About Captain John Samples
Captain John is retired from the United States Coast Guard after 26 years of honorable service as Chief Machinery Technician. During his years of service, he has operated many boats that range in size from 17 ft to 55 ft, and ships that range in size from 87 ft to 110 ft. He served as the Chief Engineer on two United States Coast Guard Cutters, and also served as a law enforcement officer where he was involved in seizing over 100,000 pounds of illegal drugs.
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Stationed at Key West Sector
While stationed at Sector Key West, he interdicted over 2,000 Cuban migrants, and in his total years of service, he interdicted over 3,750 migrants from entering the United States. He has been trained to the highest levels by the United States Coast Guard and has a vast knowledge of all forms of search and rescue techniques. He has conducted hundreds of alongside med-evacs and personnel transports, where many of these incidents were conducted at night and in heavy sea conditions.
During his years of service, he conducted hundreds of hours towing vessels of all sizes, which included, long tows and alongside tows. In one case, while in the Bahamas, he traveled 70 miles in a 17 ft Coast Guard rescue boat to tow a 35 ft fishing boat, while only using a compass to navigate.
Passion for Commercial Fishing
He is passionate about commercial fishing and has fished for 10 years in boats that range in size from 26 ft to 31 ft, where he would often travel 85 nautical miles to find the right fishing spot. Most recently he captained a 55 ft Sportfish boat out of Port Canaveral, where he often made trips to Key West.
He currently holds a 100 Gross Ton Master Captains license with a towing endorsement issued by the United States Coast Guard. He truly loves being on the water where he is, “On Call For Life”, 24/7/365.