I’ve been working on the river for over 30 years, I’ve been a Capt over 20 years. This maneuver took big balls.

This amazes me every time I watch it. Not only was the maneuver very difficult, but the courage to even attempt it in this very litigious atmosphere was equally commendable. I worked a couple years on shift boats in St Louis harbor and I can tell you that the river current is ferocious even in low water; high water, however, is deadly. It is not forgiving to the inexperienced. This situation could have ended very badly for the Francis and its crew. Bravo to this wheelman for accepting the risk and having the skill to pull it off👏👏👏

What a great job by the Captain on the rescue boat . He knows how to work with the river current . Not to many on the river now days that can do work like that . Thumbs up to you Captain.

Amazing skills. There aren't many people who could have done that. Bravo, Captain.

It may be 10 years later but just as impressive now as then. Amazing work gentleman.

I would love to see an edited version to include a voice-over narrative of the setup & conditions that led to this situation, what the maneuvers were, if pumps were employed, who was 'evacuated' and when. thanks for your service!

That is one of the most amazing I've ever seen, serious boat skills.

Absolutely brilliant commentary!

I have been on a boat sinking like that and it was a very eary feeling to watch this video. Great job on saving it, You put your self at risk and I can tell by the grunts that you was squeezing your spincter shut. You still kept your cool and did a great job Capt.

Well done, Captain! That took balls! Greetings from a german captain!

Freakin AWESOME!!!! Big big big ups to the Helen Merrill and crew for that amazing rescue...I was on the Tripper just below the fleet and I JUST KNEW she was a goner!!! Amazing job

Always keep the waterjight doors battoned down. thats what saved her.

Great video which explains the whole incident very clearly in layman's terms, including exactly what was done about it.

Great Job Capt. you sure kept your cool working in that swift water on that downstream landing. Do believe the owners of the Francis should treat the crew of the Helen Merrill to a fine dinner and a few cool ones!!

That was amazing! I was holding my breath, and yelling "Nooooooo!" when she started to go, and then went even more. What a relief when she finally righted herself! Thank you for sharing.

as a ships engineer ...my hat is off to you !!

this is the first video I ever saw on your channel - what a primer!

Man of few words, a few fingers and front row to a tug rescue. Thanks for a great video

Every time I’ve watched this, it makes me fight my own nerves. Well done Helen Merrill, maybe one day my balls will clink like that. St Louis harbor is in my nightmares, respect to ADM and OMS, and every other pilot who runs that harbor. Just insane

I'm waiting on the "money" shot.😂

I enjoyed the video. I wish there was more information on what is going on. I was on the Mississippi in my younger days and find these videos fascinating. Thanks for posting this video!

Been there and done this MANY TIMES!!!! Down streaming…..VERY DANGEROUS! That’s why everybody has to be up and awake when they do the mover! So many people do not understand and don’t appreciate how fast and how strong water can travel and move!!

Rescue boat says and that's how it's Done!!!! No sweat great job Capt.

Holy shit. the power of that river current. Nice work, Captain. everything happening in slow motion, but I bet the adrenaline was pumping and the hearts were racing. Impressive.

Boys, what you witnessed here was true talent. I was down at Baton Rouge that high water running from Devil’s Swamp to Donaldsonville. Heard about this indirectly. Hell of a year.

AMAZING video...she just pops right out of the water. Well done crew!

This was a move handled by a very confident and skilled wheelman. I will elaborate on my thoughts when I get off watch tomorrow afternoon. It's past my bedtime. I'm the trip pilot that filmed this. Glad it sparked such interest.

Fucking down-streaming man can be dangerous as fuck. That was some fine boathandling to able to pull that pushboat off that barge in that ripping current using another pushboat!

I've watched this video about 4 times total. I just watched it for the first time since being cut loose. Only now do I realize how close the Captain came to losing that ass end. I sure wouldn't have been in the bunk, if that's where you were. I would've had my ass in the wheelhouse with life jacket at the ready. That's a badass pilot and a badass boat.

Well done! I haven't spent any time on the western Rivers, but jeez Louise, nothing about that gig looked easy! I liked the other towboat doing a great job of keeping close enough to help out if need be, but far enough out of the way! BZ all around!

With 36 years on the river, I've never seen anything like this! Great job! Downstreaming on a fleet in St. Louis is one of the most dangerous things you can do, and a number of folks have died in this exact situation over the years, but not this time! Having those watertight doors shut made all the difference. In a tug, ALL of your reserve buoyancy is the engine room. Fill it with water, and it's all over.

Excellent job!!! Hats off to you!

I got the pleasure of steering under this captain, learned so much

O.K. whos the greenhand that left the second deck door open.

Skill of a very high order ! I would think he has been working on these dugs all his life .

Outstanding job well done captain

That boat nearly sank. It's called downstreaming and the worst that can happen did, it got sideways for whatever reason and if anyone had been on board they could have drowned. If you think it's trivial try being on a boat that this happens on and see what you think. You're staring death in the face, possibly.

Will Givenoname......clearly you have never had to try to save a boat in the mississippi. I pulled a 25ft pontoon out of the channel in front of a southbound tow near fort madison iowa. I can unstated the stress this guy's under and he's playing with much larger iron than I ever have. I was running a rinker 360 vee with 2 496 mercruisers and a bow thruster. It takes a shit load of patience and attention to detail when your getting pushed by the current and hooked onto a vessel with no power. The people I pulled would have either been killed or run over by the tow that was coming. Most people around here on the river don't have a radio. Only reason I made it up was the captain of the south bound kept trying to call on channel 13 to a pleasure craft. Knowing the river as well as I do here I ask his position and what was going on. After he said he was southbound I knew he couldn't stop. He finished his statement with distance off the head. At that point I knew I could either get the people off or get a line on to pull south. I got them tied in to my side with bumpers and pushed then north and out of the channel. I will say this when you hear a full size tow giving it hell in rewind coming down the river shit getting real. That captain bought me some time and even got a salute from the wheel house railing as they passed by while I was holding position. Was a slow ride back to fort madison behind him but everyone went home. Lot to think about but when your on the river it's very unforgiving when things go wrong and people do some stupid crap around these guys. I always call when coming up on a tow and I always let them decide how and where I pass. I miss the river though boat is gone now I get to watch from the sidelines

Absolutely awesome pilots.. good save.

Just all calm and everything shows experience.

Very well narrated... Bravo 😀

That was good stuff, way to stay calm and collected.

Nicely done.

I am proud to say that I did weld on those all 3 boats there plus the one that is saving Francis from sinking

They should rename that boat to the M/V Scared Straight

The people on the barge are the the TUGS CREW. You can see how fast she could have gone under in that current. Great job by the rescue tugs capt.

It really sounds like this guy is filming with one hand.............

If not for the courage of the fearless crew the Francis would be lost.

Great video of working on the river when things have gone bad.

Excellent save!

Good job Capt !!

Ah man hearing the roar of those engines brings me back, and honestly i don't miss accidents on these boats but everything else

guy sounds like he is having a strange dream and talking in his sleep

When I seen this thing come back up I was like ohh shit

Yassin you talk on that podcast tonight you were talking about this boatI thought you were driving it was another Captain driving but you got some footage is going to be archived forever great job

That good thing people stayed so calm

Nice work Cap!!

Yes, the Skill lies with the Captain but lets not forget the Balls on the guys on deck tossing ropes and pulling line.

Love it this guy seems to not be excited at all.

Holy crap! Baaaad spot to be in! Darned good job!

I'll join the crowed, sounds like a big loaf was being pinched. At first I was saying didn't this guy see enough until I saw the rope attached. Then it made sense.... Great rescue though...

Wow, very nicely executed!

Great job, Captain, you Sir gotta a set of nuts. I've seen three of them go down in my 26 year career, one with deaths in Houston, one with deaths in New Orleans, and one in the Atchafalaya, at Morgan city, La.

Great job! very skilled.

This is an amazing video. The big river is as dangerous as the ocean, but in a different way.

Calm undre fire. Well done.👍

Life on the Mississippi River in definitely an adventure everyday.

Wow!! Nice save Captain Kyle

That was badass hands down 🙌

There's a fine line between having a great day and oh boy, we're in trouble. That's when great to have friends to get you out of trouble.

Sounds like he's getting his knob polished

Maravilha êsse resgate...inteligência, prática e coragem.

what a fantastic job! althogh the Captain needed a PFD!

That was some real John Wayne shit...

Sounded like he was trying to squeeze out a toilet brownie, I'm just sayin...

The seaman’s church shows this video to their steersman’s class during the week long steersman’s coarse in Paducah .

That's some mad skills right there. Awesome

Those tugs are super tough!!

Good work Captain :)

Some serious power to do that in reverse

Bit of brown water in the scuppers for a while there. Also on the boat. Good work, Cap.

Bravo! 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

Wow that was crazy but you saved it

Notice the genset kept turning the whole time as evidenced by the radar scanner spinning through the whole video.Good thing they had the watertights shut. I'm sure there was a job opening for that company soon afterwards,though.

Awesome job

nice. say do you have any engine room videos?

Great Job..Would have been a Shame to have lost her..My Son in laws Dad is a Captain,and goes down to St.Louis,and back up the Illinois river everyday..

Kyle that was a great piece of boat handling. You had plenty of opportunity to screw up what with that current (6kts ?) up your stern. I've I 'd been doing it I'd probably be whimpering so a few grunts are quite acceptable. I hope they bought you a beer.

My thoughts exactly....

Wow great job brother

Had to turn down the volume because my girl thought I was watching porn.

Amazing!

Holy shit that was tense! And there weren't even nobody screamin and yellin. Good job handlin that situation.

In my opinion that is a great pilot at the sticks. To be able to hold the boat there with the river doing what it's doing, awesome skills that most people that see this vid won't be able to appreciate. If you see this Kyle, just curious how long is the boat you are on?

The Captain of the Francis seemed a bit relieved to have immigrate disaster averted. Lol. Good job!

Sounds like the boat is not the only thing getting a tug!

That is some fine seamanship

I thought for sure the engine room would have been flooded, I guess that's why they make watertight doors, good job.

Wow that's amazing

Nice camera work , million dollar save.