Vessel Assist Newport is Fifth Towing Port in Oregon

NEWPORT, OR, June 19, 2008 -- Capt. Bill Wechter, a commercial fisherman, has opened Vessel Assist Newport. The on-the-water towing service for boaters and fishermen is located at South Beach Marina on Yaquina Bay and provides 24-hour-a-day assistance, including tows back to a marina or launch ramp, battery jump starts, fuel drop offs, or ungrounding services. Vessel Assist Newport is the second Vessel Assist port on the Yaquina River and the fifth in Oregon.

Wechter, who holds a USCG 100-ton Captain’s license, has equipped the towing port with two response boats – a 44-foot, former Coast Guard motor lifeboat and a 25-foot Tolly Craft. Both vessels can be identified by their distinctive red hulls, white bow stripes and “Vessel Assist” lettering along their sides. Onboard each is a full complement of towing and salvage equipment including extra fuel, engine fluids, pumps, and a battery “jump pack” to handle dead batteries.

Similar to a roadside auto club, BoatUS offers on-the-water assistance plans starting at just $37 a year. Without a towing plan, boaters face costs that nationally average about $600 per incident.

Capt. Wechter says that with temperatures now on the rise, trailer boaters have returned to the region’s great fishing grounds. He adds that he expects to see a fair amount of calls for assistance this summer due to mechanical breakdowns and fuel problems. BoatUS 24-hour Dispatch Centers received over 60,000 calls for assistance nationwide from boaters last year.

Capt. Wechter grew up in Eugene, OR and began fishing out of Newport in the summers before being called to serve in the US Coast Guard during the Vietnam war. He later worked as a firefighter and emergency medical technician in California for four years before resuming his career as a commercial fisherman in Newport where he has since raised a family of five children with his wife, Amy.

Boaters in need of towing assistance can reach Vessel Assist Newport by calling the company directly at 541-961-1886; by VHF radio on channel 16; or through the BoatUS toll-free Dispatch Service at 800-391-4869 or visit http://www.BoatUS.com/Towing for more information.

Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) is the nation's leading advocate for recreational boaters providing its 650,000 members with a wide array of consumer services, including on-the-water towing assistance provided by TowBoatUS and Vessel Assist Pacific. Combined, these two towing fleets offer North American boaters the largest network of US, Canadian and Bahamian towing ports with over 280 locations and nearly 500 towing assistance vessels - twice that of any other service provider.