TowBoatUS Savannah Named Tower Of The Year

Captain Dana Rutland and his crew take top honors at 2026 TowBoatUS Conference.

At the spirited awards dinner during the 2026 TowBoatU.S. Conference held in Orlando, Florida, in January, TowBoatU.S. Savannah owner Dana Rutland didn’t hear his port’s name called when the coveted Tower of the Year Award was announced. “The folks from TowBoatU.S. Charleston leaned over and said, ‘That’s you!’ I was overwhelmed. Totally overwhelmed,” Rutland said. Accompanied by a standing ovation, he was full of emotion, pumping his fist and giving high fives as he snaked his way through a maze of dinner tables to receive his award on stage.

Since 2006, the red boats of TowBoatU.S. Savannah have been helping recreational boaters from the South Edisto River in South Carolina to the southern side of Sapelo Sound in Georgia. With four locations in Beaufort, South Carolina, and Tybee Island, Thunderbolt, and Savannah, Georgia, Rutland says his customers are usually extremely happy when he or his crew arrive to help, get them back home safely, and they don’t have any unexpected out-of-pocket expenses as BoatU.S. Towing Members. “It’s a satisfying job,” he says.

Criteria considered when choosing the Tower of the Year include membership sales, digital dispatch response rate, and service ratings from customer surveys. TowBoatU.S. Savannah received a nearly perfect 98.2% excellence rating from boaters who received routine assistance from the port last year. When asked about the secret to their success, Rutland says simply, “We treat people the way we want to be treated.” He explains he and his crew try to adhere to their estimated time of arrival and continually communicate with the customers. “If something interrupts the projected ETA, we let them know,” he says. “We stay in touch and make them aware of what it takes to get to them. People seem to be happier when you can come help them, and you have a harmonious outcome.”

When asked what the award means to him and his crew, Dana paused and apologized for getting a bit choked up. “I told my people, ‘My name isn’t on that award. It’s for all of us. We did it together.’ They interact with the customers as much or more than I do.”

After two decades of helping boaters on some of their most stressful days, Rutland has learned a thing or two about what keeps outings from turning into ordeals. He says the most intelligent thing boaters can do is always have a backup plan, like a towing membership. “We tow as many new boats as old boats,” he says. “All boats break. If you are in our environment and haven’t run aground, you will. We run aground.” On the water, he adds, the key is having a contingency plan before you need it.