Without A Paddle

While scouting backroads for the Smorr to Moore adventure route in southern Missouri, Chris and I came across a Cherokee stuck in a river. The river had a rainbow sheen from the oils and fluids seeping from it, and trash steadily floated away. We decided to pull it out to stop polluting the water. Chris led the recovery.

The Cherokee was 100 meters up the river. The driver said the previous day he was looking for a place to camp and was heading upstream to a site and slid into the water. He and his wife set up camp and had been drinking ever since.

The engine was flooded and they killed the battery trying to start it.

Chris planned to winch them to the riverbank.

We wrapped a soft shackle around the Cherokee's receiver because it had a smaller 1 1/4" opening that didn't accept our shackle mount hitches. I ensured it was properly rigged.

My Jeep anchored Chris'. The rivers were lined with pebbles that may as well have been jagged marbles.

And yes, synthetic winch lines do float.

The first pull somewhat worked but he slid further into the water. Chris repositioned, the driver's wife kept drinking. We also added a snatch block.

Next, we tried pulling with horsepower. My Jeep had more grunt thanks to its 4.88 gears and smaller 32" tires. Chris pulled me with his winch.

Safety is paramount when conducting a recovery. With so many people watching someone should have noticed the intoxicated woman sooner and halted the operation- even the camera operator. If you see something unsafe ALWAYS alert the group immediately. The woman tried riding the line like a hammock.

Locked and in 4-lo, I finally gained some traction. The Cherokee driver, also intoxicated, had cranked his wheel and was plowing his front tires the entire time.

Tow straps ARE NOT snatch straps and are not meant to store kinetic energy like bubba ropes. Do not jerk them, especially with unconventional strap mounting as we had around his receiver.

In hindsight, we should have removed the short strap sooner to eliminate hardware in the pull chain. But we eventually did.

After several pulling attempts, Chris repositioned and with his winch, pulled us to the riverbank.

I was finally able to tow
the Cherokee to the road. We advised him to call a tow truck instead of attempt to dry his engine. Alcohol contributed excessive idiocracy to this recovery. But we were glad the Cherokee was no longer seeping oil and gas into the water.

Видео Without A Paddle канала Berserker Offroad