Captains, Mentors, Moms: Meet Rebecca Close

Captains, Mentors, Moms: Meet Rebecca Close

For most of her life, Rebecca Close was surrounded by land – miles of it. Born and raised on a farm in British Columbia, she grew up operating heavy equipment and doing farm work – boats, tides, and towing operations were nowhere in the picture. But now, as a TowBoatU.S. captain on call at all hours in the often-unforgiving waters of the Pacific Northwest, Close is the epitome of showing it's never too late to chart a new course.

To emphasize how far from nautical her earlier years were, Close says, "I learned how to swim at 28 at the University of British Columbia while living in Vancouver. It was a fear of mine, and I decided to overcome it. They had a great program for adults, and I took instruction for a couple of years and became a very good swimmer."

As a young mom, she made sure her four sons – Calum, 26, Simon, 23, Landon, 20, and Myles, 16 – grew up swimming and confident in the water, so much so that two sons went to State with their swim teams, and three became lifeguards.

Several years ago, the family relocated to eastern Washington with Close eventually moving to Port Angeles in 2017. There she immediately sought out a way to get on the water.

"I joined the Port Angeles Yacht Club and took my first sailing lesson. I had rarely been on a boat before in my life but knew right there and then that I wanted to be on the water a lot more."

She immersed herself in sailing, volunteering with the yacht club, junior sailing, high school sailing, and the Community Boating Program. "I took my youngest with me. He was a little dinghy sailor for a couple of years. I'd go out and sail with the little ones or do safety boat support."

Rebecca Close discovered boating later in life, but there's no doubt how much her time on the water brought her closer to the larger boating community. (Rebecca Close photo)

Her experience grew quickly. In 2023, she took several major steps, earning her captain's license, becoming a U.S. citizen, and launching 360 Marine, LLC, a towing and marine service business based in Port Angeles, with her partner, Karl Schwab. "We acquired a Shamrock 27 towing vessel, put some sweat equity into fixing her up, and brought her to Port Angeles," she says.

As part of a greater towing community, Rebecca and Karl work closely as independent contractors with TowBoatU.S. Port Hadlock, the towing and rescue operation for the Port Townsend area. Their days (and often nights) can revolve around answering calls and navigating long, rough tows around the clock. "Karl and I are usually able to work a flexible schedule, which allows us the freedom to answer a dispatch call," she says.

Working in the Juan de Fuca Strait is no small feat. "An average tow is four to eight hours given the distances we often have to travel by water. In that time, the weather and sea state can change drastically, and tides often move at a 2- to 3-knot average, changing the coordinates of a vessel in distress substantially," Close says.

High winds quickly becoming small craft advisories are common in the waters between the Olympic Peninsula and Canada, adding steep chop to the already large swells rolling in from the Pacific. Throw in thick fog, crossing major shipping lanes servicing the Seattle area and Canada, and frequent debris in the form of big logs, and those extreme conditions demand constant vigilance.

It's all a long way from the farmyard, but Close wouldn't have it any other way, and she's proud to be part of the growing community of female captains providing critical services to boaters.

"I had all my kids in my 20s and dedicated my life to that. Now, often as the only woman on the boats, it's a privilege to be part of a team of captains who provide a service to help boaters reach safety or get to a port for repair. I feel fortunate to have found an opportunity to do something I enjoy and encourage other women to do the same."

About TowBoatUS:

Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) is the nation’s leading advocacy, services and safety group for recreational boaters. We are the Boat Owners Auto Club and provide our more than 725,000 members with a wide array of helpful services, including 24-hour on-water towing that gets you safely home when your boat won't, jump-starts, fuel delivery, and soft ungroundings. The TowBoatUS towing fleet is North America's largest network of towing ports with more than 300 locations and over 600 red towboats, responding to more than 110,000 requests for assistance each year. The BoatUS App makes it easy to summon water and road assistance 24/7 and can speed response times (BoatUS.com/App). For more information go to BoatUS.com/Towing.

Read more at the BoatUS website.

Source: Captains, Mentors, Moms: Meet Rebecca Close