They say loose lips sink ships. But sometimes, loose pins do, too.
On Friday, three boats belonging to the men's and women's club crew teams suffered serious damages when their trailer became dislodged from the truck towing them down Interstate 85-South, about 120 miles north of Atlanta, where the teams were scheduled to compete in the Head of the Chattahoochee meet, their last meet of the fall season.
As the truck travelled down a hill, the trailer began to fishtail, said Trinity senior Ed Conner, a member of the men's team and the driver of the truck. The trailer then careened to the left, causing the truck to veer off the road and into a nearby ditch. The trailer detached from the truck and flipped over.
Conner said he was unsure what caused the trailer to fishtail, though he suspects a loose hedgepin or severe wind.
Two eight-person women's boats and one eight-person men's boat were seriously damaged in the accident, each valued at about $17,000, said Tony Hamilton, coach of the men's team.
"Those were the best and fastest boats in our fleet," Hamilton said. "It's really quite unfortunate."
Although the women's boats may be able to be fixed, the men's boat is beyond repair, Conner said. The boats have been returned to the team's practice site until it is decided if they will be sent away for repairs, Hamilton said.
"We could probably send the boats to [the repairmen] in big envelopes," Hamilton said.
The accident leaves the women's team with one eight-person boat which was previously damaged and the men's team with two eight-person boats that Conner said are very old. Both teams also own three four-person boats each.
Although the boats are insured, the accident will still set the teams back tremendously, Conner said, because of the time it will take to receive replacement boats.
"You don't just buy boats from a storeroom," he said. "You basically put your name on a list and wait."
At the earliest, the teams will be able to get replacement boats by mid-March, Conner said. However, the racing season starts at the end of March.
The team officially starts practice for the spring season in January, although it will continue to practice through this semester. Conner said that the loss of the three boats will not severely limit their ability to hold practice, since winter training is mostly on land. Until the damaged boats are repaired or new equipment arrives, they will use the four-person boats and the old eight-person boats to practice, he said.
"Overall, it will probably hurt our performance in the spring," Conner said.
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