The boys ran ahead, and I heard some very excited shouts and exclamations
Wonder what they are looking at? .....
Hang on .... what's that in the water?
Could it be? .... It looks a lot like a ......
.... It is ... a grader! Almost completely submerged in the sand and water!
Apparently the driver was moving some beach sand around near the top end of the beach at low tide, and then needed to get to the other side of the pier. Instead of going back, and around the top end of the pier, he thought he'd take a short cut and go around the front!! Obviously not taking into account that the beach sand is very soft right in front of the pier due to the constant flow of sand and water from underneath the pier!
Apparently the driver was moving some beach sand around near the top end of the beach at low tide, and then needed to get to the other side of the pier. Instead of going back, and around the top end of the pier, he thought he'd take a short cut and go around the front!! Obviously not taking into account that the beach sand is very soft right in front of the pier due to the constant flow of sand and water from underneath the pier! The grader started sinking immediately, and then the more the driver tried to get the vehicle out of the sand, the deeper he sank into it!
Eventually he had to abandon it, and this is what it looks like now at high tide!
Mmmmm ... I'd love to see the insurance claim on this one!!
Patrick and the boys ran down for a quick photo in between the waves!
Eventually he had to abandon it, and this is what it looks like now at high tide!
Mmmmm ... I'd love to see the insurance claim on this one!!
Patrick and the boys ran down for a quick photo in between the waves!
7 comments:
I'm just sneaking in a little comment: I sent this to Richard at work because he used to work for a company in SA for which he designed graders / front-end loaders like this. There is a lot of rivalry between the different companies (Bell / Cat / John Deere) so if a machine gets stuck like this it causes much mirth! He assures me this isn't "one of his", but he is sending the link to some of his old friends at Bell who will be amused. It has happened to them before, when a lovely new Bell machine got stuck in the waves in Richardsbay. They never lived it down! :-)
Thanks for your comment Melissa! Richard may be able to answer a question for all of us! How on earth are they going to get this vehicle out of there??? Surely they can't use another grader?!
He says the one that sank in Richardsbay was only up to the top of its wheels, and it took two excavators and another front-end loader to get it out. (It was duly -and aptly- nicknamed "The Yellow Submarine"!)He says anything which can get near this one will be pretty much sunk too! In other words? They're in BEEEG trouble! :-)
We went back down to the beach today, and it was still there! Looking terribly rusted. We thought that some effort would have been made this week, particularly because it is spring low tides, but nothing yet!
Hi, Richard here! This is sunk so deep and so much further from firm ground (for other vehicles to access), I don't know how they are ever going to get it out! Any machine which tries to get close, runs the risk of the same fate. I wouldn't be surprised if this one is there forever.
Hi Richard! Wow, guess this could safely be called a CATastrophe!! ;o)
BTW, we were looking at an OLD copy of a black and white 'Let's Talk' mag from about 1989 or so with Rory the other day, and his sharp eyes spotted a pic of you! I must scan and send it to you when I get a chance. It was so funny looking at all the old pics and seeing how much we've all changed!
Well, the final instalment in this little post, is that they managed to get the front-end loader out!! We went down again yesterday morning to have a look, and it was gone! There was some evidence of tracks in the sand, and a rather large 'indentation' in the sand where the machine had been - but other than that - all back to normal. (I was rather disappointed I hadn't been there when they took it out though!)
Post a Comment