On a bitterly cold day in January 2018, Captain Brandon Upton was out on the water near Corpus Christi, Texas, when he spotted something odd drifting in the waves.
As the owner of Sea Tow, a company that helps boaters with fuel deliveries and jump-starts, Upton was used to assisting people in trouble. But this time, the ones in need weren’t boaters at all.
“I stopped to check it out and realized it was a sea turtle,” Upton told The Dodo. “I didn’t touch it, because I know they’re endangered and protected. On my way in, I saw more and more sea turtles and was very confused. In all my years on the water, I had never seen anything like it.”
Puzzled, Upton called Padre Island National Seashore (PINS) for advice. Experts explained that the turtles weren’t injured — they were cold-stunned.
When temperatures plunge, sea turtles’ bodies slow down so much that they can no longer swim, lift their heads to breathe, or escape danger.
Left floating helplessly, they’re at risk of drowning, being struck by boats, or washing ashore where predators await.
That day, Upton and his crew jumped into action — and wound up hauling in multiple boatloads of stunned turtles.
“While sea turtle rescue typically requires special training, we started in an emergency situation,” Upton said. “We picked up two or three boatloads that very first day.”
The experience changed him forever.
Since then, every winter Upton has made sea turtle rescue part of his work.
When cold snaps hit, he takes his airboat along the islands and shorelines, scanning the water for shells bobbing in the surf. Before long, his boat is filled with chilled turtles waiting to be warmed and rehabilitated.
Once rescued, the turtles are transferred to rehab facilities, where experts carefully raise their body temperatures until it’s safe to return them to the ocean. When they’re ready, they’re released into the deeper Gulf of Mexico, where the risk of future cold-stunning is much lower than in the shallow Laguna Madre.
For Upton, helping the turtles is simply the right thing to do.
“I’ve always been an animal lover,” he said. “I’m the kind of guy who will take a spider outside or help a turtle cross the road. Pets have always been family.”
Now, his workboat and skills — once used solely for boaters — have found a deeper purpose.
“When I witnessed cold-stunned sea turtles for the first time, it was only natural for me to use my resources to help,” Upton said. “It feels good knowing we’re contributing to the survival of an endangered species.”
Keep up with Upton's sea turtle rescues by following Sea Tow Corpus Christi on Facebook.
