Me and some acquaintances at that time (in my 20's) nearly broke a 70 foot hired barge into two pieces in Nantwich on the Shropshire Union Canal We somehow managed to open two lock gates at once. The front of this long barge just rode up out of the water and into the air. The rear of the barge submerged into the canal itself ie the engine bit got totally submerged. If it weren't for an observant passerby who knew what we had done springing into action and reversing the process, I reckon we'd have snapped that barge in two. Needless to say the boat hire company was not exactly pleased, as they had to come out and sort the flooded engine out. I don't think they had ever had cause to do this before in the history of their commercial enterprise.
As an aside, one of our group also managed to accidentally drop the boat's engine and door keys into the canal on that trip when trying to pass the keys to another person. We all watched as the only set of keys dropped into the water. and into the muddy silt below. We thought we were f**ked. And then someone said 'get the boat hook and see if we can fish it out'. This suggestion was met with the derision that such an improbable task could be successful deserved. So a lad (Joe Rush - same name but not the founder of the Mutoid Waste company)) got the long poled boat hook, dropped it down into the totally murky water, wiggled the pole about, lifted the pole back up, and there were the keys on the end of the hook. You'd have more chance of winning the lottery than that happening. Totally bizarre.
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