The Great Sea Turtle Rescue

 By: Captain Steve Winkler

On July 16, 2000, an excited boater made a general call on VHF channel 16.... Does anybody know who to call about a giant sea turtle entangled in a lobster pot? My first thought aboard the Sea Tow "Rescue 1" was; A giant sea turtle in Boston, Yeah Right!

Eventually Sea Tow Boston Dispatch answered the call, shifted the boater to VHF channel 12 and told the boater he would contact USCG Station Point Allerton and the New England Aquarium for him. The Coast Guard Station was never able to establish reliable communications with the boater so Captain Dave Winkler continued to run the communications.

Sea Tow dispatch called the Aquarium's hotline and with them on the phone relayed instructions to the boater and asked questions to help the Aquarium response team locate the boater. The Aquarium wanted a position but the boater didn't have a Loran or GPS aboard and was having difficulty giving an understandable Geographic position.

With the Aquarium on the phone and not able to get a good position from the reporting source... The Sea Tow Boston comm center dispatched me in "Rescue 1" to use my RDF (Radio Direction Finder) and locate the boater. I was returning from a free member jumpstart offshore on Stellwagon Bank and had reported earlier to my dispatcher that I had a "fix" on the boaters radio signal.

I diverted and ran down the Line Of Position using the RDF readout as as a guide, homing in on the boaters radio signal. The RDF's that Sea Tow Boston uses are state-of-the-art Simrad Automatic Digital Direction Finders. They are amazing pieces of equipment for locating any boater who isn't exactly sure of his location. When I arrived on scene I found the boater and to my amazement the huge turtle, a five foot long Giant Leatherback. I immediately reported my GPS position to Sea Tow dispatch. The turtle had somehow wrapped a lobster pot pickup buoy around its two forward flippers and its head. It then proceeded to circle three moorings and pull them together into a single mess.

I first, with the help of the boater, took the boat off the mooring the turtle was tangled up in and relocated it to another empty mooring. We were hoping that by relieving the strain, the turtle would be able to free itself while we waited for the Aquarium experts to arrive. The boater was getting concerned and I could see why. The turtle seemed to be gasping for air! The boater stated that he thought the turtle had been tangled up for about an hour already before I arrived. We both were concerned that the turtle was extremely tired and may not make it until the experts arrived. I, therefore, asked permission from the Aquarium to let us attempt to cut the turtle free.

Sea Tow Dispatch relayed back to us that the Aquarium personnel said that it would be OK for us to make an attempt if we were 100% certain that we could free him. They didn't want the turtle free swimming but still entangled.

The reporting source came on board the "Rescue 1" to assist me. I carefully maneuvered "Rescue 1" over to the mooring where the turtle was entangled and took a look. Boy, that turtle's head was big! We got hold of the line and I quickly cut the single loop of 3/8" line wrapped around the turtle's flippers using the Spiderco one handed rescue knife I carry. With the line cut the turtle swam free.