On the escape from Big Sur, we pulled over and paused to shoot some photos of billowing smoke, helicopters, and evacuation chaos. An SUV sped toward us, and I watched in horror (for both the boards and the traffic behind, equally) as the wind liberated 3 surfboards from their roof rack. The front bungee cord (1st mistake) failed and the back one held, resulting in boards being dragged along the highway by the car. They had the fins to the back (mistake #2); had they been forward they could have caught and prevented the ensuing disaster. They were going about 65 mph, way too fast in gusty 40 mph winds, completing the mistake trifecta.
I ran back to help, and found 3 semi-concerned females, struggling to get boards out of the road and back onto the car. Chis was right behind me with a pair of wide nylon straps to loan or give away. We had them re-racked quickly and properly, and we're incredulous when some dude (a boyfriend or hubby following them... he looked like a mistake too) showed up too late to be of any help, and asked "do you think those straps will hold?" Uh, no, lets try the bungee cords again, genius. We sent the ladies on their way without much conversation or appreciation. You can't see it well in this photo of them driving away, but the bumper sticker on the far right says 'Beat It Kook'. I agree.
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