A trailer unit tipped over on a hilly section of State Highway 27 near Kaihere yesterday and collided with a car towing an 8m pleasure boat, sending the $80,000 craft hurtling 30m down a bank.
Miraculously, no one was injured.
The truck, carrying a large load of timber, lost control
about 6.20am as it drove downhill on a road commonly known as the "Dress Circle", south of Ngatea.
Coming in the opposite direction was North Shore man Greg Stewart, who was heading toward the Coromandel with a friend for a five-day fishing holiday.
"We were just coming around the corner and a truck-and-trailer unit was heading toward us - the trailer just lost it and was coming down our side of the road.
"It sideswiped the car and took out the boat completely. We had absolutely nowhere to go. If we were 10 foot back we would have gone head-on into 25 tonnes of timber coming down the road."
Mr Stewart said his boat was probably a write-off, and although his holiday was ruined, "we're just thanking our lucky stars - it could have been a lot worse".
The road was shut for more than six hours while the debris was cleared. Cranes were on standby, but a tow-truck hauled the boat up the bank. The car was also extensively damaged.
