The first line fixed between Callisto and President was jerked taught at speed - and promptly snapped. It would have snapped even if President was floating free: forty tons of narrowboat is not suddenly going to move. Inertia dictates that.
The best way to have captured this moment would have been on videom - I wonder if any of the massed crowds were filming or managed to take a photo at the instant of breakage. It's a good thing, incidentally, that the rope broke before it ripped off a dolly, as a flying chunk of metal would have been a bit dangerous.
The next attempt was made in a much more sensible way, the line being gradually pulled tight before real power was applied by Callisto. This successfully pulled the boats clear of the obstruction.
The bridge afforded opportunities for framing photographs.
Here President and Kildare are reversing into the arm.
1 comment:
I didn't see it because I was way beck in the parade, but I suspect the first time they were trying to 'snatch' the boat - letting the towing boat get up some speed and momentum before taking up the tow. This can work, and is sometimes necessary to get a boat off an obstruction - but it does of course rely on the rope being in good condition!
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