Boat captain saluted

Sea Tow’s Mallek in the right place at right time to save lives of endangered boaters

It could have been a tragic moment. But Gregory Mallek was the right guy, in the right place — with the right skills.

The veteran Sea Tow captain, 25, was recently honored for his heroic efforts in plucking an injured boater from treacherous seas.

“It’s a great honor,” he said. “It’s not something I would have ever expected.”

Mallek has worked for Sea Tow for three years, mainly helping boaters whose crafts break down at sea. But March 12 was different.

Rough seas were rocking boats in the Hillsboro Inlet at about 6 p.m. that day, a tricky place to navigate even on a good day. A strong wind was creating 4- to 6-foot seas and a 23-foot fishing boat with two people aboard was struggling with the conditions.

Mallek was at the helm of the 33-foot boat he captains for Sea Tow and he saw right away the smaller boat was in trouble. So he headed for it.

Before he got there, though, a huge wave smacked the fishing boat, filled it with water and catapulted a woman into the choppy seas. Without a life jacket and bleeding from a gash on her head, the woman had one hope: Mallek.

Deft l y maneuvering hi s 33-footer through the roiling inlet, Mallek managed to get close enough to the woman to grab her and pull her onto the boat’s swimming platform. He saw right away that in addition to her head wound, the woman had cuts on her legs from the coral under water.

“When I pulled her onto the boat she had a pretty good cut behind one ear,” he said. “I knew I had to bring her into the marina for EMS help.”

The woman, who was not identified, made a full recovery. Mallek has kept in touch with the woman. He received an email from her wishing him and his family a happy Thanksgiving.

“This particular day,

Mallek

was

out there, she was very lucky,” co-owner Lisa Morgan said. “There was no Coast Guard presence and we wouldn’t normally be there during after-hours in bad weather.”

On Thanksgiving Day, Mallek was in the inlet once again, and this time things turned deadly.

A commercial dive boat, the Coral Princess, was negotiating the narrow, notorious inlet on its return to dock about 1 p.m. Thanksgiving Day when it was hit by a large wave, throwing the 21 divers and two crew members into the water.

Nina Poppelsdorf, 54, of Sandia, N.M., was pronounced dead shortly after she was rushed to the hospital. Three others were treated at Broward Health North and released.

Mallek and other Sea Tow boats came to the rescue again, and Mallek said he pulled one of the survivors out of the water that day.

“It’s pretty amazing how things can change really quickly,” he said. “It’s being in the right place at the right time,” he said.