Sea-Tow Captain Honored for Extra Effort

A Sea-Tow captain from Fort Myers, Florida, was honored recently for going above and beyond the call of duty last June. Capt. Craig Stranksy was finishing an 8-hour shift with Sea Tow Fort Myers when he got a call from a worried mom. Her teenage son had volunteered to take the family’s 16’ tender to pick up bait for a fishing trip with his dad the following day. What should have been an hour-long trip grew into much later as day turned to evening.

No Phone

The mom tracked her son’s location to the Redfish Pass area near Captiva Island. The parents are boaters and Sea Tow subscribers so she made the call and Stransky headed out. The teenager’s cell phone had died and he didn’t have a marine radio. Stransky was familiar with the Redfish Pass area and he had a good idea where the youngster might be.

Stransky saw the boat’s light in a shallow cove. The teenager was mosquito-bitten and the first thing he said was, “My dad’s going to kill me,” Stransky recalled. He reassured the young man that his parents would be happy to see him. Since the cove was too shallow, Stransky had to get in the water and pull the skiff by hand to where he could secure a line and tow it back to its home marina where the parents, who declined to be identified, were waiting.

For his efforts, Stransky received the Efforts Above and Beyond Award during Sea Tow’s annual meeting that, of course, was held virtually this year due to COVID-19 restrictions.