Congratulations!
The Delaware Bay Launch Service (DBLS), located at the end of Passwater Dr, is celebrating their 50th Anniversary 1973-2023. The residents of Slaughter Beach have watched and heard the powerful boats of the DBLS come and go out to the Bay many times every day. Their fifty-year history of hard work and dedication providing service in all hours and all weather deserves to be celebrated. The Slaughter Beach Historical Society and the town of Slaughter Beach offers Congratulations on this special occasion to all the wonderful workers who have contributed. We wish you many more years of safety and success.
Part 1: Launch Legacies: A Father/Son tradition
Harry and Hick Rowland:
Capt. Harry H Rowland was born in 1914, later the President of Delaware Pilots Assoc. In 1965, he founded Wilmington Tug and Launch, a business that provided superior harbor-assist tug boats for ship docking throughout the Ports of Wilmington and Philadelphia.
Capt. Harry realized in the early 1970s that ships anchoring in the lower Delaware Bay needed a Launch Service to provide transport for crews and supplies. So, in 1973, his son Capt. H. Hickman Rowland, Jr (1940-2017) opened the doors of the Delaware Bay Launch Service (DBLS) along with his childhood friend Carlton Young, in the developing Passwater Marina section at the north end of Slaughter Beach. Hickman’s son and Capt. Harry’s grandson, Christopher, now owns and operates DBLS and Wilmington Tug solely.
Carlton and Frank Young:
As Capt. Hick remained working at Wilmington Tug, Carlton Young ran the daily operations of DBLS, covering the old muddy road that is now Passwater Dr. with dump truck loads of clamshells at $5/load. The first office actually sat on 2 old barges that the State had sunk perpendicular in order to stabilize an area between Passwater Marina and the Delaware Bay. Their only phone at the time was located on a pole outside the building. Carlton and Hick later in 1989 started the dry-stack Slaughter Beach Marina that is now Cedar Creek Marina. Shortly after opening Slaughter Beach Marina, Carlton decided to retire, and sold his portion of DBLS and the Marina to Hickman. Carlton’s son Frank Young took over the daily operations of the Marina, and Capt. Dave Brown who had been Carlton’s manager at DBLS took over all operations of the Launch for Hick.
The photo below shows the early Passwater Marina in the early 1970s where the DBLS was being established north of now Beach Plum Dr. What is now Passwater Dr would have run in between the Bay and the channel dug for the marina shown in this picture. The DBLS office/base is now at the north “T” end of the channel shown. The inlet jetty is at top of photo. The newer dry-stack marina (now Cedar Creek Marina) would eventually be located in the area to the lower left corner of this photo.
Captain Dave and Jack Brown:
Capt. Dave Brown’s story starts at an early age at Adams Wharf, owned by Buzz and Judy Adams who had married and moved to Slaughter Beach in 1967. Dave Brown’s father, Jackson Brown, and Buzz were teachers and friends from Milford. While Jackson worked for Buzz running Charter and Head boats from the early 1970s to the late 1980s, young Dave worked as a deckhand until he acquired his Captain’s License in 1985 at age 17. He then ran boats for Buzz out of Adams Wharf and Ocean City MD, and in 1987 added working for the Launch as a deckhand. In 1990, he was named a Captain at DBLS, and also became Operations Manager.
Capt. Dave has grown DBLS from 3 vessels in 1990 to now 7 vessels that operate anywhere along the East Coast, and from 7 employees to now 18 in 2023. Dave’s son Jack, named after his grandfather, has acquired his Captain’s license at a young age as well, and is the company’s Port Captain. The photo above is Dave teaching a young Jack. Dave’s wife Carla also maintains the business as Dispatcher and Office Manager.
So, over the last 50 years, from 1973 -2023, the Delaware Bay Launch Service has been a business that has a legacy of 3 families passing the torch, making a living on the boats and the water that they love. The evolution of their livelihood at Slaughter Beach is quite amazing. The company has expanded in ways beyond our imagination, and we will provide some examples of what they do and the services they provide in Part 2 of this article, to follow.
Part 2: Delaware Bay Launch Service: 50 years later!
In keeping with our Slaughter Beach Historical Society’s “Then and Now” concept, the previous Part 1 contains History on the formation of the Delaware Bay Launch Service (DBLS) and the families involved. This sequel (Part 2) gives you an idea of how the 50-year-old DBLS is now serving our community.
Per a recent interview, Capt. Dave Brown has related the following information: “Big Stone Anchorage in the Delaware Bay is primarily used for Deep-Loaded foreign oil tankers that arrive with a draft too deep to proceed to refineries in Philadelphia or Delaware City. With foreign imports declining, and some refineries closing, DBLS has seen the tanker numbers decrease from 30+/month in 1990 to maybe 8/month in 2023. Thus, DBLS has had to expand from just servicing the Big Stone Anchorage to sending their vessels out anywhere along the East Coast for whatever their clients may need. Recently they have been engaged in a lot of Dredge Assist work, running crews and supplies to Maine, Norfolk, Atlantic City and the Chesapeake Bay. They also have been involved the last few years in Drone Testing for the US Navy.”
Below are some interesting examples of their versatility in serving the Delaware Bay area and beyond:
2018 Retrieval of Space X rocket launch debris: An interesting and unusual request to DBLS involved retrieving rocket pieces that landed in the Atlantic Ocean 150 miles East of Myrtle Beach. Space X routinely does their own retrieval with purpose-built vessels; however, on this day, those vessels broke down, so Space X reached out to DBLS for assistance.
May 24, 2022: Barge Fire on Delaware Bay near Port Mahon
Slaughter Beach residents awoke to see a huge plume of black smoke over the bay to the north. There was a major fire on the Delaware Bay, involving a barge carrying salvaged electrical equipment that had been struck by lightning in the night. The collaboration of many of our local emergency responders was amazing, and our DBLS put their 30 Ton crane to use along with their 2 largest vessels, the “Big Stone Express” & “Big Stone Leader”.
The picture below was taken at the dock of the Slaughter Beach base, showing transfer of supplies, including firefighting foam, along with DNREC and Fire personnel, and a fire cannon from Delaware City Refinery capable of pumping 5,550 gallons per minute of sea water out in the Bay location.
The 2nd picture shows the DBLS vessel “Big Stone Leader” assisting in the effort which took several days to extinguish the fire.
Artificial Reef deployments for DNREC:
Since 1995, DNREC has permitted artificial reef sites in Delaware Bay and along the Atlantic Coast. Clean and stable construction materials, boats, subway cars, etc. create new habitat for expanded recreational fishing and diving.
The DBLS often assists in the deployment of these “recycled” materials; see the photos below. Also check out the links below for more information on the DNREC program, along with an interesting account of the DBLS assisting with the sinking of the “Twin Capes”, a retired Cape May-Lewes Ferry in 2018.
https://dnrec.alpha.delaware.gov/fish-wildlife/fishing/artificial-reefs/
August 2023: Assist Delaware Bay and River Cooperative in Oil Spill exercise, part of which took place in Cedar Creek near Dupont Nature Center.
https://www.capegazette.com/article/dbrc-and-delriver-participate-training-exercise/262129
Our DBLS is a first responder for both the Delaware Bay & River Cooperative (DBRC) and also for Marine Spill Response Cooperation (A nationwide spill recovery company). A recent exercise first involved staging DBRC supplies and equipment at the Slaughter Beach base (see photo below). Once the drill began, the DBLS vessel “Big Stone 5” assisted the response vessel DelRiver, by pulling oil boom off the back and which in an actual spill would be towed in a V shape to funnel oil for skimming. Our “Big Stone Leader” transported dignitaries for the drill & also acted as a platform for drone landing & take off. Drones are used in spills now to direct the clean-up vessels to the heaviest slicks of oil for cleanup.
Conclusion!
Slaughter Beach is proud and grateful to be home to the Delaware Bay Launch Service, whose founders and those who came after all knew that a business reputation was also a family reputation. With 50 years of resilience and versatility, their work has demonstrated professionalism and unsurpassed commitment to safely provide service. They are a part of our local history, and now they are actually making History. Check out their Facebook page to see them in action!
See links below for more info on the business:
https://www.delawarebaylaunch.com/
https://www.delawarebaylaunch.com/our-fleet
This report was based on research by Diane McFaul Hindman, with many thanks to Capt. Dave Brown for several interviews and editing assistance.