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Yacht founders on icy shoals downtown
By adamg on Wed, 02/11/2015 - 2:08pm
We needed this. After days of life in Ice Station Zebra, we've all gotten cranky and surly.
So what better thing to lift our moods, if even for a moment, than something so out of the ordinary, so completely ludicrous as a yacht stuck on a snowbank in the middle of downtown Boston?
No doubt the trucker hauling the Maggie Mae out of Jamestown, RI to the boat show at the South Boston convention center had absolutely wonderful reasons to take a route through the financial district only a couple days after our latest major storm. But those reasons proved no match for the accumulated snow on the island in the middle of the intersection of Summer and Lincoln streets, which snared the big rig and the yacht-laden trailer it was pulling around 1 p.m.
Kendra gave us a bird's eye view:
The Maggie Mae became an impromptu downtown gathering place: People from all around came down to see it. Most did the same three things in sequence: They shook their heads, they laughed and then they took a picture. Many people took selfies with the yacht.
Meanwhile, all the Downtown Crossing "ambassadors" showed up with snow shovels:
A local construction company sent a backhoe. A towing company sent an extra big tow truck to pull the diesel. And after two hours of shoveling and backhoeing and pulling, the tow-truck driver honked his horn a couple times and the mini-flotilla headed down the street. The assembled throng clapped and went "Woo!"
Prairie Rose Clayton commented:
Wake up, Maggie, I think I got something to say to you
It's downtown Boston & you're a friggin' boat in the road
What the hell
Or as Rev. Hank Peirce puts it: "GILLIGAN!!!!"
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Comments
The solution?!
The T is preparing for getting people around when everything melts and they have to shut the system down again?
Why is this news in the first
Why is this news in the first place, even helicopter camera shots from above, and the area is not even congested.
Media makes a big deal out of this useless news, unbeleivable!
Neighborhoods are still covered in 8 foot high mounds of snow, this area where the boat got stuck seems 86% snow free compared to East Boston!
Media should be in Eastie instead covering sidewalks that are still (after 3 days without snow accumilation) covered in 8 feet tall mounds of snow on just about every side street in Eastie.The elderly are frightened to leave their homes because of mounds of snow sitting on sidewalks still has not been removed from city officials, it's making it impassible for children also who I see are avoiding sidewalks and are walking on the streets..
Have you looked at the news lately?
This boat story took up, tops, two minutes, with much chuckling by the anchors.
It was bizarre and funny and something that was completely out of the ordinary. As somebody who's played a reporter on TV (well, OK, I've been interviewed a couple of times), I can vouch for that being newsworthy. And as somebody who has put up with just as much snow as I'm sure you have, I found it a welcome respite, something to laugh about instead of wondering whether I'd even ever get home yesterday on the Orange Line.
Let's not get carried away in angst about The Media Today. The Media Yesterday also covered the continuing collapse of the T, all the roofs falling down, that guy getting murdered in Jamaica Plain, even Bill Belichick's appearance on Letterman. True, they didn't cover East Boston specifically, but then, they never do, which is an issue for another day. But there was tons of news happening on the news last night that didn't involve a boat stuck in a snowbank.
Is the truck broken? Why is
Is the truck broken? Why is the front open like that? Can't they just melt all the snow around there and float the boat away?
Yes, the truck was broken, too
That's why they had to bring in a big tow truck. Good thing that didn't break down ...
Have you ever seen a tow truck towing a tow truck?
Gotta say, it puts a grin on any face.....
I'm no geometry wiz...
...but why is he even attempting that sharp right?
What you can't tell from this angle is that the hull is busted:
https://twitter.com/craig_tracey/status/565587853997273090/photo/1
Don't drop the Hinckley!!!
I wonder how many boats won't make it to the boat show? I saw a few go by over the weekend. Those transporting were having trouble getting permits to go through the city, and that was before this last storm. It's gotta be impossible at this point.
Yeah, noticed the Hinckley
Cars driving down train tracks, now boats going down city streets.
Don't mess that boat up, that's a lot of bucks.
No $hit
I could be wrong but I don't ever recall Hinckley at the boat show. That's some serious money sitting right there. They are expanding the show room by 100,000 ft.² this year. Looks like the big players are back.
Never ceases to amaze me
80% of Americans will never be able to afford to retire on more than a social security check and another 10% are right on the edge. Yet somebody's buying all these boats, and luxury cars, and cruising around the world with Vikings and buying every Apple product under the sun that costs twice the next brand that does the exact same thing except no light up fruit on the back.
Can the 1%, or even the 10% support all this?
It really is BS! I didn't win
It really is BS! I didn't win the lottery last night, so I can't get my Hinckley. : ( I was talking to one of the dealers and he said the boat show hasn't been this big since before 2008.
I think your numbers are a
I think your numbers are a little suspect... tons of people own Apple products, and it's not uncommon for them to be relatively poor. Boats are surprisingly affordable (not that one in the photo!). It's just that they can also be monumentally expensive, and of course everyone is attracted to the expensive and amazing boats, so there's this impression that only the rich can afford boats. Go drive around a "poor" rural area and look at how many boats (and snowmobiles, and ATVs, and dirt bikes...) you see parked in people's driveways.
BOAT
= Bust Out Another Thousand!
Just The Usual Suspects
Research consistently shows that (excluding home equity), almost 50% of Americans effectively have no savings - less than $500. Another 30% have between nothing and $100k (that might be a little better than when I did the research for my book which I think was 2010 data - but pretty sure it's still less than $150k). That and social security won't get you very far - $150k will generate a retirement income of $6k-$7500 in income depending on whether or not you spend down principal. Cut off for the 1% - now maybe 2% is $10 million. It's only what I call the 19% that have any assets and even half of then don't have nearly enough that they can hope to retire without a serious hit to their lifestyle.
Lots of people have lots of income. They just don't save it - they spend it on boats and other stuff. All fine and good until you have no income. As pensions become a thing of the past a lot of people are going to be very sorry when they find out Social Security is not an income - it's a stipend.
I know anecdote is not the plural of data but
A friend is a landlord in Lawrence/Methuen/Salem. Probably 75% of his tenants are Section 8. All these tenants have money for flat screen tvs, iphones, ipads and whatnot. They have $1500 cars with $5K worth of aftermarket crap attached. The amount of pure junk that gets left behind by these tenants is astounding.
Yet although you and I are paying 75% of their rent, they cannot afford the couple hundred bucks that they owe. They steal light bulbs from the common areas when they run out. They take backup batteries out of the smoke detectors to play their video games.
They will never have anything because all they want is the quick fix high of feel good crap. Right here. Right now.
Retirement? That doesn't even register with these people.
1% of the population is approx 3 million people. That's approx 60K people per state and they are certainly not living in flyover country. That's still a sizable market.
Maybe people with money love them
I provide these "extras" for family members on disability, because they cannot afford them. By putting people on my massive family plan, at $10-20 a month, and buying used or low-end smartphones for them, they save huge amounts on landline phones and internet service.
Have fun deciding whether people are worthy of them, though. It probably makes you feel alive or something.
Here's a kindred soul: http://www.theonion.com/articles/woman-a-leading-authority-on-what-shoul...
I dare say you should be
I dare say you should be doing that for family members. Too many times people rely on government first when family should be helping first.
I can't afford their medical care
I also can't afford to support them outright, so I make their lives bearable.
Sorry!
Also ... THEY PAID IN for decades before they fell ill. That's how Social Security works. It just isn't quite enough to live on.
Swirly's family is lucky.
I wish I could afford to do more, with money and giving time, for my family and my partner's family. We can't. I'm glad I was able to take care of a terminally ill mother, but I had a very understanding employer and other siblings to split the duties and share the financial burden. Frankly, I don't know if I could ever afford to do it again, and definitely not right now. However, it's not like we get to pick the date that's good for these things.
No one wants to think about it, but I'm glad to know that there is a safety net. If my dad absolutely had to, he could go into a VA home. If my brothers and sister with kids hit a hard time, they could receive food stamps and whatever else they had to have. We are fortunate that has not happened, though it still could. It would suck, but that's why the safety net is there. And while I would buy them gasoline and groceries and other necessities when possible-- we all live in different states-- I'd damn sure also get them a few things just to make them happy. Losing income is tough enough. Being poor is tough. I love them, and I'm not about to punish them for being poor by not buying them Christmas presents, even if a complete stranger who knows nothing about the situation passes judgment on them for it.
About this landlord? The good news is that people are moving out of a Section 8 apartment often enough that a landlord has drawn a conclusion about a "typical tenant."
flat screen TVs
Isn't that the only kind you can buy anymore?
If you go to BestBuy.com and sort by lowest price, they start at $94.99. Not what I'd call a luxury item today.
(On the other hand, where do you get a $1500 car, and if you do, how is that any kind of luxury?)
Or use, for that matter.
Or use, for that matter.
"(On the other hand, where do
"(On the other hand, where do you get a $1500 car, and if you do, how is that any kind of luxury?)"
His point was that they buy a $1500 beater - then attach thousands of dollars of unnecessary aftermarket crap to it like stereos and flashy rims and so on (paralleling the Sec.8 housing filled with expensive consumer goods).
Sounds like your friend is
Sounds like your friend is the one getting my tax dollars.
A lot of people do
Your doctor. Your hospital. Your neighbor with the corner store. They guy who works for anyone that has a government contract. I have no problem with somebody who makes something of his life. Everything he does is legal. He grew up in Lawrence. Hard work paid off for him.
People who cant afford boats
People who cant afford boats also go to the boat show ... Same as going to a car show.
Just when I thought I've seen
Just when I thought I've seen it all. Chances are I'd have better luck getting home with the boat than relying on the MBTA today.
People are laughing so hard
I know we're all so beat down by this winter -- and I haven't seen people so giddy as they are walking by this boat. Loads of folks taking selfies of it -- cracking jokes. It's a complete bummer for the owner and for anyone trying to get the thing out of the way there -- but it gave a lot of folks a needed smile today!
Obvious comment
I blocked yer MOM'S box...
That was one hell of a storm tide!
Damn - I just missed this by a few minutes. If this is what passes for navigating, I think I'll avoid asking for a ride on this boat. That turn would be nearly impossible without the snow, actually. I can't think of a reason that they would take that route, other than a non-commercial GPS fail of course.
Must be boat show time - there were many boat chrysalises riding on trailers on I-93 this morning.
Why did they go on the left
Why did they go on the left side of the islands? http://goo.gl/maps/IQJjn
Is the right turn channel significantly narrowed by snowbanks?
More like because of the turning radius
of the trailer. Remember that under those snowbanks are raised islands.
Unbereefable. We don't need
Unbereefable. We don't need anymoor of this.
That luxury
space saver will help buoy SB condo sales.
A former colleague of mine said it best.
Owning a boat is God's way of telling you, you have too much money.
The two happiest days
in the life of a boat owner. The day they buy it, and the day they manage to sell it.
Gilligan?!?
Looks more like "HUGHIE!!!!"
Imagine
If they tried to take it down Storrow Drive, that could have been the world's most expensive Storrowing
When obtaining permits to
When obtaining permits to move these large boats; the transportation company must provide an exact route, maybe we should have the 18 wheelers do the same!
I haven't seen a flag truck
Was there one? I haven't seen one in any of the pictures. This is an oversize load according to the back end of the trailer.
I'm also pretty sure that they lost their exact route and missed an exit coming off of the pike. This isn't someplace where a truck this size could make that turn under normal circumstances.
I don't know if there was a
I don't know if there was a flag truck, wasn't there. I'm sure there was though. I'm betting they lost their exact route as well; since they would have pulled a permit before yesterday.
This is just a guess but..
From what I can tell, the boat is based out of Portsmouth RI. I will assume it was heading to the Convention Center for the Boat Show this weekend. It is probably over the height for the tunnels so it had to get off at the South Street exit off I93. That would have put the driver on Lincoln, from which he could have turned onto the greenway (If that's what that part is called) then a right turn at Dewey Sq onto Summer then arrive at BCEC.
For whatever reason, the driver either missed the turn or could not turn onto the Greenway after Lincoln st. So the driver continued straight and tried to make this really bad turn onto Summer.
South Boston Bypass
Why wouldn't they exit directly off I-93 to the road that is very much built for trucks? That's why I think they missed something. There is a route directly to the neighborhood they want to go to.
Maybe
Maybe, like the driver who crashed his bus into the bridge on Storrow, the driver was using a personal GPS or Smart Phone. Google maps will not route a car on that road. Or maybe he just missed his turn. If you are not from here, there is a pretty good chance the driver does not know about it.
Space Savers?
Those are for peasants. This is a STREET SAVER.
Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com
LOL!
Good one Suldog!
It must be heading to Louisburg Square.
That boat will make one hell
That boat will make one hell of a space-saver.
Boats on land getting around
Boats on land getting around better than the MBTA ferry service today... what is this world coming to?
LumberJerk! headline update
Anchor's In The Way!