New boater-assistance service comes to the Caribbean

THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands ― Capt. Robert Manley, a New Jersey native who has been running marine businesses in the Caribbean for the last 25 years, has opened TowBoatUS St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). “I’ve been towing boats and helping boaters ever since I came to St. Thomas,” Manley said. “The only real difference now is that I am working with BoatUS, which has great member benefits.” Now anyone who boats in the USVI or the nearby Spanish Virgin Islands can take advantage of 24/7 on-water assistance. Much like an auto club for boaters, TowBoatUS offers on water towing plans for saltwater boaters and anglers for a BoatUS membership fee of $149 a year. Boaters can face costs that average up to $700 per towing incident – with some paying into the thousands out of pocket – when they don’t have an annual BoatUS towing plan. Manley, the maritime jack-of-all-trades, got his sea legs as a youngster fishing off the New Jersey coast. After several years running a demolition and construction business in his home state, he left the cold and snow behind and headed to the islands where he built marinas, ran fishing charters and boated for pleasure. “The...