ViRuS post jogged my memeory circa 1975

macabethiel · 23-01-2016, 14:44

Not in the same league but the post by ViRuS reminded me of a trip I made to the Isle Of Man during T.T. practice week in 1975.

I drove the Father-in-Laws car as he only had sight in one eye and did not like long journeys or night driving. He had a very new Citroen Ami Estate 1100 cc version with the strange dash board gear lever.

One afternoon we drove down to a beach and it was very stony with some sand. Father-in-Law insisted I dove down the beach a short distance and we parked up for the day. As the tide began to come in I suggested we make sure the Citroen was above the tide mark.

Well when I tried to move the front wheels just dug in, we had a kiddies bucket and spade but that was plastic. After about 20 minutes we started to panic as the tide was closing in one us and we were well and truly stuck with no offers of help from the few people nearby and no tow rope or other vehicles around.

In desperation I suggested we use the bucket to collect some sea water and to try wetting the sand having arranged some larger stones to form a sort of rocky ramp. We found a discarded plastic container and quickly wet the sand.

With three adults pushing the front backwards to our relief we found grip and this worked at the second or third attempt and I was able to drive off the sand. Never been near a beach in a vehicle since!

23-01-2016, 14:44	#1
macabethiel Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Derby Vehicle: Freelander & Jeep GC 3.0 Posts: 4,416	ViRuS post jogged my memeory circa 1975 Not in the same league but the post by ViRuS reminded me of a trip I made to the Isle Of Man during T.T. practice week in 1975. I drove the Father-in-Laws car as he only had sight in one eye and did not like long journeys or night driving. He had a very new Citroen Ami Estate 1100 cc version with the strange dash board gear lever. One afternoon we drove down to a beach and it was very stony with some sand. Father-in-Law insisted I dove down the beach a short distance and we parked up for the day. As the tide began to come in I suggested we make sure the Citroen was above the tide mark. Well when I tried to move the front wheels just dug in, we had a kiddies bucket and spade but that was plastic. After about 20 minutes we started to panic as the tide was closing in one us and we were well and truly stuck with no offers of help from the few people nearby and no tow rope or other vehicles around. In desperation I suggested we use the bucket to collect some sea water and to try wetting the sand having arranged some larger stones to form a sort of rocky ramp. We found a discarded plastic container and quickly wet the sand. With three adults pushing the front backwards to our relief we found grip and this worked at the second or third attempt and I was able to drive off the sand. Never been near a beach in a vehicle since!