The first Sea Tow vessel in Palm Beach County was a 1975, 23' Chris Craft Lancer with a 350 Chevy engine & a Volvo outdrive. Richard had purchased this vessel as a donated boat from Nova University and put it together over the summer of 1985. By early fall, the boat was launched and a tradition was begun. Unfortunately, the boat was a maintenance nightmare & constantly demanded that Richard's limited funds be spent on repairs to keep her towing.

Thankfully, unlike today, there were few calls for Sea Tow's assistance and he remembers the first year in business as a complete zero for the fledgling company with not a single job for an entire month! Times were tough but the Beck brothers persevered. A new 26' Goldline with twin outboards was ordered with little down payment and no clear means of how to make the final payment. With a lot of faith, hard work and another loan from Papa Beck, rigging was completed and Sea Tow "Cheyenne" was launched just in time for SunFest, a waterfront festival held in downtown West Palm Beach. This addition to the fledgling fleet was just what was needed to gain exposure for the company and a greater level of confidence from the boating public. This confidence translated into an increase in membership sales.

According to Capt. Will Beck, "The boating public had to be convinced that we would be in business for at least another year and that we would be able to provide the promised service before they felt comfortable paying the $95.00 membership fee. After 18 years, we have proven that Sea Tow is here to stay". In 2003, after 20 years, the membership rate went up to $119.00 but with expanded benefits - the membership rate is now $149.00.

Thanks to hard work and a lot of nights on call, the Sea Tow Palm Beach team has currently attracted over 5000 members to the Sea Tow family from Palm Beach County alone. If you ask anyone on the water today, you will repeatedly hear "You'd better join Sea Tow; It's the best $149.00 you will ever spend for your boat!" Quite simply, Sea Tow Palm Beach has consistently provided members with prompt and professional assistance that goes far beyond towing disabled boats. Local information, information on tides and, on occasion, even rides to the parts supplier or the grocery store are all part of a days work and the entire staff is quick to respond to the requests of our members with the best service possible. The radios and telephones are monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week so that members are assured of speaking to a "live person" and not an answering machine when they are in need of assistance and captain's are always on call, even at night to insure that we provide the fastest possible response to disabled boaters. Free tide tables, local charts, bridge schedules and other local information are always available from our captains or office to all boaters transiting the Palm Beach County area.

All members of the Sea Tow Palm Beach team are USCG licensed captains and many have completed special training for emergency response, spill cleanup and commercial diving. Their many years of experience in the marine industry come together to form an unparalleled team of well trained & experienced marine professionals ready to respond at any time to the needs of the boating community. With salvage trailers, spill response trailers & their fleet of fast response vessels, Sea Tow Palm Beach has "taken their show on the road" to assist with cleanup efforts after such disasters as Hurricanes Opal and Andrew while still maintaining boats and crew to service the Palm Beach County area.

Will is convinced that a satisfied customer isn't good enough. They want their customers to remain loyal fans and tell their friends about Sea Tow. By maintaining that level of service to the boating community, Sea Tow Palm Beach has been able to expand from one broken down, second hand towboat to the current fleet of 7 vessels currently in operation throughout Palm Beach County. The fleet includes 5 RIB Rigid Hull Inflatables, the original Sea Tow "Cheyenne" still in service in the Jupiter area and the 32' crew boat "Seneca" based in West Palm Beach.

From the early days, when a month would go by without a job, Sea Tow Palm Beach has grown substantially and currently assists thousands of boaters in distress annually. They have worked with the staff of Coast Guard Station Lake Worth on numerous search and rescue cases & have saved the lives of divers, boaters and even their pets. Over the years, Sea Tow Palm Beach has been involved with hundreds of successful salvages from the smallest flats boat to luxury yachts and towed everything from houseboats to entire houses!

In 1995, when the 120' Tugboat " Eliza" began taking on water outside the Lake Worth Inlet, Sea Tow and the Coast Guard had put pumps on board but were losing the battle with the incoming water. Despite heavy sea conditions and the danger of the vessel sinking or being washed up on shore, Will Beck sent for his dive gear and worked for 3 hours improvising a seal to stop the flow of water pouring in around the shaft while being buffeted by equipment which had broken loose in the submerged engine room. The tug was towed safely to port and an environmental disaster was averted.

In addition to servicing members & the boating public, Sea Tow Palm Beach donates hours of time and service to local charitable events on the water such as fishing tournaments, artificial reef programs and the holiday boat parade. As the "Official Marine Towing Company" for SunFest, Sea Tow Palm Beach assists boaters at the event with anchoring assistance battery jumps and local knowledge free of charge as well as working with local law enforcement to assure boating safety. The event attracts hundreds of boaters each year and helping to insure their safety is one of the ways Sea Tow Palm Beach is able to give something back to the boating community.

Their office, located in Riviera Beach, is filled with awards & letters of appreciation for service to the community and the staff takes great pride in participating in these charitable events.

Members are invited to stop by the office any time for free charts & tide tables or just to say "hi". Will and the Staff of Sea Tow Palm Beach are always pleased to meet the faces behind the voices on the VHF Radio! It's STILL the best $149.00 you'll ever spend on your boat!