The weather on Saturday, August 8, 2009 at Riverside Marina in Riverside, New Jersey, was pleasant, with temperatures in the low 80s, clear skies, and a slight breeze. It was a perfect summer day for pleasure boating on the Delaware River. My wife and I had invited some friends to join us on a pleasure cruise on our boat the Morning Star and then go to a post-cruise wine and cheese party. Of interest to this story, Morning Star also doubles as an operational facility for the Auxiliary and my wife and I are members of Flotilla 66.

This was the first time our friends had been on our boat, and also their first time boating on the Delaware River. With “first timers” we always take them down river to the City of Philadelphia. It is about a 10-mile run one way, which translates into a 2-hour cruise. Visiting Penn’s landing to see the boats and ships tied up, as well as motoring over to see the USS New Jersey on the Camden side seems to always be a big hit with our first-time guests.

We set out for Philadelphia as our destination early in the afternoon, after having a short picnic on our boat. We arrived in the Penn’s Landing (center-city Philadelphia) area about two hours later and everyone enjoyed viewing the Philadelphia and Camden waterfronts.

While motoring over to see the USS New Jersey, I took note of the fact that just down below the Walt Whitman Bridge (downriver from Philadelphia and Camden) there appeared to be “heavy metal” (a tanker or cargo ship) coming upriver. This was not an issue per se; there is always commercial traffic on the Delaware, and it is fun to watch the ships go by. After about an hour we headed back upriver.

While heading back we entered a small debris field of sticks and logs and I slowed down to navigate through them. I was focused on trying to avoid anything floating in the water. At this time, an excited conversation broke out on board: “Hey did you see those two kids floating out in the middle of the river?” I had not seen them; I was concentrating on the debris in the water. I powered down and asked,“What kids?” My wife and friends all pointed over the stern and said, “There!” About half a mile behind us were two teenage girls floating on some small flotation “toys” in the middle of the channel, kicking their legs to generate some propulsion. At this time I estimated that there was a 4-knot flood current. I turned the boat around and slowly motored over to see what those two kids were doing.

It is a common sight on the Delaware to see boats towing people behind them with inflatable devices. I was thinking at the time, “Hey these are two kids having fun on someone’s boat.” While this sort of activity is a bit rare on that section of the river, it was possible that some of the boats moving in the area were associated with the kids in the water. But this time there was something wrong: the other boat traffic was just passing the kids by in the water. They were out there alone.

Clearly there was something amiss about this situation. Knowing that there was “heavy metal” on the way, I called the Coast Guard (Sector Delaware Bay) on channel 16 to inform them of the situation. I identified myself, and the fact that Morning Star was an operational facility, albeit without orders or full legal crew. The communications operator at Sector Delaware Bay asked me if I could stick around and assist the two kids in reaching land safely. I told him I would do so. I approached the two kids in the water at a very slow speed and asked if they needed any assistance.

They both said they did not want assistance and they were fine. I backed off about 300 feet from them, and once again called the Coast Guard, and indicated the kids had refused assistance. Once again I was asked by the Coast Guard if I would standby and ensure they made it to shore.

In the back of my mind was the thought of “heavy metal” coming closer, and I knew I would have to become insistent with those two kids and that they had to come aboard my boat to get out harm’s way. I motored back over to them and said: “We are part of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. The U.S. Coast Guard does not want you on those flotation devices in the middle of this river channel. For you safety you should come aboard this boat!” Of course, we could not compel them to come aboard.

The two girls finally agreed. I powered off, put down the swim ladder, and I threw the tethered life ring out to them and pulled them in. Once we stowed their “flotation devices” on board, I powered up and informed the Coast Guard that we had the two girls safely on board our boat.

Their flotation devices consisted of two “floatie toys” you would use in a backyard pool. It was clear now that the girls were in fact a bit scared, and relieved to be out of the water. I asked them why they did not initially allow us to help them; simply put, they were afraid they were going to be in trouble. I chose not to tell them that there was a real chance they could have died and been on the 6 o’clock news. They were frightened enough.

I asked the girls: “Where did you come from?” The older girl indicated that they had been with their families down river at an abandoned pier, spending the day at the river. The younger one also volunteered she could not swim. I thought: “Oh my gosh, can’t swim and on a floatie toy in a 4-knot current with a 50-foot channel depth!”

We finally arrived at the place where the girls’ families were. As I approached the area there were people on the shore and the pier (what there was of it) yelling and cheering as they saw our boat with the two girls on board. I carefully pulled the boat in near the shoreline where everyone was standing and when my depth reached 3.5 feet I shut off the engines and dropped the swim ladder again.

We were in a bare minimum of water depth for operation of the Morning Star. (The boat was about 25 feet off shore if I remember correctly). I knew there was a chance that I might have to raise the outdrives a bit to get back to deeper water.

Luckily, I did not have to do that. We launched the two girls on their floatie toys toward the “beach,” and waited for them to walk on land. We brought up the swim ladder and started the engines. We heard about 100 “Thank yous” from the beach.

As we pulled back into the main river channel, I thought about the following:

1. It was clear that in the area where the girls were swimming they were shielded from the river current. So they must have drifted past the pier area and been swept up by the current. When we found them they were approximately 2 miles upstream from where they started.

2. It is still an unknown if the people on land had ever contacted the authorities about the missing girls. I know that, if I were one of the parents or friends on land I would have been scared to death about the outcome. Every year we hear about people drowning in the Delaware River. I would have been on a cell phone looking for help.

3. What would have happened if people on my boat had not commented about two crazy kids in the middle of the river just floating around? I have concluded that there was a high probability they would not have survived.

4. Why is it that other boaters did not stop to help them? Was it ignorance or indifference? I am still surprised that we were the only boat to stop and see if those two kids were okay.

5. What if I had just abandoned the evolution when the two kids said they were okay? (I have concluded that this would have been a very bad idea.)

6. Did I put my passengers at risk doing this rescue? (I concluded I did not put my passengers at risk, but to some extent I did put my boat at risk coming into unknown and shallow waters. It was a calculated risk.)

So in the end what is it all about? Why did this story have a happy ending?

1. I believe I am an experienced boater, and I know the river well.

2. I knew the limits of my boat and how far to push it.

3. I believe my being calm and confident while dealing with the situation kept my passengers and the two rescued girls at ease.

4. I believe my training from the Auxiliary came through, in fact it was automatic. I was always in command of the situation.

5. There was nothing about the evolution that got out of control. There was situational awareness, risks were critically evaluated, and the appropriate actions were taken, with the authorities being made aware of what was evolving.

In the end I thought “Well how about that? It all just worked the way it was supposed to, and there are two young and foolish girls alive today because it did.” I have often wondered if being in the Auxiliary really mattered. Why do we do so many patrols when so many are uneventful? Why do we train so much? Why are we tested so much?

Well, I got my answer, it is all for the right time and right place when it will be needed.

After an eventful time on the water, we attended the wine and cheese party. Many of the people at the party were members of Flotilla 66 and one friend was so impressed with the group from the flotilla, and the day’s events, that he asked for a membership application. We went into the night having a great time talking about the Coast Guard, the Coast Guard Auxiliary, and being on the river.

Editor’s note: Jay Ross has been a member of Flotilla 66, D5-NR, for 6 years and is boat crew qualified. His wife, Joni, is a new member of the Auxiliary.