Canadian Boating May 2024 - 50

C-Tow Indian Arm towing a vessel that struck a bridge in Vancouver Harbour.
done the most of any owner to grow the
business into Canada's largest private
marine assistance company. He explains,
" I immediately let go a couple guys who I
thought were questionable, or had crappy
boats and then gradually I built it up again
with more quality people and more quality
boats. We now have an average of about
16 captains in BC. Another big move was
to expand the service areas to the north,
south and west of coastal BC. "
EXPANDING INTO EASTERN
CANADA... & BEYOND
Since
Andy
operator. When invited to join the C-Tow
team eight years ago, McRobb said, " I
responded yes immediately. I didn't even
think about it for a second. "
Rick Layzell is the CEO of the nonwas
originally from
Andy Cardiff preparing to dive on a sunken
vessel in Quarry Bay on Nelson Island near
Pender Harbour.
ANDY CARDIFF BUYS C-TOW
Andy Cardiff grew up on the St.
Lawrence and later in Sidney on
Vancouver Island and he had spent a lot
of time sailing and powerboating. He
had been a water-taxi operator/owner
(Malaspina Water Taxi) on the Sunshine
Coast since 2004, and a C-Tow captain
since 2006.
Since assuming ownership, Andy has
Ontario, he knew the area and the lakes,
and he saw an opportunity to expand
C-Tow to eastern Canada. " In 2010, we
started putting the idea on X (formerly
called Twitter) and Facebook and places
like that, " he explained. " People would
see the posts and they would call and say
they'd like to be a captain. Once we had
one captain back east, it snowballed on its
own and grew. We first opened operations
in Toronto and the Georgian Bay areas,
then we expanded across Ontario, which
is still C-Tow's fastest-growing area.
There are currently 20 C-Tow captains in
Ontario. "
Michael McRobb, who provides towing
and salvage services to the western Lake
Ontario region, was Ontario's first C-Tow
50 CANADIAN BOATING | MAY 2024
for-profit Boating Ontario Association-
Canada's largest recreational boating
trade association-representing over 500
member companies in Ontario. That organization
launched and owned the marine
assistance company called Boater Assist
Canada Inc. in about June of 2011. Like
C-Tow, Boater Assist primarily operated
as a membership service, offering boaters
on Ontario waters access to marine assistance
services upon request. In November
2014, Boater Assist was purchased by
C-Tow. At the time of purchase, Boater
Assist had approximately 600 members.
C-Tow subsequently opened with one
vessel each in Newfoundland and Nova
Scotia. Due to ice, Ontario and the other
two provinces are only serviced from May
to October. Cardiff's future plans include
expansion to Prince Edward Island and
New Brunswick. However, the most
exciting news is that C-Tow has officially
opened up in the tropical Turks and
Caicos Islands.
C-Tow, you've come a long way!
For more information, visit c-tow.ca
http://www.c-tow.ca
Canadian Boating May 2024

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