Took the dog for a walk down to the Turana St boat ramp at Coombabah on Easter Sunday to find a tilt tray and a Knights heavy lift tow truck and two divers pulling a car and boat out of the water
well that hasn't gone well. it looks like he might have reversed over the edge of the ramp and rolled it into the drink. probably the only time he's taken the boat out since xmas the poor sod.
From what I have found out the whole lot ended up in the drink, and drifted down the river and reseted up against the large white boat you can see in the distance, they had two divers onsite and a heavy lift tow truck (the ones used to tow trucks) to drag it back to the boat ramp. I can only think that the safety chain was still on the boat to the trailer and this kept everything from sinking to the bottom.
Seen it a few times over the years. Drove in to the staging area at the local ramp a couple of years ago at 0430 to be greeted by a bloke at my window telling me to be "careful I'm in the ramp" he said. Well, I thought the guy might have been a bit confused, there was nobody else about, no cars, no boats just him. When I finally got the full story from him, his mate had taken the boat elsewhere to retrieve it and he was waiting for a tow truck to pull his two week old Landcruiser and trailer out of the water. Both totally submerged. Problem started just as he got out to undo the boat he heard a click that he assumes was the handbrake pawl slipping off its tooth, car must have been in neutral, Doh! Bugger me if the headlights weren't still on under the water, go the cruisers.
Once at the Woolamia ramp watched a mob of blokes launch the boat and start taking it around the corner to the jetty, leaving girlfriend of one to park the falcon and trailer.
Falcon stalled and ran backwards down the ramp, wouldn't start, girlfriend got out in the early stages of sinking.
The current started taking it downstream, luckily they had yards of anchor rope trailing on the ramp and I was able to get a loop around the front bumper and stop it going further and start getting it back in. Another bystander came to help and we got it back on to the ramp, and held it there until the blokes twigged what was going on. One of them got another car and pulled falcon and trailer up off the ramp.
About eleventy twelve gallons of water poured out when they opened the doors.
What surprised me was that the falcon didn't sink when out in the creek, the air trapped under the bonnet kept the front up on the surface which let me get the rope around the front bumper.
well insurance nowadays barely cover car going in water or you driving into flooded waters... so it getting more and more risky to the point where you need quit driving manuals at ramps and learn to think ahead... so for the people who drive head first, normally come near the ramp.. looks at it from their car... too busy getting lost in moment of.. how wonderful the water looks then forget to change gears and panic, then it all over or sometime you get the odd....
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or you driving into flooded waters... so it getting more and more risky to the point where you need quit driving manuals at ramps and learn to think ahead... so for the people who drive head first, normally come near the ramp.. looks at it from their car... too busy getting lost in moment of.. how wonderful the water looks then forget to change gears and panic, then it all over or sometime you get the odd....
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