Almost a dozen speedboats working the Vreed-en-Hoop/ Georgetown route were yesterday stuck for long periods on the Demerara River due to the morning’s low tide causing many persons to be late for work and other appointments.
Most of the boats passing through the narrow speedboat channel at the Vreed-en-Hoop Stelling came to a standstill after their propellers got stuck in the mud. Some of the obstacles that got entangled in propellers included umbrella frames. Many of the boats carried two engines yet there was no getting out as some boats were stuck for as long as twenty minutes, while some for even longer.
One captain found himself facing even bigger issues when both his engines cut off and refused to restart, resulting in someone finally wading through the mud to him to assist in pushing his boat out into the river before he was able to finally restart his engine and make his way across to Georgetown.
The number of boats trying to navigate this part of the river saw frustrated speedboat operators and passengers cursing each other. In a bid to get their boats unstuck, they revved their engines as hard as they could sending mud flying everywhere – on other boats and also on passengers. Meanwhile, other captains stayed bobbing in the middle of the Demerara River as they waited to see how those trapped would make their way out.
After much pushing and tugging, some were able to get unstuck but as other boats got to this section of the river, the process started all over again.
Several persons were heard discussing that the narrow areas of the speedboat channel needed to be excavated.
