ALEXANDRIA, Va., May 27, 2014 – The BoatUS 24-hour national dispatch centers received over 1800 requests for assistance from recreational boaters and anglers over the four-day (Friday-Monday) Memorial Day weekend. Great weather across the country is the main reason, says the nation’s boat owners group. “When weather is good, boating traffic is up, which leads to higher numbers of routine requests for jump-starts, fuel-drop offs, or tows back to a launch ramp,” said Vice President of BoatUS Towing Services Adam Wheeler. The 1800 number does not include requests made directly to any of BoatUS’ individual 300 TowBoatUS or Vessel Assist locations, and follows an increasing trend that has grown about 20% over the last five years.

BoatUS attributes some of the increase to having more new towing ports, many of which have sprouted up on inland, freshwater locations over the past few years. But also contributing to the requests for assistance this Memorial holiday was likely a short spring commissioning season, which sometimes causes boaters to rush through their checklists or miss an important maintenance item, which leads to breakdowns.