Representative for Sea Tow Services International.

01 Jul 2003

Sea Tow International Announces Alliance with StarMD

Sea Tow Services International, Inc., has formed an alliance with StarMD, LLC to provide direct, accredited medical assistance to recreational boaters who may experience a medical emergency while out at sea. As part of the exclusive agreement, Sea Tow members will be offered immediate 24-hour a day access to StarMD’s trained emergency medical physicians at a significantly reduced price. Effective immediately, Sea Tow members will have the opportunity to access the Maritime Emergency Response Program, established in 2002 between StarMD and The University of Pittsburgh’s Medical Center (UPMC) that puts boaters in immediate contact with a board certified emergency medicine physician at UPMC in the event of an emergency.