Kite Surfing on Veggie Oil!

The Titanic

This story begins for me with a phone call.

"Adrian, we have lost your car!"

"What do you mean you have lost my car?"

"It's gone man... Just gone"

"Stolen??"

"No man - Just gone!"

"What the hell do you mean by GONE?"

"It's in the water... Bring the truck we need the strap to get her out"

At that point I didn't bother asking any more questions, I told Penny to stay where she was "you don't want to see this" then just jumped in the truck and headed out for the boat ramp where Simeon, Anthony (Simeons brother) and Alex were going fishing. 

Telling myself all the way that "It's Ok, if it's only up to the doors, I can change all the fluids, flush the body with lots of fresh water and it will be OK... After all it's an older motor with no electronic control and I have got it working in worse situations... besides, that's why I have the remote breathers for the diffs... and isn't that why they put the snorkel on the 4WD anyway... what did he mean by gone... nah it will be fine... I wonder why it went in the water anyway - they were using the inflatable canoe - you don't need a ramp..." and so on.

Finally I get to the ramp and there is my car! - bright and clean (without a drop of water on it) and a NRMA rescue truck beside it. "Phew, it's out already - it must have been just stuck in the mud" I thought. Then I noticed - The white Landcruiser Troop carrier is missing...

"OK... where's the Troopie?" I ask.

"In the water"

"But I don't see anything in the water!?"

"It's in the water!!!"

"You mean, you mean - the white patch???"

"Yep!"

At that point I couldn't hold back - part relief and part from the stupidity of the situation... They had put a perfectly good vehicle (a diesel one at that) - in 3 meters of water and 6 meters from the ramp... I just burst out laughing - actually nearly wet myself is a better description, slapping my head and hands on the steering wheel of the truck until it hurt - after about 5 minutes of that, the NRMA guy turned to Anthony and said "I'm sorry mate, I am not supposed to laugh at other peoples dilemmas, but I can't hold it back any longer", whereupon he fell to the ground in fits of laughter and started rolling around on the grass.

Simeon at this point decided that he didn't want to be associated with the situation any more and walked to the other side of the ramp where he could try to pretend to be one of the spectators for a while. Alex wasn't sure of how to react, he felt sorry for Simeon and Anthony, bad for telling me that it was my car and concerned for the contents of his truck after seeing how I drove into the car park of the boat ramp. Anthony was in a mixture of shock from loosing the car, everybody's reactions and trying to think of what he was going to tell his girlfriend. The NRMA guy and myself were still hyperventilating.  

Now it was rescue time... Alex pulled out the tow strap from one of his many magic hiding places in his truck. Anthony and I headed out to the car and stood on it - if I stood on the roof, the water was up to my chest - this sucker is DEEP! The car was also at 90 degrees to the ramp as the nose of the vehicle fell to the floor first and the back pivoted with the current before the air escaped from the back and it dropped. After a quick dive to attach the strap we swim back to shore only to find that it is 3 meters too short!

Disheartened, a call is made for a crane to come and pick the car out of the water - but being Sunday and smack in the middle of the holiday, no crane can be found. At this point it becomes the NRMA guy's mission to extract this vehicle from the river! A friend heads out to collect another snatch (elastic) strap and the challenge begins. 

By this time, the sinking of the 'Titanic' has become the biggest thing in Ballina. Quite a crowd has arrived and people spontaneously start several discussions about who's kids they went to school with and who is related to who and which street they live in now - Life in a small town!

Once enough length of strap had been found, it was quickly discovered that the chain being used was not strong enough. A thicker chain later, the car was almost out. One more hump to go and the raising of the titanic would be complete! Several attempts were made to drive forward with the truck and the snatch strap - to no avail. Finally, in desperation (and refusal to let any other vehicle pull it out), the hydraulic slide mechanism is used as a pseudo winch - it works... She is free. 

Now to get the 4WD on the flat bed - nice and easy right??? Not when the car is still weighed down with extra water. Three attempts to get the car on the back resulted in the front wheels of the flatbed truck coming off the ground. A solution was found  - much to the hilarity of all watching - by several people jumping on the front bumper of the flatbed. 

The calamity over, all that is left is for Anthony to sort through his soft toys he had in the car and a couple of mementoes from their 'Titanic' - Their car to which they were so sentimentally attached. The car that had taken them all around Australia. The car that spent it's final moments going the only place it had never been - Snorlekking on the NSW north coast!