This truck gives new meaning to the term “long bed pickup” that Toyota first used back in 1972. I’ve seen this truck a couple of times before in Port Orford, and given that I caught it driving down to the boat harbor, I’m quite certain it’s used to haul crab pots, which are of course light. Otherwise it would be wheelie time.
The ocean looks idyllic and peaceful on this day last week at sunset, but just a few days earlier there was a storm with high surf that contributed to a fishing boat being wrecked on the beach at night. That required rescuing the crew and their dogs with a Coast Guard helicopter. We walked down to it to check it out.
I’m quite sure that this was once a Class C motorhome, as they were the only ones that used such an extended rear frame. And the sewer discharge pipe is still there, hanging down at the back. This Toyota seems to have found a productive second life.
The shipwreck happened in the very early hours of January 11, just a day before we went to PO. I heard that the crab pots she was setting got tangled in her propeller, but I can’t vouch for that. We could see it from our place, sitting out on Agate Beach, which directly faces the Pacific. So of course we walked down to check it it out. This is looking north, with Cape Blanco in the distance.
This is a still from a video at Facebook of the rescue, showing one of the crew being airlifted by a Coast Guard helicopter. The surf was strong and the boat was rocking badly. One crew member did jump over the side in a self rescue and apparently a couple of dogs had to be rescued too.
And this is how she had looked later on the morning of the 11th, when it seemed feasible to pull her back to sea with a tug. That was the initial plan.
By the time we got there at low tide on the 13th, Texas Lady was already sitting pretty deep in the sand. I still assumed that they would be able to float her, but one of the salvage crew members told me that during high tide she had become totally covered over and her hull and cabin were now full of sand. That made towing it out impossible. So they called in salvage contractors who pumped out her fuel and such in preparation of being cut up.
I assumed that cutting her up and hauling it all away would be an extended undertaking, but I was wrong. When I looked down on the beach on 16th, all I could see was construction equipment. And when we stopped there on the 18th, as we were leaving PO, everything was gone and the beach was like it had been. Too bad, as I rather wanted to see it being cut up.
I couldn’t find a good picture of that process on the web; this is the closest thing to it, with the salvage crew getting ready to lift up a component or such. I was impressed at how fast it disappeared.
The beach was pristine, and a fog was forming just off the edge, getting ready to engulf us. The sun shining through the forming fog created a fog rainbow, something I had not experienced before. Every day at the coast is different, which is a major part of its appeal.
Wow with that long extension out the back of the Toyota you really have to be careful not to clout things when turning. I particularly like the background in the first photo, nice!!
For the salvage, I would have thought they could pump water into the hull and pump out the sand as slurry. Or maybe it would just fill up again when the tide returned.
Yes, that would have been the problem. These pictures are at very low tide; the boat was totally swamped each time the tide returned.
Yowzer, talk about rear overhang. Hopefully the creator had reasons for doing what was done, but I’ve got to think if I was doing something like that I’d find a way to get that rear axle back further. I’m sure you can’t, but it looks like you could just stand on the back of it and lift up the front end.
Somewhat further north in Vancouver, this is the foggiest/sunniest January I can remember.
Wow. Having to cut that boat up in order to remove it makes perfect sense once you describe what was happening, although this makes me realize that I really know nothing about how traveling on water (and the associated hazards) works. I like to think that I pretty much understand how the dynamics of moving terrestrial vehicles work, but I probably no more understand things like water currents, surf, etc. than I’d know how to get to the Moon.
I suppose the owner had sufficient insurance. Can’t be cheap getting out of a problem like that (not to mention the need now for a new boat).
Beautiful pictures.
That is a good looking rig and some lovely photos.
It seems wild that boat was essentially written off due to that incident. Maybe it has additional issues. It is wild it happened so quickly.
The super long bed would be useful for bulky stuff. The ex-motorhome story also explains the plywood rear window. I’ve seen a larger version of the super long bed on an F650 for sale at a farm, I guess it would be useful for irrigation pipe.
The shipwreck is a good example of sifting conditions at sea, and going from salvageable total loss in a day.
I like the repurposing of the Toyota Motor Home Chassis, as you said couldn’t put much weight on it so likely crab pots or dry nets etcetera .
That fishing boat disaster is wild .
The first picture or so it looks like an easy re float, the later one showing her buried in sand (wet & salty sand no less) tells the real story .
Good to hear the people and dogs made it out okay .
-Nate
Indeed
Kind of obvious when one thinks about it – cruel sea and all that.
I suspect the Toyota would have shrugged off such abuse though!