When I first looked at the videos, I thought the same..."What in the hell are they thinking? Someone could save those boats!" I think that's a normal response from any boat lover. Later, I had the benefit of listening to a radio broadcast on an outdoors show that mentioned the delay and inaction between the boats breaking loose and the heavy equipment showing up to save the bridge.
As I pondered the options and the reality of the situation, I came to the following conclusions.
1. The dock at New Hope Landing which was securing the 4 boats had broken apart from the near-record flows and the highest water we've seen in these parts in at least 20 years. We typically have floating docks here and the pilings on which the docks raise and lower are normally set to slightly above the levee top. In this case, it's conceivable that those rings that slide vertically on the pilings may have failed or just slipped off the top of the piling, releasing the entire section of dock.
2. This occurred as the flows were INCREASING so it wasn't going to get any better with time. The debris floating downstream is at a dangerous level and would only worsen a bad situation when they met the boat-jam at the bridge.
3. The boat's owners were probably elsewhere. No one has any skin in the game or owner authorization to board and attempt to rescue their boats.
4. Getting a line secured to a boat to tie it to a dock would have been difficult at best. This water is rushing at peak levels and is very treacherous.
5. Any attempt to board and save boats would come as risk of human life. Not worth it for a boat valued at $500,000, let alone some of these floating basket cases like one of them. (They mentioned on the radio show that one was in a sad state of disrepair and had been apparently ignored for a very long time.)
6. This area is not accessible by high profile boats except through a perimeter slough that was severely flooded and filled with hazards. With the high waters, even the restricted bridge clearance normally seen at the Wimpy's Bridge would have been reduced to just 5-7 feet, IMO. There was no way to get a rescue vessel to the site.
7. Once the equipment was on site for destruction, it was too late to attempt any boat rescues.
8. In total, those boats are probably worth less than $500K. Losing the bridge would impact thousands of locals who depend upon it. Replacing the bridge would run well into the millions of dollars. Mathematically, it's a no brainer.
As mentioned earlier, kudos to the man who had to make the call to destroy the boats. Not an easy decision and one fraught with Monday morning quarterbacking like we've done here. He made the right call to save the infrastructure at the expense of a few old boats.
In the end, the bridge was saved and no one was hurt. That's a very good ending if you ask me.
