WTF pictures

Wife drinking morning coffee, looking out window. You've been working hard, why don't you just go fishing today?
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A boat ramp is a great place for entertainment. The first holiday of the summer season, Memorial Day here in the States, is the day all new owners and rusty old owners show up with dreams of beer and sun and fun to launch their often neglect boats. Lower units dragging on the pavement, boats floating away, boats sinking, people falling in the water, jack knifed trailers backing up, all the comedy of a slapstick vaudeville act.
 
A boat ramp is a great place for entertainment. The first holiday of the summer season, Memorial Day here in the States, is the day all new owners and rusty old owners show up with dreams of beer and sun and fun to launch their often neglect boats. Lower units dragging on the pavement, boats floating away, boats sinking, people falling in the water, jack knifed trailers backing up, all the comedy of a slapstick vaudeville act.
My wife’s friend bought his first boat and went to launch it. Everything would have been fine if he took his truck out of reverse when he stepped out to release the winch cable. His Chevy pick up soon became a submarine. Poor guy, especially when he had to go home an ‘splain it to the wifey. Lol.
 
Slightly different take;
Busy boat ramp at campground, I've got a 16' ski boat behind a 30' motorhome. Lots of folks around, some sitting in lawnchairs with drinks to watch boat ramp fun.
I have to back down 150' to the ramp and launch. This was decades ago, no back up camera. Pulled ahead so steering a slight curve all the way back would let me see the trailer as I backed it to and down the ramp.
Aced it! Boat in the water first try. A bit of stunned silence (I swear this is true) then a round of applause. Took a bow and launched the boat. LOL
Payback was waiting, there were no docks, pulled the boat up on the beach for overnight. Strong winds moved in, kept slapping waves over the back of the boat, in the morning it was swamped, several hundred gallons of water in the back. Lot of work getting it bailed out and back off the beach. Win some, lose some.
 
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My dad owned multiple boats that he pulled with either a pickup or small motor home. He always installed a boat hitch on his front bumper for launching his boats. Made it a snap to drive the boat trailer down to the ramp and into the water, and it also kept the rear drive axle up out of the water for better traction. 👍🏻
 
I Once was in a sailing boat . A girlfriends father Stig had bought it.
I don't think he knew more about sailing than the sellers 15 --30 mins Sales Pitch.
He was not the type of person that anyone could tell anything. Certainly not me.

Most people use the outboard motor to get the boat out of the marina .. A few hundred meters out of the port and out of way and then set sails there.
Among other reasons is that the keel is heavy and the boat neither stops nor turns that easy . Quickly.
If the wind is coming from the rear and you get i wrong The best strategy can be to aim at the cheapest one at the dock
Not the Laquered Mahogany and vintage motorboats.

The boat was almost all the way in at the Marina .Brisk wind hammering the sails .And Stig was going to sail it all the way out. Involving 3 straights a 30 -50 -200 m
And 2 x 90 degrees turns going against the wind at the 50 m stretch . Inside the marina
At the last 90 turn was the Club House ..More or less adds up to the category " Dont even consider try it "

I sat in the cockpit as ordered Paying close attention to the boom Ducking better than Ali Against Frazier when the boom swished over and Repeatedly gave me a Flat Top Hair cut. Did not get at hit on the head .Mostly luck.
At the last 90 degrees turn I do not believe anyone was still inside the Club House . Everyone was outside looking at the show .Perhaps prepared for rescuing efforts and or Asking for damage. Money.

Some of them there at the quay had been Sailors on the seven seas .. Even them found it interesting enough to step outside watching.

Stig was cool under Pressure so after the last turn He saluted the crowd at the quay . With a big smile on the face as if
I got this a Piece of cake. No worries mate. ---Pure luck he did not ram the quay at the Clubhouse. Scattering the crowd. I believe he sold the boat shortly after .. But I don't think he hit anything. Not that he would have told anyone.
 
My dad owned multiple boats that he pulled with either a pickup or small motor home. He always installed a boat hitch on his front bumper for launching his boats. Made it a snap to drive the boat trailer down to the ramp and into the water, and it also kept the rear drive axle up out of the water for better traction. 👍🏻
My father in law, the "dumb farmer" taught me that trick.
 
I was in the passenger seat when Ken, a fellow instructor at the dog school, ran into this Sabre. The Sabre was sitting on a slip road next to the tarmac, the squadron Chinook pilots used it for lifting practice. BTW we drive on the right side of the vehicle in Oz. The end of the Sabre wing comes to a rather sharp point and that stuck in the headrest, around where my neck would have been had I not ducked in time. We hit with such force the wing stuck in my seat and pushed the seat back, lucky I wasn't decapitated. I received no injuries except quite a bit of glass rash on my shoulder and back.

When we came to a halt, I looked up to see if Ken was alright, his seat was also pushed way back, he had his mouth open making a sandwich of the wing. I opened my door and fell out, the students rushed over and came in through the side slide door and had to jiggle Ken around a bit to get the wing out of his mouth and free him from his seat.

This happened way back around 1987 from memory. I've been told the picture is still pinned to the transport section notice board on the Amberley RAAF Base, 35 years on. Someone posted this pic on an ex service facebook forum a couple of years ago, I didn't even know the picture existed until then.

The Sun was in Ken's eyes, supposedly, and he didn't see the wing, that was his defence in court anyway. I saw the wing coming and yelled out 'wing, wing'. The prosecution tried to put the blame on me for not yelling 'stop, stop'! Ken got off with a small fine, he was of Scottish ancestry, so, he wasn't very happy.
 

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