Daily Mail
17:32pm 30th July 2006
Boating can be hazardous at the best of times.
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Powerful currents, gusting winds, storms and other vessels all present problems for the most experienced sailor.
But yachts, canoes and dinghies at one British beauty spot were forced to avoid another obstacle - a floating Honda car.
Astonished tourists saw the unoccupied people carrier bobbing gently in the North Sea after it rolled from the quayside at Blakeney, Norfolk. The vehicle's hand-brake is understood to have failed after the driver parked in the scenic coastal town on Saturday.
And as our pictures show, tourists weren't content to watch the spectacle from the shore. Two youngsters in a canoe paddled around the stricken vehicle as two young swimmers tread water close to the floating 4x4.
Meanwhile, a dinghy containing five curious onlookers and a sailing boat passed within a few feet of the vehicle, which was submerged almost up to its roof.
But not everyone was so curious. One woman can be seen with her hands clasped to her mouth, watching horrified as the vehicle floated in the estuary.
She is thought to be one of hundreds of tourists who visited Blakeney to enjoy sweltering temperatures, golden sands and watch white and grey seals splashing about at nearby Blakeney Point wildlife sanctuary.
After rolling into the sea, the 4x4 floated towards open water before becoming stuck on a sandbank at about 10.30am.
Rescuers had to wait until the tide retreated about two hours later before they could attach a rope to the vehicle and drag it onto dry land. Unsurprisingly, it failed to start and had to be lifted onto the back of a lorry and taken to be repaired.
The car is understood to belong to a family of holidaymakers who were staying in Cley next the Sea, the next village along the coast.
The remarkable scenes were captured on camera by Paul Bishop, 44, who runs a business sailing tourists to Blakeney Point so they can get a close look at one of Britain's biggest seal colonies and watch seabirds wheeling above the cliffs.
He said: 'Because of the fabulous weather we had hundreds of tourists arrive in the town on Saturday morning, but one clearly got more than she bargained for.
'She left the vehicle in the car park, which is at the top of a sloping gravel bank about 20 yards from the water.
'But the hand-brake must have failed and it rolled into the sea.
'I was selling tickets for the boat trips when someone said: 'There's a car in the sea.' 'The tide was going out and it picked up the Honda which started floating out into the channel.
'Swimmers and people in canoes and dinghies started going up to it to have a look and several hundred people were watching from the quayside.
'Finally it came to rest on a sandbank but even then it took a couple of hours before it could be winched ashore.
'There was a lot of interest because it's not everyday you see a floating car but the owners seemed very embarrassed.'
