From pulling trap at an affluent gun club when he was a kid in Helena, Ark., to bringing a newly built towboat out of a shipyard located in Greenville, Miss.,… Read More
Captain Profiles
Chad Verdin always knew he would wind up working on towboats. Reflecting on the 23 years he’s been a captain and the years on deck before that, he calls it… Read More
For Capt. David Woodford, working on the river is in his blood. “My great grandpa was a pilot, and then my grandpa was a pilot,” said Woodford, 66, of Savannah,… Read More
The 10-year-old girl stood, waiting at the bus stop near her house, one Monday morning near the start of summer break. Her routine thus far that summer had been to… Read More
Born in Galliano, La., and growing up in Larose, Capt. Dean Plaisance speaks in the French-inflected cadences of southern Louisiana, a region that has traditionally supplied a big contingent of… Read More
Capt. Phillip “P.J.” Steely knows the exact date he went to work for what is now Southern Devall Towing. “September 8, 2006,” he said. “That’s when my life changed forever.”… Read More
Having recently become a full-time pilot for Ingram Barge Company, Roman Cail is part of a younger generation of towboatmen moving up and taking over. Like so many towboatmen, Cail… Read More
Chances are when Capt. William “Billy” Allen isn’t spending time with his four grandchildren and three great grandchildren during his off days, he is toying around with his three bass… Read More
Capt. Richard Ardeneaux wasn’t born into the river business. His father was a truck driver, and, while he is now a respected captain for Cooper Marine & Timberlands (CMT), at… Read More
Royal “Roy” Veal is captain aboard the mv. Kelso, a 1,200 hp. towboat assigned to Turn Services’ Dockside Fleet. Veal earned his first license as a steersman in 2011. And… Read More
