Sea Tow Montauk - About Us

Capt. Bill Rauer

Captain Bill Rauer has a life long connection to the sea as a veteran of the U.S. Navy, a charter boat captain, a yacht broker and as owner of the newly established Sea Tow Montauk franchise.

His heavy experience includes the U.S. Navy where he was a Chief Petty Officer on board aircraft carriers and fleet oilers. His Navy career in the Sixth Fleet took him to the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and the North Pole

Bill's career background includes wide experience in automotive mechanics and as a senior electrical inspector for the Long Island Lighting Company and the Long Island Power Authority..

Bill is also a yacht broker and a yacht surveyor with the eye of experience that it takes when it comes to evaluating boats and determining the right steps to take to make any necessary improvements. He is a licensed Master Mariner with many years of first hand knowledge of the waters around Sea Tow Montauk.

He and his wife Elaine split the responsibilities of this busy company. Elaine is in charge of the administration aspects and Bill in charge of operations and marketing. They have raised three sons and are grandparents as well.

Little known fact: Bill is equally at home towing cars as he is at towing boats since in his earlier life he did actually operate an automotive towing business.

Capt. Jon Edwards

Known by many as "Duke", Jon Edwards has been on the water since the age of four when his father, a recently returned WW11 veteran thought it would be a good idea to sail from New London, CT to Montauk Point. The trip ended abruptly on the rocks at Plum Island and Jon and his parents spent a memorable week as guests of the lighthouse keeper until the weather lifted sufficiently to allow them a lift back to Connecticut courtesy of the Coast Guard. No doubt he is glad that his father preferred boats to airplanes since his first outing resulted in a ship wreck. This early taste of adventure is probably the reason for a career as a rescue boat captain.

Jon attended the New York State Maritime College and will spin tales from the days that the entire cadet corps lived on board the training ship and attended classes in the "Fort". He completed his education at St. Lawrence University and spent several summers as dock master and crewman at the Fishers Island Yacht Club where he began to learn the finer points of large vessel docking and maneuvering. Jon earned his Captain’s license in 1964.

He began his Sea Tow career at Sea Tow Maryland Central Chesapeake in Annapolis and happily found that he could adopt a gypsy lifestyle that split the year between working for Capt. Dave Duvall in Annapolis from Columbus Day to Memorial Day and then for Capt. Bill Barker at Eastern Long Island from Memorial Day to Columbus Day. He is a Master Mariner, and is certified as a diver and oil spill hazwopper.

In January of 2007, Sea Tow Montauk was spun off from Sea Tow Eastern Long Island and Jon transferred to the new Montauk franchise working with Capt. Bill Rauer. Jon knows the Montauk area waters like the back of his hand because he and his wife Judy have spent forty summers there as their three daughters grew up. His grown daughters, Karyn, Susan and Laurel still return in the summer with their husbands and sons.

Little known fact: Jon has commuted to work with roller blades, a dinghy, both a Harley and a Vespa, and now is getting a bicycle ready for this summer.