Sea Tow Central New Jersey captains Walt Bohn and Dan Siegel were presented with the “Efforts Above and Beyond” award by Sea Tow Services International, Inc. (Sea Tow), recognizing them for going above and beyond and for their outstanding performance of duty and life-saving efforts at the company’s 2025 annual meeting in Hilton Head, SC.
Additionally, for the same rescue, U.S. Congressman Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey’s 2nd Congressional District honored captains Bohn and Siegel with a congressional proclamation. Sea Tow Central New Jersey serves Barnegat Bay, including the Barnegat Inlet and Atlantic Ocean.
Captains Bohn and Siegel received the “Efforts Above and Beyond” award from Sea Tow for their role in a nighttime search-and-rescue operation in Barnegat Bay of Clammer John Mazzi. The 72-year-old man had filed a float plan with his wife. When he did not return after a day out on the water, his wife alerted the Coast Guard, which initiated a multi-agency search. Working alongside the U.S. Coast Guard, Captains Bohn and Siegel located Mazzi at approximately 2 a.m., 200 yards from his vessel.
What began as a clamming trip turned into a 12-hour fight for survival, as Mazzi was stranded on a sandbar, soaked in shallow water in freezing temperatures. The crew brought him on board the Sea Tow boat, where the United States Coast Guard lowered a rescue swimmer and rescue basket and placed him in the basket. Mazzi was then airlifted to an awaiting ambulance and transported to a local hospital for treatment.
Congressman Van Drew also honored captains Bohn and Siegel with a proclamation for the rescue of Mazzi, celebrating the two Sea Tow captains for their efforts, recognizing their courageous act of heroism and dedicated assistance in saving lives in Ocean County. The proclamation noted that the captains “brought honor and pride to the community and to the citizens of this state, New Jersey, and the United States of America.”
