So my 2,000 mile journey came to a screaching halt. Litterally.
So we all know I don't fly. But I agreed to work the San Diego Expo because I could drive there. And it turns out that my father inherited a 60 year old racing sail boat that just so happened would be ready to pick up while I was down there. So I took my parents Jeep and headed down the road last Tuesday.
Everything was going swimmingly! I made it down there no problem. Worked the expo - picked up the boat at the harbor and headed back on the 1,000 mile trip back up the West Coast, boat in tow. It looked like this when I left:
Made it to Livermore Ca Sunday night. Got back on the road first thing in the morning giving updates to my parents along the way. We decided to meet in Drain OR to exchange vehicles and pass off the boat.
About 30 miles from the drop off point something went terribly wrong. Thankfully I was all alone on a straight stretch of the highway or else it could have been much much worse.
I was cruising along at 55 when The trailer started to swing uncontrollably from side to side. I wasn't thinking about the boat at the time. I was only thinking about keeping the Jeep straight and up on all four tires. After about 5 seconds the trailer detached from the truck and went "Sailing" back behind me into the concrete median.
I was right at an exit, so I stopped the truck, jumped out and ran back onto the freeway to assess the damage.
It was a heap - litterally. The boat had flipped upside down on the trailer and was smashed into the median. I looked at the heap and said outload to the three very nice men who stopped to help me, "I just.. I just, don't know what to do with this..."
A few minutes later an ambulance and State Trooper arrived at the scene. The very nice men helped me shove the heap off the road to get traffic flowing again.
I shut down I-5. Pretty impressive really.
A quick hysterical call to my husband and father got everyone on the road to Roseburg to save me. The State Trooper called a tow truck place and got the heap moved to his place in Glide.
Colleen, Liz and Lex hopped in their truck with a new trailer and were there in about an hour.
I was too embarressed to take pictures of the scene, but here is what the trailer looked like after wards, and the boat on the ground after getting it untangled and flipped back over:
In case you don't know, there should be a hitch attached to the right side there...
The saddest part is, this is like the coolest boat ever in its class. It has won countless races over the 60 years and now may never sail again. The mast was broken in two and they don't make them anymore - so now we are on the hunt for another one.
If you know anyone with a Geary 18 they don't want anymore, please let me know.
So we all know I don't fly. But I agreed to work the San Diego Expo because I could drive there. And it turns out that my father inherited a 60 year old racing sail boat that just so happened would be ready to pick up while I was down there. So I took my parents Jeep and headed down the road last Tuesday.
Everything was going swimmingly! I made it down there no problem. Worked the expo - picked up the boat at the harbor and headed back on the 1,000 mile trip back up the West Coast, boat in tow. It looked like this when I left:
Made it to Livermore Ca Sunday night. Got back on the road first thing in the morning giving updates to my parents along the way. We decided to meet in Drain OR to exchange vehicles and pass off the boat.
About 30 miles from the drop off point something went terribly wrong. Thankfully I was all alone on a straight stretch of the highway or else it could have been much much worse.
I was cruising along at 55 when The trailer started to swing uncontrollably from side to side. I wasn't thinking about the boat at the time. I was only thinking about keeping the Jeep straight and up on all four tires. After about 5 seconds the trailer detached from the truck and went "Sailing" back behind me into the concrete median.
I was right at an exit, so I stopped the truck, jumped out and ran back onto the freeway to assess the damage.
It was a heap - litterally. The boat had flipped upside down on the trailer and was smashed into the median. I looked at the heap and said outload to the three very nice men who stopped to help me, "I just.. I just, don't know what to do with this..."
A few minutes later an ambulance and State Trooper arrived at the scene. The very nice men helped me shove the heap off the road to get traffic flowing again.
I shut down I-5. Pretty impressive really.
A quick hysterical call to my husband and father got everyone on the road to Roseburg to save me. The State Trooper called a tow truck place and got the heap moved to his place in Glide.
Colleen, Liz and Lex hopped in their truck with a new trailer and were there in about an hour.
I was too embarressed to take pictures of the scene, but here is what the trailer looked like after wards, and the boat on the ground after getting it untangled and flipped back over:
In case you don't know, there should be a hitch attached to the right side there...
The saddest part is, this is like the coolest boat ever in its class. It has won countless races over the 60 years and now may never sail again. The mast was broken in two and they don't make them anymore - so now we are on the hunt for another one.
If you know anyone with a Geary 18 they don't want anymore, please let me know.
posted by Angela at
10:13 PM
1 Comments:
Oh my god angela that sucks! Thank god you were not killed!
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