PORTLAND PUDGY SAVES A LIFE

It was about 9PM on December 5, 2009 and the temperature had dropped into the 30's with a water temperature in the low 50's on a windy black night in the anchorage next to Georgetown, South Carolina. Capt Don Quackenbush was preparing for bed when he heard a weak cry for help. When he rushed on deck, he realized that it was coming from the water next to a boat anchored nearby.

“I had no shoes, hat, or coat but realizing how cold it was I jumped into my Portland Pudgy dinghy and rowed over to see what had happened. I immediately saw fellow sailor...[name deleted]...with just his head above water and his dinghy upside down next to him hanging from the bottom rung of his boarding ladder. He had been in the water for almost 30 minutes and was suffering from extreme hypoxia. I reached him just as he let go of the ladder [of his own boat] and became a dead weight on the back of my dinghy. I had no choice but to try and haul him in over the stern and hoped that the dinghy wouldn't swamp with our combined weight of almost 400 pounds in the back of the boat. The Pudgy performed perfectly, I got a hold of his belt and pulled him aboard without taking on any water at all. I was pleasantly surprised to say the least. By then other fellow cruisers had arrived and we got him aboard his boat and down below to some warm clothes. He probably wouldn't have lasted another minute in that frigid water. We saved him in the nick of time."

Score one for the Portland Pudgy, the little boat that will save your life!

Captain Donald Quackenbush, JN
Liveaboard SV HERMES
Pearson 33 Double Headed Sloop

United States Coast Guard License Number 1090028
U.S. Merchant Marine Officer
Master of Steam, Motor or Auxiliary Sail
Vessels of not more than 100 Gross Tons
Upon Near Coastal and Great Lakes Waters Also
Authorized to Engage in Commercial Assistance Towing

Merchant Mariners Document # 022343